What a gift. What a gift. What an absolute gift we’ve been given with this dream of a show. I’m sure a lot of people are going to show up after this episode to express the heaps of sadness they feel as Somebody Somewhere comes to a close (shout out to the best recaps comment section in town!), but I think I’m walking away from this show also feeling so much joy. Do not get it twisted; I have watched “AGG†three times now and sobbed my way through it every single time. Still, shows like this don’t come around often, and frankly, it’s a miracle it ever happened. What a thing it was to get a warm, lovely, and welcoming show. A show that could make you cry from laughter and heartbreak and the bittersweetness of it all in equal measure. Those slice-of-life shows, friends, sometimes they’re exactly what you need. What a thing.
So, yeah, be sad about it — I know I am — but also recognize how much there is to celebrate as we say good-bye. And toward the top of that list of things to celebrate about Somebody Somewhere is surely this finale episode, written by series creators Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen and Bridget Everett and directed by Lennon Parham. Not that there was any doubt the final installment would be great — season three as a whole has been quite the triumph — but still, it’s nice to see a beloved show go out on such a high note. And yes, of course, I am 100 percent talking about Bridget Everett absolutely crushing Miley Cyrus’s “The Climb†to send us off, but I’m also talking about the episode as a whole. (Okay, but seriously, those vocals?!)
Besides extended time with these characters and multiple updates as to what they are up to for the rest of their lives, what more could you want from a series finale for this show? All of our major storylines get some real closure.
Take Joel. Sweet Joel. On paper, his life seems perfect and good and happy, but last week he opened up to Sam — mostly by crying, but we all got it — about feeling like something is still missing. He’s pretty sure that’s related to his complicated relationship with the church. Going to Brad’s church is fine and all, but he misses his old community, he misses Pastor Deb. This week, he does something hard: He finally walks back into that church (it’s technically a new building, but the sentiment is the same). Pastor Deb’s reaction to seeing Joel again is immediate and wonderful: “I’ve been waiting for you!†she tells him before bringing him in for a huge hug. Joel’s relief is so palpable. First, he tries not to sob; then, when he finds Sam, who walked him up to those church doors because that’s supporting your friend, he is so excited. “This is where I belong,†he says. But what happens after this very hard thing is even more telling about the growth we’ve seen in Joel over the season: He tells Brad right away. He knows Brad will be disappointed in both the fact that they won’t be going to church together and that Joel trusted Sam with this first, but he needs to be honest. At the beginning of the season, Joel was scared to ask Brad to have magnets on the fridge. Now, Joel trusts in their relationship and in himself.
It’s quite clear that none of this growth would’ve been possible without Sam. She’s both supported him and pushed him. He acknowledges this in Somebody Somewhere’s final ode to the Sam-Joel friendship (you knew we were gonna get a scene like this, come on). Moments after Joel “murders†Sam’s toilet — that palpable relief over things going well with Pastor Deb extends to Joel’s bowels, it seems — they’re sitting in his car and he brings up a moment we saw back in season one from early on in their friendship when Sam warned Joel that she “might not be friendship material.†She wanted him to think twice about getting on “this ride†with her. “God, I’m glad I didn’t listen to you. I’m so glad I got on the ride. My life is so much better because of you. I think you’re my person, Sam. I know you are,†he says so plainly, so assuredly. Anyone else let out a “I’m so glad I got on this ride too†through their blubbering, or…? Cool, cool, cool, nah, definitely not me either; I’m emotionally stable, too.
Joel’s not the only person in Manhattan, Kansas, who’s been changed thanks to their relationship with Sam. This season’s focus on Tricia has been so welcome and it feels fitting to get a big scene that honors her and Sam’s relationship. Even better, I love that this scene is tied to the third Miller sister. This show started with Sam trying to pick herself up after her sister Holly’s death — remember how she couldn’t even sleep in Holly’s bed? — and here, in the finale, we get to revisit how that grief has changed them individually and as a unit.
When Tricia realizes that they forgot Holly’s birthday for the first time, she is beside herself. She decides she finally wants to go inside Sam’s house, which was Holly’s house — she wants to face her grief or punish herself for the error, or maybe both. Inside, they speak so openly and vulnerably about their grief. Admittedly, I am a fairly recent griever (Dead Dad Club, where you at?), so I sobbed throughout this entire thing, and maybe I’m biased, but this is the scene in this episode that I’ll be thinking about for a long, long time. It works so beautifully in two very distinct ways. First, it’s just this gorgeous reflection on grief. The conversation Sam and Tricia have about being scared to “lose the sadness†because Tricia fears it would mean losing Holly — admitting that she almost doesn’t want this feeling of loss to get any easier or less painful is so relatable it’s almost terrifying. And to hear Sam assure her that “the sadness†isn’t the same as Holly, that Holly isn’t going anywhere is so simply phrased and yet packs such a truthful punch (which is probably how you could describe this entire series, right?), you can only hope that people in the throes of grief stumble upon this moment at some point.
But the other wonderful thing about this moment is how it functions within the story. It’s a short-ish scene, and yet it does so much to show us how both these characters have changed in the time we’ve known them. I love authentic emotion, and I love storytelling efficiency, and oh boy, when those two things get together, we are living. I mean, look at Sam, who used to be so paralyzed by her grief, being the one to guide Tricia through it. The fact that she could give Tricia Holly’s necklace because she knows Tricia is the one who needs it now is a massive gesture. Then there’s Tricia, who can finally stop living in denial of her grief and face it head-on. And both of them know all of this growth is partly because they’ve let the other one in. They even admit it to each other: “I guess she just had to get cancer and die for us to like each other,†Sam jokes, as they laugh about how Holly would not believe how close her sisters have gotten. And in true Somebody Somewhere fashion, it ends on a laugh, when Sam pulls Tricia in for a hug, and Tricia gets a huge whiff of the lingering dog shit on Sam’s sweatshirt after a volunteer shift at the animal shelter (yet another example of Sam’s growth!). The whole thing is perfect; I need to have a little lie-down.
But wait! It’s moving to see how Sam has changed some of the other characters, but this season has, first and foremost, been about Sammy making changes and realizing that letting other people in, letting people support and challenge you, is a good thing. This episode celebrates her doing just that. There are small examples of Sam making life upgrades, like the aforementioned volunteer shift (returning to the scene of Pepper’s heartbreak? Old Sam, yes, I’m calling her that, would never), and her finally admitting she needs to give up Holly’s truck and take the car Tricia’s offered her. But we get some bigger and wildly moving examples, too.
After the Miller Sister’s Grief Chat, Tricia checks in on Sam’s status with Iceland. Sam tells her that she hasn’t heard anything, it’s going nowhere. Sam is also being shady as hell whenever someone asks about Iceland, so you do the math. But Tricia being Tricia, rides up to the farm to defend her sister’s honor. She makes a big, loud, wonderful speech about how beautiful and smart and kind her sister is and that Iceland is an asshole who doesn’t deserve her. Imagine Tricia’s surprise when Iceland calmly replies that he wanted to see Sam again, but she never responded to his call or texts. Actually, you don’t have to imagine it, you can see Tricia’s surprise all over her face and it is hilarious. When Tricia sees Sam again, she tells her what happened, and she isn’t mean or angry about Sam lying; she simply wants to know why Sam makes everything so hard for herself. She likes Iceland, and Iceland likes her, and she deserves to go for it.
It’s this gesture from Tricia, paired with that heartfelt conversation with Joel, that perhaps finally helps Sam see for herself that letting people support you, and opening yourself up to the world makes you better. She wants to celebrate and acknowledge that truth. So, she invites everybody she loves (are we all aware that Susan did not attend?) to the bar for a special treat. Well, two special treats if you count the shots of TBM (tiny breast milks). The real treat, though, is a song. Fred steps up to the mic and introduces Sam, who grabs Joel to accompany her on the keyboard — yes, it’s a throwback to Choir Practice — and she tells Joel, Fred, Brad, Tiffani, Irma, and of course Tricia, that she feels “really good†and wanted to let all of her favorite people how much she loves them.
Sam proceeds to perform a version of “The Climb†that blows the roof off the Cock & Bull. The perfect anthem for Sam Miller, if ever there was one. And, thanks to a little note she left at Iceland’s door after a push from Tricia, Iceland walks in just in time to catch the whole raucous, gorgeous thing. When she finishes, to chants of her name no less, she walks over to him. “That was amazing,†he tells her. She giggles into his shoulder, about as happy and free as we’ve ever seen her. It’s about as lovely a final image as you could ask. And honestly, what else is there to say? TV rules and Somebody Somewhere is the best.
Tender Moments
• Okay, how about one last tender moment for the road courtesy of Sam Miller (and Bridget Everett)? “Cheers to us, and here’s to living.â€
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