'10 Things I Hate About You' finale: Buddhist storylines, 'The Biggest Poser,' and other awesome things that make us hate this show's cancellation

Image Credit: ABC Family10 Things I Hate About You wrapped up its under-appreciated one-season run on ABC Family last night, and, quite frankly, I don’t know what went wrong here. The dialogue snapped, the plotlines crackled, and the characters popped — not easy to do in the tired high-school genre. It had the name recognition of the beloved Julia Stiles/Heath Ledger movie but didn’t get bogged down in its legacy. The cast — Lindsey Shaw, Meaghan Jette Martin, Ethan Peck, dad Larry Miller — couldn’t have been better. I know, I know, these things happen to good shows all the time. I just want my eulogy to be complete.

The two-part, hour-long series finale — which was clearly not intended as its swan song, since it ended on a cliffhanger — brought us all of the things we fans have grown to love about this show. Kat, characteristically, took up Buddhism, bringing on a hilarious (but still respectful) send-up of the school “meditation collective.” Bianca’s boyfriend competed in model reality show The Next Biggest Poser, bringing us some classic Top Model parody. (“Coliviette just fainted during our photo shoot so we have the phone until she revives. Then she’s gonna want to call her baby.”) And our girls had a sweet sisterly moment out in Kat’s tent when she was practicing for her trip to Nepal. Kat: “I don’t wanna forage for roots or wear snowpants … and he didn’t try to stop me.” Bianca: “I’m stopping you. I need you here.”

Alas, there will be no more of that for us — nor will we ever to bask in Kat and Patrick’s post-coital glow again. That’s just one thing I’ll miss about 10 Things I Hate About You. How about you, PopWatchers? What will you miss?