Big Love: The Complete Fifth Season

Big Love for Big Love
In a very a parallel way, Sister Wives, a current reality show about a polygamous family presents us with a family who choose to live their lives in the open. Unlike the Hendrickson's however, the patriarch of the family did not run for public office nor have a business that depends on public support.

This final season of Big Love was much better than the cartoonish and improbable episodes from Season 4. It takes a very dramatic turn towards the reality of their lives and there is no longer anything remotely humorous except dead on issues that can no longer be run away from. It's mostly about Senator Bill Hendrickson's refusal to put his religion in the closet. While he has noble intentions, the political, financial and emotional toll it takes on his family is overwhelming. This is also the season of self realization for all three wives, no longer able to do just what's best for their family but to meet their own individual spiritual, emotional and intellectual growth...

Satisfying Concluding Season to Series
Polygamy works for our lead character Bill. It also works for his three wives and his children. They consider themselves law abiding, family oriented, god centered people. Thus, Bill wants to come out of the shadows and be accepted for what he is, a polygamist. Thus, this final season is primarily a tragedy on Shakespearean levels because he and his family can never be accepted in this country for what they are. This is because even though they live in the most religiously tolerant nation in the world, which also confers the greatest personal freedoms upon its citizens, that county can never allow polygamy to come out of the shadows because it is against our law.

Utah was permitted to enter the union only if it ended the practice. And it is clear why the country insisted on this: it is a nation of laws and too many legal problems are potentially created by polygamy, especially for a modern society which confers equal rights and responsibilities upon its citizens...

Season 5 somewhat of a disappointment
We have watched this series via Amazon instant video all the way from Season 1 through the season 5 season. We're certainly enjoyed the series....but this final year (season 5) was somewhat of a disappointment. It was very "dark" and while I'm glad we watched it to see how things end....it's not a very satisfying ending season. It's not that I think every TV show needs a happy ending...but there are so many ways the writers could have gone which in my opinion would have been more satisfying and less "dark". While watching season 5 it was like you were forced to carry around a 50 pound cement block while watching....it was heavy, dark and ended up with far to many loose ends for our tastes.

Click to Editorial Reviews