'Hart of Dixie:' Why It's Time to Say Goodbye to Bluebell

I absolutely, unabashedly love Hart of Dixie. It is the sunshine of my weekly television lineup, and my fandom for it has been unwavering from the beginning. But I think this week’s finale should be the end.

Before you all start saying I ought to be banished from Bluebell, hear me out. There are far more adages about quitting while one’s ahead than there are about going on and on until no one cares enough to debate when the shark got jumped. And make no mistake, Zoe and Wade having their baby — glorious as that may be — could very easily become that moment if the story goes on from there.

This abbreviated fourth season has been everything that was promised: all action, no filler. With Lemon and Levon getting engaged (however accidentally), George leaving Bluebell to become a country music manager, and the happy endings expected to abound for much of the town, it’s hard to imagine much will be left open for another season. There won’t be a will-she-or-won’t-she cliffhanger this time around.

The cast has seemed ready to say goodbye since they wrapped last October. “If, in fact, this is the final season of Hart of Dixie, the show is left in a really good place,” actor Wilson Bethel promised then, just a few days after he’d tweeted, “Thank you, Wade Kinsella, for these four wonderful years. It’s been a mighty pleasure knowing you.” His co-stars Scott Porter and Cress Williams soon followed suit with tweets declaring “a wrap on the #3Amigos” and “#TearsWereShed.”

Speaking of, even this promo makes me wanna cry:

Executive Producer Leila Gerstein also was honest about the state of affairs when I spoke to her in December just before the premiere. “This is a season for the fans and we are building toward what will be an amazing, celebratory resolution, while still leaving some doors open for the future,” she said.

I am so grateful to have had four seasons of this delightful little show. This “season for the fans” really has felt like just that, and I know I will cry my face off during the finale. Goodbyes are always hard. But another season coming after this gift was already tied up with a bow seems like it might diminish some of the magic.

Not that I wouldn’t still watch…

The Season 4 finale of Hart of Dixie airs Friday, March 27 at 8 p.m. on The CW.