Friday night’s finale of CBS’s surprisingly amazing SWINGTOWN made me cry my eyes out on more than one occasion. There was this overwhelming sadness watching what was probably the final hour of a show that deserved so much more attention than it received.

Swingtown surpassed it’s randy premise and proved to be a show about change on the cusp of the bicentennial and it only got better as the summer went on. No longer was it about Grant Show in the shortest shorts possible bedding every Trina, Susan and Farrah, it was about relationships, family and women on the verge of independence at an important time in American history.

Look at the transformation of Trina! She went from an almost one dimensional Barbarella to feeling responsible for the breakdown of the families around her and ultimately a child. Trina slowly became one of the most complex characters on the show and I loved watching her metamorphosis. Her friendship with Susan showed loyalty and guidance while her friendship with Janet showed true heart, generosity and shockingly maternal instinct. Her final moment on the beach with Tom had me bawling my eyes out. Lana Parrilla’s vulnerability and subtlety made me all mushy. Much like Trina, I half expected Tom to walk away and hate the idea of them becoming parents. Those Deckers surprised the shit out of me this summer and that was the one of the biggest thrills in watching Swingtown.

Then there’s Janet, that anal perfectionist who went from house frau to almost hip advice columnist by the end of the summer. Her transformation was shocking! Janet always provided a level of comic relief because she was so over the top in keeping up appearances at any cost. She was almost a caricature of the 50’s housewife and that’s why it worked. As Trina pointed out in the finale, they were no longer in the 50’s and she as a woman, as a wife, as a mother has a voice. Janet and Trina’s friendship was probably my favorite on the show. Two of the most unlikely characters found a way to change each others lives and found common ground despite their lifestyle differences and each was the better for it.

Hell, Janet barely flinched when Henry came out to her and this is a woman that was full of Country Club family standards so that was HUGE! Let’s hope she remembers her reaction in a summer or two when her own son probably does the same thing. Please that kid wanks it nightly thinking about his best friend and hoping his name (B.J.) comes true.

More about Swingtown after the jump… (more…)