The Younger 7×12 Series Finale “Older” didn’t leave anyone indifferent. After the emotional and frenetic episode of the previous week, the series finale came to mark the show and it did so in many different ways. Let’s review!
Here we go!
I think it is more appropriate than ever to start this review at the end. WHOA! Just whoa! OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! I can’t get over that final scene, with that callback to the pilot – and it’s not the only moment with a callback to the past, that exact same conversation between Josh and Liza, that hint that they are endgame and that in a future that we don’t see, they would be together forever.
I’m dead.
Sobbing.
I was not expecting this. You know I was always Team Josh but since Season 7 started it was clear to me that they had opted for Charliza so I accepted it and lived with it but this was … totally unexpected. They left me speechless. They hit me right on the feels and, well, HAPPY DANCE!!!!!
After this little crazy moment, let’s take a look at this. Am I happy? Of course! I would be lying if I said no, Josh and Liza are my ship and here they are giving me an ending that basically shows us that they are endgame. Am I satisfied? Not even close.
I think we all deserved more than this. That is to say, Charliza fans didn’t deserve the fact that the whole season was about them coming back together, to see their dream come true, and the next moment to see them part again, this time, permanently. It’s … cruel. And I understand your frustration and your anger.
It’s like the whole Barney and Robin thing on How I Meet Your Mother again. They focused the entire last season on their wedding to later explain that the dream only lasted 3 years. I shipped them so I know how you feel right now, and I’m sorry they weren’t fair to you. They were cruel and you didn’t deserve this.
They weren’t fair to Team Josh either. The callback to the pilot, that phrase from Josh and Liza’s look are precious but if Josh and Liza are endgame we deserved for them to tell us their story this season, not for them to chose Charles. Liza and Josh they had almost no scenes together and, suddenly, this moment.
That said, the tragedy was seen as the episode progressed. The foundation of a relationship is love … but also trust. Charliza love each other but Charles doesn’t trust her. He tests her but love, a relationship, is not about continually testing the other to see if she/he lies to you or if she/he confesses something that he/she has not told you yet.
Love is not about passing tests. Love is about trusting without thinking, simply because it is natural. And I understand Charles. He can’t bear for Liza to hide anything from him, even an innocuous lie, because if she does, he will feel just as stupid as when he discovered her big lie.
So he somehow needs to be sure that she is being totally sincere but … that is a problem because it means that there is no real trust between them. And the lack of trust is something that they cannot overcome, no matter how much love they have for each other. Breaking up was the best thing in that situation.
And now, let’s take a look at that last scene from Younger 7×12 Series Finale “Older.” It is a clear call back to the pilot. It’s just how Liza and Josh met when this whole story began. I love, I absolutely love what Josh says “I’ve been here, by your side.” He always was, he always will be. He has loved her silently for so long, respecting the choice she had made for her life but that doesn’t mean he didn’t continue loving her.
It was always her.
It will always be her.
“I will not give up yet” Remember? Josh never forgot her. He only respected that she did not choose him but now Charles is no longer in the picture and he just approaches her again. To give them a new opportunity.
He already saw the future he wanted. Him, with Liza and little Gemma, forming a family. And his vision was foreboding because that’s just the future. Liza’s gaze screams it out. She looks into his eyes intently, saying “yes, you always were.” I think…in that look she tells him everything. Liza is agreeing to get close to each other again and let them go from there.
The ending of Younger 7×12 Series Finale “Older” doesn’t contemplate it or clarify it – and I have to say that I’m not a fan of open endings … I like when they close the story completely in all aspects, but I think it is a fact that they, at some point, come back together and form a family together with little Gemma. And this time is forever.
And I’m sobbing again.
I think Maggie and Lauren’s ending in Younger 7×12 Series Finale “Older” is appropriate. That is, I would have liked more that they ended up together but c’est la vie. I think Lauren has a non-normative and crazy relationship like her and … it fits her. Maggie, on the other hand, finally fell in love for real.
It is true that in Maggie’s case things were quite rushed and I really wish they had more time to develop this story because we went too quickly from hatred to I can’t be heavier and then, love.
I think Maggie deserved more screen time this season and it’s a shame we haven’t seen more of her but, given the circumstances, I’m satisfied with her ending. She more than anyone deserves to be happy.
As for Kelsey, I think it’s the perfect ending for her. Painful, bittersweet in a way, but also full of possibilities. Kelsey has to fly alone and, as sorry as we are that she and Liza don’t embark on this adventure together – as they always do and I would have loved to see history repeat itself – I think it was the right thing to do.
Kelsey was ready to leave the nest that saw her birth, that helped her grow, to explore new and exciting and different things that fit more with where she is right now in her life and with her vision from the world. That speech she gave to Charles really touched my heart because I think she says it all there.
She doesn’t know what Charles saw in her, she doesn’t know why he chose her but it changed her life and she will always be grateful for that, Empirical, him, Liza and everyone who is part of the company will always be her family but, sometimes, we have to go away from family to find ourselves.
That’s just what Kelsey is doing now in Younger 7×12 Series Finale “Older.” She must explore this new opportunity, it is her time to fly. And she deserves it.
By the way, that’s my girl! I knew I couldn’t trust Rob but I didn’t expect him to be such a jerk and I love the way Kelsey puts his misogynistic ass in his place after kicking him. Well said! QUEEN.
Liza, for her part, doesn’t see a future where Empirical isn’t on her horizon and that’s perfectly fine. Their friendship is going to be as strong as ever. Yes, of course it will not be the same but this happens. Life happens. There comes a time when your life and your best friend’s life take different directions and that’s not a bad thing.
It’s … bittersweet. But it’s how life works. And that doesn’t mean that the friendship is lost, not at all. True friendship will always be there, even if you haven’t talked or caught up for months, even if you haven’t seen each other for months, friendship never dies.
And Kelsey and Liza’s friendship is forever, wherever direction they take. They will always be there for each other. They will always have each other’s backs. As always.
As for the main trio, leaving aside the couples (which we have already analyzed), I think they have a satisfactory ending. Liza gets everything she fought for and what she lied for in the first place: the position she deserves within the publishing world – a precious detail that it was Charles who proposed this to her, showing once again how much he values her.
Charles finally fulfills that frustrated dream, finally taking the step he dared not take for so many years, and after a long time focusing on the dreams and goals of others, he focuses on his own. He focuses on himself.
And Josh … I love seeing the evolution of his character. I mean, Josh wasn’t sure a few seasons ago about signing a rental agreement because he didn’t know if his place was right there and now he bought the entire building and is clear that this is his place. He is also a father and is really focused. He matured a lot, he grew and we with him and the best thing is that his essence didn’t change.
We even had a moment to say goodbye to our Daphne Bridgerton AKA Claire. I really liked that Claire and Kelsey made up. Kelsey was wrong here and she certainly misjudged Rob and Claire is really sorry she had to find out about him in such an abrupt way. She doesn’t wish her any harm and a friendship can overcome something like that, anyone can be wrong and that is what second chances are for.
I was quite disappointed that they didn’t include Zane and Diana in Younger 7×12 Series Finale “Older,” I think it is not fair because they were such an important part of the show.
I know that due to restrictions derived from COVID, none of the actors could be present this season but I think they could have created something like a video call or something like that. Especially for Diana. I was also hoping that Zane would go back to Kelsey apologizing but I was left with the desire …
Little Gemma is the cuteness, I swear!
And here our Younger reviews end. It was a hell of a ride! Maybe I’m crying a little, just a little. Really, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for joining me every week to comment on or relive with me all the wonderful things that this show gave us. Younger made us cry, laugh, enjoy but, above all, it made us meet each other.
It was a real pleasure to share impressions with all of you and to be able to debate to see other point of view. THANK YOU! We will surely find another show to coincide on.
I don’t like to say goodbye so I’ll say…
See you later! Love you!
Younger final season aired Thursdays on Paramount+.
