Bravermans Say Goodbye in Terrific 'Parenthood' Series Finale

by Julian Spivey
One of the greatest, if not the greatest, family shows in television history “Parenthood” had its farewell on Thursday, Jan. 29 with an utterly fantastic series finale that ranks right up there with some of the finest finales I’ve ever seen.

With an incredibly large cast there were a lot of beloved characters to say goodbye too and storylines to wrap up, and even one major storyline thrust upon us during the finale itself, but the show’s creator and writer Jason Katims delivered all of the goodbyes and wrapped up all of the storylines very neatly in the one-hour allotted for the finale.

In the end “May God Bless and Keep You Always,” which takes its name from the opening lines of Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young,” the show’s theme song, ranks right up there with the all-time greats of this show’s six seasons.

The biggest focus of the finale was the wedding of Sarah (Lauren Graham) and Hank (Ray Romano), who had gotten engaged in the penultimate episode of the series. Sarah wanted to rush the wedding because of her father Zeek’s (Craig T. Nelson) fading health and decided to hold it the very next week. Right before the opening credits is the first great scene of the finale, and one I’ve been waiting for as a major fan of both Nelson and Romano, when Hank asks Zeek for Sarah’s hand in marriage.

Another fantastic scene in the finale was the one between Zeek and Sarah on the porch were Zeek lets Sarah in on the fact that she’s his favorite child and asks her if he’s been a good father. It’s one of the real tearjerkers that “Parenthood” is known for and perfect culmination for these two characters.

Julia (Erika Christensen) and Joel (Sam Jaeger) get a huge surprise early on in the finale when Victor’s (Xolo Mariduena) social worker calls them and tells them that Victor’s birth mother has had another child and would like for them to adopt her, as well. The couple spends the rest of the episode thinking about it before finally decided that being Victor’s sister she already pretty much belongs to them. It was an interesting storyline to throw into a series finale, but hey there aren’t any more episodes of the series remaining so why not go for it?

In the previous episode Adam (Peter Krause) and Crosby (Dax Shepard) had decided to cut ties and sell The Luncheonette recording studio and look for more steady employment. Adam is getting ready to take on a job at a bottled water company and Crosby isn’t taking the loss of The Luncheonette too well. By the end of the episode it turns out that both of them will end up doing what they truly love to do after all – Adam working as headmaster at the school for mentally challenged students that his wife Kristina (Monica Potter) created and Crosby going at the record studio business on his own.

The entire wedding segment of the episode was lovely and Sarah and Hank truly are perfect for each other and I’m incredibly glad that “Parenthood” finally let Sarah have a happy and fulfilling relationship. I’m also thrilled to see the development of Romano’s photographer with Asperger’s syndrome over his three seasons on the series. He went from a guest role that nobody realized would last throughout the remainder of the series to potentially being the best character on the whole show (along with Zeek), in my opinion, over the last two seasons. I don’t believe it’s going to actually happen, but it’s certainly time the Emmy Awards acknowledge Romano’s terrific dramatic work in this series with a nomination.

“Parenthood” finished up its last 10 minute segment with a series of beautifully written and filmed flash-forwards that let us into what the future held for the Bravermans, including the moment of Zeek’s passing that we all were dreading, but Katims made it work exceptionally well. Among other things captured in the flash-forwards were the flourishing of The Luncheonette under Crosby’s control, Julia and Joel’s new extended family, the reveal that Ryan (Matt Lauria) is playing a role in little Zeek’s (Amber’s baby) life and Max’s (Max Burkholder) graduation. These flash-forwards are perfectly juxtaposed with images of the Bravermans pouring Zeek’s ashes on a baseball field and playing a family game of baseball in his honor.

It was a truly beautiful way to wrap up such an incredible series, one that I fear we may never see the likes of on network television again. Katims and the entire cast of this show truly outdid themselves over the last six seasons and the Braverman clan will certainly be missed.  

 

                                                                            

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