HOLLYWOOD─Well, the time has come, the first season of the new OWN series “Ambitions” came to close Tuesday night and it was a hell of a shocker. As I admitted in the past, this show took a bit of time to catch my attention, but it really has me hooked now. That might be a direct result of the fantastic Robin Givens who has exuded herself into the role of an excellent villain. At first the character of Stephanie Carlisle came across as annoying, but now she’s endearing.

With most villains you love to hate them, but with Stephanie there is this weird dichotomy; you want her to get her comeuppance, but at the same time you want her to exact her vengeance. That is a rarity in characters people. When we last left off, Stephanie was in glee knowing that she had won her big lawsuit against Purifoy Pharmaceuticals, not to mention the exposure of her husband Evan and his side-chick Bella, who have a child together.

Oh people that was just the beginning of Stephanie’s big episode, because it all culminated with the nefarious lawyer pulling the strings to remove her father as head of the law firm and making herself in charge. However, Stephanie forgot about one little thorn in her master plan: Damien. Yes, this guy is beyond crazy, he is sick and twisted and just evil to the core. Our season finale episode, ‘Save the Best for Last’ was full of surprises from the start of the episode.

Amara was a mess after realizing that Titus was severely injured during a hit-and-run, Rondell learned that her sneaky cousin Darcia, sold her shares of the company to Greg Peters, just as Stephanie confronted Evan about his love child. Yeah, all of those bombs dropped within the first five minutes of the episode. Stephanie informed Evan that their marriage was dunzo, and he realized that his political aspirations were on the verge of blowing up in his face. The drama people, this has been epic, just as Hunter was fighting tooth and nail as the board was making moves to remove him from his top position at the company.

Titus tried to inform Amara that his accident was no accident, but before he could get those words out he lost consciousness. Looks like this war between Steven and Stephanie is going to culminate in broken hearts to say the least. Rondell was surprised to see Stephanie at the hospital attempting to pay a visit to Titus after learning about his near death experience. Amara confronted Stephanie about her partnership with Damian, where she feigned ignorance.

That was a bomb that Steven dropped revealing to Evan that Stephanie has been sleeping with Greg Peters for months. So it was Stephanie who had Damien drugged Damien, as she planned to get her hands back on those videos that he was using to blackmail her. Bella and Evan are playing house, just as questions about relocation for Bella became an option.

Stephanie was busted red-handed using a Taser on Damien by Amara, who was ready to contact the authorities. Damien got the upper hand and started to choke Stephanie, but Amara came to his defense whacking him in the head with a shovel killing him. Oh this is good, two frenemies are bonded forever by a death; taking out a threat who caused ripples in both of their lives. Stephanie convinced her pal that trying to do the right thing and report his death to the police is not a good idea.

Not a good idea Amara as this is leverage that Stephanie will indeed use against you. Stephanie might be on cloud nine right now, but I can sense that her father has something wicked in store for his daughter who is known for pulling strings, might be getting a surprise she least expected. Well isn’t that something, Damien who was believed dead is very much alive people, too bad Stephanie didn’t answer her phone before Damien knocked out the threat.

It was a treat watching Evan force Greg Peters squirm after he thought he finally got what he wanted from him and Rondell. Steven delivered the speech of speeches, when he dropped the bomb on Stephanie and her mother, by revealing that Marvin Barnes and his wife were the newest partners at Carlisle Perkins, which did not bode well with Stephanie, who learned that she would be forced to step down from the law firm.

The party was crashed by Hunter who pulled a gun and started firing shots all throughout the room. Damn, so the audience has no idea who was shot? Of course not, that is how you deliver a season finale that forces the audience to come back next season. Here’s the problem I’m having: we still have no idea who shot Rondell and Evan’s father, we don’t know who ran over Titus (I suspect Hunter), and questions remain as to what Damien will do after being left for dead.

“Ambitions” sure knows how to leave the audience wanting more, and that is always a good thing.