It was such a touching way to end the episode. I loved seeing Malcolm give his valedictorian speech; I wish we could have seen more of it. But what we did see made the whole series flash before my eyes. It's like...like, Lois has always known best for her boys. She's been controversial about it and the boys didn't always understand it, but in the end she's molded each of the boys into something special and unique.
I think the clips 3 months after graduation really gave closure to the whole series. Do I want it to end? Definitely not. But do I think it was an awesome way to end? Certainly.
Each one of the boys is developing into something new. Francis looked like a young Hal in his last scene. Piama said she was ready for kids, so we'll have young Wilkersons running around soon.
Reese will step in to fill the void of Craig. He'll be the 40-year-old who might not have a wife, but is still a fun, loving, and important person to lives of many people for other reasons. He might not have become a professional chef, but I think that's because he couldn't enjoy it. He can only cook if he's able to put the love into the food for his family and friends. So good ending for him.
Malcolm is the only child not filling a void previously filled by someone else. He'll fit in well at Harvard, if he can end his bad habits and adapt to life there.
Dewey is now going to be the big brother. He's obviously going to fill Reese's void in the home--and I think he'll be an awesome big brother.
As Jamie grows and develops, he'll replace Malcolm as the middle child in the family. We don't know whether he'll be a genius--but we do know he'll be an integral member to hold together his brothers.
And the future baby will take Dewey's current role of sweet little gem.
A couple of notes:
-I was glad to see Ida on the finale; she became an incredibly important character in the lives of the five young boys.
-I loved all of the allusions to the Pilot in this episode. I know many of us were hoping for a more touching speech from Malcolm about the end of childhood, but I think he delivered all that was necessary in that department in the part of the valedictorian speech we did see; the remaining allusions to the Pilot were a satisfactory way to close the finale for me.
-I think it is great how the story lives on even after the finale ends.
Thank you to each one of you for participating in these forums and sharing your opinions here and thanks to Linwood Boomer for creating such a great show and Fox for showing it for seven awesome seasons and Frankie and Justin and Bryan and Jane and Erik and Craig...everybody. I've grown up with MITM and that makes me proud.
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