Everwood
by Angel Cohn

June 5, 2006:

Thanks for the Memories
I should be thrilled because I got the happily-ever-after ending that I was hoping for. Andy and Nina got engaged. Amy stopped being annoying and realized she was in love with Ephram, and then they got back together. Edna found a way to be needed. The Abbotts got the baby they really wanted. Delia got a horse, and Hannah decided to stay in Colorado to be closer to Bright. It was all so sweet and romantic and perfect. But it is over. For good. And that makes all my good feelings so bittersweet. However, if this show had to end, I'm glad that they got a chance to tie up the loose ends and finish with this sentimental send-off, instead of leaving it with a heartbreaking cliff-hanger.

I've got a couple of lingering questions, though.

— How can Bright afford a big-screen TV? He was looking for summer employment at the mall. Did Irv leave him some cash and I missed it?

— Is that the same way that Amy can afford to rent a Ferris wheel? I remember being a college student and barely being able to afford to ride on one, let alone renting one for the night.

— Do people really still leave babies on doorsteps? It just isn't something you see so much in this day and age. Maybe I'm wrong. But I'm glad that the Abbotts did finally go through some proper legal channels.

— Why did Nina and Jake have to leave town on the same day as Delia's bat mitzvah? They couldn't have left the next day? A cross-country move is a big deal and should have some flexibility.

But aside from those minor, silly little quibbles, it was wonderful. I thought that Dr. Dimples bowed out of the Nina-Andy love triangle gracefully and with dignity. I was annoyed by Delia's little tyrant moment before her bat mitzvah, but she calmed down quite a bit and even gave Sam her extra iPod. That was pretty nice for the former "mean girl." I got all emotional watching Harold's speech to his mother about how he had missed so much time with her growing up and how he wanted her to live with them. [Sniff] Andy getting Julia's blessing was a touching thought. And his proposal was appropriately romantic and funny; Nina couldn't have said no if she tried. I enjoyed Bright working his way back into Hannah's life by becoming her confidant and best pal. Him telling her to go to Notre Dame was the right choice.... But then again, so was her decision to stay local. The Ephram-Amy retrospective just made me realize how young they were when they first met. But I'm glad that the duo, who really were the heart and soul of the show, ended up together. A much better choice than leaving "Stephram" together.

My favorite quotes of the night (most of them are from Bright, naturally):

— "Those Jews really know how to party. Though technically I think there were only four there."
— "I knew you guys would eventually trade me in for her."
— "You want to brave the horah?" "What did you call me?"
— "That's like the first unrecycled girl you have had in this apartment all year. Mazel tov. I learned me some Jewish last night."
— "When you start noticing the shoes, it makes me ask a lot of questions."
— "You danced with the devil last night. It fogged your brain and clogged your drain."
— "There's no need for Shakespeare, dear. We get the point."
— "I looked on while you and Dr. Boob Job played out some comic mating ritual."
— "Your ex-boyfriend, El Jerko, is on some of those lists."
— "When we first moved here and you were talking to her in public... that was strange."
— "This is where we met. You were pregnant with another woman's baby and I was fighting with my son. Not a great beginning, but it was our beginning."

And finally: "Ephram Brown, I'm going to miss you and your sullen ways." Jake may have said it, but it pretty much sums up all of my feelings in a nutshell. So goodbye, Everwood. You will be missed.