“I wish this day would never end.” Those were Jake Doyle’s final words on Wednesday night. And while I’m sure fans across the country shared his thoughts, it was time to say goodbye.

This most likely isn’t the last that we’ve seen of those folks from St. John’s, Newfoundland–Allan Hawco is hopeful a feature film is in the cards–but this was certainly it for the television series. But rather than it being a final goodbye, this was more of a so long for now. The back-to-back “Judgement Day” and “Last Call” served as a suitable farewell, combining the car chases, catastrophic explosions, fisticuffs and heartfelt moments that have been the mainstay of the veteran drama.

The first 60 minutes, of course, dealt with Jake’s murder trial. After being found guilty of murdering Mayor Clarke, Jake was given 48 hours on the outside before sentencing (that was Republic of Doyle art director and Majumder Manor star Peter Blackie playing the crown prosecutor who wanted Jake kept in jail), and that was just enough time for he and Malachy to be hired by the judge to find out who was blackmailing him. Judge Tizzard suspected his wife, Miranda (Mary Walsh), but evidence seemed to point at a variety of suspects including Alisha, the Chevalier bike gang and a city planner. Alisha became prime suspect No. 1 after Miranda’s bar was blown to smithereens, until it was revealed the mysterious Damon Rhodes (The Border‘s James McGowan) was behind the whole thing and held the key to Jake’s freedom in his hands, literally: a flash drive showing Brogen killing Clarke.

Damon’s plan? Have Jake work for him in prison for three years and the drive’s contents would be revealed and Jake would be set free to work for Damon on the outside. That, of course, wasn’t going to happen, so Jake and his family became targets of the biker gang. The one to feel that the most was poor Des who, already heartbroken because Tinny broke up with him, had his skull cracked by Damon at The Duke. It was nice to see Malachy and Jake get involved in a good old-fashioned donnybrook at The Green Room, though it ended prematurely when Picard arrested Jake.

Leslie, meanwhile, had her hands full with the Inspector Pickard (John Kapelos), and was called to the carpet in front of Internal Affairs for her relationship with the Doyles. But rather than apologize to the panel as the Inspector advised, she was unrepentant and got fired.

The final blow? Leslie was pregnant, a story angle hinted at every time she dreamt of she and he being a family. After busting him out of the interrogation room (with help from Hood and somehow sneaking out of an entire precinct packed with coppers), Leslie and Jake were on the run.

So, what did the last hour, “Last Call,” hold? A manhunt for Jake and Leslie, an unconventional teaming with Alisha, Rhodes going to drastic measures to get Jake on board and an eventual clearing of Jake’s name in the death of Mayor Clarke. It wasn’t an easy task. Not only did Jake resort to swapping out the GTO in favour of a–gasp!–Mustang to keep a low profile, but he had to witness the beatings of Des and Malachy because he wouldn’t work for Rhodes.

After a series of twists, turns and a pants-less Des, Jake had located Clarke’s cell phone, an item which contained not only recordings of agreements the Chevalier gang would run St. John’s but at least one dirty cop who was in on it: Pickard. Leslie discovered the same information, though it was done face-to-face while she spoke to Pickard, leading to a short, bullet-filled foot chase that left him dead and her badly injured and the fate of the baby up in the air.

Rhodes’ final showdown with Jake and Malachy on a gravel road was interrupted by the cops, led by … Alisha. Turns out Vick Saul’s right-hand woman was a federal marshal all along and was more than happy to not only take out Rhodes but help Jake locate a backup flash drive proving his innocence.

Those hoping for a happy ending weren’t disappointed, though Doyle‘s writers came up with a sweet twist. Picking up two years later, Jake and Leslie were already married, had twins with a third on the way. The nuptials everyone had gathered to celebrate were for Tinny and Des. (Who else was glad to see the beloved GTO in the background, festooned with ribbon?) Midway through Wednesday’s finale, Jake mentioned that St. John’s is called The City of Legends. Jake Doyle is certainly that.

Notes and quotes

• “It’s ironic. All the crap I’ve done over the years and I’m going to be sent to prison for a crime I didn’t even commit.”–Jake
• “I need to get some air. For my lungs, which may or may not be punctured from a broken heart.”–Des
• “You’re a good man. And a great son.”–Malachy
• It was hoot to see Rick Mercer playing the new mayor of St. John’s, though I half expected him to launch into a rant
• “It would suck to find out you were shagging some biker missus.”–Leslie
• “What are you doing with my head? You know I can’t handle more than one layer of subtext at a time.”–Des

What did you think of the series finale of Republic of Doyle? Let me know at greg@tv-eh.com, post a comment below to head to @tv_eh on Twitter.

Last week Murdoch Mysteries offered up a bottle episode–a mystery contained within the station house–that was stellar in its drama and storytelling. This week Republic of Doyle kept things locked up tight in the constabulary as the Doyles, Des and Leslie were all called to the carpet by Inspector Picard (guest star John Kapelos at his dickish best) who suspected them all in the death of Barbara Warrick, who’d hired the Doyles to test her mansion’s security system.

Picard’s rapid-fire questions rattled off the darkened walls of offices and interrogation rooms between midnight and 8 a.m., making for sparse surroundings and a focus on everyone’s answers. Stripped down like that–there was no GTO and even Des’ usual manic state was more muted than usual–you couldn’t help but focus on the characters, their faces and their words. Marcus Robinson’s script of “Body of Evidence” painted a picture of folks in disarray. A cop who may bend the rules for the man she loves. A guy desperate to get his hands on money and escape town before his bumped-up court date arrives. A couple eager to get their hands on cash to pay off mounting debts. Even Tinny and Des looked like they were good for at least part of the crime.

Of course, we knew it was all going to work out in the end–Barbara Warrick accidentally killed herself while hiding her late husband’s money in a wall and herself in the attic–but none of that came out until very late in the episode when Jake, Leslie, Rose and Malachy met up and put the pieces together. With Doyle’s series finale coming up next week, this week’s penultimate tale was the perfect lead-in to what promises to be one heck of a ride.

Notes and quotes

• “Are you trying to say I’m ugly? I was born like this.”–Des
• “I don’t know how to help him and it’s killing me. He’s my best friend. My son.”–Malachy
• “I love you, that’s all. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”–Leslie
• “Jake, I can’t do any hard time. Not even any easy time.”–Des
• Tinny needing time away from Des hit me out of nowhere. Did anyone else see that coming? And can they turn things around by next week?
• And just what evidence does Picard have that proves Leslie is a dirty cop?

The two-hour Republic of Doyle series finale airs next Wednesday at 8 p.m. on CBC.

I always like it when Jake is challenged by someone on Republic of Doyle. Kevin Crocker and Maurice Becker jump immediately to mind as two dudes who’ve rubbed our P.I. hero the wrong way and insulted his intelligence to great effect and made for noteworthy scenes. So I’ve been thrilled with the addition of Vick Saul and Alisha Maracle.

Wednesday’s episode, “The Driver,” was particularly fun because Jake was literally at the beck and call of Alisha, who took insane pleasure in treating Jake like a dog. With Sloan constantly in danger of being killed by Saul if Jake didn’t do the man’s bidding, Jake was instructed to work with Alisha to steal a cache of weapons from Alex Marshall (Justified‘s A.J. Buckley) and deliver them to Saul. I was hoping Buckley would have a little bit more of a role in the episode, but I had to make due with Alex appearing in the latter half sporting a Danny Crowe-esque Southern drawl.

I also had my fingers crossed that Saul and Alisha would stick around for more instalments, but that doesn’t appear to be in the cards either. By episode’s end the guns had been captured by the police and Saul’s biggest rival was arrested, clearing the way to him to claim the east coast as his sole criminal domain. The result? He called off the threat on Sloan.

Meanwhile, Leslie is attending her therapy sessions, but it looks like Dr. Ronan may have ulterior motives when it comes to them. I couldn’t help but suspect he was working for someone else when he used his phone to demand all the files the precinct had on Jake. On second thought, Dr. Ronan may be tied to the crooked cop everyone suspects took Brogan’s laptop and wiped it clean of footage clearing Jake in Clark’s murder. Krystin Pellerin turned in a strong performance in Leslie’s scene between she and Brogan. She vowed to find out who tipped him off that she would be at Clark’s and would ensure he’d never get out of prison.

Notes and Quotes

• It was good to see Christian pop up at episode’s end. The announcement that he’s getting married will no doubt lead to a shocking revelation of who his wife-to-be is. Will it be someone from Jake’s past? Probably.
• “Des, let’s go be stupid outdoors.”–Mal
• Did anyone else find the scene with Alisha taping the wire to Jake a little steamy?
• “You’re my bitch today.”–Alisha to Jake
• “Why do I picture you with a whip and one hand and some guy’s pride in the other?”–Jake to Alisha
• “Elaborate, stunjaws!”–Mal to Jake
• Do you think Lola Tash looks a little like Demi Lovato?

Republic of Doyle airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on CBC.