‘Mom’ Series Finale: What Did You Think of Bonnie’s Ending? (POLL)

Meaghan Darwish
14 Comments
Mom - Melanie Lynskey, Allison Janney, Mimi Kennedy
Spoiler Alert
Michael Yarish/©2021 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Season 8, Episode 18 of Mom, “My Kinda People and the Big To-Do.”]

Mom is taking its final bow as the stories of Bonnie (Allison Janney), Jill (Jaime Pressly), Marjorie (Mimi Kennedy), Wendy (Beth Hall), and Tammy (Kristen Johnston) come to a close in the series finale, “My Kinda People and the Big To-Do.”

Things kick off in an A.A. meeting, where the ladies open up about the little challenges they’re facing at the moment. But one attendee, newbie Shannon (guest star Melanie Lynskey), is reluctant to participate. This leads Bonnie to take some initiative in getting to know the new member of the group as she follows Shannon into the rain, even chasing her down the street.

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Bonnie asks if she will join her and pals for a cup of coffee and she comes along begrudgingly. Shannon feels that they have nothing in common, but Bonnie and the rest of the crew dig deeper into the alcoholics’ toolbox to prove to her she’s not alone in her struggles.

Before heading home, Bonnie tells Shannon to call her anytime she feels like drinking. At home, Bonnie’s mostly positive night ends on a sour-ish note when hubby Adam (William Fichtner) reveals that he’s received a concerning medical result after a recent scan of his lungs.

mom allison janney william fitchner

(Credit: Michael Yarish/©2021 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved)

While she worries, Bonnie attempts to seek advice from Marjorie, ringing the cat lady in the late hours of the evening. But several other incoming calls from Jill and Shannon lead to a hectic game of phone tag.

Jill reveals that she and Andy (Will Sasso) have decided to wed the next day and would like for Bonnie and Adam to attend, which gives Bonnie pause as she already has Adam’s appointment at the doctor the next day. Plus, Shannon is in need of help as she is physically fighting with her drug-addicted mother Jolene (Rondi Reed).

Once Bonnie hangs up for the evening, it’s time to share some quiet moments with Adam before falling asleep. The next morning, we learn that Adam is having a biopsy in a few days, which allows him and Bonnie to attend Andy and Jill’s wedding.

Mom cast Season 8 finale cbs

(Credit: Michael Yarish/©2021 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved)

At the courthouse, they run into Jolene and Shannon who have landed themselves in some legal trouble. Pulling Jill aside, Bonnie convinces her to ask Andy if he can get the women out of custody. When he manages to spring them loose, Jolene and Shannon make for a pair of combative wedding guests, but ultimately everything goes as planned.

A few days later, the women attend a meeting together and Bonnie receives some support about Adam’s condition which remains vague by the episode’s closing moments. But what isn’t so unclear is Bonnie’s full-circle moment.

Bonnie gets up to speak about her journey, revealing that she never understood what a “grateful alcoholic” was until now because she truly is happy and loves herself. As she basks in this self-acceptance, she can’t help but shed a tear or two, especially as she observes the new mother-daughter pair in the group, a parallel that echoes her and daughter Christy’s (Anna Faris) own experience.

mom season 8 cbs cast

(Credit: Michael Yarish/©2021 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved)

Fans definitely had a lot of feelings about the show’s final moments, taking to social media to share their reactions. Scroll down to see how viewers are responding to the final episode and let us know what you thought of the Mom finale in the poll and comments below.

Mom, Streaming now, Paramount+

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Allison Janney

Allison Janney

Mimi Kennedy

Mimi Kennedy

Jaime Pressly

Jaime Pressly

Beth Hall

Beth Hall

William Fichtner

William Fichtner

Kristen Johnston

Kristen Johnston

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Conversation14 Comments

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  1. C

    CyanMagnet

    SO disappointed! Really not happy with the Adam cancer storyline. The intro of newcomers was not needed and they should have done more for Wendy's character. What happened with Violet, Roscoe, Baxter, Ray? The only finale that was worse was Seinfeld. I truly loved this show and feel cheated that, #1 it was cancelled without giving the cast a decent chance to retool the chemistry without Christy, and #2, that it went out with such a miserable episode. This cast and viewers deserved far better.

    27 1

  2. B

    BlueClover

    I would have liked it better if they actually wanted to close it with a fell-good ending. I would have much more enjoyed a Rosco high school graduation story, than Adam getting cancer.

    17 1

  3. G

    GreenBowtie

    I was very disappointed in the final show of Mom, I think it would have been much better to end things on a happy note. Why was it necessary to make Adam have cancer or bring in the new character to the meeting? I feel the show was great for the past 8 years and the last episode just seemed like a pasted together mess. It could have been done some much better.

    17 2

  4. G

    GreenElephant

    I think the finale of Mom was lack luster and I feel the show should go on or at least have a spinoff with TAMMY. Come on you're missing an opportunity!!

    Truly an emotional and miserable ending!!

    Again I'm soooooooo disappointed in how you chose to end one of my great weekly pleasures..

    14

  5. G

    GoldBug

    What about Wendy???? Her character and backstory has been over looked and ignored for 8 yrs. I am sure there are many like me who can relate to her and the old 'squeaky wheel gets all the attention'. She has been in it from the beginning but the 'new' gal got more attention when she came on board. And the finale was no different. There are a lot more 'Wendys' in this world than Bonnies or Jills or Kristies...

    12

  6. L

    Laurel Nevans

    Yeah, you can tell that was written to lead into another season, one in which Shannon would have been the new Christie, and which most likely would have had Bonnie relapsing as she has to deal with Adam's health issues. The fandom, the characters, and the cast all deserved more.

    But I'd love to see their stories continued on "Sgt Pepper's Lovely Alkie Gang," with Jill and Andy being the leads.

    9

  7. O

    OrangeMagnet

    It was a good show... with some loose ends in a story that I still want to follow. I'm hoping they continue the story in a spin-off show!

    7

  8. C

    CyanGuitar

    I personally don’t think the inclusion of the new mother-daughter characters was a bad thing. Went with the theme of “we can get through this together” and “remembering the craziness we all came from”.The lack of closure with the rest of missing characters, including and especially Christy, was disappointing to say the least. Oh well, life happens. “Living life on life’s terms”comes to mind peeps. One day at a time. Love and peace...OUT.

    4 1

  9. P

    PurpleFlame

    I loved this show very very much! I hope the producers decide to continue making more episodes. The subject of this show is a kind that can be to elaborated. I really enjoyed watching this show. I hope the following seasons to be made.

    A big THANK to all who participated in making this beautiful and full of meaning show!

    2

  10. O

    OrangeStrawberry

    I think that the cast did great with what they were given. I think if it had been renewed for one more season l, it could have ended correctly.

    1 1

  11. G

    GoldBug

    cause people have nothing better to do.

  12. O

    OrangeBottle

    Was the finale! Terrible ending.

  13. O

    OliveSword

    Sorry, I never followed show.

    11

    1. R

      RedCloud

      Then why comment?

      18