In the days of anticipation leading up to the finale, my only hope was for show creators Bill Laurence and Kevin Biegel to continue the mini-stride, have an appropriate ending, and send fans off with warm feelings of the show, the characters, and the laughs.
The finale, "Mary Jane's Last Dance," is not a perfect episode, but the best ending to Cougar Town we could have received at this point in time. All of the actors were on-point; it especially was nice to see Cox return to top form for Cougar Town's sendoff. "Mary Jane's Last Dance" compressed highlights from the last six years as a package of memories for fans, such as "Jellybean," penny can, pretend gun fights, the breaking of Jules' "Big" wineglass, Jules and Ellie's communication through their kitchen windows, Ellie's "Changed Approved" catchphrase, and Jules wanting to live in Travis's blood. If you have watched from day one, you will feel at home during this final outing.
"Mary Jane's Last Dance," adheres and betrays many of its post-ABC flaws. It completely buys into the lack of narrative build-up of bigger shifts in the story, but uses that as a deceptive technique to extract our emotional investment that we, the audience, have in the show and characters. Cox directed the finale herself, explaining the extra dose of heart the episode contains. Though you can see the series' last twist coming halfway through and some moments are unavoidably cheesy, it's the inspection of our emotional connections to the characters that makes the finale so gratifying.
It makes fans look inside Cougar Town like we have not before. There is a time to say goodbye to, and "Mary Jane's Last Dance" felt like suitable moment to clink our wine glasses together one last time, and salute the Cougar Town for the happiness it has brought over the years.
COUGAR TOWN EPISODES SEASON SIX RANKED
Mary Jane's Last Dance – A Two Men Talking – B+ Yer So Bad – B Climb That Hill – B Waiting for Tonight – B The Wrong Thing to Do – B A Two Story Town – B American Dream Plan B – B- Full Grown Boy – B- This One's For Me – C+ Even the Losers – C The Wild One, Forever – C To Find a Friend – D-
Season Six Grade: B-
Series Grade: B+
