You can imagine how tough it must have been to end the series on just the right note, in light of all the choices that the writers made throughout the 7th season, particularly with Lorelai's love life. You can bet that they probably toyed with the possibility of playing up the Luke/Lorelai reconciliation to the highest degree they possibly could have, but when you think about it, it still would have been the same scenario: some would have loved it, and others would have hated it.

Sometimes, the best television comes from those writers who aren't looking to pull out the perfect fairytale ending and fulfill the audience's every imagination. Sometimes it's the subtle, yet promising endings that hold the most meaning, and the more I watch this episode, the more I believe that everything was done exactly the way it needed to be done.

Oh, sure, I am disappointed that "Gilmore Girls" is officially over (I'm not holding my breath over any of those recent TV movie rumors), and of course, fans would love to get a glimpse of Rory as a post-college woman, conquering the world and embarking on her first job. Even more than that, we would love to watch Luke and Lorelai get the wedding they deserve and have a baby together, but if you really think about it......if the final episode had shown all that, would it truly have been all you hoped? Maybe it would have, or maybe it would have come out wrong and been too sappy. In either case, the final kiss, and the final breakfast at the diner told me everything I needed to know, and the most loyal Gilmore fans can use their imaginations to know what comes next. It's a sign of great storytelling when you feel that strongly for the characters, and like many other viewers, I saw these characters as real people, in a way.

With Rory, she did everything that she dreamed of doing ever since she stepped into that snooty college prep high school in Season 1. She wanted to be like Christiane Amanpour, travel, write, and be part of something big. Her academics were her driving force, and despite a couple setbacks, she came through it all as a truly bright and compassionate young woman with real work ethic--which, unfortunately, isn't always the end result with academically gifted students like Rory. As for Lorelai, well, the direction she ended up in was good, and viewers have every reason to believe that she and Luke have found their happy ending. It's been a tough road, but you get the sense that they are both better people because of it all. Even if you don't actually see it, you know it was there, and the writing was solid enough to create that mental image. I will continue to enjoy the 7 seasons on DVD, and while it has been sad to see them go, there is plenty to be grateful for.

I think it's safe to say that everyone was shocked when, after a highly publicized 10th season finale told us that "7th Heaven" had taken its final bow, the actors and writers resurrected themselves mid-summer to take a stab at a historical Season 11. As positive and meaningful as the show's general message has been throughout the years, it still seemed strange to me that it was deemed worthy enough to pull out of cancellation at the last second, but I guess that when you have a cast like this--a cast that clearly feels passionate about the series and would gladly go 20 more years if they could--this course of action was almost a little bit expected.

In any case, the beginning of Season 11 indicated that the year was going to be packed with unprecedented drama, starting with Lucy's miscarriage and moving right along with Eric's allegedly life-threatening health problems. I do feel that the season ended up falling flat and losing out on some real opportunities to hit hard with the emotion. That's not to say that it was all just a complete flop, but in retrospect, it could have been better.

Getting back to this season premiere episode, any fan who has followed 7th Heaven could probably instantly guess Lucy's reaction to the miscarriage of the twin boys that she and Kevin eagerly announced in the 10th season finale. Of course, Lucy Camden has met with some other trying times ever since Season 1, and through all of them, she has always managed to be overdramatic, self-pitying, and altogether irritating as she withdraws from the family and acts as if she is the only one who has ever felt these difficult things. Now, this may sound like a whole lot of bashing from a classic "Lucy hater," but actually, I don't have much against Lucy. She was always a good, sweet, and well-intentioned character, but her tendency to constantly throw herself a little pity party was definitely her most unattractive quality, and it really shined in this episode as she separated herself from her loved ones and went so far as to publicly blame them in front of the whole Church. On the other hand, I have absolutely no idea what a woman goes through when she miscarries one child, let alone two, so perhaps Lucy's behavior was at least partially justified, but regardless of any of that, it's the same old Lucy that you remember from day one. Another reviewer on here said that she was out of character in this episode, but to me, she was the same over-the-top emotional girl that she always, always was.

Season 11 also opened with some other significant story arcs for the rest of the Camden family. Before Eric's heart problems kicked in, he got a stunning proposition from the twins' third grade teacher, which was a bit silly, but hey, Eric's methods of handling it were a pretty good example for people who meet with the same kinds of temptations today. All in all, this episode marked what was to come for these characters, and even if they didn't flesh out quite as well as we may have liked to see, the potential was right there, and for the most part, the final season was enjoyable for longtime viewers.

Though I was in kindergarten when this episode aired and never got into the show when it aired on television, I thought I'd give it a shot when the first season debuted on DVD. After all, when you hear so many things about a contemporary classic, you can't help but be interested. The fact that I love Jennie Garth's performance opposite Amanda Bynes in the more recent comedy series "What I Like About You" is another reason I've started watching some episodes of this, and it's pretty interesting to see her from 17 years ago.

All in all, this was a fun episode to watch, the interactions among the girls being especially interesting. It's unfortunate that you don't see too many 15-year-old girls anymore who are enjoying a slumber party, dancing freestyle in their pajamas, eating junk food, breaking out the Quija board, and just being kids. Anyway, as indicated by other reviewers here, Garth's performance is especially memorable, helping her character dig deeper and go beyond just the superficial, tightly-wound person she's originally perceived as. In a way, the episode is corny at times, although it was filmed back in 1991, so you have to figure that teen life was a little bit different more than a century and a half ago. What surprised me more than anything else was how willing Kelly, Andrea, Donna, and Brenda were with Amanda's little "Skeletons in the Closet" game. Are we supposed to believe that none of these girls, despite being so uncomfortable and hurt by what was going on, had the guts to speak up or, even more important, kick her out? Even worse, these four pals ended up saying some pretty nasty things to each other, with words like "pretentious" and "stuck-up" flying around the room at various times--and yet apparently, it never dawned on any of them that their so-called best friends actually thought those negative things about them. However, I suppose it was necessary to convey, on some level, how naive high school girls can be at this age. And of course, it all ends up well, with hugs and "I'm sorry's" all around, so maybe I shouldn't take it too seriously :)

Setting all that aside, it's a great episode from the very early 90210 days, and it's pretty easy for females to connect with one or some of the characters as they recall their own high school experiences. I, for one, could relate pretty well with Andrea as she immediately denied having any romantic feelings for Brandon, and how she quickly made up a story about being in love with a cute lifeguard she once met, and all her friends can instantly tell she's lying. "Sure, Andrea--we believe you," Kelly says in that smirky little voice that Garth perfected on the show, and in that moment, I could really see myself being in a situation like that. One of the best episodes from Season 1, for sure, and although I can't comment on its quality against the rest of the series, I would recommend this one if you want to visit these characters' fresh, youthful days.

Let me just start off by saying that I have loved 7th Heaven from the very beginning. Seasons 1-5 (the years with all the original Camdens) are probably the very best, and I remember losing a lot of interest once Season 6 began, but I will continue to watch until the end. Those who have loyally followed this show are invested in the characters, so it would be pretty hard to tune out now. Still, after watching last night's silly and completely pointless episode, I have to wonder why they even bother to keep it on the air now. I am not exaggerating when I say that they have absolutely no valid plot material to work with. You know there's a problem when after raising seven children and having five of them gone and out of the house, Eric and Annie have nothing better to do than to obsess over a break-up text message that was sent by their 17-year-old daughter's boyfriend. Think about it: that's truly all that Eric and Annie did for the 60-minute duration of this episode. They argued about how to handle Ruthie's "break-up," Annie criticized Eric for giving T-Bone "permission" to do it, and Mac (who sent the text message in the first place) wreaked havoc among all the characters in the episode by sending the message to each of their cell phones. Yep, that's right, everyone received the message except Ruthie: Eric, Annie, Kevin, Lucy, Jane, Margaret, Sandy, everyone. I suppose wacky storylines like this have become a trademark flair of 7th Heaven, so viewers have basically come to expect it, but to me, it's too ridiculous and insane to even generate a good laugh.

I have to say, however, that if Kevin and Lucy moved to this Crossroads area, that would be something fairly interesting to end the series. Kevin is thrilled about the idea and ready to go immediately, but Lucy--who wants more children and isn't so sure about raising them in the middle of nowhere and away from the family--proves to be a tougher sell in the situation. Come on, folks, think long and hard about this one. She's been married for three years, has a 2-year-old daughter, and she is still practically living with Mom and Dad. If marrying and having her own family hasn't prompted this girl to get out and live her own life, it's quite possible that nothing will. That's one thing that I don't really like about the show right now; Lucy and Ruthie have been portrayed as spoiled, overindulged kids who have no concept of what real life is. All right, so maybe it's not exactly fair to say that about Lucy--at least she has her own family and a career--but at 17, Ruthie has never had a part-time job, and Mom bakes her a chocolate cake just because she spent a few days looking around for one? Please. I guess you'd have to figure that the one job she'd pick was at the nearby movie theater, where she could be right at her boyfriend's side. Ruthie ended this episode with a twinge of maturity, providing some hope for her character, but really, if you know Ruthie Camden, you know she's not going to stay that way for long. Once she and Martin start spending more time together in future episodes, the good old bratty, annoying Ruthie will be back in top form--just as the moody, emotional Lucy will return once the events of the next few episodes unfold. I can hardly wait. ;)

Overall, I still tune in every Sunday night to catch new episodes, and I will continue to do so, but at this point, I think it will be a miracle if they can come up with something halfway original for the finale (which is only 2 episodes away). At least with last season's finale, they had a little bit of an edge and had a chance to bow out with some dignity, but right now, I'm not so sure if they can repeat that a second time. Judging from next week's episode previews, the prospects don't look so great.

On the whole, I think there simply isn't much more of a plot to explore with this series, and it will be an accomplishment for them if they can at least bow out with something memorable (three more episodes to go).

I don't really like how they simply dropped Eric's whole health issue and tied up all the loose ends just like that, but I suppose that's just typical 7th Heaven. As I said before, the most satisfying moment of this episode was how Eric and Annie boldly stood their ground with Ruthie's immature, selfish behavior over her tattoo. She was the one who went out and just did what she wanted to do, despite the inevitable consequences. She was the one who selfishly decided that she was in control and did a completely stupid thing by tattooing some guy's name across her back. Eric and Annie have always been pretty lenient with Ruthie, ever since she was a little girl in the early years of the series, and it's nice to see them knuckle down a bit with her. It's too bad that Ruthie has had to metamorphosize into such a self-centered teenager (I always thought that she had the potential to be the smartest and most well-adjusted of all the Camden kids), but I guess that if you've followed the show since the beginning, you had to know that Ruthie would be a difficult kid in her teens.

With three episodes to go (and it seems that this truly is the end for 7th Heaven now), it looks like some of the biggest ending plots will involve the changes going on in Kevin and Lucy's life together. This Crossroads town they are looking at is really something else, and I will be interested to tune in and see what they decide with that!