"Pepper Dennis": "She will be just fine..."

Sometimes it feels good to be wrong, and that was certainly the case with the series finale of “Pepper Dennis.”

I said we were going to get an over-the-top story and a whopper of a cliffhanger. Well, the story was over-the-top (especially the B story involving the Turkish statue), but the cliffhanger never came. Now, technically, the ending was a cliffhanger, but it was more of a “will they live happily ever after” than a “what happens next” cliffhanger.

After Pepper confessed to Charlie that he was her Prince Charming, while under the influence of anesthesia (She cracked a tooth.), Charlie got scared and left Pepper at the altar on live TV. Then, on his last night at WEIE, Charlie gave a heartwarming goodbye speech to his viewers that was really a goodbye to Pepper, explaining that he wasn’t good enough for her. But after hearing the speech, Kimmy convinced him to give the marriage another chance. Meanwhile, Cathy convinced Russell, the Homeland Security agent assigned to Charlie’s case, to do the same, while landing a new love in the process.

But it was Chick who ended up convincing Pepper. After failing to declare his love for her earlier (thanks to that cracked tooth), Chick found comfort in the arms of Blanca, WEIE’s weatherperson. Ready to move on, Chick convinced Pepper to hear Charlie out.

In a classic romantic scene (marred only slightly by Rebecca Romijn’s lack of dramatic acting chops), Pepper demanded a reason to give the wedding another try. Charlie’s response: “I love you,” which reduced Pepper (and me) to tears. The show ended with the two of them standing hand in hand, ready to get married at City Hall.

Clearly the writers did have time to prepare an ending. And even though it was a tad far-fetched, it gave us fans what we wanted.

As the theme song says, “she will be just fine,” but I will be sad without this spunky little show.

Let’s bring on the DVD!