Friday, September 18, 2009

The GUIDING LIGHT Finale


The final episode of GUIDING LIGHT has aired for part of the country. I would recommend not reading ahead or reading spoilers. I'll share my thoughts after the jump. Let us know what you thought of the finale.

Continue reading...

This was the happy ending I always prefer when a soap goes off the air. The first part of the show set up what was to come a year later. The show ended a year from now as Rick and Mindy prepared to get married, Remy and Christina had their baby (after their third wedding) with them as did Frank, Natalia and Olivia (Francesca). Beth and Phillip, Olivia nad Natalia, and Frank and Blake (who met on a blind date in the park) were together and happy. Fletcher and Alexandra took off to tour the world. Danny, Michelle and Mindy had all moved back to Springfield. Ashlee and Daisy had gone off to college. They returned a year later as did Rafe, on leave from the military.

Ed and Holly got their happy ending on Thursday's show. I don't recall seeing Vanessa on the finale but it seems recently married Billy and Vanessa, and Buzz and Lillian are still going strong.

The grand finale question was whether Reva would meet Josh at the lighthouse a year later and want to be together. After a year passed, Josh waited and Reva (with Colin) arrived. She was ready to be with him, "Always." Reva and Josh drove off together with the lighthouse in the background. I was crying as they drove away and the show flashed a "The End" title over the closing shot.

Thank you, GUIDING LIGHT, for 72 wonderful years.

13 comments:

  1. It ended on a high note. Thank you for this post. Will miss the light but it will never fade out

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  2. It ended the way it was suppose to end, with Josh and Reva together, always.

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  3. I'm Glad Reva and Josh got back together. I have been a GL Fan since 1979, I was hoping there would be some flashbacks in the finale from the 50's,60's, 70s etc.. Also everything in the finale seemed Rushed, I wanted to hear more from Fletcher Reade, but Fletch/Alex were gone in a snap.
    Anyway, Goodbye GL, your the only soap I watch, now your gone, so Goodbye Daytime TV...Tears...

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  4. And Olivia and Natalia still did NOT kiss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I'm a guy who doesn't get off on two girls kissing. It's no thrill for me. I feel bad for the lesbian fans who wanted and needed to see the physical consummation of Natalia and Olivia's love. They could have just smooched.

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  5. It was a wonderful show I loved it from the beginning when they showed all the different openings, to Dinah and Mallet, to Josh and Reva and the "The End" (which made me cry)

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  6. I've been in my own little world these past few weeks with the exception of the podcast on Tuesday. After Tuesdays show, I needed to talk about it with someone. It's funny b/c after that I didn't have very much to say. I have to say that I absolutely LOVED the Billy/Vanessa / Buzz/Lillian Wedding. The thing that I really appreciate about GL is that they made me SMILE sooo much in the last week. I think that there was a perfect mixture of smiles and tears. Alex and Phillip and that Phillip/James frisbee scene broke my heart. On Thursday, I jumped out of my seat when Michelle & Danny moved home, FLETCHER arrived in his HAT, seeing the Bauer Kitchen and HOLLY & ED!!! It was short scenes, but I really feel like they meant a lot and for closer on GL, this, this SHOW that means so much to so many. I loved that there were 5, count'm, FIVE LEWIS MEN fishing before the wedding. The sparkle in Kim Zimmer's eyes were very apparrent all week. I really don't know if I'm in the minority, but I like that they killed Alan off...the whole thing was done "pitch-perfect" IMO. I think that the last episode celebrated GL and what it was about: Family & Community! And then, ending with the LIGHTHOUSE with Josh & Reva driving off in H.B.'s Ford Truck...BRILLIANT.

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  7. I started watching Guiding Light with my mom before I ever started elementary school, it's always been very special to me. I was very happy to see it end happily today. I was thrilled to see Dinah and Mallet back together - and of course Reva and Josh riding off together into the sunset was the perfect ending.

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  8. I thought it was a good execution of an original idea. However, I found myself less moved today than I have been the rest of the week. I was really happy to see Ed get a happy ending with Holly - now she can move out of some stranger's office and get on a plane.

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  9. All things considered, I just loved it. Was it perfect, of course not. With the exception of Otalia, I think they did the best they could with the time they had left. We got to see some old favorites return, even if it was for brief moments. Everyone was paired up with and had someone to love. Like Roger, I like happy endings!

    It wasn't until you said it Roger, that I realized Vanessa wasn't there at the end. Even if she couldn't be at the park with everyone else, it would have been nice if she was present with Billy when Mindy announced she was staying in Springfield.

    I just have one question. I fast forwarded the whole section between Jeffrey and Edmund yesterday. I just couldn't stand that storyline anymore. So how did that play out? Is Jeffery still out there chasing Edmund around the world? Jonathan has to keep the secret that Jeffrey is still alive?

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  10. I also thought it was a good finale.
    Yes, I have some qualms - Reva is technically still married to Jeffrey but riding off into the sunset with Josh, and Vanessa being AWOL - she just gets married and disappears? But overall, I thought this week packed a lot in, and much of it was in this final episode.

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  11. Well, we obviously don't know everything that happened in the one year gap. I like to think that Jeffrey and Edmund killed each other, and long enough ago that Reva is over it and ready to move on.

    Unfortunately, the one-year jump was really only significant for Josh/Reva and Rick/Mindy (except for all the babies). Was hoping for a few surprise twists at the very end.

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  12. Wonderful wrap up to a show that has been a part of my life since 1982. I'd have to rank this finale right up there with the Texas finale (which I consider the best soap finale I've ever seen). It nicely tied up storylines and gave us happy endings for the characters.

    I cried when Ed invited Holly to go around the world with him. I cried when Fletcher showed up. I cried when Mindy said she was staying in Springfield. And I of course, cried when Reva and Josh rode off together.

    And I loved, loved, loved that the final word spoken was "Always."

    Another nice touch was the opening showing all the GL logos, starting from most recent to the oldest. Hell, I even cried at that.

    Did notice that Vanessa wasn't there for the finale. That seemed odd. And I assume that Jeffrey is still chasing Edmund around the globe in their never ending game of cat and mouse. That was certainly implied from the Thursday episode.

    A few quibbles. I would have liked them to have at least mentioned Alan-Michael, Amanda and Victoria during Alan's funeral. They are his children/siblings. And I would have liked the Coopers to have mentioned Harley and her kids in there too.

    But such oversights are minor. I'm sorry to see GL go, but sure glad I got to say goodbye.

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  13. In my mind, the Jeffrey situation did get resolved in that year and Reva had worked through it and made the decision to be with Bud.

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