I have followed Parenthood since the early beginning. After Brothers & Sisters' ending, I couldn’t live without a weekly dose of a great family drama. Not only With Parenthood I have found something which lived up to my expectations, this show was such a great achievement for this decade’s television.
Let’s talk about its ending. What wasn’t perfect in May God Bless And Keep You Always? It is an incredible swan song. I really loved everything of this amazing and heartbreaking closure. Sarah got married. The family gathers and celebrates this event. I loved each moment of May God Bless and Keep You Always, especially Zeek’s ones. How could someone can not cry when he asks Sarah “Have I been a good Father?” “The very best!” or when he and Camille talked to Amber about her possible moving in with them? Craig T. Nelson nailed it with the whole cast among with him.
As T.S. Eliot wrote “Time present and time past Are both perhaps present in time future And time future contained in time past”. We have to live with the sad or joyful outcomes of life itself. Going on is living the direct consequence of our own past. So for each character we are shown how their lives will evolve.
Tears of Joy: Amber got a new boyfriend (Friday Night Lights’ Scott Porter cameo, loved it) and Ryan has started to take care of his son.
High level of cuteness and tears: Julia and Joel finally decide to adopt Victor’s newborn sister and in a flashforward we see that they will have another unexpected kid. Julia finally got PREGNANT. I didn’t expect any of this to happen, and it was really perfectly narrated. Erica and Sam had the perfect chemistry. Max graduates with Adam as headmaster of Chambers Academy. Crosby took over Luncheonette and Jasmine gets pregnant of their third baby.
Teardropping moment: Zeek died few months after the wedding. His funeral is a celebration of what we truly loved about this show. I was expecting that eventually we will have to say goodbye to the patriarch of this amazing clan, but it doesn’t mean that it didn’t break my heart seeing his death. Zeek’s ashes are spread on a baseball field, and the whole family starts to play a baseball match with the notes of Forever Young. The circle of life continues.
Parenthood will likely be remembered as another great achievement for Jason Katims, and this series finale is just the perfect circular ending. Bonnie Bedelia, Monica Potter, Dax Shephard, Lauren Graham, Mae Whitman, Peter Krause, Erika Christensen and Sam Jaeger are all so stunningly talented and truly gave their heart portraying these strong and fragile characters.
Parenthood’s core is an heartwarming writing, a perfect soundtrack (Damien Rice's Trusty and True?) , a variety of talented actors and a seriously emotional impact. This six years run will be remembered as Friday Night Lights’ one: exceptional. Jason Katims is just one of the best writers out there, I can’t wait to watch and be involved in another of his emotional roller coaster. When a weekly show is able to make you cry out of joy and pain, week after week… there is something special in it! I will miss this big family, I will miss the Braverman!
And you? What do you think of May God Bless and Keep You Always?
Will you miss Parenthood?
Parenthood is one of those shows I wanted to commit myself into watching but never got to do so because I've been following so many shows. Thank goodness for spoilers and whatnot. I've only really managed to watched the first two episodes of the series and it kinda stopped from there, only catching up on a few episodes whenever they get aired months later here in the Philippines.
ReplyDeleteBut good thing that I did manage to catch the final episode this week and I felt like I never left the show in the first place. Despite some of the scenes cut from the finalized episode, I think the last episode manage to close everything out the way a perfectly written and executed finale should be, with matching theme song playing in the final montage to boot (which I hope gets retained in international syndication).
Farewell Parenthood and let's bring on The Slap! :D
Yeah, Parenthood was really one of the few show,that managed never to jump the shark! 6 seasons of great storylines! You should catch up the episodes you are missing :)
ReplyDeleteI am not sure The Slap will be able to be a good replacement. We'll see
What a great review! This episode was both amazing and incredibly sad. I loved that we got to see the happy moments in the future, but it was so sad that Zeek died. My grandfather has been struggling with heart problems this year so this storyline hit close to home for me.
ReplyDeleteI have really enjoyed watching this show over the last few years. I started watching late, but caught up on netflix. I really loved Brothers and Sisters, and someone told me that if I liked that, then I would love Parenthood. Boy were they right. This cast is so talented, and I hope that they find work and success in other shows.
Goodbye Bravermans. It's been a pleasure watching you.
I've read a bunch of reviews and they say Amber's boyfriend but it was her husband
ReplyDeleteThank you Jessica! I'm glad you enjoyed reading my review. Like I have written, I was a big fan of Brothers and Sisters too.. it felt emotional at the same level of Parenthood. But I truly hated the fifth season, and Sarah's storyline. So for me, Parenthood was also able to go on for as long as the ABC's family drama without useless soapy storylines or big and avoidable plot twist. So I consider this, another great goal achieved by Parenthood team of writers. My compliments to them!
ReplyDeleteHi Rebecca! While I was writing this review, I was still unaware of the Jason Katims' post-ending interview. From what we are shown, they are clearly a couple, but there is no mention of a wedding related situation. But it's just a detail :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome review, man. Jason has to be the greatest writer out there. Though FNL remains at the best tv show ever (in my humble opinion), Parenthood's last episode was way better. Great, great last act.
ReplyDeleteWish they could have a couple more seasons to develop Peter's story (Amber's boyfriend/husband) and to explore Haddie's life as a lesbian (wouldn't it be the PERFECT plot for a spin-off?). But we understand, somehow it's never been a huge hit (is very hard to compete against Shonda these days), ratings never helped that much and it is a pretty expensive cast... The same old story we know since FNL.
But the remaining question is: what is the future for family drama? Besides Hart of Dixie (which has ordered only 10 episodes for this season due to Bilson's pregnancy and its future is unknown) I don't see a lot going on in terms of a good old drama involving small town, family or growing-up issues, and I think I can speak for everybody when I say we can't live just with politics, lawyers, doctors and creatures from the underworld.
Awesome review, man. Jason has to be the greater writer out there. Though FNL remains at the best tv show ever (in my humble opinion), Parenthood's last episode was way better. Great, great last act.
ReplyDeleteWish they could have a couple more seasons to develop Peter's story (Amber's boyfriend/husband) and to explore Haddie's life as a lesbian (wouldn't it be the PERFECT plot for a spin-off?). But we understand, somehow it's never been a huge hit (is very hard to compete against Shonda these days), ratings never helped that much and it is a pretty expensive cast... The same old story we know since FNL.
But the remaining question is: what is the future for family drama? Besides Hart of Dixie (which has ordered only 10 episodes for this season due to Bilson's pregnancy and its future is unknown) I don't see a lot going on in terms of a good old drama involving small town, family or growing-up issues, and I think I can speak for everybody when I say we can't live just with politics, lawyers, doctors and creatures from the underworld.
Thanks Emmanuel. :) Yes, we have Empire, the new Fox's monstre hit, but it is more a soapy family drama than Parenthood. I still think, Parenthood will be one of a kind, like B&S. I was hoping too that they would explore Haddie's new relationship better, Jason Katims has declared on his last interview that too. It was such a great outcome, but unfortunately Sarah Ramos is in college, so she was not able to be part of this season's schedule. Let's hope for some surprises for the pilot season, I want a new family drama on air.
ReplyDeleteIs Hart of Dixie worth watching? I've contemplated adding it to my Netflix "to watch" list, but I wasn't sure if I would like it.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I read the interview, too bad... He clearly had plans for Haddie. But it happens. Sarah is talented and beautiful too, she has a great future ahead.
ReplyDeleteWell, Hart of Dixie is closer to "dramedy" than drama... It's a much more smoother show than Parenthood. But if you watch it without waiting very complex and tense plots, it might surprise you, specific because characters may seem silly and stereotyped, but there is a lot of reliability in the bottom of them, and the comedy is quite good. I'd take a chance... At least they have this "living in small town" mood, where everybody knows each other, gossip is everywhere and stuff.
ReplyDeleteI've seen the Aussie version is is quite good although it has an unconventional narrative, even for a miniseries. While how that will translate to NBC's version is up in the air for the time being, at least we know this is only a one-off show and doesn't intend to replace Parenthood's place at anyway despite some PH fans thinking the contrary.
ReplyDeleteYeah, HoD is a cute show, but totally different from Parenthood.
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