My Top 5 Series Finales

I'm going to pivot from talking about movies and TV in "Hot Take" mode and talk about something else. Today I'm making a list of what in my opinion are the Top 5 Series Finales of TV Shows. So let's dive into it!

#5 The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

This show was not episodic, but I include it because not only is this in my top 3 favorite shows, but the finale is also one of my favorite episodes. It's titled Owls Well That Ends Well, and follows Owl as he attempts to join the dawn chorus, but he sings so badly that he's making the morning miserable for everyone. Meanwhile, Rabbit is plagued by crows in his garden, and Tigger attempts to help by building booby traps, and creating a questionable substance he calls "swill."

This comes as number 5 because while it is not specifically written to be finale, it has that vibe certainly. It also doesn't have a continuous story to wrap up necessarily. Nevertheless, it's a fun-filled and sweet episode. Whether intentional or not, the plot centering around the dawn chorus, and then Owl changing his mind to joining the evening chorus seems like a perfect metaphor for a great show coming to a solid end.

#4 Sherlock

I know I may get some flak for this one. Number 4 is Sherlock, The Final Problem. While this isn't explicitly a finale, it has been 6 years now since it aired, and the fate of Sherlock series 5 remains uncertain. For now, we'll treat it like a finale. In this episode, Sherlock finds out that he has a younger sister (or maybe she's older, I can't remember) who's been locked in a mental institution since she was about five or six. It's really more like a mental prison than a hospital. Sherlock, Watson, and Mycroft go to the facility to figure out how she escaped, as she has made contact with both Sherlock and Watson, but she has taken over the facility and traps them there to solve a series of puzzles with fatal results if they fail. Meanwhile, Sherlock keeps getting a phone call from a young girl trapped on a plane where everyone is asleep, and she's really scared. "The Final Problem" Sherlock figures out that the "girl" is a recording of his sister, desperately crying out for love and attention. Her illness has made her dangerous and caused people to be afraid of her, but inside the reality is she's still that scared little girl whose family abandoned her in a mental institution, pretending she never existed.

Here's why I like this episode. Not only is it an intriguing "Final Problem", but the story is well-written in a way some movies and shows don't often get right with characters like Eurus. She is written multi-dimensionally, and so is Sherlock's response to her character. In fact, we see all of peoples' assumptions about Sherlock Holmes blown completely out of the water. People brand him as an unfeeling person, and he even refers to himself as a sociopath. But this is all wrong. He has an enormous amount of empathy, and is the first person in Eurus's life who actually gives it to her, when some don't believe she deserves it. He doesn't see the monster. He sees the scared, ill little girl, and while he knows she can never be cured or even live a happy life, he tries to meet her where she's at as best as he can.

#3 The Golden Girls

Anyone who knows me may be surprised that this comes any lower than number 1 on this list, but here's why. Number 3 is The Golden Girls, One Flew Out of the Cuckoo's Nest Parts 1 & 2. In these episodes, Blanche cons Dorothy into going on a date with her uncle Lucas so she can have a date of her own. When Dorothy and Lucas figure out what Blanche has done, they decide to mess with her by pretending that they fell in love and are getting married. At first Blanche is shocked and appalled, but decides to give her blessing after overhearing Dorothy and Lucas talking about how much they really do like each other. Dorothy and Lucas were planning on faking a fight and breaking up because it had gone too far, but this is when Blanche raises a glass to celebrate it. So Lucas asks Dorothy to marry him for real. In part 2, they go through with the nuptials and Dorothy moves to Atlanta with Lucas, saying goodbye to Blanche, Rose, and Sophia.

It's a really moving episode, and I cry every time at the end. EVERY time. I also think it was a smart move to end the show with Dorothy getting married, since they spent most of the show talking about how she couldn't ever get a date. The reason I put it at number three is because while the show had a few through lines in the story, it wasn't entirely one long story being wrapped up in the end, so the finale feels a little out of left field. However, it was written and definitely acted very well. It may also be because I don't ever want this show to end when I watch it.

#2 Psych

Now this finale comes at Number 2 because it is so much fun and quintessentially Psych! In the finale, Shawn has made the decision to follow Juliet to San Fransisco, and tries to find the right time to tell Gus that he's leaving. He just can't seem to find the right time to do so. Instead he makes him a DVD explaining how hard he tried to tell him, but that he just couldn't face doing it in person. He sends a similar DVD to now Chief Carlton Lassiter, in which he also finally reveals he's not actually psychic. In a moving moment, Lassiter ejects the DVD before he can say it and destroys it. Lassiter has known all along, but he knows if this information ever gets out, every case Shawn ever solved gets called into question and a lot of bad people are back on the streets. The episode includes so many fun call backs to jokes some people may have even missed. Billy Zayn guest stars as the bad guy, after Shawn spent the entire series mentioning how cool Billy Zayn is. Throughout the series we here the name of a Detective Dobson called many times, but we never see him. Shawn constantly talks about his undying belief in Val Kilmer even though he's been in so many bad movies recently. The finale finally features Detective Dobson in the flesh, and he's played by none other than Val Kilmer! The end of the episode features a fun reference to fellow USA detective, Adrian Monk, and Shawn finally proposes to Juliet!

This finale is ranked number 2 because it is really fun, it's heart-warming, it's clever, and it wraps up everyone's stories so nicely and in the way we would have always wanted. It leaves you wanting way more, but it's so light-hearted that you don't really feel the sadness you usually do when a show you love ends.

#1 Friends

I know I may get people coming after me for this, but Number 1 is Friends. In this finale, Chandler and Monica are at the hospital as their surrogate, Erica, gives birth. They are surprised to find out she is delivering twins. Twins! Meanwhile, Rachel is on her way to Paris for a job, and Phoebe convinces Ross to finally get his shit together (excuse my language), tell her he loves her and that he wants to be with her and quit dancing around the issue. So Ross makes it to the airport just in time to tell her, but she gets on the plane anyway. But then she changes her mind. A lot of people think she should've stayed on the plane, and I won't get into all the reasons I don't totally agree with the internet's opinion of Ross Geller, but nevertheless it was an epic moment. Even Phoebe and Mike get a few sweet moments in this episode (and yes, I loved Mike. #MikeandPhoebeforever).

The reason I make this number 1 is because it's well written, it's funny, it's heartwarming, has a lot of twists and turns and wraps up everyone's story exactly the way they had built up to the whole season, and even the whole show. Rachel and Ross getting back together didn't come out of left field. They'd been teasing it all season. Monica and Chandler finally became parents. Phoebe finally got the family and stability she always wanted. Some wish Joey had ended up with somebody, but let's bee honest- Joey is not the type of guy who can do a long term relationship, at least with the amount of growth 9or lack thereof) they gave him. It's quintessentially Joey to stay a loner- a "player" as it were (whether or not you agree with that). The reason it takes over Psych is because I like a finale that makes you cry, and this one certainly does. You can really feel the ten years of love and friendship through the characters, and how it really is the end of an era. In my opinion, that makes a really good finale; sending your characters off on the next chapter of their lives- a place we know we can't follow. It's bittersweet, but you feel happy for them.

As always, none of the images belong to me. Credit to the owners.