And now the big final scene. Finn honks the horn on his car and Rachel comes out of her house and gets in. They're heading... somewhere, with her dress and shoes and makeup, to get married. Where are her fathers, you ask? They're apparently still "being weird" about the wedding, refusing to discuss it with her. Rachel, that's not "being weird." It's "refusing to give your blessing to an utterly moronic idea." But Finn's being weird too. He's brought her not to the church or VFW or whatever, but to the train station. Because he's putting her on the train to New York, where her fathers will help her pick out her summer sensory deprivation tank. Or, I mean, help her look at the dorms she'll be living in when school starts in the fall. Because her dads have flown on ahead of her, I guess. Finn won't let her defer her dream. And to make sure she doesn't rebel against his manly orders and hang around Lima to wait for him, he's joined the army. He'll be leaving in just a few days. There will be no wedding. It's all very teary, and Rachel thinks she's being dumped. But Finn tells her that if they're meant to be together it will happen. I'm guessing over the course of the first four to six episodes next fall. Finn tells her that he needs her to join him in surrendering to fate, and after a lot of tears, she does.

And then she gets on the train and sings Room for Two's "Roots Before Branches." And all of her friends are gathered there on the platform to wave goodbye. I can't believe she's singing in the quiet car. The song lasts all the way to New York. Rachel has apparently dug a tunnel by hand from Penn Station to Grand Central, since she's clearly aware it makes for a more dramatic entrance to the city. And then she walks about ten miles all over mid-town, wearing a jaunty red pillbox cap. I keep expecting her to run into Ann Marie or Mary Richards (in town to visit Rhoda, duh.) There's a really nice transition during this song from Rachel being utterly devastated to really looking forward to what the future has in store for her. Which is really what most train/plane/bus/car rides to college are like.

LTG lives in Boston, where he's a full-time pension and benefits attorney, and a part-time quiet car rule enforcer. You can reach him at ltg.jon@gmail.com.