After five impeccable years the USA Network original series In Plain Sight has closed. No more Mary and Marshall, no more sandy Albuquerque, no more WITSEC, no more witty irresistible dialogues and drama.

IPS can have possibly been one of the most successful yet overlooked shows of the past decade.

It has entertained me, moved me, kept me on my toes, given me good reason to watch tv and listen to Lola, by the kinks.

The motto of the network is “Characters Welcome“: well, we have welcomed the IPS cast five years ago and they will all be sorely missed. Fresh and full of, well, character! Not seen in any other show, never heard quotes so obscure or fascinating from Marshall and Mary’s inner dialogue.

The finale episode is what every finale should be, well balanced between the one-episode storyline, the past and the future of our heroes and a few touching, tear-bringing moments.

All’s well that ends well, i will miss this show sorely.

A particular thank you to the writers who managed to not have the partners fall in love, but if you’ve seen the show that scene on the balcony speaks volumes:

Marshall: This, what we have, it’s undefinable, and up until now nothing’s ever come along to jeopardize that.

Mary: Marshall, you’re my best friend. You’re my only friend. I mean, forget friend, you’re — you know.

Marshall: I know. I love that. But that’s the problem.

Mary: Because you’re getting married.

Marshall: Yeah. I’m getting married. I love Abigail deeply, and because I do that’s why I need you to do something for me.

Mary: Anything.

Marshall: I need you to release me. I need to be free enough to have a life with Abigail, and I need you to be okay enough for that to happen, because if you call I’ll come. Every time.

Mary: Well, I don’t know a lot these days. All I know is that more than anything in the whole world, I want you to be happy. So, I’m going to say this once and only once: I want you to marry Abigail. She makes you happy. I like her and I like you together. I know, I had you at ‘well.’

Marshall: Yeah. Okay. So, shall we get on with the rest of our lives?

Mary: You first.

from Mary’s voice-overs: Nobody likes letting go. From our earliest moments, from birth until we’re six feet under, our instinct is to grab, grip, cling to a finger, bottle, best friend, to a faded old racing form. Sometimes we hold on for deal life to the very things that keep us from living it, but that comes with an upside. It’s the way we feel when we finally let go. The trick, I guess, is to not find a way around the curveballs life serves up, but to live with them; a halfway happy, uneasy alliance, and to search for new things to cling to, and when you finally find them to hang on just as tight. And around and around we go, holding on until the time comes to say goodbye, and like it or not, ready or not, you have to accept one universal truth: life is messy. Always and for all of us. But a wise man once said, maybe messy is what you need, and I think you might be right.

The getaway, I guess, is in my blood. Away from the screaming chaos of my childhood home, I would fly out the door and hop on my bike, white knuckling the handlebars with nowhere to go, I’d pedal as fast as it took to feel my hair in the wind and the sting on my face. Whether I wanted to be found or just missed, I’m not sure. But no one ever sent out a search party. Those frantic, furious bike rides never took me more than a few miles from my house. But it was far enough for me to learn that I could get back on my own. And that sometimes the best way to find yourself is to get yourself lost.