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Well the season finale for The Game went down last night and it was…well, it was just okay. 

The build-up was pretty significant and pretty engaging, especially for this show that has been quite uneven this year.  But the result seemed rush – or just plainly not well written.  A few points to this:

  • Did Derwin REALLY need yet another speech to realize Melanie was serious about leaving San Diego?  A few episodes ago he did, and then he didn’t (as money was thrown in his face – though that is some SERIOUS money).  The build-up to him realizing how important the Johns’ Hopkins residency was to Melanie was well-done, but everything after that was filler.
  • Malik’s arrest wasn’t really an arrest, which makes sense as all of the Southern California area/San Diego regarded the day as a national holiday, but why didn’t’ they build up to this scene better?
  • I know it wasn’t about the actual championship game, more about the characters involved, but they showed zero clips from the actual game.  It’s a safe way to save money, but really? 
  • And what was up with those cheap-azz champion t-shirts? 
  • Rick Fox was good.  He’s not earning any guest Emmy’s or anything, but as an athlete/actor playing himself I’ve always enjoyed him as himself on The Game
  • The whole Tasha & Pookie relationship ultimately is leaving me empty, despite good acting from Wendy Raquel Robinson and Rockmond Dunbar, respectively. 
  • Tika Sumpter is not a good actress.  Very beautiful, but not good.  Hopefully she’ll be better in Sparkle (because we really want it to be good!), even though she’s in the throwaway role of the third sister.  I hope Salim Akil gave her better notes on that flick than he did as an exec on this show. 
  • Still, when Malik brought her back to rehab, his portrayal of a man losing his lady-love was very touching. Actor Hosea Chanchez has had more on-point acting moments this entire season than in the past. 
  • I’m loving Brandy as Chardonnay! At first I felt her character was corny, but she and Jason (Coby Bell) have great chemistry onscreen.  She’ll obviously be the go-to actress on The Game now since…
  • …as Sergio and Vanessa noted two weeks ago, Tia Mowry (Melanie) and Pooch Hall (Derwin) will not be returning to the show because of promised money that wasn’t delivered.  How can this show stand up without the two leads that are the emphasis of the show?  If Mowry left only, yes it possibly could reinvent itself (a la Shelly Long leaving Cheers and being replaced by the even better Kirstie Alley), but with them both gone, well it’ll be worse than it has been – which is pretty bad. 

I’m disappointed in BET (how many times has that been said in the past 20+ years). The show would’ve been stronger if they ordered less episodes.  I suppose they needed more episodes to get advertising dollars to pay the cast's contracts, even though it still was not enough to keep Mowry and Hall. 

So what do you all think…

Can The Game thrive next season with out the two leads?

Will Tasha & Pookie survive despite Rick Fox blowing up Tasha’s phone?

Will Malik turn into a bigger a-hole now that he has more fame and has lost his lady-love or will he just become a super athlete now? 

Can a grown-up Brandy carry this show? 

Comment away and let us know!