Parenthood ended its six year run on a high note with a beautifully fitting series finale. Every character got the proper send-off they deserved. Some endings were happier than others but such is life. Overall, it’s been a wild ride with the Bravermans. There’s no other family show on network television like Parenthood, and it will be missed. My only complaint is that it should have been at least a two-hour finale event!
Last week Sarah and Hank agreed it would be in their best interest to get married as soon as possible due to Zeek’s heart condition. Everything goes surprisingly smoothly as they’re able to invite all their out of town family members in the short amount of time, as well as book a gorgeous venue for the ceremony and reception. In the days leading up to the wedding, Hank pays Zeek a visit to ask for his blessing to marry Sarah. Obviously it’s a sign of respect between the future father and son-in-law, but it was a touching scene. Zeek knows his time is limited and all he wants is to be sure his favorite daughter will be taken care of when he’s gone. Throw in the extremely honest conversation between Sarah and Zeek where he asked if he’s been a good father, and those scenes alone account for one tissue box.
The wedding goes smoothly with everyone in attendance for a montage of pictures: the original 6 Bravermans, all the women of the family, all the kids, etc. I have to say it was a good thing the only toast they showed at the wedding was Drew’s. It was short, sweet and to the point whereas if Amber’s maid of honor speech was shown it would have surely been too sappy.
Crosby and Adam are the last of the characters who needed a resolution before all was said and done. They recently had a falling out when Crosby discovered his brother wasn’t really interested in keeping their business but rather he was only doing it to appease him. I’m completely Team Crosby as I can definitely relate to him in this sort of situation. He doesn’t want the pity of his brother so he’s giving in and basically signing away his dreams in the process. That’s not fair to anyone, and Amber and Zeek especially can see that. Zeek gives his youngest son the push he needs in telling him he has faith that he can do this on his own. So what if Adam doesn’t want to keep the Luncheonette? Crosby is more than capable and ready to step up to the plate on his own and I am so very glad he does just that! I only have one question about all this: how can Crosby afford to buy Adam out of his half of the business? Money was their biggest motivator to sell it, and I assumed that was the only thing keeping him from doing it alone. It was so cute to see Crosby ask Amber to be the “new Crosby” as he would be stepping up as the “new Adam”!
With Adam out of the Luncheonette, he started back where he began the series by looking for another corporate job. When he actually accepted a position with some water filtration company, I was disappointed. He even admitted to Crosby that he was going for the money but if he learns anything from his little brother, Adam should’ve thought to follow his passion. Fortunately Kristina recognizes this and offers Adam a full time position as headmaster at the pilot Chambers Academy. That’s right, because she plans on opening HUNDREDS more of these charter schools with the help of a non-profit. Um, okay. Not everything about these endings are believable but as long as Adam was finally happy with his work, I can’t complain too much.
Everything else was going nicely for the rest of the Bravermans. Camille and Zeek asked Amber to move in with them because they knew she needed the help with the baby. Plus, it was a nice callback to the beginning of the series when they invited Sarah back home when she needed their help the most. Joel and Julia received a weird phone call from Victor’s social worker, literally to offer them a baby girl that Victor’s birth mother was giving up for adoption. They agreed to take the weekend to think about it, but it was evident on Julia’s face at the wedding as she held Amber’s baby that they were going to end up with their own baby.
Cut to presumably a few weeks later, and Camille is looking through the pictures Max had developed from the wedding. Now I know we were warned about this huge death but I assumed it would be off screen. It was unexpectedly jarring to see the moment of Camille finding Zeek passed away in his chair. Someone give Bonnie Bedelia an Emmy for her work this season. She’s incredible.
Rather than show the funeral, we get to share in a more personal Braverman tradition. The whole gang takes turns spreading Zeek’s ashes on a baseball field, which they all then run out and start a game. Flash forwards for all the characters begin as a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young” plays.
Crosby: With Amber’s help, the Luncheonette looks to be doing well. Jasmine is pregnant with their third baby.
Julia: Sydney gets a puppy for Christmas, but even better, they have a baby boy! Jason Katims talks here about how he imagines they miraculously conceived this fourth child, and now they mirror the original Braverman family. Aww!
Sarah: Happily hosting a family dinner with Hank, Ruby, Drew, and Amber.
Amber: Surprise! She’s married to Scott Porter’s character who does have a name a full backstory you can read about here. Ryan makes an appearance as he’s dropping Zeek off. While this wasn’t the happily ever after ending for Ryber that I hoped for, it’s actually even better and more realistic this way.
Adam: Presumably all goes well with the expansion of the Chambers Academy because he’s still headmaster at Max’s graduation.
Camille: She finally makes it to the bed and breakfast in France that Zeek wanted so desperately to bring her to as his health began to deteriorate.
That about wraps up Parenthood. To Jason Katims, I have to say thank you. May God bless and keep you on TV always. Now everyone else, start watching About A Boy on Tuesdays at 9:30 for your weekly Katims fix! Dax Shephard has been known to make a few crossover appearances as Crosby so hopefully this continues for many more years.
Show of hands: Who else loved the finale?
[Photo via NBC]
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It’s still kind of hard to believe that we won’t be treated to any new Braverman family stories, but I’m glad that they ended the show when they did so it never had a chance to get stale or ruin it’s legacy with some subpar seasons.
I thought the reception was done very well and was a nice way to put an exclamation point on the wedding. It was also a great touch to use “Treasure” by Bruno Mars to top everything off, but my favorite part of this episode was the very end when Zeek and Camille look over everything and are proud of the entire Braverman clan