‘One Life to Live’ comes to an end . . . Was it good for you?

Well, after watching the final episode of ‘One Life to Live’ this afternoon there are only three things I can say with absolute certainty:

There should have been clips from past shows.

Trevor St. John fans will be happy.

John and Natalie fans are ticked off.

Ultimately, the final episode of ‘One Life to Live’ was a mixed bag. It was certainly better than the final episode of ‘All My Children’ – which aired several months ago – but it wasn’t what I think fans truly wanted.

To be fair, when production on the show wrapped in November, it looked like Prospect Park was going to be moving the show online. So, when they filmed the final episode, they didn’t think this would truly be the end.

Unfortunately, for everyone involved, Prospect Park announced they couldn’t raise the capital needed to move the soap online – but by then, the ending had already been filmed.

So, let’s start with the good, what transpired over the course of the final episode to make fans happy?

For one, longtime heroine Jessica’s muddled paternity was sorted out (again), this time making her Clint’s biological daughter (again). Since Jessica has buried the father of both her (living) children, suffers from multiple personality disorder and lost two babies – I guess it was some relief that cult leader Mitch Lawrence wasn’t her father in the end.

Of course, it would have been better had Jessica and Brody reunited instead of merely saying goodbye to one another – but I guess you can’t get everything you want. I am thankful they killed off Ford Torso Number One (aka Robert Ford) in the waning weeks so Jessica wouldn’t end up with him. I should just count that as a win.

We also got some steamy scenes between Todd and Blair – something most fans were hoping for the minute Roger Howarth returned to the screen this spring. The fact that their post coital bliss was interrupted on a cliffhanger with Todd’s arrest for killing his brother Victor was a bummer, though.

And, while Destiny could be one of the most annoying characters in the show’s history, the fact that Matthew was there for the birth of his son – nice touch naming him Drew after his dead brother, by the way – managed to redeem that little twerp. The most touching moment, however, was when Bo choked up telling Nora he loved her – which I actually think was a reflection of how close Robert S. Woods (Bo) and Hillary B. Smith (Nora) are off screen as well.

It was also nice to see Starr and Cole reunited with their daughter – and best friends Marko and Langston in Los Angeles. Of course, everyone knows Kristen Alderson (Starr) is taking her character to ‘General Hospital’ in February – so I hope they don’t undo the little family’s happy ending.

And, finally, Clint getting down on one knee to propose to show matriarch Viki – essentially riding the high of finding out he was Jessica’s biological father – was a moving way to give that couple closure. When I started watching the soap, Viki and Clint were my favorite couple (back in the Clint Ritchie days, mind you), so I’m glad they got their happily ever after.

On to the bad – and there was plenty of that, too.

While it was nice to see Brody get some closure with Jessica, I was hoping they would undo Ryder’s paternity (like they did Jessica’s) to give Brody and Jessica a happy ending. Out of all Jessica’s many love interests over the years – Brody was one of my favorites. So, to have him lose three children over the course of his stay on the show was a little bit too much for me. Give the guy a break. His character being sacrificed on the altar of John and Natalie is one the things that ‘One Life to Live’ did in the final year that will forever irritate me.

And, while I like Allison Perkins as a loony drop-in from time to time, having her narrate the final episode was fairly annoying. Couldn’t they have had Jessica Tuck’s Megan do it from Heaven? The good thing, though, is that Trevor St. John fans were treated to a last second glimpse of their favorite leading man as we found out Allison has Victor tied to a bed. Essentially, that means Todd didn’t kill Victor and that Victor may somehow make it back to Tea and their baby sometime in the future. Exactly how Allison got Victor, though, since he died on screen months ago when she was in prison is a mystery we may never have solved.

Also, while I’m not a John and Natalie fan, I can tell you right now their fans are incensed that they didn’t get a final scene together. After Thursday’s episode, we’re left to imagine them having a happily ever after. Of course, since Michael Easton is taking his John “mullet” McBain character to ‘General Hospital’ – and his character would fit easiest onto the GH canvas for a long stay – their happy ending is left in serious doubt in the minds of a lot of fans.

Finally, would it have killed producers to drag out some clips? Yeah, in the waning weeks and months we were treated to a nice montage of Viki and Dorian and some cute Tina and Cord scenes, but I think I can speak for a lot of fans when I say I expected there to be quite a few in the final episode (who didn’t want some Asa scenes?). So, to not get any was a slap in the face.

I know a lot of people find music montages corny, but I happen to love them. I wouldn’t have minded if the whole final segment of the show was a music montage of Jake and Megan, Viki and Clint, Asa, Max, Karen Wolek, Marco Dane, etc. Those characters were important to the history of ‘One Life to Live’ – so not to even get a glimpse of them was irksome – to say the least.

If I’m being honest, I had a box of Kleenex sitting on my living room table when I was watching the episode. I didn’t reach for them once. The only time I got even a little misty was when Bo told Nora he loved her. The rest of it? I didn’t even have a lip quiver at anything else.

So, in the end, I thought it was a decent episode – but it certainly wasn’t a memorable ending.

What do you think?