Go On - Recap: Ashes to Bisquick

Recap and review of Go On - Season Finale - Urn-ed Run:

Go On has spent the better part of its first season forming a binding sense of community between the members of this grief support group, yet in a way that doesn't always require them to interface with their grief. Sure, you get plenty of moments of Ryan (Matthew Perry) seeing Janie's ghost, or Anne (Julie White) refusing to let go of her anger over the senselessness of her partner's death. But by and large, even when the show is emotionally resonant, it finds ways to be quirky first and foremost. And while that's not necessarily a problem, in isolation, it does lead to the feeling that not a whole lot actually happens. It's fitting that "Urn-ed Run" closes out the season. For one, it's the best episode of the series, striking a winning balance between humor, introspection and sentimentality that is equal parts poignant and uproarious. Yet it's also fitting as a season, possibly series, finale when you consider that it so succinctly illustrates the central problem of the show, while undercutting it in a way that basically shows how little that problem matters. Okay, let me find a less cumbersome way of saying this: "Urn-ed Run" could have been the midseason finale for how much it relied on the last 21 episodes of the series. In fact, it might have been better if the show had gotten to this point in the narrative by midseason. Yet here's the thing: the episode does such a solid job blending its contrasting elements (the humor and the meditation on grief) that it doesn't really matter that, say, we don't follow up on Ryan's budding potential relationship with Carrie (Allison Miller). It's an episode that illustrates that not much needs to happen in between milestone moments in the show for the comedy to still work as well as it does. As long as the broad character beats are there, we'll feel something. And, with any luck, we'll laugh.

Credit: NBC

"Urn-ed Run" mostly deals with Ryan's attempts to conclusively move on from Janie (Christine Woods) as he marks the one-year point following her death. To this end, he gathers the group together at a nearby lake to spread her ashes, and it's a scene that's both touching and humorous. Anne tears up when Ryan explains why Steven (John Cho) singing a ridiculous hymn would have been exactly what Janie would have wanted. However, the progress the group believes Ryan has made is undercut when it's revealed that the "ashes" he dumped was actually Bisquick pancake mix. He's been unable to bring himself to let go of Janie's ashes, as it marks the final obstacle to his break with the past. Anne takes matters into her own hands, employing Mr. K (Brett Gelman) to help her break into Ryan's house, steal Janie's ashes, and hold them ransom at the lake until Ryan agrees to meet with them to spread the ashes once and for all. The plan, of course, goes disastrously awry as Ryan and Steven track Anne and Mr. K down to a gas station, resulting in an argument that distracts the foursome from realizing that Anne has accidentally left Janie's ashes resting on the hood of a nearby car: a car that is now speeding away. Ryan races after the car, but is too late. The urn falls and smashes to pieces, scattering Janie's remains across the oil-streaked pavement.

Credit: NBC

Ryan's wrestling with grief has long been the most consistent element of the series, to the point where every single thing he does could easily be read as a function of his attempts to cope with the immense loss he's suffered. And it's no different here. He's scooped up the ashes he could collect into an envelope, though he doesn't seem any more interested in letting Janie go than he was before. However, Lauren (Laura Benanti) is the one who brings Ryan to the realization that he shouldn't think about what Janie would have wanted, but should instead consider spreading the ashes for himself, for his own good. Ryan returns to the batting cage where he and Janie came on their third date, when they realized they were in love, and we get flashbacks of Ryan and Janie on their wedding day, returning to the same batting cage for a round at bat. It's a moving scene, as Christine Woods does a remarkable job communicating just how perfect Janie is for Ryan, and Matthew Perry, in turn, communicates just how in love Ryan is, resulting in a flashback that's resoundingly bittersweet. Janie fades away and we're left with a lonely Ryan, spreading Janie's ashes around home plate, in the dirt of the batting cage. He's finally let go, and it closes one of the best arcs of the series.

Credit: Justin Lubin/NBC

The B-plot is great too. Lauren, in the aftermath of her breakup with Ryan, decides to re-dedicate herself to helping the support group get back on its feet. However, when the group members realize that they haven't really been getting much of anything out of the therapy sessions, it leads Lauren to question whether she's any good at this. Lauren's crisis inspires Sonia (Sarah Baker) and Yolanda (Suzy Nakamura) to invent a fake co-worker whose death Lauren can help them through. To this end, Sonia and Yolanda hire a group of actors and layabouts to play employees at the hospital where they work, so they can bring Lauren in to help them through the grieving process, allowing Lauren to see her worth as a grief counselor. But the facade falls apart in no time flat, as Sonia can't deny that their supposedly dead co-worker is fake (amusingly causing Yolanda to flip her lid, in a moment that's bleeped out). Lauren, ultimately, finds her redemption in helping Ryan through his rough patch, bringing him to the realization of just how badly he needs to let go of Janie's ashes, for his own good. This, in turn, feels like the show bringing Lauren's character full-circle, from a woman who was overly self-impressed with her own competency, to a woman with doubts about her life choices, all the way back around to a person with a more honest confidence in her skills. It works far beyond what I could have expected.

Credit: NBC

Ultimately, this was a perfect way to close out the season, and the series as well, if this is the end. Go On has blended humor and emotional resonance about as well as any first-year comedy I've seen since Community, and it's a show that is worthy of a second season from a creative standpoint, though not necessarily from a ratings perspective. However, if this is the last we see of this group, the creative forces behind the series can at least be happy that the show has gone out on its best episode. "Urn-ed Run" is as good as it gets.