NCIS: Hawaii could have made the series finale work

As disappointed as we are that CBS opted to cancel NCIS: Hawaii, the Season 3 finale could have worked as a series finale. All it needed was one scene cut out.

It’s not often that a TV show’s season finale could actually work as a series finale. That is except for a few shows here and there that have been running long enough to know that they could be abruptly canceled. Just look at how Blue Bloods has managed to offer enough closure for an ending if it was ever canceled.

Even NCIS: Los Angeles would do this time and time again in the later seasons. While NCIS: Hawaii didn’t expect to be canceled after three seasons, the show could have gone back into post-production quickly to make the Season 3 finale work as a series finale.

Just cut out that last scene in the NCIS: Hawaii Season 3 finale

The show had warned us that there would be a cliffhanger. It wasn’t so major that it put lives on the line, but it was major enough that it has us wanting CBS to reverse the decision to cancel the show. CBS won’t, though, and in a way, I think we all know that before the finale aired. This wasn’t a sudden decision made on the show based on the amount of time it took for CBS to announce the cancellation.

All we needed was that final scene cut from the episode. The show could have ended with Sam thanking everyone for bringing him into their ohana. It would have been a beautiful way to say goodbye to the show, but it still left things open enough should CBS want to try out an NCIS: ELITE spin-off to bring back a few characters.

Instead, the show kept the last scene in, which was Jane walking into her home to find Maggie there. It’s clear that Maggie would be a major sticking point for Jane in the fourth season had it been picked up.

The show could have just taken that scene out though. It wouldn’t have taken too long in post-production to remove that scene and jump straight to the credits. Sure, the episode would have then been a couple of minutes shorter than initially planned, but CBS could have offered a couple of ads up to help with that. And we know CBS bragged about not cutting down on ad space within the shows just a few years ago when other networks were looking to add more content and less ads.

This is just one of those shows that I don’t see being saved, and that’s mostly because it is part of a franchise. NCIS: Hawaii was a little short-sighted in keeping that last scene in when the episode worked well enough as a series finale up to that point.