Don’t expect a satisfying finale for the hotel series, which ends precipitously this Thursday against a backdrop of scramble. The TVA channel, we recall, decided to bring this novelty to the mill after just one season, which inevitably leaves the 700,000 followers and more on their appetites. As the craftswomen behind this project – a female quartet behind the script – found out on the side when all the episodes were already finished, they obviously couldn’t come up with a conclusion worthy of the name.
Since the beginning of that first season, the Hôtel Dumont has been the scene of many twists and turns, some more believable than others. Between risky acts, unpleasant customers, problematic employees, lies, fraud and other whims of the tourism industry, there was plenty for the spectators to eat, always under the seal of light entertainment. With its dramatic close-ups, theatrical twists and boldly drawn characters, it felt like an afternoon soap opera, and that’s exactly what charmed audiences craving non-violent stories after a few years of bad pandemic news.
This is the end of this hotel crossover this Thursday, which certainly leaves a few threads open. Will the incorrigible Guillaume Dumont (Emmanuelle Schwartz), always accompanied by the treacherous but well-groomed Simon-Luc (Frédéric Boudreault), succeed in disqualifying his mother (Nathalie Coupal)? She’s been showing up at work giggling like a hyena for the past few weeks and tends to strip off a piece of clothing at the worst possible moment, under the effects of the drug, which she has to swallow with large helpings of green smoothies. So she indulges in the nourishment of a lot of gossip, notably making the fat cabbage of Chantal (Gabrielle Fontaine) at the front desk, who seems to be gossiping more than working. Luckily she has a perfect little brush!
Will Amélie’s (Myriam Fournier) libido, a big theme this season, end up returning with her husband or someone else, or is it gone forever? We felt, perhaps wrongly, a possibility emerged between her and her colleague Normand (Jeff Boudreault), a poor Tinder user, a flirt at worst, but an extraordinary grandfather. Unfortunately, we’ll never know if there really was anything there… And we’ll never see that libido return at full blast!
Is Olivier (Olivier Gervais-Courchesne), the dashing concierge with lightning-fast charisma, getting himself in trouble by crunching up the hotel papers with marketing woman Karine Leboeuf (Catherine Chabot), who really is ordering too much sushi for one person? Will we finally know where Hugo (Patrice Bélanger), the king of arrogant liars, spent all his money only to end up having to hire the services of a dubious Shylock, always at the expense of his wife, who doesn’t have it in her has? the frame of the camera that happily takes us back to the 50s (only the apron is missing)? Eventually, will Odile (Olivia Palacci) continue to slack off in contact with her young recruit (Xavier Rivard-Désy) and become as comfortable in the kitchen as an episode of Taillefer et fille?
Admittedly this was all very tasty, like a dish eaten hot at the hotel counter accompanied by a good spritz! Enough for viewers to start a petition to save the series, a petition that has a few thousand signatures to date. Could Hôtel suffer the same fate as Nuit Blanche, chosen in the draft to see a new life on a platform? One can indeed think that the production company that would decide to reopen the rooms of Victoria Dumont’s hotel would take a good step.
However, it is desirable to say goodbye to this quaint hotel that closes its doors a little early. Hoping Guillaume didn’t leave the gas ring open…
The conclusion of the hotel series will be presented on TVA this Thursday at 8 p.m.