Just watched...

..."Transparent: Musicale Finale," the end of the 4 season series "Transparent" on Amazon Prime. After binge watching the entire series two years ago (read my review here), the fate of the show was a bit up in the air. Jeffrey Tambor, the actor who played the lead character Maura Pfefferman, was accused of sexual misconduct on the set and was subsequently fired. Which is a shame since not only is Tambor a spectacularly talented actor, the show itself was amazing, winning 8 Emmys, 2 Golden Globes, an AFI award, a British Academy Television award, a Directors Guild of America award, a Screen Actors Guild award, a Producers Guild of America award, 3 Critic's Choice awards, and a Peabody award. Tambor has since apologized for bad behavior and temperamental outbursts but has denied any sexual misconduct. Whatever the truth, I am glad the creators of the show, Jill and Faith Soloway, decided to give the remaining characters and story lines a chance for some closure.

I recently came across a trailer for the series finale and I was quite surprised to see that it is a musical. And I was a bit put off..."Oh, I'm not going to watch that," said I with an inner eye roll. But I should not have been so quick to write it off. My husband was intrigued and took a peek without me. He came back and reported that the first five minutes had knocked him to the floor. So we hunkered down to catch up with the Pfefferman clan.

And indeed, the show does open with a very emotionally effective and arresting song, while each of the characters are introduced by a montage, showing where they are and what they are doing since we saw them last. But each of them are isolated, in their sheltered corners. It's one of the best, most touching opening sequences I've seen in a long time. And at the end of this sequence, we discover that Maura (Tambor's character) has died in her sleep. What transpires is the journey everyone must make when they have lost a loved one and are in a state of grief, but also the extra journey these characters must make to get out of their own ways.

Recommend? If you've seen the first four seasons, it is a must-see. It's moving and dramatic but also as awkwardly funny as it is always was. And it includes a final musical number that will surely push a lot of buttons for some...but if you step back and look, truly see, you will agree with the sentiment.

https://www.amazon.com/Transparent-Musicale-Finale/dp/B07SM1B1SP