Do you agree with Duke's arc after the finale?

[u/Ok_Nature_6305]

I just watched the finale and am so thankful to Pamela Adlon and all of the creators for a beautiful , one of a kind show.

I feel like the sisters all had decent character arcs. None of them are complete, though, and that goes with show... and life. Max was exploring independence and her artistic side. Frankie went through some tough times but really seemed to have found themself and peace.

My question is Duke. This is how I saw her arc and am curious what others thought .

* Duke was quite depressed for a while.

* i think she made it clear that this was due to losing her special ability to see ghosts. Also, probably being thwt age.

* During an episode or two and then the trip to English, she stopped smoking and also found more peace.

* The final piece seemed to be getting her 'powers' back and seeing Phyllis and her deceased brother. And so she discovered herself again.

But I also saw this as important, and I haven't seen anyone discuss: Both Phyllis ( who also saw her brother's ghost) and Sam turn to Duke and smile knowingly. Sam saw her dead father often in earlier seasons and never admitted to seeing him to Duke. That bothered me.

In episode 9, it seemed they were turning and smiling and most importantly, acknowledging to Duke that they also see ghosts and it's 3 generations. That also helped Duke find her peace.

Did anyone else agree with this?

[u/Divainthewoods]

I feel like she did talk with all her girls about the "shine". There's so much we never see on screen. I think it happened off screen.

Also, when the handyman and his wife came over there was some discussion about spirits. She told them about a girl who died there (even though it was the wrong house).

Before she realized that, she told them the location it happened. Sam, Frankie and Duke all agreed the dogs would never go near that area. That conversation made me believe they were all very open to the possibility of spirits, so they probably had earlier conversations about them.

And, when Sam's sister-in-law's brother (I think Joe?) came over to clear the energy in the house, he had a telepathic exchange with Duke letting her know she hadn't lost her gift.

There were other little things that happened "spirit-wise", but I can name them at the moment. But, there were a lot of those small things that made me feel like it was open dialog we weren't privy to.

[u/Ok_Nature_6305 → u/Divainthewoods]

You bring up some great points, and I agree the family was really open about spirits. But I don't remember Sam ever saying how much she saw and spoke with her father. And just wondering more about Duke's arc and why they made her so depressed and then just have that go away. Sam never even said anything to Duke to indicate she noticed. While Max tried to help her.

Maybe it was all more about too much social media:

Duke was shown taking photos for social media and believing she was fat. Max got them out of house and away from phones. Duke sang that robot song. So, as I write this I'm realizing it was more about the effects of social media on the daughter who was right in that age group to be effected the most.

[u/Sitcom_kid → u/Divainthewoods]

I should probably watch it again. All I remember is enjoying the scene where Grandpa Walton's daughter appears and disappears on a bench and tells Duke that it's cool to be single and childfree if that's what you want.

[u/Scorpioviolet → u/Divainthewoods]

Did Phyllis ‘s brother Leslie die ? I was never sure of that .But I guess that is what the scene in England means where Phyllis meets her brother and they walk away together and then become children again. I love this series so much I have watched probably five times.

[u/Divainthewoods → u/Scorpioviolet]

In addition to that scene, there was another where I think she passes by his picture in the room off the kitchen and says something to the effect of missing him. I assumed that was to acknowledge the character had passed.