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Old 04-20-2008, 02:11 PM
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The Fairy-Tale Ending to Foreverwood

Yeah, I know, the title is very uninspired.

Here's an article someone wrote about the ending to Everwood and to Gilmore Girls, and I'm curious on people's thoughts on what she says about Everwood's final scene. I've cut out the Gilmore Girls stuff because it's not really relevant here and possibly spoilerific.

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I've always had to ask myself how much of television is possible and how much isn't. It always seems that as a show ends, as the series finale is aired, something extraordinary always happens. No matter how realistic the show is during the entirety of its time on TV, the finale always seems to contain something unrealistic.

Maybe shows just like to go out with a bang.

Many of the shows seen on the CW (formerly the WB) seem to have endings that "fairy-tale-ize" their shows. "Everwood" was a popular show that aired for four seasons on the WB and was based around the character of a widowed brain surgeon and his son.

Through the duration of the show the son, Ephram, really liked Amy, a girl from his school, although Amy was committed to a boyfriend who was in an accident and remained in a coma for the first few seasons. Coincidentally, Ephram's father was the surgeon who treated Amy's boyfriend until the boyfriend character passed away.

Through the four seasons of the series, Amy and Ephram found their way to each other and began dating, but eventually they broke up. For most of its run, the show was realistic and never too "over the top." But the series finale took it to another level.

Amy realized she still loved Ephram, so in her final desperate attempt to get him back, she brought a Ferris wheel to his doorstep. The Ferris wheel was where they first spoke to each other, the place where they initially met.

Of course, they admitted they were in love and got back together, but it just made me ask the question, why would they end a perfectly believable show with such an outrageous finale? The idea was romantic but impossible. A Ferris wheel is not something I believe someone could just drag to another's doorstep...

...Yet, maybe that's what series finales are supposed to be about, taking something that you have known to be realistic and turning it around, giving us the happy ending we desire.

Whatever the reason, I've come to believe that if a show such as "Everwood" or "The Gilmore Girls" or any like them has a realistic ending, it might ruin the entire series. Maybe writers believe that fairy-tale endings to realistic story lines give average, everyday people hope that one day they, too, will have a fairy-tale ending.
Maybe they are meant to give us hope - The Lexington Dispatch

I think it's a thought provoking issue she brings up, the realism of the series as a whole and then the non-realistic sense of the final scene and how exactly does that fit together.

The one thing we say and hear a lot around here is how Everwood is “real”, and it’s pretty hard to argue that the ferris wheel is exactly as “real” as the rest of the show, although obviously the sentiment behind it is and makes the scene as real as any other in the series. I don't necessarily agree with her, but I think it's definitely thought-provoking and I never thought about that scene this way before, as an unrealistic topper to a very realistic show, so I'm curious what you all think.

I love our finale and wouldn't change it for the world, and this doesn't change my mind for a second, but this article really intrigued me and gave me pause and really made me think about the final scene again in comparison with the rest of Everwood and I think it's a really really great question/issue that she brings up. Very well-written article too.
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Old 04-20-2008, 02:30 PM
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Oh yeah, I read that article. I was a bit offended at first but then I saw her point.

It's true that a finale like this can only be labelled as "fairy-tale" and if you take out the ferris wheel, the dialogues in themselves aren't so far-fetched or anything. It's totally something E/A could have said to each other. They ended the show with fireworks for us fans and I guess we all need a little magic in our lives so it didn't bother me so much.
Though I totally remember that after the finale, as much as I was feeling joy of this ending, I felt a bit weird about that scene because it didn't feel like the rest of the show. I totally remember that. Almost like I had to remember this was Ephram and Amy. I felt a bit detached because it didn't have the usual "realism" of the show.

I'm sometimes annoyed at how the ending of couple getting together after x years are done on shows. it's sometimes way too much. Sometimes you just want something you can relate to.
Sure enough, who wouldn't want his/her soulmate to come in front of his house with a ferris wheel/grand gesture ? But how realistic it is ? not so much for sure.

A question to ask ourselves though is : would we have loved the ending as much if Amy was just waitinig for Ephram in front of his building without Ferris Wheel, with her little speech ?
I'm guessing we would have. But maybe it would have carried less symbolism and magic ? I don't know. this is a great question.

I think, for me, the best thing is somewhere between fairytale and reality. Cause we go to TV and Movies to be entertained and to go into this magical world, to "escape" our lives a bit. So too much realism kills the mood, IMO. But it has to carry so beauty and magic, so that you can dream and escape.
SO it's somewhere in between. Which I feel Everwood did marvelously. Maybe not with this ending, but they probably did this for the fans, so I'm not gonna blame them.
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Old 04-20-2008, 08:14 PM
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Quote:
A Ferris wheel is not something I believe someone could just drag to another's doorstep...

Sure you can! Have you ever been to a carnival? Those rides are brought there by truck and assembled like a lego toy!
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Old 04-20-2008, 08:55 PM
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Originally Posted by everwoodfan52 (View Post)
Sure you can! Have you ever been to a carnival? Those rides are brought there by truck and assembled like a lego toy!
Hee! Good point. She gets a couple of the details wrong too. Amy and Ephram did not first meet at the Ferris Wheel, c'mon.

Thanks for the response, Alex . Very well said. I'll be back to respond and give my own thoughts in the next couple of days when I get some time.
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Old 04-21-2008, 07:56 PM
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Am I alone in this feeling or was anyone else disappointed in the finale (the end with Ephram and Amy.)
I believe that the ferris wheel scene and Amy and Ephram's words to each other were beautiful and magical. I just wasn't satisfied- kind of like having sex without the "O".

I wanted more. I wanted to see what would happen next. I wanted them back in Ephram's apartment to do what they didn't do enough of in the 4 years of the series. I wanted Bright to see what a fool he was for giving Ephram that terrible advice about Ephram not having a chance to get Amy back- even though he witnessed Amy's jealousy at the bat mitzvah.
I wanted to see both family's reaction. The ending make me feel more sad than satisfied. Everwood fans have really been ripped off. There were so many future possibilities for this show.
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Old 04-21-2008, 09:23 PM
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I was going to save this for a couple of days, but I'll just say it now. This is why I love the final scene, and it goes to what Alex said about being in between fairytale and reality:

One thing that I think the final scene does is it brings us back to season one. Not only to that scene in the Ferris Wheel, but also back to the magic of season one. I've always found it fascinating that the two most common terms used to describe Everwood are "real" and "magic". I mean, how contradictory can you get, right? How can a show be magical and real at the same time? But Everwood achieves this, it blends realism and a magic feel at the same time. This final scene, I think, is probably the most overt and extreme example of that blend, and that's why I love this scene. It epitomizes that feeling of magic and realism that the show gave me throughout season one, but also the series itself. It epitomizes a lot of what Everwood is to me. The more I think about it, the more perfect I find the scene in Foreverwood, because it ends with what Everwood is. The unique, Everwood only, mix of reality and magic at the same time.

The one thing I really wanted in the finale was more Ephram and Andy. That's the one thing I have a bit of a complaint of, but I understand that they could only have so many alternate scenes during the finale. We were jipped for sure, there was so much I wanted to see in season five, and still things I wish we saw, but I was very satisfied because I've since taken that final scene to be a message of what Everwood is in a lot of ways. Plus, that final shot with the amazing score going over the town was just..I still can't get through it! I thought that, especially, was the perfect way to go out. On top, chin up, classy ending.

Anyway, that's my thought on the ending, kind of how I picture it and my little defense of it. I know some others also were a bit dissatisfied too, though, everwoodfan. You're definitely not alone.
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Old 04-22-2008, 05:29 AM
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Considering how the show was "forced" to end, with only the EA finale scene and hannah going to A&M being different than a season finale, we were EXTREMMELY lucky to have the ending we had. and of course, we wanted more. We've been following those characters for years and we don't wanna let go. The characters are people you invite into your home, that you check up on and you wanna see how they're doing. You want to know what happens after the credit rolls even if they're fictionnal. I think no matter what, it's not enough. Especially when it comes to TV series because they last so long that you feel it's gonna go on forever. and the beard goes on...

I do see what you're saying Tos. The ending felt like a tale. In the little magical universe that is Everwood. Where we can believe in love and forgiveness and change. I always loved how the show felt like a book, a story that brought the beauty of ordinary people into the light. The ending was simple but sweet.
Like I said, it did feel a bit different to me. But it did come full circle to a lot of things and it was fantastic to go back to season 1 and the reasons we loved Everwood in the first place.
"4 years ago, you came to my little town and you changed my life"
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Old 04-22-2008, 08:13 AM
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I actually loved the “fairy tale like” ending to Everwood, and it perfectly fit the characters. Amy wanted to tell Ephram that she still loved him with the type of grand gesture that he was always known for, so although it was a bit much that she would be able to rent a Ferris Wheel to remind him of when they first realized that that they had feelings for each other, it was absolutely perfect, and I still get tears in my eyes when I see that scene. I’ve saved that scene on my computer, and I’ve watched it many times, and I’m sure that I’ll watch it many more times.

The person who wrote this article obviously didn’t watch Everwood, because Colin was only in a coma for part of Season One, and then he died at the end of Season One. I really think that if Everwood had to end, we couldn’t have gotten a more perfect ending for it.
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Old 04-22-2008, 11:27 AM
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I don't want my comments about the ending to be misinterpreted.
I loved the fairytale aspect of the ending. I loved the words that Amy and Ephram spoke to each other. I loved the panaramic view of the town of Everwood at the end.
Maybe my sadness and feeling of dissatisfaction had more to do with the ending of Everwood and not the final scene. I really would have liked the scene with Ephram and Amy to not be at the very end of the episode. (that made it more sad.) I would have liked there to be another scene afters theirs- I wanted them to share their reunion with everyone. Maybe, then I would have felt better about the whole ending.
I guess I'm still in mourning.
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Old 04-22-2008, 12:16 PM
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Quote:
Maybe my sadness and feeling of dissatisfaction had more to do with the ending of Everwood and not the final scene. I really would have liked the scene with Ephram and Amy to not be at the very end of the episode. (that made it more sad.) I would have liked there to be another scene afters theirs- I wanted them to share their reunion with everyone. Maybe, then I would have felt better about the whole ending.
Hmm, I definitely understand that. Thanks for clearing it up, I think I did misunderstand. I wish they had the time, knew for sure what was going to happen, to do something like this. Get the main cast together to share in the joy of Ephram and Amy together and all of them get to say goodbye in a way, just being on screen seeing the happiness of Ephram and Amy, and Harold cracking a joke. That would have been something extra perfect. Stupid CW. canceling our show. I'll never forgive that.

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I guess I'm still in mourning.
Aw. There's just something about this show that we all can't get over, eh? In a good way! It's too good. I'm so glad we all got a show that we can still mourn over and still talk about so long after, because it means it meant a lot to us.

Thanks for your thoughts, Jerry. Well-said as always. I still tear up at the end too. All those feelings, knowing that this is the end, but also just the emotions of that scene, from watching it live the first time come rushing back whenever I watch it.

And excellent thoughts, Alex . I can't even add anything to that, beautifully written.

Quote:
I do see what you're saying Tos. The ending felt like a tale. In the little magical universe that is Everwood. Where we can believe in love and forgiveness and change. I always loved how the show felt like a book, a story that brought the beauty of ordinary people into the light. The ending was simple but sweet.
Like I said, it did feel a bit different to me. But it did come full circle to a lot of things and it was fantastic to go back to season 1 and the reasons we loved Everwood in the first place.
"4 years ago, you came to my little town and you changed my life"
So I'll do a big to that!

For sure, it'll never be enough for us. Even if we DID get a fifth season. We'd still be here talking about how much more we wanted to see. Eight seasons, nope, not enough. We wanted to follow these people's lives.
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Old 04-22-2008, 06:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Jerry D (View Post)
The person who wrote this article obviously didn’t watch Everwood.
That's my first thought I gathered whenever reading this article. No kidding. I read the article just now, for the very first time, and that's precisely what entered my mind... did this person actually see this show? At all? Or just had a general comprehension of the plot and heard from word of mouth that it was this good? You have to wonder.

I thought the series finale and EA ending with the Ferris Wheel was absolutely perfect. To understand how and why that ending was realistic for this show is to understand the premise and themes of this show... going straight back to the Pilot. The magical tone to this series that flowed throughout. Andy seeing Julia's ghost or Julia in some form, maybe just in his mind, the notion that Ephram and Andy were brought to Everwood through Julia so they could find true happiness with Amy and Nina... all of this magical spiritual theme was in place from day 1 and what happened in the series finale? What we always knew was going to happen... Ephram and Andy would be with their true loves in Amy and Nina. IMO if anyone thought otherwise they missed one of the major points to this entire series.

This show constantly flirted back and forth from realism to magical, sometimes both happening at the same time. It was a constant. And what was this series finale mostly about? Realism and magical combined just as the Pilot was as well. It was cyclical almost and it was beautiful.

Lastly, back to the Ferris Wheel happening, if the writer of this article would have bothered to watch the show, he/she would have realized that Rose was a political leader for how long in this town? She had power and pull, and in the finale Amy told her mother she needed her help which, no doubt, meant Rose pulled some strings and helped her get the Ferris Wheel. Again totally realistic if you understood the specifics of this show which I truly believe the writer of this article did not.

Last edited by jediwands; 05-18-2023 at 09:39 AM
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Old 04-22-2008, 08:28 PM
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Originally Posted by everwoodfan52 (View Post)
I don't want my comments about the ending to be misinterpreted.
I loved the fairytale aspect of the ending. I loved the words that Amy and Ephram spoke to each other. I loved the panaramic view of the town of Everwood at the end.
Maybe my sadness and feeling of dissatisfaction had more to do with the ending of Everwood and not the final scene. I really would have liked the scene with Ephram and Amy to not be at the very end of the episode. (that made it more sad.) I would have liked there to be another scene afters theirs- I wanted them to share their reunion with everyone. Maybe, then I would have felt better about the whole ending.
I guess I'm still in mourning.
Don't worry, we're all still in mourning. I was also saddened that we didn't get to see Ephram and Amy get back together romantically until the last scene of the very last episode of Everwood, and I'll never forgive The CW (Completely Worthless) for cancelling this wonderful show.
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Old 04-23-2008, 06:40 AM
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Berlanti did the best job he could possibly do with the time he was allowed given the CWs bogus decision to abruptly end the series. One more season would have given us things in a slower, more descriptive manner such as the reunion of EA and the getting together and engagement of AN.

I do feel cheated in a way but I take solace in the fact that we got the correct ending to the series anyway. Berlanti gave us this and he did a fine job given everything he had to deal with in order to do so. He very easily could have given us a bogus, non-finished ending to the series but he didn't and I will always be grateful for this fact.

The CW is solely responsible for any disappointment IMO. Then again, I thank my lucky stars our Everwood was never a part of that network to be perfectly honest.

Last edited by jediwands; 04-23-2008 at 06:47 AM
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Old 04-28-2008, 02:16 AM
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Good post jerry and Mich. It's no surprise I agree with you both.

One thing I forgot to mention about this whole ending is this :

Lots of time in TV shows that run pretty long, whenever you get the happy ending, the main couple has been off-again/on-again for years, encountered many obsacles and problems, sometimes ridiculous ones just to keep them apart. Hence, when the happy ending comes, it's just not as believable or real to the viewer, IMO.

In the case of Ephram and Amy, they had one big rough time with Madisongate, but they never moved on, not really. Season 4 was all about Ephram still loving her, and Amy just needed a bit of time to figure out her future but she admitted herself she was not "over ephram" and believe he was still her person. So one thing I'm really happy about is that the show didn't run long enough for it to ruin this.

When they got their happy ending, it made sense, it wasn't convoluted or far-fetched. They had been apart a little while, but they wanted back together.
Their ending was romantic and magical, yes. but it wasn't betraying this relationship and making it something it wasn't. Unlike some "magical" happy end the writers sometimes throw at us on other shows.

So you know, it's all for the best. because EA had the ending they deserved. and the audience too.
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Old 03-02-2011, 05:31 AM
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So i post here:
...The first time i saw it,i wasn't very happy, yes the happy end nina-andy ephram amy was good to see,but for me everwood had a sad spirit and that final was too much happy in my opinion.. here in italy there was a similar article about this,called the ''diabetic final'' of everwood....i agree
I know producers were hoping for 5 season but i know there was also another idea of final:
the producers had scripted a montage for the "series-finale cut" that went forty years into the future to show a majority of the gang at Andy's funeral — showing the series coming full circle(wikipedia)...
i think this could be perfect....what about you???
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