I’m not getting into the spoilers for the Found season 2 finale, but let me say that you will need more after you watch it! This is a show that was abruptly and unfairly canceled by NBC, and it needs at least a third season to wrap things up.
To be honest, we knew the moment Found was canceled that it needed to be saved. It’s why the fight has started, with campaigns already up and running. As someone who has been through other campaigns (some shows were saved and some weren’t), this is a fight, but it can end up being a worthy one. And one thing we know is that the cast of this series wants to tell more stories.
The series itself is one of the most important TV shows of right now. That’s what makes it so important to save, but I’ll break it all down with six reasons (and none of them are about the way the Found season 2 finale ended).
Found focuses on a very real issue around the world
There are certainly people who will always be at front and center of news reports when it comes to them going missing. We all know the sort. They’re the white (usually) girls who go missing after a night out or on their way home from school.
Sure, there are initial reports of others, but you’ll find that the reports of certain individuals will circulate more and they’ll be pushed more. There are constant reminders — and I’ve noticed it just recently here in Ontario when two white girls went missing and the push was on to save them, yet a disabled man went missing and reports dried up within weeks.
So, Found focuses on a very real problem in the world. Certain individuals, whether it’s due to the color of their skin, their sexuality, or their disabilities, are forgotten about. Most people don’t want to accept that that is still a problem, and the show reminds us that it is.
We get a reminder that chosen families are important
One of the reasons I adored Supernatural so much is because of the line “family don’t end with blood.” It’s a statement I’ve carried for the last almost 20 years — yes, I feel old now — and it’s a message that Found delivers from the very first episode.
The M&A Team is more than a group of colleagues. They are a family; and they have chosen each other. They stand by one another throughout all the flaws and all the trauma. Each one carries a different trigger and a different fear, and there is no judgment when something comes up.
When one needs the other members of the team, they are all there. It doesn’t matter if it’s for a physical or a mental reason. All reasons are valid, and this family cares about each other. They don’t all have the best relationship with their blood family members, and that’s okay! They all get that.
Trauma can make us stronger (but it’s okay to lean on others)
“What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” This is one of the most toxic things that we can tell ourselves. There’s the idea that the trauma we go through makes us stronger, but is that really the case? It leaves us with scars and coping mechanisms, and sometimes, we just need to be able to breathe.
Found reminds us that sure, trauma can make us stronger, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes, we need to lean on people, and when you find the right people, you have the support system needed to get through the next 24 hours and then the next 24 hours.
Just look at the way Zeke and Lacey found each other, and look at the way Dhan was there for Margaret when she needed him the most. It’s okay to say that you need help!
People heal in all sorts of different ways
The healing process is different for everyone. Some people will bury their trauma down, while others literally can’t speak because of what they have been through. Zeke can’t leave his home, while Dhan will do whatever it takes to make sure nobody has to go through what he did. We see all these different ways of healing.
What I love the most about Found is seeing how each person has a superpower because of how they’ve healed. Zeke is a whizz with computers because that’s his access to the outside world, while Lacey has grown into a woman who will fight for the underrepresented. Margaret developed her “Margaret Vision” to look for all clues to help find someone, and Dhan is willing to do the dirty work so other people don’t need to. Then there’s Gabi, who can connect with people and trust her gut when it comes to situations.
They have all healed at different rates, and they’ve all gone backward now and then. They’re all human, and Found reminds us of that.
There is hope that people can be found
Let’s go back to the main premise of the series, and that’s a group of people finding others. There’s a whole wall filled with those who have been found, and there are far more than we would initially think. There is an element of hope in the episodes that the victims will end up reunited with families.
Sometimes, it takes time, though. There was a case in Found season 2 that involved missing children from decades earlier. It was only when Sir put the M&A Team onto it that they realized that many of those children were still alive. Now they just needed to get to work. No matter how long it took, there was hope that people would end up reunited.
More episodes end with a happy ending than a sad one, and that’s something we need in the world of crime TV. Too many stories are dark and twisted, so to bring an element of hope allows us to end the night with a smile.
The gone are never forgotten
If a missing person is found dead, the media reports it and then forgets about it. Sadly, not all the missing people in Found were located alive, and it would be normal for a lot of people to just move on from that. There isn’t the emotional connection for police officers and other members of the public.
That’s not the case in this series, though. Gabi has a whole wall for those she didn’t find, and it marks the difference between why some private companies offer their skills and why she does it. This isn’t about the money for her; it’s about succeeding in finding people and saving them. When she doesn’t manage to do that, she’s not going to forget those people because she wouldn’t have wanted to be forgotten either, although she likely feels she was considering she went a year without being found.
Found is available to stream on Peacock and it’s must-watch TV to help save it.
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