Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Goodbye Greek

I started watching Greek because one of my favourite critics, Daniel Fienberg, co-host of this podcast, mentioned it in passing. I had only ever really loved one ABC Family show, Make It or Break It, but I thought I'd give it a try. One episode, to see if it was any good.

I know this would be considered sacrilegious for some people, but I didn't start with the pilot. No, my first ever Greek episode was the one in third season, where Cappie and Casey were celebrating Valentine's. I didn't know who Cappie or Casey were, but I thought, hey, it's Valentine's Day, there's bound to be some romance. Little did I know I was about to witness one of the all time best Cappie/Casey moments:


From there, I watched to the end of the third season, then the second season, then the first. And, of course, I fell in love with Greek. Most of all, I came to love the characters:

CASEY

I've heard that some people hate her, but I like her, most of the time. She's so nice, and such a strong leader. She's the show's hero, at the end of the day, and I love her for that. I wasn't crazy about her in the first season, when she was so mean to Rusty, and when she chose to stay with Evan, but I love her now. 

CAPPIE
My favourite :) He's so hilarious! And, so, so sweet. He made so many mistakes, and he didn't always do the right thing, and he wasn't always the sharpest tool in the box. But I loved him. I loved how much he loved Casey. I loved how he was such as great big brother to Rusty. I loved how he could be put with any character, and still entertain me. I love Cappie, plain and simple. Best character, best part of the show.

RUSTY
Aww, my little Rusty. So smart, so geeky, so much fun. Of all the characters, I think I related to Rusty the most. I'm not outgoing like Casey or charismatic like Cappie. But I understand social problems. I came to Rusty because he was the cool geek. 'Til the end, he was always both. I hope my college experiences are like his.

I came to love Greek so much that I actually did research to see if any of the universities I was considering had a Greek system. Sadly, this isn't really a thing in Canada. 

Last night this great show came to an end. No more Cappie/Casey or Evan/Rebecca. No more Kappa Tau or Zeta Beta Zeta, or even Omega Chi. Just one last episode to watch, one last review to write. So here we go. Let's break down the storylines, one last time.

The Last Days of Kappa Tau

<p>Greek OMG Blog</p>

I didn't really understand how some random guy was just allowed to bulldoze the KT house. And, like many fans, I assumed it wouldn't actually happen. It's the series finale. They're pulling out all the tricks, surely. It's like Rachel moving to Paris in the Friends finale. A ploy for some fake tears, some fake drama. 

How wrong I was. And how sad it was! I felt so bad for all the KT's. After four seasons, I understand why they love that house so much. Why it represents such a big part of their lives, such a big part of them. I felt so bad for Rusty and Cappie and Beaver and everyone. This was their home.

I liked how the actual process was handled. I liked how Cappie asked everyone to share personal stories about the KT house. I liked how they had one last party, on their last night. And I enjoyed the spy mission enough. The actual moment when I realized it was really going to happen, that nothing was going to stop the construction crew, that there was nothing to block the bulldozer, I was quite sad. To see it destroyed like that. 

It made for a good finale. It offered a finality, and a new future for the KT's. A bittersweet ending. I can appreciate that.

Casey Randomly Quits Law School





I never really understood why Casey was in law school in the first place. She never really seemed like she wanted to be a lawyer. She never really had an interest in the law. So, when she dropped out, I was not exactly surprised.

I thought it was a little sudden, and not that well thought out. I was glad she stood up for the KT's (though could she have sounded stupider when she told her professor that she couldn't take the case because it was her boyfriend's fraternity? My god Casey!). But I thought she was rather rash, just quitting law school and running off the Washington, just because Evan said she could. What's she going to do once she gets to Washington? She doesn't have a degree! No one's going to hire her for anything!

Of course, I liked that moment in the bar when Evan said she could just run away, and Cappie decided he'd go with her. I loved how he just thought about it for a moment, and then threw himself in. And I'm so glad they're going together! And I loved how she kissed him, and Evan finally gave up his stupid issues, and said "As it was meant to be". He admitted it. Finally. Speaking of couples that are meant to be...

Ashleigh Finally Makes The Right Choice


At the beginning of the season I was really skeptical of these two. But they slowly won me over, and I was very happy to see them get their happy ending last night. Of course, I would have preferred more than just a kiss. A date or something. But I'll take what I can get. They got together. Rusty, the ultimate nerd, got his dream girl. An achievement for all nerds!

Those were the main storylines. But that's not what made me love the finale, and that's never what made me love the show. As always, it was the little character moments that won the night. It's a long list...

  • Rebecca and Dale's list of bad Matthew McConaughey movies. Can't believe they listed Fool's Gold last!
  • Dale and Laura. I'm glad the other nerd got his girl as well :)
  • Evan finally being a nice guy. I knew I had some loyalty to him for a reason. I'm glad he proved me right. 
  • Rebecca hugging Casey. I've always liked their friendship. I'm glad Rebecca appreciated how much Casey's meant to her.
  • The Ashleigh and Casey talk at the bar. This relationship has always been a touchstone of the series, and I'm glad they got their moment. Casey and Ashleigh, forever. 
  • I also loved how they took time to honour the Rusty/Casey and Rusty/Cappie relationships, two of my favourites in the series. 
  • Cappie's real name! I don't know why hippie parents like his would give him a name like that, but I'm glad we found out. Certainly better than the John/Big thing from Sex and the City
  • The whole last scene where they all said goodbye. A great celebration of all the friendships. Ash and Casey. Rebecca and Casey. Dale's kiss. Cappie's pretend jealous look--classic! And, of course, Rusty's goodbyes. "Take care of my sister" "Of course". "I love you Casey" "I love you too Rusty". My heart just melted! 
  • CAPPIE AND CASEY RIDE OFF INTO THE SUNSET! The perfect ending! 
Cappie and Casey  rode off into the sunset. Rusty's the president of Kappa Tau, Rebecca's the president of ZBZ. Ashleigh has Rusty and a great job. Evan isn't a complete douche! A bright future for all.

And that's it. That's the episode, the season, the series. 

Goodbye Greek. We'll remember you fondly. 

<p>Greek Finale Wrap Up Blog</p>

3 comments:

  1. I read this post when I first started reading your blog, which was little more than a year ago.
    And this summer when I was thinking about which tv series to watch while most of the current shows are on break, i finally decided to give greek a go.
    I just finished watching the last episode and I just want to say thank you for making me want to watch this series. It's not a master piece or my favourite show for that matter, but i loved the show and it's characters.
    Obviously I liked Cappie and Rusty most. But I also liked Dale a lot, that is except for most of season 1 and the whole omega chi debacle. The only one I never really cared for was Calvin. He was just so.. boring. Except for when he was dating that guy from New Girl (hilarious seeing that actor play an actual gay guy instead of one that just acts like it).
    Of the girls I think I liked Ashleigh best with all her positiveness, her movie references and her shopping addiction.
    I never really liked Casey, that is to say I don't dislike her, but I'm kind of indifferent. For example I liked Rebecca more (the sarcasm!), though I never fully understood her whole being screwed up thing.
    Well I guess, I might as well stop now. I really just wanted to say thank you for (well more or less) recommending it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You're welcome! I'm so glad you found the show and enjoyed it. Like you, I wouldn't say it's my favourite show or anything, but I sure did enjoy it.

    Cappie and Rusty are the best. I too enjoyed seeing Schmidt (Max Greenfield) actually playing gay. Personally, I never cared for Dale. I liked Calvin enough. I don't really want to pick between Casey and Ash and Rebecca...but I did always have a sweet spot of for Casey.

    I love that the show covered college, a period of time that is not often focused on on tv or in books. I wish I could think of another show to recommend, something like Greek, but there isn't too much like it. Some of the other ABC Family shows are similar...my favourites are Switched at Birth and Make It or Break It.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh I forgot to mention, I loved the All about Beav episode and I thought the whole Katherine going from annoying control freakish virigin to (KT-loving) sex maniac was hilarious.

    I wish I were in college in the US, they always make it look like it's so much fun.

    Absolutely true, the only other show that really covered college that I can think of off the top of my head is Gilmore Girls (which I would without hesitation call one of my all-time favourite tv shows).
    Have you seen Bunheads, that new show from Amy Sherman Palladino? I've come to enjoy it after getting over the whole Gilmore Girls flashback thing.

    I was actually thinking about giving Make It or Break It a go, thanks again for the recommendation :)

    ReplyDelete

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