Love/Hate Finale

Warning: Spoiler alerts galore here, but unless you’ve rid your phone of Twitter, you’ll be well aware by now of what went down on last night’s telly.

UPDATE: Incase you were still holding out hope that Nidge survived last night’s bloodbath we’ve got bad news for you. According to Independent.ie, Tom Vaughan Lawlor has released a statement on his involvement with the show. He doesn’t go so far as to say his character is officially gone but it’s fair to say that it’s highly unlikely we’ll be seeing King Nidge on our screens ever again.

With our jaws on the floor and our bodies in shock, last night we bid farewell to the greatest Irish TV character to ever grace the small screen; King Nidge, our oul pal, played by Tom Vaughan Lawlor who once again came across with a masterclass in fine acting.

Were we sad to see him go? Of course; it will take something incredibly special to fill the shoes of this mesmerising artist who, on the back of his Love/Hate performance, will be the hottest thespian property from here to Tinseltown.

Few will disagree that this fifth series was the best of all from writer Stuart Carolan, and that last night’s episode was up there with the best hours of TV drama we’ve ever enjoyed, not just in Ireland (that wouldn’t be hard) but the world over, too.

Interestingly for us, it became apparent in last night’s finale just why the show’s called Love/Hate, as we felt both sympathy for the gangland kingpin as he grappled with the thought of losing Janet, and total disdain as he came face to face with the series’ hero, the one we were always rooting for, Siobh?n (Charlie Murphy).

It’s not uncommon for finales to disappoint, what with so much expectation and emotional investment placed upon them, but thanks to the quality and unpredictability of the writing, along with the world class acting from all involved, it more than delivered.
We watched (with unsuitably clenched bottoms) as the various narrative threads came together, splintered snooker cues and all, firm in our belief that Love/Hate would undoubtedly put Ireland’s creative output on the map, that it would sit side by side with the likes of Breaking Bad in the TV halls of fame.

But what now? Are we to expect another series? With the big boss now out of the picture, where will Fran find his motivation? Will he take over where Nidge left off? Will Terrence ‘Big Balls’ return home from Spain? Will Siobhan survive (unlikely) and will Tommy wake up?
Having finished on such an incredibly tense crescendo, we’d argue that all is better left as is. Rather than be greedy and yearn or more (which is always a good sign), here’s hoping they choose to preserve the magic of this canonic, generation-defining opus and move on to the next best thing.

Over to you, have you recovered from the finale?

@CarolineForan