IMHO: "Privileged" season finale: Don't let the red hag walk

Privileged wrapped up its first season this week with the marriage of gay chef Marco to his boyfriend Keith. I've gone back and forth in my feelings about the freshman CW drama but it ended on a strong note, with Marco's wedding playing a role in finally making one of Privileged's characters work for me.

Thus, it earns the up arrow.

Watch out below for *+*+* SPOILERS *+*+* about the season finale....

Privileged has, honestly, been a series I've struggled to like since its premiere. It didn't sound great on paper, but then reviewers that usually agree with me praised it and my Gossip Girl-hating friend found it compelling. Surely that indicates a drama with more going on than self-involved, rich kids?

Unfortunately, while Privileged had its worthwhile qualities (JoAnna Garcia and Anne Archer for starters), it's main focus — the relationship between sisters Rose (Lucy Kate Hale) and Sage (Ashley Newbrough) — usually fell flat with me. Equally frustrating was Privileged's gay character, Marco (Allan Louis), who managed to be the most frustrating kind of barely-there gay character: one whose life seems to center around taking care of the straight characters.

Allan Louis and David Monahan

Marco, however, has developed over the season and I think Allan Louis deserves credit for the way Marco has stereotypical qualities (he watches Beaches, is gifted at a domestic art, dishes wise advice and drops witty snark with ease) but doesn't come off as a stereotype. He's gone from a character who literally stayed in the kitchen to having a life and a future outside of the mansion.

Despite those developments we never really learned anything about Marco that we didn't learn about him in Privileged's pilot. When we met Marco he was a talented, gay chef who hoped to eventually open his own restaurant. And when he finally got his own storylines they either focused on his boyfriend, his restaurateur ambitions or a combination of the two.

With all those frustrations in mind, if Privileged's first season finale is any indication of where the show is headed if it is renewed, I hope to see more. Marco's wedding gave him more screen time than usual and we got to see that he and Keith also have religious differences to reconcile. Mix that with Keith's clingy friend, Jennifer, and Keith's desire to have children (from the previous episode) and we're finally seeing more to Marco's life beyond his cooking.

Kathy Griffin and JoAnna Garcia

Moreover, Marco's wedding gave finally gave Sage a story that worked for me. Sage has been slowly courting Luis (Ignacio Serricchio), a young chef who has been working for Marco. For Sage, pursuing Luis has meant being open to new experiences, including the importance of religion in Luis' life. Unfortunately, his faith also means he is opposed to gay marriage, prompting him to make up an excuse to avoid Marco's wedding.

Sage is troubled by this difference and tries to have a discussion about the issue but Luis would rather ignore the topic. In the end, Sage breaks up with him not because of Luis' homophobia but because of his disinterest in moving outside of his comfort zone.

I also liked the difference in how Marco and Sage handled Luis' homophobia. While Sage is upset to realize someone she knows holds those views, Marco brushes them aside. As a straight ally, Sage has the privilege of being outraged and frustrated by Luis' closed-mindedness but Marco has experienced homophobia throughout his life and picks his battles.

Ignacio Serricchio and Ashley Newbrough

And then there's the inspired casting of Kathy Griffin as Marco and Keith's wedding planner, Olivia. The character basically takes the Griffin we know well from My Life on the D-List and inserts her into Marco and Keith's big day but it does offer the fun of watching Griffin snap off lines like "Get it in gear or you're going to have yourselves a red hag walking."

All in all if this season finale is any indication of what the show is capable of, I'm going to miss it if it doesn't return for a second season. What did you think?