‘The Final Curtain’: Miranda’s Last Moments

New Year’s Day saw the last ever episode of Miranda air on BBC 1. After five years of confusions, pratfalls and silliness, Miranda Hart has called it a day on her eponymous sitcom about a thirty-something shop owner facing the trials and tribulations of the grown-up world. But were the last two episodes a fitting tribute to what has been five years of unadulterated hilarity, or did they fail to live up to the hype?

(source: radiotimes.com)

The first of the two specials, ‘I Do, But To Who?’, aired on Christmas Day. The episode began where the last series had left off, with Miranda having received two marriage proposals, one from television reporter boyfriend Mike (Bo Poraj), and the second from the love of her life, Gary, whose ‘will-they-or-won’t-they?’ relationship with Miranda has been the crux of the series.  Fans were glad to see Miranda make a quick choice, and even more so to discover that it was the gorgeous Gary (Tom Ellis) that she had chosen to be her husband. They sealed the deal with a ring made of Monster Munch, which Miranda swiftly ate.

A rather surprising turn of events occurred when Miranda and Gary were finally able to spend the night together, despite an (only momentary) interruption via Miranda’s best friend Stevie (Sarah Hadland), involving peperami jenga and some awkward (accidental) straddling. The episode features the kind of scenes that we have come to expect throughout the sitcom, including a ridiculous scenario in which Miranda becomes accidentally attached to a woman whilst browsing at a ring shop, which culminates in Miranda dangling from an escalator.

However, the real event of this episode did not occur until the last five minutes. Tension brews throughout, as Miranda is fully aware that Gary is not exactly known for his high levels of commitment. In fact, he has not yet said ‘I love you’. He begins to freak out at the thought of arranging the wedding, and, after a tearful (Miranda) ‘hart to hart’, Gary realises that they “can’t be together like this”, with Gary afraid to open up, and Miranda being unable to trust that Gary loves her. She has yet to understand that she can be loved for who she is.

This scene was genuinely hard hitting for fans, and the most emotional to have ever been shown in the sitcom. As Miranda is left alone in her flat after Gary leaves, there is no song and dance as the credits roll, as we have come to expect. Instead, emotional music swells as the tears begin. It certainly doesn’t feel very comedic at all.

The next, and final, episode, titled ‘The Final Curtain’, is luckily nowhere near as sad. However, it is definitely as emotional. Both of these episodes are littered with flashbacks demonstrating just how strong Miranda’s relationships with Gary and Stevie, as well as with her ‘What I Call’ mother Penny (Patricia Hodge), are. Although Miranda begins the episode by stating that she is getting over Gary “for good”, it soon becomes apparent that this is not the case.

What is so beautiful about this episode is the way in which Miranda’s fears and insecurities are overcome. It truly feels like the culmination of a lifelong struggle for Miranda to accept who she is; at one point, during a session with a therapist (Mark Heap) in which all of the central characters (bar Gary) are present, Miranda makes it clear that she has realised that people like her can, indeed, be found attractive; it’s just that “the world might never affirm it”. It is this realisation that leads her to realise that she doesn’t need Gary, which is why she can finally be with him without fear of rejection. It is possible for him to love her for who she is. Following a horse ride on a beach, an amusing altercation with the traffic warden from previous episodes, and a dash to stop what Miranda believes to be Gary’s wedding, Miranda finally gets her man, marrying Gary at his restaurant after gate-crashing the wedding of fan-favourite Clive (James Holmes). He appears in a surprise cameo, having not featured in series three. Brilliantly, he is marrying the nameless ‘customer’ that so frequently ends up embroiled in Miranda and Stevie’s crazy schemes, in a bizarre twist of fate.

(source: capitalbay.com)

Miranda and Gary finally getting together is something that fans have wanted for a long time. However, I have yet to find somebody that could have predicted just how perfect the ending of this episode would be. After a wonderful collection of vows which include Gary’s promise to only ever make sweet muffins (Miranda has an aversion to savoury ones), Miranda’s overbearing mother drops the bravado and promises to change, having previously been thrown out of Miranda’s flat.

One of the best things about these episodes is that they feel like a love-letter to the fans. They are absolutely filled to the brim with cameo appearances from past characters, including Gary Barlow, who plays at Miranda and Gary’s wedding. Perhaps the loveliest thing about the ending is the fact that every single character is happy. Miranda gives her posh school friend Tilly (Sally Phillips) train tickets to Wick, so that she can elope with her ridiculous fiancé Charlie (Adrian Scarborough), in order to avoid the wrath of her domineering mother; Miranda has made up with her best friend Stevie, and Miranda and Gary get together in perhaps the most romantic way possible. And, most importantly, Miranda has discovered that it is absolutely okay to be herself. In fact, Gary romantically confirms this; “I love you just the way you are.” As a tearful Hart broke the fourth wall and thanked the audience for being “the most amazing friends”, the message that remains is that it is okay to be yourself. Despite all the tears and heartbreak, I will always remember this sitcom as being not only funny, but full of heart. It really has been ‘such fun’.