A 37 year old man as I type, swallowing tears away. Not only as a boy who grew up and watched every episode of the Wonder years, but also as a Son, who has so many happy memories with his own Dad! I used to be so upset that Kevin didn't end up being with Winnie when I was young, but now I see the hard truth with the point that they are making, that life is great when you are young, but doesn't turn out exactly how you thought it would.....hence...."The Wonder Years"! Amazing series, maybe the best that ever aired, even better than "Friends"!
@@colindavid2078 Well in the original planned ending if the series returned for season 7 we would have seen Kevins dad Jack die from a massive heart attack on scene in the series finale as Kevin graduates High School and later gets accepted to the college of his choice. Comes home to tell his family the great news only to find his father dead on the floor. Jack and Norma were making plans for the honeymoon they never had. But due to the series been cancelled they weren't able to end the show properly as intended! Dan Lauria has mentioned this in serveral interviews in recent years!
"I was there to meet her when she came home....with my wife and first son..." I remember being heart broken as a child when these two didn't end up together. It was my first teaser that life turns out so differently than we imagine it.
I still weep every time I hear "two years later....when dad passed away". I'm 57 and my dad died 35 years ago. Kevin Arnold was every suburban kid like me and Jack was every dad. Incredible television.
It´s such a good ending especially because in it´s way to show how life goes on like dad dies, he gets married with an other girl. that´s exactly how life is in reality
fuck that last narration ending, seriously no no no, watch it again and see how rush and awkward it was put together, trust me if I where Kevin I'd never let a jewel like Winnie go like that never, those 2 where meant 100% for each other completely
@@colindavid2078You know what's funny is, it doesn't even sound like him, his voice is so different narrating this, compared to the home alone movies, you'd never know it was him, if they didn't put his name on there.
I actually appreciated it more once I became an adult, but the crazy thing is when i reflect on childhood from the 80s/90s it plays out just like this show.
There are still great individual shows on TV today like Game Of Thrones or House of Cards. But overall TV is terrible. It is nothing more than a soap box for liberal politics. Most Shows really have to stick their politics into it.
Have you guys watched Stranger Things yet on Netflix? If not, ABSOLUTELY do so. Any Wonder Years fan will appreciate it. It takes place in the 80's, and is very much a throwback to the super natural, coming of age films of yesteryear. It blew my mind, and I watched the first season TWICE over, back to back.
I would say so, a lot of family sitcoms have modeled themselves after this show alone, to the point where the family problems/dynamics ect.. are almost the exact same thing, just in a different time period.
I think this is what the whole show boiled down to right at the end. I know it should relate to most of us that were that age at the time the show is set it. "Like I said, things never turn out exactly the way you planned. Growing up happens in a heartbeat. One day, you're in diapers; next day, you're gone. But the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul. I remember a place...a town...a house...like a lot of other houses; a yard like a lot of other yards; on a street like a lot of other streets. And the thing is...after all these years, I still look back...with wonder."
Ya same. Even though, junior Highscool was weird and difficult, and u could never say the right thing or what u wanted to say but it still really was the wonder years.
I was the same way. I still remember I caught the show on and off on re-runs before finally finding a weekend run that had the final story arc in that cabin. As I write this at 30... I realize I've had more than one Winnie Cooper and more than one rainy night at some random cottage in that short time. Yet rewatching this on a sleepy train ride back home more than two decades later, realize that I first saw this scene on a lazy Sunday morning on Fox 6 on a re-run. I still remember being so saddened by the throwaway mention of 'When dad passed away' and even more shocked that Kevin had married some other, unknown, lady. I realize that the moments we think were ground-breaking or changed our lives really were just another in a stream of many. The Wonder Years are simply Now. However far or near we look back, they'll forever be locked in that state of epiphany and perfection.
Me too. Given their constant on-and-off relationship; it would not have been good in a marriage. They were too different. As a kid, that upset me most; now it's definitely more that they lost a good man like Jack.
I think for a lot of us that resonate with the show, Jack Arnold was our dad. Yeah, it was devastating, but it was life. Jack got the shaft since day one, so it's only fitting. The thing to remember is that the Arnolds turned out okay. They made it.
That made me the saddest. Kevin and Winnie's relationship was saddening to hear end. But it is a very true and a harsh reality to life. It is rare to end up with your high school sweetheart and be able to make it last. But to kill off Jack made me sad and later angry. He was only young. After serving his country and raising his family he deserved to make it to old age meeting his future grandchildren and still being side by side with Norma.
+Dallas Bagley I hate endings like this. Should have made it happier. But the more I think about it, the more it seems the ending really fits the story.
I gotta kinda disagree. True him not getting together with Winny is totally believable but writing each other once a week for 8 years really does seem to imply they were more then friends and should have ended up together
I cried too brother. This was a show I watched with my coming of age sister; me being 7 years younger. She passed away in 1995. Every time I see this show on RU-vid, it reminds me of a past I want to go back to, but also realize that the future is elsewhere; just like Kevin said. Irrespective of t he colour of our skins, the Gods we worship, or the languages we speak; deep down within I guess we’re more same than different.
I remember crying while watching this episode the first time and I balled my eyes out when he said his dad passed away 😭 Jack was definitely my favorite character! I know it’s just a show but you get involved with the characters when watching this show.
A real tear jerker. The music, sound is really good...perfect. makes u sad but a little happy. Somehow they got junior high perfectly. Somehow in the 90's it was really similar...for me. The main point is you dont have your parents forever, so you have to appreciate them and love them with all their flaws and everything
I wasn't yet *5* when it started in 1986. I'm 38 NOW and at one point, I nearly made myself sick of it in reruns! ...The show hold a VERY special place in my heart STILL. The show IS a masterpiece. I still check out clips sometimes.
seeing this always make me nostalgic and a little sad. I watched all six seasons and didn't want it to end but I knew the show wanted to exit on a high note. and it was sad that Jack dies in the Kevin monologue....and kevin doesn't end up with Winnie but it's trying to show that it doesn't always work out the way you want it too. But that made it realistic. Who doesn't remember their first crush or get reminded of something or someone from our last experience when we see or hear something? It goes to show we all look back at our childhood in someway and have a lost memory in there that resurfaces. An old flame we remember. This show was way ahead of its time and didn't end it like a storybook fairytale (which is unrealistic). His dad's passing is real. Him not getting the high school sweetheart girl to marry him was real. Thats why I'll forever will love this show
Wonder Years was one of the few tv shows that "nailed it" from the pilot episode all the way to the finale. Characters didn't need a season to develop. They just connected with the audience from day 1.
I loved this show. That moment when Adult Kevin says he met Winnie with his wife and first son is really emotional, as sad as it that the two would no longer be lovers after high school their relationship goes beyond lovers.
Not sure if a series ending ever had a more profound ending...I’ve been in reflection for weeks...heck, after every ep I was in reflection..great show hands down, made me reflect on all aspects of my life growing up...the ups , the downs ,the joy and pain of heartbreak and friendships parting, death, just life itself. This and Six Feet Unders ending scene are at the top for me......the wonder years of all our lives.....
It’s 2018 and this show is still too much. I remember watching the last episode and having tears rolling down my face. This is for sure one of the best show endings ever. The last episode was such a good finale, most shows have an overrated one, but this one was really well made. I hate that Netflix took this show off. I miss it so much. I’ve seen a lot of TV shows but nothing seems to be as good as this one. I can never get over it and I don’t think I ever will ughhhhh. I loved the narrations and I was obsessed with how realistic it was. It wasn’t see through, the ending was a shocking one but in the sense that it wasn’t what the whole show was built up to. 💞 I will forever love this episode. Still #1
I love the ending.. Boys grow up. Leaving their comfort zone. Going to colleges, graduating, join the workforce, getting married, grow old.We should keep on evolving because that is life. Things only come to standstill when we breath our last..
No matter when you watch this, what time of day, what year, what month, seeing this sequence will always get you right in the nostalgic feels, and I am all for it. Funny, as you watch this when you’re a bit older you realize how deep this entire scene was..here’s to those days, never forget em’
The finale and especially final monologue closes the whole series and is a great commentary on real life. You wake up one morning and realize - where did my childhood go? It seemed like it'd last forever when you're in it. There was nothing more they could've done here. This is a rare example of a show that was wrapped perfectly. If I could go back and be on the writing team of TWY, I wouldn't change a thing.
@christophergargaro true however this was not the original intended ending albeit very nicely written and narrated by Daniel Stern. Kevins father Jack was suppose to die on screen in the planned season 7 finale . Kevin would graduate high school and later would get accepted to the college of his choice. As he comes home to greet his family with the great news finds his father dead on the floor from a massive heart attack! Jack and Norma were planning the honeymoon they never had. This was how the series would have ended! If you remember in the pilot Winnie Koopers brother dies as well. Dan Lauria has spoke about this original ending in recent years and would have like to have ended the show properely as planned but sadly the series was cancelled. Most fans most likely didn't know about this?🤔🥲😮📺
“In fact, he took over the factory two years later…when dad passed away” - My dad died when I was 14 years old. Heart Attack right in front of me. His name was Jack. This hits home every time. I am now a 40 year old man, and I have a son... named Jack. Hug the ones you love. My mom passed away a few years ago from Covid. I miss the old times. But now I'm the Dad. Love to all.
I remember watching this show just at the same time Kevin was growing up. It really inspired my life. Many years after I still shed tears remembering this episodes. I feel that this is by far the best show I`ve ever seen. What makes it so good it`s that it`s real. it is actually real life but brilliantly put together. I will always have this show. Thank you!
It just so happens that Dan Lauria (Jack Arnold) was a guest role in the episode of "Boy Meets World" when Cory gets his driver's license as Judge Lamb who deals with Cory's speeding ticket.
I think there was a kind of sadness through the whole series, from the beginning. It's told as a flashback, so we knew they were going to grow up and it would end eventually. I think it's great Winnie and Paul and Kevin all stayed friends, because it's rare, as years go by, to maintain childhood friendships. Also we got to see what the rest of America was doing, because so many of us think of Woodstock or Hippies typifying the 60s, whereas these were regular small town folk with normal lives. Had Kevin and Winnie married he probably would have entered the family business and they both would have given up their dreams. I think as they matured the spark died and was replaced with fondness. They would always share the same history and know the same people, but I think they came to love each other like brother and sister.
What year was this final episode 1973? I grew up in the 60’s remember following the space program even school would stop to watch the launches and program.
I remember when I was 17 years old and left my hometown for college during the summer of 2008. I was equally as emotional but 10 years later I’m back in my hometown living in my childhood bedroom and those six weeks of college were the wonder years.
College was better back in the 70s. And the way society is set up now, even us old folks, the true kids from the "wonder years," are having to live in a basement of sorts. Times are quite hard now for nearly everyone.
It was a bittersweet conclusion to a coming-of-age saga. This show occupied a strange niche in American sitcoms. It wasn't quite a comedy; it wasn't quite a drama. It was simply a memory of a time that once was. A story of youth, of family, of love, loss, and life. It was a story about us.
Me atreví a ver esta serie durante la cuarentena de 2020. Cuando llegué a esta narración final, me entró un sentimiento que mantengo hasta el dia de hoy. Desde entonces, me dedico a filmar los momentos especiales con mi familia; y cuando pasa el tiempo, ellos sienten que hago un gran trabajo por inmortalizar esos preciados momentos.
I love the ending it feels real and that is life. I always imagined that the narration was inspired by Kevin looking through an old photo album and turning the pages.
To think I graduated from high school a month after this episode aired. I was so in tears after the show ended but now that I have the series I can enjoy it more and more and still do
i know most everyone on the planet wanted winnie and Arnold to end up together but i knew from the start... that if the show followed real life... then they were doomed from the start because they liked each other as kids. do you know how rare it is for you to end up with your high school sweetheart the rest of your life? it happens but its extremely rare... and these two had liked each other since elementary school! so the odds of them ending up together was non existent.
They even said it in the extras. Why would Kevin be looking back at Winnie in this way if he were still with her? I feel that way about my ex girlfriend when looking back. I miss her but I'm not surprised it didnt last forever.
One of my friends from high school married his high school sweetheart the December after graduation. They are still together eighteen years later and have had three kids together.
So...watching this series, again, but with my 12 year old son. My neighbor mentioned he was watching with his you boys and my first thought was how perfect, then why hadn't I given it a try. Now my son is binge watching and we are all having a blast. What a gem that still shines, especially during this Covid mess.
+Jay Mitra It definitely could have ended better. I thought the music was over the top, too dramatic. But still, we all love the show, so we forgive it, like a family member.
+Dallas Bagley The music is perfect. If you knew what it was from, you would understand. It's from the movie The Natural. The final scene of the movie is a father playing catch with his son. An American tradition. I honestly have tears in my eyes as I'm typing this. I played catch all the time with my dad and will be playing catch with my son shortly.
The music playing over these last few moments of the series was spot-on perfect, as was the narration (as usual). Of course, no one wanted the father to die or for Kevin and Winnie not to end up together. But as they said, that's just how life goes sometimes.
Great memories of watching this series and final episode with my father as a kid. We didn’t always see things eye-to-eye growing up. Looking back, he taught me priceless life lessons and advice I still live by to this day. 🙂
I lost my father last Summer, 7 months just after my son was born and 7 months right after he and my mom got a black lab puppy. At least he got to die a grandfather. I always think back to this show ending with how my life turned out. Definitely makes me yearn for having more time with him and how things used to be. Things just feel different now without him around. Enjoy your parents while you can. It really does go so fast.
I like to think that Kevin and Cara from The Lake/Back To The Lake found each other again and eventually got married. And that perhaps she was Kevin's wife when he met Winnie at the airport with his newborn son. Hey, since they never told us who Kevin's wife actually was, we're free to craft our own version of events! She had that down to Earth small town girl/girl next door personality, an innocent yet knowing and mature quality, and of course Those Eyes. No disrespect to the lovely Winnie, as she and Kevin had a special history of their own. But I always felt that in many ways, the beautiful and sensitive Cara was Kevin's best match. ; ) : )
I'm so happy I got to experience this childhood. Or at least a piece of it. We may not of had the internet, but that's what made the world such a fascinating place. Anything was possible.
Isn't it amazing how "Art Imitates Life" Paul goes to Harvard and studies Law. In Real Life Josh Saviano studied Law at Yale. Danica McKellar became a Mathematician and Fred Savage became a successful Director. I hear he's going to direct the New Version of The Wonder Years the only difference is that it will focus on the Life of an African American Boy in 1968 at 12. Jason Hervey along with Scott Baio did a Reality Show called "Confessions Of A Former Teen Idol" where the Fellows found out through some humbling experiences that the fans moved on. What I also loved is that unlike most Child Stars, these ones came out all right. Time Life was so smart to secure rights to this Show since they own the rights to many of the songs in terms of rereleasing.
Who else was crying after seeing this. I’ve been watching this through corona and now it’s ended I’ve burst into tears. I’ll always remmember this show
OK If I was Kevin's wife, I would be completely freaked out that he wrote to an Ex-Girlfriend every week for 8 years and then wanted to go greet her when she came back.
I was thinking the same thing. No way in real life would that fly, if they agreed to split then they would split once you split and have other obligations you split.
Yeah, there's no way that marriage would last if Kevin could never get over his stupid infatuation with Winnie. I wonder if that's the way it is for most marriages in real life though, if most people don't really marry for true love, just out of fear of dying alone.
