Review: Bless the Harts “Betty’s Birthday”

 

 

Overview:

The Harts have found themselves on the wrong side of the law. As each family member handles an interrogation in their individual ways, the hot-headed detective only wants one answer, how old is Betty Hart?

The Harts help lay the story out on how they attempted to answer that exact question with Betty having an upcoming milestone birthday. In their attempts to solve the riddle of the grandmother, they decide to take an impromptu road trip in an RV that Wayne acquired through shady circumstances.

With some unsolved murders, the disposing of a body in the middle of the night, and an unbreakable secret, the odds are stacked against the Hart family.

 

Our Take:

Call it a classic case of saving the best for last.  Bless the Harts may have dropped their best episode ever in their very final release. 

After the series was officially cancelled earlier this year, we witnessed this dead fish take its last breaths. But, not to be forgotten, this series finale delivered a whole side of Bless the Harts that we never saw during its two seasons.

It has become standard to expect plenty of derivative plots and mild humour from this series. Unfortunately, the majority of this second season has involved retellings of cliché sitcom storylines. Aside from a few notable editions, most of the 24-episode collection has been easily forgettable.

This finale was unlike the formulaic heartfelt drama that we have seen from Bless the Harts. In place, the story took a subversive direction towards crime dramas. Though it may be a direction that has been done before, taking any new avenue is refreshing from a predictable show like this one.

The amount of content packed into this episode was the biggest difference-maker from the remainder of the series, aside from the detective plot, side stories built upon themselves to create a well-weaved adventure. On a smaller scale, there was plenty of little bonuses along the way, including some dress-up, a deadly snake, and a psychedelic musical montage.

Still, one delicious episode does not make a meal of a series. This series finale may only seem that much better due to the lowered expectations. A theme like this would be devoured and turned upside down by other animated hits like Rick and Morty or The Simpsons. The difference would be that Bless the Harts fails to maintain the momentum, and substantial additions like this piece are few and far between.

With the series concluding, it would be nice to say that it will be missed. But, unfortunately, Bless the Harts was unable to offer anything impressive to the widening world of popular culture. Aside from some fantastic performances, specifically from Maya Rudolph, the show was not unique enough to distinguish itself. And there are a plethora of other animated sitcoms that I would have rather seen deliver a 34-episode collection.

Respect where it is due, however.  Bless the Harts managed to end with a bang. It would have been even more pay-off had the Harts ended up being imprisoned at the conclusion, much like how Seinfeld closed its doors. Regardless, it is a blessing that the show could give out one last memorable episode before reaching its fate.