Haven Series Finale—I Have Questions

After finishing the two hour series finale of Haven, I was trying to understand why the writers left gaping plot holes, mistreated characters, and ended the show with happily ever after for only some people. 

Warning: Spoilers Ahead. If you have not seen the series finale of Haven, stop now! 

We all knew that Haven was coming to an end, and no amount of grumbling was going to give it a sixth season (although some viewers say it actually got a sixth season since season five was double the usual size). I dreaded the ending only because I loved this show. From the first episode, I was riveted.

These characters and this town drew me in and made me want to return each week. Of course some of the plots made me grit my teeth, but that's the way it is with all television shows. The writers are never going to make every viewer happy each week. However, this was the series finale, and loose ends should not be left dangling nor should viewers have questions about why things happened. I have questions. Such as:

If Duke's death didn't really stop Croatoan after all, what was the purpose of his death? It didn't seem like losing out on those troubles even slowed the big bad down. The point of killing him was to prevent Croatoan from getting the additional troubles as that would make him unstoppable. He seemed pretty unstoppable to me regardless. 

And speaking of the big bad, the entire season was built around Croatoan, and in previous episodes, he'd been portrayed as this evil monster without remorse. So, in the end, we're supposed to believe he grew a heart and voluntarily went into the barn? He wanted power and revenge, but his daughter's tearful smack on the hand changed his mind? 

Before Croatoan arrived, no one could leave the fog surrounding Haven except for Duke, and people on the outside didn't know about Haven. But Nathan was able to get back in with the fake Audrey without any problem. That didn't make sense. 

Audrey said she couldn't come back once she went into the barn this time. Yet, she did. So what was the purpose of the entire scene with Nathan and the voiceover, telling Audrey how much he was going to miss her?

Croatoan killed Nathan with an aether sword (or something like that) but brought him back because of Audrey. He also brought Dwight's daughter back after she had been dead for years. So why could Charlotte not have been brought back? Or Dave? 

The entire barn premise was flawed. At first, they could concoct the barn with Vince as the core and Croatoan as the aether. Then they couldn't because Croatoan didn't want to stay. Then he did, but the barn couldn't be constructed without love. There was no mention of love when it was first constructed. 

And when Croatoan got the crystal core, why didn't he destroy it since he knew it could be used against him? Instead, he kept it in his pocket. That made no sense at all. 

In the end, I think writers were struggling to bring Haven to a satisfactory ending. Audrey and Nathan got their happily ever after, but it was at everyone else's expense. Dwight was the only other main character who got a semblance of a happy ending.

Oh, and the final scene with Croatoan and Vince left my mouth hanging open. These guys were talking like they were good buddies instead of mortal enemies. Overall, it just didn't work for me, and I was left disappointed that there wasn't more continuity in the ending and the overall wrap-up of the show. 

On a side note, there were some good one-liners in the final episode that made me chuckle and even a couple of scenes that brought tears. The actors did phenomenal job with the material, especially Lucas Bryant when he was killing Duke. 

I'll miss Haven and its quirky characters. Vince always made me smile, and the bromace between Nathan and Duke was priceless. In the end, love triumphed over evil, and I guess that's all we can really ask for.