The second half of the finale, “Last Lunch,” really delivered. Liz gathered the crew to shoot the final TGS episode. Unsurprisingly, Tracy wasn’t making it easy. For example, he tricked Al Roker into announcing that “Snowicane White Lady Name Like Dorva Or Something” was going to hit midtown Manhattan to send the crew home. Reminiscent of 30 Rock‘s pilot, Liz had to go to a strip club to talk some sense into him. The real reason Tracy didn’t want to go to the show was because he didn’t want to face the goodbyes. Liz gave a heartfelt, honest speech, and convinced Tracy to come back. Lemon: solving problems until the very end.
The finale of 30 Rock would not have been complete without some Lutz hatred. It just so happened that he was the lunch picker for the day, and wanted Blimpie’s. The rest of the writers tried to find a loophole to get a new picker, but he kept outsmarting them. Aardvark Lutz wanted his revenge for seven years of bad treatment. Once 5 p.m. rolled around, Liz took matters into her own hands: She locked Lutz into her office and ordered non-Blimpie’s food. But Lutz escaped through the ceiling and ruined the food. The cast ended up eating Blimpie’s after all. Throughout all of this, Pete kept making references to faking his own death, which he presumably did by episode’s end.
But the real gem from “Last Lunch” was Jack Donaghy. Still reeling over his fight with Lemon, he was worried that she would hold a grudge against him forever. He was in such a bad place that his odd behavior eventually convinced Lemon that he might try to kill himself. And her fears were confirmed when she found his video suicide note. So she tracked his phone, and found Jack getting ready to jump off a bridge. He jumped. She screamed, and ran to the edge only to discover he landed on a boat. Jack tricked Liz so she would end her grudge, and then he could sail off on a journey to discover what makes him happy and find his bliss—not a acronym for Beautiful Ladies In Short Shorts.
Jack began a lengthy speech discussing a once-special word that was “tragically co-opted by the romance industrial complex,” but Liz cut him off: “I love you too, Jack.” And since that’s all there is to say, Jack went off into the night on his quest for self-discovery. But his trip was cut very short. “Good God, Lemon! I just figured it all out. I’m turning around. Clear dishwashers!… So you can see what’s going on inside it. It’s the best idea I’ve ever had. Thank God I took that boat trip!”
The best lines and moments from “Last Lunch”
++ Kathy Geiss’ return, showing off a machine she invented that hugs elderly people (David Garrison also popped up in this scene)
++ Tracy trying to stall the show when the “Executive Producer Lorne Michaels” card pop up
++ “For your information, most of Tan Penis Island was destroyed in Sting’s house fire.” —Jack
++ Lemon: “So get up on that stage and cut the BS!”
Tracy: “But I promised Barbra Streisand I’d never stab her again.”
++ “She did want me to cancel Top Chef because Colicchio’s lunch place changed the topping on her favorite salad.” —Jack, about Lemon holding a grudge
And later: “Which reminds me, why am I seeing new Top Chefs with that bald salad-ruiner?” —Liz
++ “We were going to lose our virginity to each other. Now I’ll never lose it! —guest star Conan O’Brien referencing his relationship with Lemon
++ “He’s in a really bad place, like when Mickey Rourke…I can’t do this anymore. I’ve never met Mickey Rourke.” —Jenna
++ The musical adaptation of the film of the novel The Rural Juror
++ The pop-up ad for Grizz & Herz
++ “I do have a parting gift for you Lemon, go to YouTube and search ‘Hamlet the mini pig goes down stairs.'” —Jack
++ “Jack! Wait! There’s so much to live for! Don’t you want to know how Mad Men ends! [Jack jumps.] Don goes to work for Peggy!” —Liz
++ “Thank you, America! That’s our show. Not a lot of people watched it, but the joke’s on you! ‘Cause we got paid anyway!” —Tracy talking about TGS (and 30 Rock)
NEXT PAGE: Did you really think I’d ignore the one year later?!
