AMC: The Last Two Episodes

I did a write up about the first three episodes of All My Children’s final week on ABC. Here are my thoughts on the last two episodes.

The highlight of these episodes was seeing Adam and Stuart again played by David Canary. Stuart didn’t die after a drugged and depressed Adam shot him. Seeing the relief was great, along with Stuart reuniting with his son Scott (Daniel Cosgrove) and wife Marian (Jennifer Bassey). Scott found happiness with Madison (Stephanie Gaschet) and they were going to move in together at the gatehouse.

The last episode ended with a party, which reminded me of the way things used to be. I can’t recall the last time I saw a party with nearly the entire cast on any soap opera. That was very cool and I am glad they did that.

Brooke (Julia Barr) using money she inherited from her Aunt Phoebe (the late Ruth Warrick) bought the Chandler Mansion, which is where the party for Stuart would be held. So now Brooke owns the Chandler manse, but soon she will be a Chandler again as Adam proposed to her again.

While Brooke got her happy ending and her man, Erica (Susan Lucci) did not. Erica chose her career over Jack (Walt Willey) and after 24 years (real years not soap years), he said enough. At the party to celebrate Stuart’s resurrection, Jack and Erica had a confrontation and he told her that he didn’t care what happens to her.

There was also a speech by Tad (Michael E. Knight). That seemed to be as much for the audience as the assembled guests. The people who should be there that weren’t, were mentioned along with the importance of family, friends and neighbors. Tad of everyone knows what it is like to be accepted by the Pine Valley community as the adoptive child of Joe and Ruth Martin.

David (Vincent Irizarry) was free on bail after saving Stuart, and he got a pay off from Adam. David is looking forward to being a father to his child with Cara (Lindsay Hartley) and developing a relationship with her. Characters also were caught up with what was going on in each other’s lives. People outside of the Hubbard family found out about Brot and Natalia’s engagement. Amanda and Jake were together and stronger than ever after dealing with her cancer. Randi told her husband Frankie along with his parents Angie and Jesse that they may be having a child. Angie shared with everyone who didn’t know that she could see again.

The final episode ended with a gunshot. We don’t know who was shot, but I guess since JR (Jacob Young) had a gun, he did the shooting. Since Jacob Young is going to be back on The Bold & The Beautiful unless there is a recast, it is possible he shot himself. It was good though that JR had time with his family members up until the end including his stepbrother Jamie.

While I wouldn’t have gone in that direction, with the shot ringing out and felt it took a lot of time during the week, it fit under the concept of the poem that is the theme of the show. Early in the episode, three of the youngest members of the Pine Valley community said the famous words.

The Great and the Least, The Rich and the Poor,
 The Weak and the Strong, 
In Sickness and in Health, 
In Joy and Sorrow,
 In Tragedy and Triumph,
 You are ALL MY CHILDREN

The last week of All My Children was very emotional for me. I broke into tears during more than one episode during its final week. It was wonderful that while wrapping up the majority of current stories, they did honor the show’s glorious past with flashbacks and actor returns.