BWW Recap: The Bravermans are All Right on PARENTHOOD Series Finale

Welp, this is it. After a season of tumultuous, tear-jerking episodes (and 5 seasons aired previously), our favorite hit NBC drama has come to an end. The final outing had some lows, quite a few highs, and - just because it's PARENTHOOD - a few unexpected twists. To put it simply, though, the whole thing just let us know that the Braverman clan was going to be all right.

Here's the catch, though. This being the final episode, I went in knowing the characters were going to all end up in some type of conclusion. And with last week's penultimate show paving such a clear path, I thought I knew how everyone was going to end up. While everyone had gone through some sort of change and indeed concluded their character's arc(s), it was NOT in the way that I expected Yes, yes! In just ONE hour - the final hour, to boot - the PARENTHOOD writers summed up each character's story, while introducing/taking them in a completely different direction than was expected in the previous episode. For me, it was completely unexpected... and it made perfect sense!

We open, in the midst of Sarah planning the wedding (of course), with Amber complaining the house is too cluttered, but she can't afford anywhere else to live. This is a clue right away. I know something's coming. Sure enough, Camille and Zeek offer to let her live with them. "But we would ruin any semblance of peace you had in your home. I couldn't do that to you guys." Their response? OMG so sweet! "We want this to be our third act."

Crosby makes it officially known that the Luncheonette's shutting down. For good. Amber's upset. The final walk through the Luncheonette is literally depressing. I can see how empty Crosby's life has become the instant he walks through; how the Luncheonette meant something to him, and how it immediately affects him when they make the closing official. "I'm sorry this is coming to an end." Us too, Adam. Us too. Well, not everything can be a happy ending. But wait! There is hope! Pushed by the family patriarch (I mean, who else?), Crosby decides to take back the Luncheonette and run it himself. :-)

Better yet, he asks Amber to become his partner - he'll become the "new Adam" and she'll become the "new Crosby." So, Amber's got a place to live and a fantastic new job! For someone who was a serious (for lack of a better word) wreck early on, she's undergone quite the transformation into a mature adult. That was exemplified so well in this final episode. To that end, Crosby too. He was the walking definition of a ne'er-do-well and then Jasmine/Jabbar came, and then the Luncheonette... he's really developed into a mature adult as well. I'm glad these two got their happy ending - and it's just too damn poignant that they're paired together! I was just so satisfied knowing everything's gonna end well for these two people.. who've had quite a journey throughout the series.

Adam decides to take a job heading the Mountain Spring Water company in lieu of his spot at the Luncheonette. However, Kristina sees how much he means to the kids at Chambers. If it wasn't already clear last week, it's further exemplified when Crosby comes to deliver the contracts, and sees Adam interact with the kids - it makes him smile, and Adam smiles back, and it's the first step in healing their relationship; Crosby's recognized how happy Adam really is in his new role. We're brought back to Chambers later, and this time, we see that Kristina recognizes how happy Adam is and how happy the kids are. As a result, in the final few moments of the episode, she offers him her job at the academy. Yes, that's right. Adam is the new Chambers Academy Headmaster. Um... perfect.

Max is all right, too. We got that sweet scene last week, where he was reassured that everything was going to work out just fine, and here we got to see it for ourselves. Max not only gets a job as the official photographer for the wedding, but, in one of the sweetest moments I think I've seen on TV in a while, he asks a girl (guest star Madison Pettis) to dance. And how sweet was that final conversation with Haddie? "I think you're special and cool and weird and wonderful and the best brother." OMG -- all the feels! So, a happy ending for Max as well.

And the Grahams. During the first, official dinner as a new family (at least one without fighting), Julia gets a call. From Victor's social worker. Uh oh. Damn! Just when it was looking good for them. This must have the final twist Katims was talking about. Grrrrgh! But wait! It's not a BAD CALL! They have an option to adopt another kid! I just have to say here... I love the scene following the news, with Joel and Julia out on the street. I love how amicable they are - and so fast. The way he puts his arm around her... and they agree, "We need to focus on us..." Perfect. It shows this is the new partnership. It's gonna be all right. And it is, too... as they decide that they will ultimately adopt the new baby.

And then, of course, Hank and Sarah. Both share an incredibly sweet, honest, raw, beautiful talk with the family patriarch, and they all get understandably choked up when speaking of one another. In Hank and Zeek's scene Hank is extremely honest and vulnerable with Zeek - sharing his news about Aspberger's - and Zeek is equally honest about his feelings for his daughter: "she was all about really giving her heart to the people she cared about the most. Take care of my daughter," he tells Hank. "Be there for her."

And then when Sarah has her conversation with Zeek - "I don't think I would have ever found [Hank] if you hadn't let me come home and stay here for a while. It changed everything. Thank you." Ah, yes. Where our story started. And we've followed her all the way to the end. Some times life goes the way we want it; sometimes, it doesn't. And sometimes, when it doesn't, you find something beautiful. And Zeek's part of the conversation? "Have I been a good father." (Cue the Kleenex!) Sarah tearfully responds, "The very best." It's a really, really nice way to end their story as father and daughter (well, before he walks her down the aisle). And I'm glad they had that moment together.

So, it looks like everybody gets a happy ending.

And then, that final scene. Sh*t. I gotta say, I knew it was coming. I knew they were gonna pull some twist on us. When Camille walks to the couch and sits next to him - all in silence - holding his hand, as he sits in the chair, lifeless, frozen, and gone - I had chills. I didn't really want to believe it, but I'm extremely proud, as a PARENTHOOD watcher, of the way they handled the whole thing. I'm really glad Zeek was able to walk his daughter down the aisle, hold his great-grandson, be present for the wedding, and be around for the whole season. We all knew it was coming, didn't we? All those teasers, articles, briefs, everything led to it happening. I just can't say enough about how amazingly beautiful it was handled!

The family gathers on the baseball field to spread Zeek's ashes, just as he said he had wanted earlier in the season. And then everybody plays baseball. :-) As the camera cuts to various members of the family on the field, we simultaneously cut between the present and the future, where we see how each of the Bravermans end up three years down the road: the Grahams get a new puppy (and another kid!), just as Sydney had always wished (though I can't put my finger on which episode that was), Amber settles down with a new man (is it bad that I can't remember who that is?!), and a conjoined family consisting of herself, her husband, Sarah, Drew, Ruby and Hank.... and Ryan's back in the baby's life (yay!!), Max graduates Chambers Academy after receiving a diploma from the Headmaster, his father, and Camille checks into Chez Marie, where Zeek had always dreamed of taking her (awwww!! Okay, I admit. I teared up here). All while "Forever Young" plays in the background, which, at one point in the montage, we zoom out and see is the song being recorded at the new Luncheonette, as Crosby's family looks on at the artists (and Amber bounces a fully grown Aida on her lap). Cut back to the baseball field, where the game finishes. The family rejoices, and then packs up their things. And then they walk off the field, into the sunset, arm in arm. Fade to black.

The perfect ending. #FarewellParenthood

Photo Credit: NBC

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