Spoiler Alert...Below are some thoughts on last night's series finale of Greek, "Legacy." So before reading any further, watch the ep, spoil the original Star Wars movies for somebody, then read what I have to say.
After finishing the Greek series finale this morning, I tweeted that it "passed out Friday Night Lights for most satisfying finale of the year." Maybe I was a bit hyperbolic in that statement, but I really couldn't have asked anything more of "Legacy" as we said goodbye to our favorite students at Cyprus Rhodes University.
I didn't think we were really building up to a series finale as the last few episodes went by, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much this episode both continued the current story lines, and wrapped up many of the long running themes of the series beautifully and succinctly.
The episode in and of itself had plenty to work with. It had its excitement as the gang pulled together to perform its best caper to date. Albeit stealing that fraternity paddle didn't end up saving the day, but it was still a really fun moment watching them pull off one last set of antics. It also had its sad moment as Rusty, Beaver, and myself all shed a tear for the Kappa Tau house as it was demolished following the unsuccessful movement by Rusty with the frat paddle.
But what the episode really did was leave me completely satisfied with the long running character arcs. Cappie grew up. He was slowly doing so throughout this final season, but in accidentally graduating from CRU and deciding to join Casey in whatever her plan was, Cappie proved that he was a different man than the one we met those few years ago. In standing up to her law professor, Casey proved that she wasn't going to just follow the crowd because it was the right thing to do for her future. This more free-wheeling Casey Cartwright is someone I'm happy to finally see show up.
Oh Rusty Cartwright, how I hated you so. The one they call Spitter sure did get on my nerves time after time, but that won't stop me for being proud of him for stepping up to the plate and being the new President that Kappa Tau needs. Sure he'll probably do some lame things on occasion, which will embarrass the legacy that Cappie left, but it was a perfect arc for this nerd turned frat guy. Him being with Ashleigh though? That's something I'm not as thrilled about. It felt extremely rushed, and that they needed somewhere to take her character. I feel like her going off to be independent might have been a better ending, but I'm just picking nits at this point.
Sure there was Calvin heading off to some foreign country to help people, but the other conclusion I was most pleased with was the fact that Evan finally made up for all his douchery when he sided with Cappie and his friends over his future. This is a character that was so easy to hate at moments, but you could always see how he got off the wrong path. To watch him be the nice guy in the end was so very satisfying.
The best part of the episode though, was without a doubt, finding out Cappie's full name. That was the only thing I went into this finale needing to know. If they never told us what his name was, I would have been extremely upset. More upsetting than any non-answer a Lost fan had following that finale. And to find out his name was as awesome as it was, that was just the icing on the cake...Captain John Paul Jones!?!?! Why I never guessed that Cappie was short for Captain is beyond me, but I'm so glad that I didn't. I was surprised as Ashleigh as she read the name on Cappie's diploma aloud. Fantastic stuff.
The funny thing about Greek is that I started watching the show almost jokingly. If I remember correctly, it was Jackie Boy and Jon the Bon watching it that first summer it aired. I checked it out with them and was laughing at how ridiculous it was and how much I hated some of the characters (Rusty, Calvin, etc.). The show grew into one the series that I took more seriously over the years. It used comedy extremely well, with more pop-culture references per minute than Community, and seemed to be more in touch with the young adult demographic than anything else on tv. They weren't glorifying the life of a young adult, or debasing it, like a 90210 or Gossip Girl tends to do. It just felt real, and that was one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much over the years.
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