September 7 marked our show's last day on NBC and for many of you, it was also goodbye. As we all know, the show is airing exclusively on DirecTV, beginning September 17 and not all of us will be able to tag along for the ride. I will do my best to continue coverage of Passions, but nothing is etched in stone at this point.

What say we start off with the shooting death of Chad and go from there? We have assembled, in Ethan and Theresa's honeymoon suite no less, Alistair, Gwen, Rebecca, Chad and Whitney, as well as the a frantic Theresa and an unconscious Ethan. Surprise number one: Gwen and Becks admitted outright that Theresa was supposed to be the one to wolf down the poisoned strawberries. Surprise number two: Alistair refuses to let anyone help Ethan and waves a gun at the lot of them to make sure they don't make a move. Chad doesn't really think that Alistair would put a bullet in his own son but boy, how wrong he was.

Alistair blasts a hole in Chad's chest and Chad just stood there. "But I'm your son," he says, before he collapses and dies. I suggest smacking the director for allowing the scene to be played this way. Look like you're in pain, for God's sake. Clutch your hand to your bleeding chest and give me a serious look of shock and disbelief, for the love of Christ. Your father just shot you - now act like it! Down he goes, and after giving Whitney the obligatory "I've always loved you" speech, he's a goner. Whitney refused to believe it and even ordered the paramedics to try to resuscitate him. She was still in denial even after he was taken to the hospital, but we didn't get to see the divine moment where it all finally sunk in. The next thing we see is Whitney telling Theresa that Chad is dead, like Theresa is the one that has to be humored. Of course, Whitney had the also-obligatory moments of regret and realized too late the things she should've said to Chad while he was still alive.

After saying goodbye to her family (except for TC, grrrrr) Whitney leaves Harmony. While the final scenes with Whitney and her best friend Theresa were nicely done, that was not the most opportune time to pimp your DirecTV move. There's a time and a place for everything and the show's blatant attempts to get us all in a DirecTV lather were admittedly starting to wear thin. Either we have switched, we're already customers or we're not planning to be, simple as that. Fans deserved a heartfelt goodbye between Whitney and Theresa and did not need to be reminded once again that the show is moving.

Next, we have Vincent being chased down by Spike after Spike tells him that he is next on Alistair's hit list. Remember last column, when I praised the twist that Vincent was not as insane as everyone originally thought? Now I don't know what to think. He turned into a babbling, blubbering disaster after Spike aimed the gun at him and I was thinking to myself, "This guy really is a wreck - he just covers it up well." In fact, he covers it up perfectly.

Enter Sheridan, who suddenly wants to help Vincent and is helping him escape from Spike's determination to do his job. One seaside cliff coming right up. Spike and Vincent struggle and over the side they go. Sheridan is clinging to Spike with one hand and Vincent with the other. Along comes Eve and Julian and instead of trying to help, Eve just starts screaming and Julian looks stupefied. Someone do SOMETHING! Jeez! The fear here was palatable and I couldn't turn my eyes away, even though I knew what was going to happen next. Both are begging Sheridan to save them and Spike finds a way to get to her - he tells her he can lead her to Marty. That struck a nerve and she lets go of Vincent. I don't know what was better: Vincent's awful scream of terror as he was falling or Eve's horrified scream after seeing him fall. What can I say? That's what I call a cliffhanger.

"He never had a chance," Eve cries and then turns on Sheridan, demanding to know why she saved Spike instead of her son. Sheridan kept insisting that she lost her grip on him and for a while there, I admit, I was wondering the same thing. Did she let him go on purpose or did he really slip? It took me a few minutes to catch up and I can kind of understand why Sheridan chose to save Spike. But neither one of them deserved to live anyway, but that's not for Eve and Julian, nor Sheridan, to say. Later on, Sheridan corners Spike again, whacks him over the head and turns into a surprisingly interesting bitch with a gun. Sheri-nuts was grating but Sheridan on a mission was mesmerizing! Finally we're starting to see shades of Spunky Sher, the one who can kick while the kicking is good, instead of standing around wringing her hands and/or acting like a complete lunatic. "Were you lying about Marty," she demands to know while aiming a weapon at Spike, "Because if you were.... this is where you die." WOW is all I can say and it just kept getting better.

Later Eve visits Valerie at her home and of course, we hear what appears to be an argument between Valerie and Vincent. Later we learn that Vincent and Valerie are indeed the same person - Vincent with a Valerie mask, and yes, the good side of Vincent which is personified with Valerie. Well, now we know that Vincent is not dead and as much as the character irked the living daylights out of me sometimes (okay, almost ALL the time), the show would be crazy to let Phillip Jeanmarie get away. The same could be said for Daphne Duplaix Samuel as Valerie. And here we thought Valerie was going to end up being an afterthought because for the longest time, that's how she was written - when the show remembered to write for her, that is. But this Valerie/Vincent thing has the potential to be must-see TV. I understand now why "they" are always arguing. When Vincent feels down on himself, he "punishes" Valerie, his good side. This story takes split personalities to whole new heights.

Now let's tackle the Fox/Esme/Vickie scenes and Fox's subsequent death. Yes, Fox and Esme entered into a romance at breakneck speed but there was no denying that their scenes were interesting. Since Erin Cardillo will be continuing in the role, my suggestion is to not let Esme get too serious. She is shallow and quirky but can be serious when the scene calls for it. That's what makes her so entertaining to watch. I don't want another rich damsel in distress or a pampered drama queen. That's what Sheridan and Fancy are for. Keep Esme with all her Esme qualities and you will have the makings of a great character. As for Vickie, I want to know why she doesn't speak. I want to hear her speak. I want to know what is wrong with her. For as superficial as Esme is, it's kind of touching that she is so willing to care for Vickie.

After sharing a roll in the hay, Fox goes to fetch more wine to celebrate the new-found love between him and Esme - and is shot and killed. Most fans have Vickie pegged for the crime, but lest we forget, one of our beloved Harmonyites is a murderer. We don't know a damn thing about Vickie, but who would want to kill Fox and why? Do I care that he's dead? Not really because I lost interest in Fox when he turned into an underhanded jackass to try and keep Kay and Miguel apart. Okay, I confess: I really lost interest in Fox when Justin Hartley departed the show. Love Mark Wystrach but he was just not as "Foxy" to me as Hartley was. There was something quite fetching about Hartley's Fox that made you root for the character no matter what he did. That was lost when the role was recast, as was the chemistry between Kay and Fox. But Fox and Esme showed real signs of potential, but the show chose to off the character, which makes me wonder what is store for Esme.

Some of what I have talked about happened in the final episode but the real kick in the teeth (yes, that's right) was saved for the bitter end. Ethan finally comes out of that coma and is going on and on about meeting his son. Theresa mistakenly believes that he is referring to Little Ethan and if you were unspoiled, you probably thought the same thing. "I want to see him," Ethan gushes and Pilar goes to get Little Ethan. I have to admit, the way the scene was played out was perfectly done. Just as Pilar and Little Ethan are turning the corner to Ethan's room, Gwen walks in with a baby in her arms - Ethan's son - at literally the last minute.

Technical kudos aside, the scene still qualified as the monumental letdown to end all letdowns. After eight years, fans waited for Ethan and Theresa to be married, only to bring back Alistair and render the marriage invalid. We're waited eight years for Gwen's secrets and treachery to be revealed, mainly that it was she who fed the story of Ethan's paternity to the tabloids and not Theresa. We've been waiting for Theresa to finally tell Ethan that he is her son's father because, like I have pointed out before, she has no reason to keep this secret any longer. Just when we think the divine moment due us has finally arrived, they is delayed yet again by another contrived circumstance that could test the limits of anyone's patience, and this time was no exception - and typical of Passions.

As for the Tabby/Kay scenes, I felt they were too rushed and basically looked like filler. Since the demons took away Endora and Miguel to who knows where, a little more emotional punch would've been nice. And Alistair having an implant placed in Fancy so he can control her? One word (okay, two): Really dumb. So what happens now? Well, since the show is not scheduled to re-debut on DirecTV until September 17, obviously there will not be a column next week. After that, we'll have to see: Either you will have a new column or an announcement of the closing of Friends in the Basement. Wish me luck.