The Parenthood Finale – My Thoughts

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Photo From NBC
Photo From NBC

For six seasons we’ve laughed, cried & been through some of the “best times” that the series Parenthood has to offer. I picked up on the show around season 4 and very quickly got caught up thanks to Netflix. As a huge fan of the show Brothers and Sisters this show was a great way to fill the void that they had left by ending that series. Tonight we watched as Parenthood came to an end and everyone said their goodbyes.

Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD

There were happy parts, sad parts & joyous parts. Yet, in the end we know that everything turned out okay for the Braverman clan.

Max the Photographer

Max. Oh Max. In season one I could not stand Max. I had an extremely hard time keeping up with his character and I didn’t like how he and Hatti acted together. Of all characters who we have seen evolve over the series, Max has evolved the most in my opinion.  Having Max do all of the photography for Hank and Sarah’s wedding, shows how much he has grown and I think was the perfect way to show his story line wrapping up. It can’t hurt that they threw in him dancing with a girl.

Really what I’m going to miss most is Max’s comments. He’s blunt, brutally honest & tends to provide good humor in any kind of situation.

“It doesn’t matter whether your in the light or not. No one cares about you. They care about the bride”

How can you not love him?

Hank and Zeek

A few weeks ago I questioned whether the Parenthood producers would allow us to see Hank an Sarah end up together. (More on this later). I was so excited to see Hank show up to ask Zeek ‘s permission. In the midst of the health problems with Zeek there wasn’t always an option to ask him and it seemed like they got engaged sort of on the spur of the moment. I love that not only did Hank ask permission but that he was the one who informed Zeek of the wedding’s date.

When Sarah and Zeek are talking later and Zeek informs her that Hank is the only one who has asked for his blessing, I think that pretty much solidifies that Sarah’s choice was the right one and that Zeek approved no questions asked.

Hank and Drew

A few weeks ago I thought Drew would be the deciding factor on Hank and Sarah not ending up together. He didn’t seem open to Hank or any of the “losers” his mom brought home. They couldn’t have wrapped up Drew & Hank better than by Hank asking Drew to be his best man. It shows how much they grew together in the last few episodes dealing with the Zeek situation.

Hopping back a week though, Hank putting together Amber’s baby crib? I love how they had him connect with Sarah’s kids. Okay, can you tell that I really love Hank?

The Luncheonette

Watching Crosby walk through the Luncheonette, I wanted to cry. Music has always been his thing and I have been waiting four episodes (ever since Adam said he wanted to close) for him to say “wait a minute… why don’t I do this by myself?”

This story line SHOULD have started last week! Why did we just hear about it and it be a 2 minute thing? Crosby and Amber make the perfect team and I would’ve loved to see more of them working together.

For as huge of a story line has this was and as many characters that it effected I wish we could have seen this play out a little more. I really wish the producers had focused more on this whole story line in the last episode or two.

I am happy that it is Zeek’s little push that got Crosby going, especially in how they ended his character. The flash forward with them singing the theme song there couldn’t have been a better way to wrap it up.

Joel & Julia

JUST as everything seemed to be wrapping up another baby option for Joel and Julia? Isn’t the season finale supposed to be about wrapping up a series not starting new plot lines? Ahh! I wish we could have seen more about this storyline too. I do think for their situation it was great. Also, FOUR KIDS?! I love that they hint that ultimately they add another baby to the family. After seeing Sidney and Victor evolve in the last few seasons as being siblings they were so adorable in the final scene with all of them.

Sarah’s Wedding

For awhile throughout the series I got tired of Sarah’s boyfriends. Obviously with her past as Loreli in Gilmore Girls (She will always be Loreli to me) it seemed that it was going to be a given that she ended up happy. When last week the hinted that the series was wrapping up with her wedding, I couldn’t think of a better way for it to end. I’m very big on TV series coming full circle & that pretty much sums up her story line. Plus, a flash forward to all of them as a big happy family? Couldn’t be more excited. Plus, as I said before, I love Hank!

Zeek

This is the one part of the Parenthood finale I’m not 100% okay with. As Zeek was “saying his goodbyes” I took a lot of it as the family around him building him up to encourage him to have another surgery. I pictured this finale ending with the entire family (him included). While I do like how they handled his death, I still am not sure I’m okay with the fact that they killed him off.

The Baseball Diamond

As I mentioned, I had pictured the final scene being Sarah’s wedding, a la Brothers and Sisters. I like that it didn’t happen that way. I loved seeing the family fun just out and about at the baseball diamond. One of the big story lines in the very first episode was Max not wanting to play. Seeing his character love it and be having fun was awesome. They have evolved with a lot of kids over the years too so it was fun to see how many of them they had now and how they all had fun.

I’m still mad Zeek wasn’t there (in person) to play with them. That would’ve been my perfect ending.

Flash Forwards

I tend to go two different ways on flash forwards. Quick flash forwards (like Parenthood) are my favorite. I hate it when series just skip 5 years (hi Desperate Housewives). Things that were awesome.

  • Amber – Tying up her family & I know I wasn’t the only one to scream JASON STREET at the top of my lunges when he popped up.
  • Joel and Julia – 4 Kids!!! Who decided they were crazy enough to add a puppy to the mix?
  • Adam – I was not thrilled about his leaving Crosby behind but I thought he really did belong in the school. It was perfect for him.
  • Camille – She was always the quiet one in the background. Seeing her walk through the streets of Europe was a perfect ending for her.

Overall I don’t think the series could have ended better. Okay I wish Zeek was playing baseball with them, but without that, I think this was THE PERFECT ENDING to a series. I’m sad to see it go, but for once I’m okay with how it all ended. They did a great job making you okay to say goodbye, unlike some other series that have caused an uproar.

What did you think of the ending? Was it perfect? Are you mad about Zeek’s death? Leave a comment!

(Featured Photo From NBC Website)

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