Transparent

Many years after watching the first season of this Amazon Original show I finally caught up with the Pfefferman clan, and I'm happy to report that the more I know these characters the more I want to be their friend or strangle them, depending on what they're up to, and that's a good thing, because it means they make you care.

Season 2 starts out with Sarah's big wedding, but is this newfound love really what she pines after? Or was she better off with Len?

Maura continues her self-discovery journey, which brings her to confront parts of her past she had closed off long ago. She also finds a new closeness to Shelly, which gives their kids whiplash.

Josh, having found out he fathered a son in his teens, gets to know him better and things aren't too easy, especially for his new relationship with Raquel.

Ali is the usual mess, trying her hand at a new career, new loves, and religion. Oy.

Grade - Season 2: 8

Season 3 starts out with Maura trying to make herself useful to the new community she now belongs to, but things don't work out too well for her. Nevertheless, she's excited about her future and its possibilities.

Sarah keeps dipping her toes in different shades of religion, with varying results.

Ali also keeps toying with religion, but also drugs, and ends up having to rescue Josh from spiraling out of control when he receives tragic news.

Shelley, meanwhile, gets into theater and solo performances, which she gets to test out on a very eventful family cruise.

This season's episode 8 is a rare treat as it goes back in time to show us the origins of Maura and Shelley.

Grade - Season 3: 8

Season 4 sees Maura travel to Israel for a job opportunity. Ali accompanies her and will unexpectedly have some wild experiences with the politics and religion of the region and its peoples.

Shelly deepens her involvement with the theater, while Sarah and Len come to an interesting agreement.

Josh, forced to grow by the recent events, goes through a life crisis.

The whole family reunites in Israel, but not all make the trip back home.

Grade - Season 4: 8

This is where the regular programming ends, unfortunately. Jeffrey Tambor, aka Maura Pfefferman, was accused of sexual harassment by someone on the Transparent set. An investigation found enough evidence to force him to quit the show, leaving the producers to struggle with whether and how to continue making a show where its main character, around whom all other stories gravitate, is now gone and cannot possibly be replaced.

While the characters of Maura's 3 children, her former wife, and her best friends were full-fledged and all richly developed, they were ostensibly supporting characters. Obviously, you cannot have a show called Transparent without the trans-parent at its helm.

So the decision was made to make a TV movie instead of a regular season, the go-to device of late for series with a devoted fan base that are canceled abruptly, depriving the showrunners of the chance to bring their story to a nice close.

Alas, the decision was also made to make it a musical, perhaps in an effort to keep it more lighthearted rather than exceedingly gloomy given that it centers around Maura's demise (Tambor wasn't part of the production, of course).

I would only recommend this to fans of the series who long for a measure of closure, as it comes across a bit forced and silly. Yet, it is nice to see these talented actors working off one another one more time.

Grade - Musical Finale: 5