By Curt Schleier

CALIFORNICATION has been one of the great pleasures of the last three months, principally because of Hank Moody (David Duchovny).  Sure, he has a tendency toward violence and beds anything with large breasts.  But his heart is pure.  And so is his love for his now former girlfriend Karen (Natascha McElhone) and their daughter, Becca (Madeleine Martin).

But it all seems for naught.  Things go awry from the beginning of The Last Waltz, the season finale. It is the day that Karen will marry Bill (Damian Young) and Becca gets her first visit from, as she put it, “It.”  What’s a good daddy to do? All dressed up and prepared to go to a wedding, they rush to a convenience store where a woman grabs the last package of Tampons.  Bill argues her, gets into a fight with her husband, but all ends well when the lady provides Becca with a quick tutorial.  But it seems that’s the last thing that will end well on this day.

Off to the wedding.  Hank promises to be on his best behavior. “I’m not going to make some quick romantic gesture,” he reassures Karen.  When the minister asks if anyone has any objection to this marriage, he stays mum, as promised.

However, Mia (Madeline Zima), Bill’s 16-year-old (and every inebriated) daughter gets up and urges them not to knot.  She tells her dad that he’s still grieving over his dead wife and Karen that she still longs for Hank.  Hank tries to quiet her down.  Even though Mia stole the manuscript of Hank’s new novel -- and is claiming credit for it -- he doesn’t want her to embarrass herself and ruin Karen’s wedding.  But trying to shush her only makes it worse. Instead of shutting up, Mia blurts out that she and Hank had slept together.  You can see the shock on everyone’s face, including Karen and Becca. Hank’s whole world starts falling apart.


There have been ups and downs in his life.  For those of us who have so much vested in Moody, it seems a sad way to end a season.  Perhaps conscience stricken, Mia recants her admission, but not in time to stop Hank’s downward spiral.  First Karen decides to go ahead with the wedding.  She and Hank have one last waltz, where he tells her “I’m sorry I didn’t give you a day like today.” 

Then Mia approaches.  She looked older than 16 when she seduced Hank, and seemed far more experienced.  Now she tells him he was her first, and makes Hank feel even lower than before.  And so alone.

Charlie (Evan Handler), his agent, and Marcy (Pamela Adlon) Charlie’s wife re-unite passionately in a dark corner.  Even Becca now has a boyfriend.  He puts Becca in the car to the same music used when the series began, the Rolling Stones You Can’t Always Get What You Want.


What a downer to end the year.  They drive off when…

Karen comes running up, yells for them to stop and jumps in the car.  With Bill running after her, she tells Hank to step on it.  Proving, I guess, that the Stones are wrong.