**Contains Spoilers: You've been warned!**
I had no idea it was possible to dislike a show where the characters and storyline are both wonderfully written.
I finished the series finale of Everwood yesterday. It was an excellent episode which made up for all the sadness that encompasses the majority of all four seasons of the show. I may have a somewhat different perspective on the show than most since I watched several episodes back to back instead of one a week. I think that since I did that, the tragic events that took place in each episode held more weight. It was so hard to see these horrible things happen to characters I cared so much about.
Everyone has their not-so-fair share of trauma in their lives, I know I have. For me, I experienced more death before I graduated high school (I was 17 when I graduated) than most, I'm sure of it. Yes, I lost my father, both grandfathers, a great aunt (grandma's sister), a great uncle (grandpa's brother) and a good friend from church. I mean, how many funerals does a kid have to attend before it becomes excessive?
I do think the writers of Everwood did a great job when it came to how a person handled decisions and grief in a bad situation, but it seemed like there were many unnecessary sad plot lines that were just meant to keep the show going. Like Irv dying... I hated that. The series was coming to a close, he and Edna were about to tour the world in "phase 3." There was no need for him to die. I mean, don't get me wrong, every situation can't turn out perfectly and in any other show I would have still hated it, but I would have understood it. Since this show consistently has bad things happen, I sincerely think there was no reason for it.
Every character in the show has had at least one traumatic experience, if not more, happen. Let me break it down for you a little bit. I should have kept a list as the show went along, but here's the gist of what comes to mind.
Andy: Wife dies in tragic accident, and son sincerely hates him for majority of the show
Ephram: Mother dies, in love with a girl who he can't be with, pregnant ex-girlfriend he doesn't know about until more than year later, never meets son, misses Juliard audition
Delia: Mother dies when she is really young
Amy: boyfriend dies after several months in coma, falls into depression
Edna: Both husbands die
Irv: heart attack, eventually dies in final season
Bright: causes accident where best friend is put into a coma, best friend dies, doesn't get into dream college, gets fired from two jobs, loses love of his life because he cheated on her
Harold: loses medical practice because of a malpractice situation, wife gets cancer and because of it they are unable to adopt african child
Nina: gay husband who cheats on her with another man
Rose: Gets cancer, doesn't get to adopt an african child because of her cancer
Jake: recovering drug addict (narcotics), loses serious girlfriend because she's still in love with someone else
Hannah: moves away from because she doesn't want to see her father die of Huntington's disease, breaks up with love of her life because he cheated on her
Madison: Gets pregnant from underage boyfriend, asked not to tell him and ends up giving baby up for adoption
Linda: Has AIDs
Reid: expelled from medical school, tries to commit suicide
Colin: gets into car accident and ends up in a coma, eventually dies
Just about every person who walks into one of the doctor offices: Has some sort of rare, deadly, and/or unexpected disease
Granted, some good things do come out of these bad things, just like they do in real life, but it's still hard to watch the characters you care about go through so much in such a short amount of time.
One of the things I do enjoy about the show is that it really is hilarious at times. I think one of my favorite, random quotes is from Rose:
"I can say ass, I have cancer." It made the bad situation a little lighter, which is nice sometimes when things are so tense.
And as I said before, Everwood really is beautifully written. If it's possible to write love, this show is the one to do it. Andy's narratives throughout the show to his wife really show what true love is and how long it lives even after a spouse has passed.
For those of you reading this who haven't seen the show (sorry for spoiling so much!), I hope I haven't completely discouraged you from watching it. If you ever get the chance to watch the show, I think it's one that'll make you appreciate who you have and what you have in your life right now at this moment.
