Series Finale

[Lorimar Television]

Well what was everyone’s thoughts? Happy? Disappointed?

[RetroGuy2000]

I personally was underwhelmed. I felt like the final episode shows how far the series had drifted from the original premise. Nearly all of the original cast had moved on, leaving only Bonnie. This final season felt like the final season of Laverne and Shirley, with no Shirley. But "Laverne &" was never as good. They didn't even attempt to bring in any of the old characters. It left me cold.

[Christopher]

I didn't care for it. I would have preferred Violet coming back or Roscoe and have them be an addict. To introduce two new characters this episode and have them resemble Bonnie and Christy 8 years ago took away screen time from the main characters that could have had an ending written. I also didn't like Adam's lung cancer. Chuck said in an interview he didn't want to leave the show on a happy note, but it felt so forced being thrown in all of a sudden. Overall, this season's primary focus was giving Jill a happy ending with Andy. Everyone else were background characters around that. It could have been better but it is what it is. I'll miss this show.

[Lorimar Television]

I agree, it wasn't a great ending. Very disappointed we didn't see Christy, Violet, Roscoe, Baxter, etc. Adam getting lung cancer was very sad.

[Adamantium]

Here are my thoughts on the series finale of “Mom”. There are spoilers but if you come to this thread, you’ve probably already seen the episode. Oh, yeah, this is wordy! I watched the episode last night before going to work, so I had all night to gather my thoughts.

I liked it as an episode of the show but not as the final episode of the show. There’s no real closure. They set up the storyline of Adam having lung cancer. They set up the storyline of Shannon and her mom. It appears as if Shannon will be joining the ladies at the Bistro from now on. They set up Jill and Andy’s marriage as soon-to-be parents. It feels more like a season finale. I’ll bet if in a few years from now, someone is watching this show for the first time on cable and they get to this episode, the viewer will look forward to what’s coming next in the series, and be shocked when the next episode to air is the pilot.

All these years, I assumed Chuck Lorre and the writers had this great epic finale up their sleeves. I never knew what to expect. I was always a little nervous at the prospect of this series finale because I didn’t know if I’d like where the characters would end up. When Anna Faris was still on the show, I figured the ending would probably have something to do with her. Possibly she would move away and we’d get a touching farewell scene between her and Bonnie. Maybe they’d go a different route and have Christy fall off the wagon a few episodes prior to the last one and the final episode would end with Christy having to start her sobriety all over again. The final scene would be her at an AA meeting and saying “Hi, I’m Christy and I’m an alcoholic.” I also figured they’d work Violet into the ending. Before they had her return in season six, it seemed as though she might be following the Plunkett path to addiction. I saw the finale being Adam and Bonnie getting married and moving away. The final scene would be the same as the first AA scene in the pilot, except it would be Violet talking about how her mom ruined her life. Then she’d sit down and Christy would echo what Bonnie had said to her all those years prior, “Aren’t you a little old to be blaming all your problems on your mother?” It would come full circle. But when Violet showed up in season six and was clearly not an alcoholic, that ending simply couldn’t be. I still figured she and Christy would make up in the end. I know the show wasn’t about the family anymore, so I didn’t think the majority of the episode would deal with Violet, just a small fraction of it.

However, Anna Faris abruptly left the show between seasons seven and eight with a whimper, where she didn’t even get a goodbye scene or episode, just a mention that she’s moved away for law school, which, wasn’t she already in law school? Anyway, when she left, it took away all of those possibilities. Although by this point, Adam and Bonnie were married, so that couldn’t have been a factor in the finale anymore. To be honest, I had no clue on what they could have come up with for a final episode now that Christy isn’t there. There was a video of Allison Janney and William Fichtner in a car and I believe Allison said Bonnie and Adam were going on the road. So, I started to picture them doing some traveling, possibly moving to Washington D.C. to be closer to Christy. When Adam said he might have cancer, I started to think that maybe that’s what would get the two of them to go on the road and live life to the fullest. Maybe Bonnie would see herself as a helper to people in AA and she’d travel the states, doing the best she could for fellow addicts throughout the U.S.

But in the end, what we really got was a playing it safe finale. Nobody moved away. There was zero closure. It simply wasn’t a last episode. The penultimate episode was a better ending than this one. At least it ended with all of the characters dressed up and together (including Adam, Andy and Jerry) in a limo with happiness in their future. I almost wish the show had been cancelled after they shot the season finale. We probably would have gotten a better ending. I seem to recall all of the previous season finales being good episodes.

I almost feel that this episode would have worked better as episode two of this season. The first one should have been all about how Bonnie and Adam are dealing with being empty nesters since Christy finally moved out. Have this episode to close out the Christy/Bonnie chapter of the series before moving onto the Christy-less season. Then, the second episode would be this one. Shannon would join the series as a regular and serve as a body to replace Anna Faris. The Adam cancer storyline would be played out through the season, as would Jill and Andy’s marriage and Jill’s pregnancy.

All in all, it was just a bummer of a last show. The series is great. It just entered my top ten favorite sitcoms list. But I’m not happy with the episode they chose to go out with.

[TMC]

Mom ends its eight-season run by going full circle

"I know that the series began with a question, which was could we do a sitcom that was about hope and redemption? I think that the finale answers that question," co-creator and showrunner Gemma Baker said of Thursday's series finale, which was written with fellow co-creator Chuck Lorre. Was it always the plan to go full circle with the finale? "No," says Baker. "We didn’t have a lot of time to grapple with questions or really plan anything out too far in advance. We got a chance to write the finale with Chuck, which was great. We wanted to tell a story about how much Bonnie had grown and how much she had changed, so I think that for us it was not so much that her life has changed but her reaction to life has changed. Her focus in her life has changed. Yes, she had challenges before and she has challenges now, but the difference is that she is willing to help someone else in the midst of her own problems. She’s willing to celebrate a friend who’s having a dream come true, and she’s willing to ask for help from Marjorie and be honest about what’s going on for her. In the past, when she had a challenge, Bonnie would often either go off on her own or come up with her own solution that sort of made the original problem worse. I think we get to see how much she’s changed in the course of this series, which you don’t always get to see and she also gets to recognize that change in herself."

ALSO:

• Allison Janney on Mom's evolution into a series exclusively about women: "It’s been an extraordinary thing to see the show move from being about a family to being a show about a family of women in recovery together, all of a certain age—I would say over 30," says Janney. "And they’re women who support each other; they don’t tear each other down. They come to the table with a lot of baggage and a lot of life and heartbreak behind them already, so to find friendships at these stages in their lives, with the backdrop of recovery—it makes for very deep and rich relationships. It’s been extraordinarily meaningful, and I’m very proud of what we’ve put out into the world."
• How Mom co-creator and showrunner Gemma Baker would like Mom to be remembered: "I hope Mom is remembered as a funny show that was really about something… It was a show that portrayed recovery as a place where there is light and laughter," she says. "And hope. And compassion. And friendships. And that chance at a better life."
• Mom producers didn't approach Anna Faris about returning for the finale: "It's funny, we didn't revisit it," says Baker. "We honored her decision to leave the show and it wasn't really a discussion. The last two seasons have really been about the ensemble and we were just putting our energy into, 'How do we wrap up these stories that we've been telling over the years, but also this season?'"
• Mom's final season didn't much resemble the first one, but it did illustrate a resiliency, appropriately, that has been one of the show's trademarks

[Christopher]

Originally Posted by Adamantium

Maybe they’d go a different route and have Christy fall off the wagon a few episodes prior to the last one and the final episode would end with Christy having to start her sobriety all over again. The final scene would be her at an AA meeting and saying “Hi, I’m Christy and I’m an alcoholic.”

I wouldn't want Christy to fall off the wagon. Shameless did this to a character in season 9 and it wrecked the whole show. I had already lost interest in their previous season, but destroying a strong character was the final straw. Christy is written like her in Mom. She should always be the stable one IMO. I don't know what a great ending would have been for this show. It definitely had to be about Bonnie though since she became the show's star after season 2. I still can't believe how Anna washed her hands of the show after season 7. Something had to have happened behind scenes to not even care about making an appearance in the final episode.

[Adamantium]

Originally Posted by Christopher

I wouldn't want Christy to fall off the wagon. Shameless did this to a character in season 9 and it wrecked the whole show. I had already lost interest in their previous season, but destroying a strong character was the final straw. Christy is written like her in Mom. She should always be the stable one IMO. I don't know what a great ending would have been for this show. It definitely had to be about Bonnie though since she became the show's star after season 2. I still can't believe how Anna washed her hands of the show after season 7. Something had to have happened behind scenes to not even care about making an appearance in the final episode.

Yeah, I wouldn't have been too thrilled with Christy falling off the wagon, either. That was just an idea I thought they might have been willing to do, just to make the finale more dramatic.

It was certainly a shock that Anna not only quit the show, but did so after signing a 2-year contract. Something must have happened that made her leave. We may never know or find out years later, when she's ready to open up about it, or one of the people involved lets it slip.

I read an article and Chuck Lorre and the people making "Mom" didn't even reach out to Anna Faris to return for the finale. So, it wasn't a case of her not being willing to return. She simply wasn't asked.

[Lorimar Television]

I heard Anna was battling with an eating disorder during the show and left for her mental health. She talks about it on her podcast a friend of mine who listened to it told me. This article shows she’s been having issues too https://idolpersona.com/anna-faris-weight-loss-skinny

[Adamantium]

Originally Posted by Lorimar Television

I heard Anna was battling with an eating disorder during the show and left for her mental health. She talks about it on her podcast a friend of mine who listened to it told me. This article shows she’s been having issues too https://idolpersona.com/anna-faris-weight-loss-skinny

I recently saw a picture of Anna Faris in a bikini and it was frightening. She was so skinny in that pic. Even watching the show, you can tell she's thinner in the later seasons.

Over on the Facebook page for "Mom" a lot of the fans over there continue to hate on Anna for leaving the show. One guy even said "She's dead to me." A lot of them say how the show is even better without her and that the 8th season is the best! People can be irritating at times, lol.

[Christopher]

Originally Posted by Adamantium

I read an article and Chuck Lorre and the people making "Mom" didn't even reach out to Anna Faris to return for the finale. So, it wasn't a case of her not being willing to return. She simply wasn't asked.

Did Anna ever say anything when it was announced the show was ending? Maybe one of the reasons Chuck didn't invite her back is because she didn't care if the show was canceled?

Originally Posted by Lorimar Television

I heard Anna was battling with an eating disorder during the show and left for her mental health. She talks about it on her podcast a friend of mine who listened to it told me. This article shows she’s been having issues too https://idolpersona.com/anna-faris-weight-loss-skinny

I hate hearing that. I bet her divorce with Chris Pratt caused that. He was cheating on her with Jennifer Lawrence. That probably made Anna be self-conscious about her looks.

Originally Posted by Adamantium

Over on the Facebook page for "Mom" a lot of the fans over there continue to hate on Anna for leaving the show. One guy even said "She's dead to me." A lot of them say how the show is even better without her and that the 8th season is the best! People can be irritating at times, lol.

Season 8 is definitely not the best. It's at the bottom with season 5. Jill seasons are not good seasons. Just throwing that out there If this season had been more about the depth of the characters and not shallow stories on Jill's love life, then maybe. I gotta say season 8 made me dislike Jill a lot. I used to like her in the early seasons, but now I just wanted her off my screen every time she came on crying about Andy or wanting to have sex with some guy the girls said no to I wanted more Tammy. I really love her character and the development they did with her in seasons 6 and 7.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by Lorimar Television

I heard Anna was battling with an eating disorder during the show and left for her mental health. She talks about it on her podcast a friend of mine who listened to it told me. This article shows she’s been having issues too https://idolpersona.com/anna-faris-weight-loss-skinny

Oh no. So sorry to hear this.

[principehomura]

This show me gave me everything I wanted from a sitcom, made me "feel", and also gave me support when I needed it.
It may sounds stupid but that's it.

A personal thanks to everyone involved in it.

[principehomura]

Regarding Anna I'm sorry to read this, but that was my fear when I sw her photo a while back. I hope she recovered and feels better, and wish her the best of luck.

[AB]

It was an okay finale, I would have liked to see Christy return for it but that didn't happen.
I enjoyed seeing Melanie Lynskey guest star on it.