Tonight's Tyrant Season 3 Finale was strong, which makes me hope it's indeed just a season finale and not a series finale.  FX, for its part, has dumbly cancelled the series, leaving it hunting for a new channel, which I hope it lands.

This finale had a lot to commend it.  Among my favorite scenes, and there were many, was Molly riding Barry in loveless sex so she can have another baby.   I mean, it was a sad, unpleasant scene, but very well played.

Also memorable was General Cogswell's goodbye to Leila, on the phone, preceded by his frank conversation with Exley.  On a night when Trump, our real-life tyrant wannabe in America, was trashing our generals at the Commander-in-Chief Townhall - saying they're "rubble" - it was good to see a fictional general comport himself so well.

And speaking of military leaders, we got a powerful, even stunning scene from Bassam's chief military man Colonel Maloof, who tells Bassam the truth - which is, that Barry can't survive without Maloof and his military support, which makes Barry/Bassam serving at his Colonel's pleasure rather than vice versa.   Maloof even sarcastically says "good morning" to Bassam, to underscore his point that he's waking the President up to reality.

The Daliya, Leila, Sammy, and Al-Qadi  threads were a little obvious and/or maudlin, but that's ok, because they provide ample material for another season or more.  And the very last scene, with Bassam looking at the painting his son Ahmed has commissioned for him, newly hung on the wall, replacing the portrait of Jamal who was not Ahmed's father, was good, too.  Barry's "unfortunately" comment about how well the portrait suits him was a perfect last word for this season finale, and I'm looking forward to more.