Last time: The Clarke family tried to plan for Mitch’s funeral but Maggie found herself unable to make any decisions about it. Zoey met Bernadette Peters at the cemetery and realized that she was the one who would be able to help Maggie the most. Meanwhile, Zoey got a lot of support from Joan, who understood exactly what she was going through, while Max pretty much ended their friendship. Leif was still pining for Joan and it was revealed that he was essentially spying on the sixth floor in a bid to help the fourth floor win the bake off. Joan put a stop to it and got Ava to agree to a truce, so the two floors would work together. Zoey and Max made up while Mo broke up with Eddie because he was going to be gone for months performing on a cruise ship.
In the end, Maggie finally made some decisions, Max and Zoey made up and then Ava fired Max.
And so here we are – the season finale. You might want some tissues for this one.
Also, this show deserved to pick up at least a couple of Emmy nods. It’s a shame they didn’t get any recognition at all.
I see the bad moon a-rising/I see trouble on the SPOILERS!
Zoey gets ready for the day. Every time she looks in the mirror, her reflection starts singing to her – “Bad Moon Rising.” She tries to carry on but her heart song keeps warning her that something is going to happen that day, freaking her out.
(While this is an excellent song to use for the foreshadowing, I do have to laugh as this song has one of the most famous misheard lyrics ever. There’s a bathroom on the right, anyone?)
Mo is annoyed when Zoey knocks on his door. She tells him she’s worried she’s singing again and tells him that the song is trying to warn her about something. Mo does agree with that and says that something bad is going to happen. She asks if Mo’s okay and Mo says he’s not, that he’s suffering from a creative block. Zoey asks him if it’s because of his breakup with Eddie and how he still cares about him but Mo insists he’s over Eddie.
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| (I love the shirt!) |
Zoey decides to go visit her parents before going to work and is relieved to find her father sitting on the couch. He seems to be in a good mood and Howie assures her that everything is well. She then goes to to talk to her mother and finds Maggie trying to find something in the sink. She dropped something and she reaches into the garbage disposal. Zoey yells at her not to but Maggie was smart enough to turn it off first. It seems like it’s going to be a stressful day for Zoey.
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| (Just not for Zoey) |
She arrives at work as Tobin welcomes Leif back to the fourth floor. He points out that they now have an omelet station and that he’s had four already that morning. Zoey points out that they aren’t good for his cholesterol and he says he already has the worst cholesterol numbers possible for his age. She’s surprised he’s bragging and he reveals that he does that because he’s actually concerned.
Leif then asks Zoey how Max is doing. She’s not sure why he asked that and says she believes Max is fine. She does admit they aren’t talking as much as they used to. Leif then says that she doesn’t know and she’s even more confused.
Zoey storms into Joan’s office, shocked that Ava fired Max and wanting to know why. Joan assumes it wasn’t because he did a good job. She’s nervous and jittery so Zoey asks her what’s wrong. Joan says she may lose her job because Danny Michael Thomas actually called her and left a voicemail. She’s scared to call him back because she’s afraid she’ll lose her job and just hopes it was a misdial by his tech pants. Zoey wants to know more about the pants but Joan tells her to forget them. So Zoey tells Joan to not call Danny Michael Thomas back and he’ll probably forget about it in six months. Joan agrees and thanks her for the help.
Zoey then treats Max to some cheesequakes. He says he’s a bit lost after working at SPRQ Point for five years. Max explains that he was just walking around, trying to figure out what’s next for him.
Look, losing your job that suddenly and without warning is difficult. And I think he might have a good case for wrongful termination but assuming he doesn’t, he’s not necessarily SOL. He’s been with SPRQ Point for five years. That’s pretty good. And everything does point to him being good at his job. I’m sure Joan will be able to give him a reference – even Zoey could. There are plenty of coding jobs. In the real (pre-COVID) world, Max would likely land on his feet in a month or so.
Anyway, they then run into Simon. He’s back from Vegas and was getting some cheesequakes for him and Zoey. But she’s there now. Zoey says she’s treating Max because he’s having a lousy day. She then whispers he got fired and Max is less than thrilled, though Simon would’ve heard anyway. So Simon decides to leave them to it and Zoey gets the cheesequakes.
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| (Awkward) |
Zoey and Max sit down and Zoey asks him to tell her about what happened. So he starts recounting it when she sees Simon lurking nearby. He starts to sing “Jealous” by Nick Jonas and she looks pretty pleased that he feels that way. Max then notices she zoned out but she insists she was listening. They are about to continue when a light fixture crashes onto the table next to them. Everyone jumps away and Max asks if she’s okay. She says no as it seems the day is determined to age her prematurely.
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| (Someone's "jealous") |
After her near death experience, Zoey goes to talk to Simon about the weekend. He says it was a great weekend with his mother and he’s glad he went. Simon also gives her a shirt from some Medieval Times knockoff as a souvenir. She then tells him that he doesn’t have to worry about Max, that they are just friends. He asks if he seemed jealous earlier and she says he was giving off those vibes. Simon admits he was jealous and says that he wouldn’t have admitted that before, that it was one of the issues between him and Jessica – communication. But he’s glad he and Zoey can talk about these things. She takes the shirt and thanks him, heading back to her desk.
Mo, though, waylays her and says he knows she was behind the fake email about a sale. He says he went down there and found Eddie there too. Zoey confesses and says she wanted the two of them to talk. Mo insists that he’s over Eddie before launching into “I Will Follow Him,” which I’m sure we’re all familiar with from Sister Act.
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| (Sing it, Mo!) |
And if you’re not, please open another window and go to YouTube. Once you finish, please resume the recap.
When the number finishes, Zoey tells Mo that they are have now been two love songs about Eddie. She encourages Mo to talk to Eddie and to give him a chance. As Mo leaves, Zoey gets a text that says that Emily is in labor and she rushes out.
Zoey arrives at the hospital but learns it was a false alarm. Emily and David reassure her as the nurse continues to roll Emily out as she tells David that there are nipple guards, which are going to be game changers. Zoey makes sure her brother is fine and David says he is, though he admits to being a bit disappointed as he hoped that if the baby had come, then their dad could’ve at least met his grandson.
David heads after his wife while Zoey decides to go back to work. As she wanders away, she passes by the MRI machine and stares at it. The MRI tech passes her and says that it looks scary but that it performs miracles. He then starts singing “I Got the Music” in me as Zoey stares at him in amazement.
While we’ve seen Zoey try to figure out how her powers work, she’s never really explored why she got them. Maybe that will be a second season storyline.
Back at SPRQ Point, Danny Michael Thomas arrives to talk to Joan. Zoey rushes over to greet him and informs him that Joan is in a meeting. Danny Michael Thomas remembers that she sang “Pressure” to him and it seems Zoey is on his “good” list for now. So she appeals to him on Max’s behalf and asks if she can rehire him. He asks her a few questions that really have nothing to do with work and she wisely answers yes to all of them. Danny Michael Thomas approves her request.
Danny enters the Hive and asks everyone to clear the room so he can talk with Joan. She apologizes for not calling him back, coming up with some excuse about not finding her charger. He cuts her off and tells her that he needs to lay low for a while as he might be under federal investigation. So he’s there to ask her to take over SPRQ Point in his absence, however long that may end up being. She says she has to think about it and talk with her lawyer but of course she will do it. He thanks her before leaving.
Mo goes to Eddie’s and opens up about his insecurities and concerns. He says he does have strong feelings for Eddie and wants to see what happens, so he’s willing to give a long-distance relationship a try. True to form, Eddie doesn’t say anything except to stand aside to let Mo in. Looks like they made up!
Aww!
Zoey and Max get together that evening. She celebrates that she made it through the day without a major calamity. And she reveals that she got Max his job back. Max thanks her but says that he doesn’t want it. He enjoyed being a manager and overseeing a team and so doesn’t want to go backwards. He wants to go forward and so he wants to explore what opportunities there are out there for him.
Good for you, Max!
He then asks if she’s upset with him and she says she’s not. Zoey says she likes this new side of him and is happy to support him in whatever he decides to do. She then kisses him and he asks her why she did that. Zoey tells him it was because she wanted to and then they continue to kiss.
Maybe Simon does have to worry about Max after all.
She and Max start making out on the couch but it doesn’t last. Zoey’s powers kick in as Max starts singing “All of Me” by John Legend, which makes it harder for them to kiss. She manages to clap her hand over his mouth and tells him that he’s singing a love song to her. Zoey says it’s killing the mood. Max says he understands.
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| (Not a good time for a serenade) |
With that settled, they start making out again but it still doesn’t last long. This time he starts singing Pitbull’s “I Know You want me (Calle Ocho)” and now he’s dancing. It’s clear he’s trying to think sexy thoughts and it’s just not working. Zoey sits on the couch, just wanting him to shut up and kiss her.
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| (Same, Zoey) |
Just as she convinces Max to clear his mind and not think about anything that could turn into a musical number, her phone rings. He tells her not to get it but she says it’s her family, so it could be about her father. She picks up and her mood dampens as she says she’ll be right over. Max asks her what happened and she tells him that the bad moon rose.
Zoey and Max go to the Clarke household where Howie informs the family that Mitch is in his final hours. He predicts it will all be over soon and so it’s best if they say their goodbyes now. Everyone struggles to accept the news and Howie gives them some privacy to process it.
Emily comforts a crying David and Zoey goes to suggest that he talk to their father first. He says he’s a mess and can’t face their father like that. But she points out that Mitch was always open about his feelings and so David shouldn’t hide his now. David asks when she got so wise and she says when a magical MRI changed her forever. Thankfully they just chalk that up to Zoey being Zoey. Emily says she’ll let David go by himself but he says she should come, that she was family too and that his dad would want to see her one last time.
As they head into the living room, Max gets ready to leave. Zoey thanks him for coming and gives him a hug. Maggie asks if he got to spend some time with Mitch and Max confirms he did. He hugs her and whispers that he told Mitch exactly how he feels about his daughter. She says that he probably already knew but she’s glad he told her. He then leaves as Zoey looks into the living room.
David and Emily sit with Mitch, who then starts singing Billy Joel’s “Lullaby (Goodnight, My Angel).” It’s an emotional pick as Mitch sings his goodbye to his son and to the grandson he won’t get to meet as David joins in, their grief obvious.
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| (Grab the tissue box) |
Meanwhile, Max calls Simon and lets him know about Zoey’s dad. He says that she would want Simon to know and Simon asks if there’s anything he can do. Max suggests just reaching out to her. Simon thanks him for calling. It’s a nice moment where these two men who are rivals put that aside for Zoey’s sake.
At the Clarke house, Zoey and Howie have a nice talk about death. He pretty much tells her how one views death is going to color their whole experience and each person has to determine how they are going to view it – incredibly unfair or a needed freeing of the soul.
She heads back out and finds her father lying in his bed in the study. Maggie is with him and she starts singing “Dream a Little Dream of Me” before curling into bed with him, crying.
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| (Oh, Maggie) |
Zoey hears something outside and opens the door to find a wrapped dish on the doorstep. She then spots Simon getting in his car and goes out to him. He says that Max told him about her father and he wasn’t sure what to do. But he remembered everyone kept bringing him food so he thought he would bring them some lasagna. She thanks him and he promises to be there for her. She then jokes that she’ll need the grief basket back and he promises to give her an even bigger one before leaving.
Returning inside, David takes the lasagna from Zoey and says that he’s starving. Maggie then suggests that Zoey spend time with Mitch and Zoey bites the bullet, going to sit by her father’s bedside. She starts to talk to him and assures him that while she still doesn’t have everything figured out, she knows she’s going to be fine so he doesn’t have to worry about her. Mitch then starts to struggle to breathe and Zoey calls out for help. Howie comes in and gives Mitch some morphine as the family gathers around for what appears to be Mitch’s final minutes.
Someone then tries to get Zoey’s attention. She turns around to find her father’s spirit standing in the living room wearing a suit. While she looks back at him dying in bed as everyone sobs, he tells her to come over to the living room so he can talk to her. So she walks away and as she enters the living room, she now wears a beautiful red dress. He says he wants to dance and she says that there isn’t any music. As they start dancing, though, an instrumental version of “True Colors” play and they share one last dance together.
Zoey doesn’t know what she’s going to do without him. He tells her that thanks to her powers, he’ll always be there with her and that if she listens, she’ll always hear him. He then kisses her forehead when Maggie lets out a sob. Zoey looks back and she’s standing alone in the living room as her mother sobs over Mitch’s body.
Mitch is gone.
We next find the family in a car as it rains outside, all four of them wearing black. They debate going back into the house, where I guess everyone has gathered after burying Mitch, and Emily says she’s good with avoiding people. But Maggie believes they should go in and get on with things.
They get out of the car and head toward the house. Maggie starts singing “American Pie” and what follows is an amazing seven and a half minute wrap up of the season. It was done in one long continuous take and is extremely well choreographed as it not only features extras but all the main cast – Maggie, David, Emily, Joan, Simon, Max, Mo and Howie. Each person gets their own parts and it’s clear a lot of thought went into who would sing what. Everyone mourns and comforts each other as the repast wraps up. Joan, Mo, and Simon leave as does Howie, taking his bag with him as his services are no longer needed. Max stays a bit longer to comfort Zoey before leaving as well. She finishes up the song a cappella as she sits on the couch, staring at her father’s empty spot.
Gifs won’t do it justice so I’m just going to put the video from YouTube here:
And thus ends Season 1.
Okay, everyone take a deep breath. Grab a tissue, maybe a glass of water.
Let’s discuss.
It seems in the past decade, it’s gotten really popular for shows to kill off a character – especially during May sweeps/finals season. This is usually done for shock purposes and more times than not, is often an unpopular decision with fans and usually not handled well.
For example, Robin Hood (Sean Maguire) from Once Upon a Time. And yes, I’m still bitter.
Now, I had a feeling that Robin was going to die because I was following set watchers and spoilers. There was a giant funeral scene and the only two cast members not present for filming were Sean and Emilie de Ravin (Belle), who had just given birth. Sean returned from Vancouver before they finished filming the finale. It all seemed to line up though many of us hoped that it would not come to pass or there would be a twist. There was not.
There was no build up to him dying. In fact, Robin tended to disappear during episodes and was a background character instead. And then his death wasn’t even about him. It was just poorly handled and even the general audience was upset over his death, making the network worried enough that they had the producers bring Sean back for an arc the following season. It was just bad.
This? This was the opposite.
We knew from the very beginning that Mitch was going to die. And as the season progressed, it grew more apparent that he was unlikely to survive the season. We got to watch the family process this and come to accept it in the previous episode. Mitch’s death is the natural conclusion to the entire season long arc. And even though we knew it was coming, it didn’t lessen it’s impact. The writing, the acting and the song choices all heightened the emotional stakes and the audience felt some grief along with the Clarke family.
(My one quibble might be that we were told more than shown how important Mitch was to them. It would’ve been nice to have gotten more glimpses of how Mitch was before the disease took hold but maybe that will be a way the show can keep using Peter Gallagher next season).
The buildup was well done. Zoey singing “Bad Moon Rising” really set us up, as I noted above. And then all the possible bad things happening that ended up turning out alright – Joan stepping in to run SPRQ Point rather than getting fired, Maggie not cutting up her hand, Max deciding to pursue new opportunities after getting fired, Mo getting back together with Eddie – heightened the punch to the gut when you realized everything was wrapped up by the halfway point. So when Zoey got that call, you felt it.
And from there, they kept the emotional level at an all-time high until the final scene of the family sitting in their black clothes without Mitch. Just very powerful.
So bravo to the writers, the cast and crew for pulling off an emotional and brilliant episode.
Next time What I hope we see in season 2!
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