'Rooster' Finale Recap & Ending Explained: Is Greg Coming Back To Ludlow?

Rooster’s finale reminds us how lonely Greg truly feels when he confronts his daughter about his mistakes and also says goodbye to his students, who, after so long, have finally gotten deeply fond of him. Unfortunately, the show’s emotional impact isn’t as deep as it hopes to be, but that’s okay. I feel like the Archie storyline has dragged on for far too long, making us not that invested in it, but it’s interesting to see the parallels between Katie and Sunny’s reaction to Archie as a whole. It does feel like a little bit of a generation gap makes all the difference, no? Anyway, the show’s been fun so far, but a second season has to be really interesting for us to stay intrigued by Greg as a character. We get that he’s been lonely, and it’s taken him a long time to move on from his marriage and come to terms with being by himself, and his daughter leaving the nest, but what’s next for Greg? It appears it might be insecurities and a lot of stress from the new changes happening in Ludlow. With that said, let’s get into the recap of the final episode of season 1.

Spoiler Alert

Does Katie Accept Greg’s Apology?

Apparently, it’s a trend for Greg to put himself down while apologizing for his mistakes, making everyone feel pity towards him, but Katie’s been here long enough to call him out on it while still accepting that he’s being earnest. He’s also invited his ex-wife and Katie’s mum, Beth, to the table as a mediator. Greg tells Katie that the only reason he chose to fix her problems is that when he was alone after Beth left him, he felt quite lost. I think the implication is that he might’ve been somewhat depressed as well. So, having experienced that, he doesn’t want Katie to go through the same thing, which is why he’s always eager to do whatever he can to help her. Parents, you know? But now the solution is for Greg to leave Katie completely alone, and that means that if she chooses to do meth, it’s okay too. I do think he might consider her getting back with Archie worse than a meth addiction, but yeah. 

What Happens With Archie? 

The biggest issue with Rooster, in my opinion, is how much time Archie has gotten as a character to experience an actual arc, but it doesn’t seem to have worked in 10 whole episodes. The reason was that he had either Katie or Sunny to always fall back on and be his distasteful self yet again. Archie definitely thinks he is some great Russian soldier who would do anything for love and keeping the romance alive. That’s what his last lesson before the break looks like, at least. But anyway, he cries a little and then proceeds to go see Katie to restart their marriage. When Sunny visits his office,  Archie asks her to sit down to let her down easy, but she doesn’t agree, knowing exactly where this might be going. And though she knows that her worth doesn’t depend on Archie at all, she still feels hurt by this situation. Obviously, she changed her entire life plan for this man, who’s the most fickle person she probably knows. When they head out for lunch and Archie’s rambling on about something that I genuinely don’t care about, Katie notices he’s got a ton of spinach in his teeth. No, really, it’s a ton. And in the process of telling him to get rid of it, she realizes there’s no way she wants to be back with him. Katie doesn’t need a man to feel better about herself; it’s taken her only too long to realize that her worth doesn’t depend on Archie. I  guess, had Greg not interfered, she might’ve come to this understanding pretty early on. Women do tend to realize things much faster than men, eh?  

Anyway, Archie tries to blame her for his leaving Sunny (the mother of his future child), but while Katie first apologizes, she does pick up quickly that she shouldn’t be apologetic for something she didn’t start. She tells him that he’s the one who started all of this, and had it not been for his cheating, Sunny would be happy, and Katie would be too.  Sunny gives Archie an ultimatum to come to her apartment at 8 am if he wants to go to Wisconsin with her (that was their plan anyway). But, when he arrives there in the nick of time, Mo tells him that they got her an earlier ticket and she’s long gone. Serves him right, finally, he’s had his reckoning, and it would’ve been nice if it were more dramatic, but I guess that would’ve fed into his ego, so maybe this dull loneliness is the best punishment for Archie the great. Hey, at least Katie wished him well? More importantly, she’s made a mistake on her own, and it’s okay; she’s come to a solution herself, too. 

What Happens With Tommy? 

On the other hand, the best arc of the show has definitely been Tommy’s. From befriending Greg and showing him that he’s a likeable person and a very good teacher, to figuring out his own life, everything has been pretty much in order. The only thing left was seeing him do well academically, and that’s also happened now. Throughout the show, it’s been a running theme that Greg’s like a dad figure for Tommy, but it’s not just because of the lack of said dad figure, but because Tommy is like a mini-me of Greg. He’s got the same loneliness gene and the awkwardness that would possibly leave him completely alone in the future if he doesn’t find his people. When you’re younger, you still try hard to make it happen; that’s why Tommy has friends. He’s also like a leader of sorts, because that’s the way he holds on to them. But when you get older, like Greg, you need people like Dylan and Walt to step in and show you what true friendship is like. Anyway, Tommy finally does a good job, and we can see these parallels based on how much Greg can relate to Tommy’s main character, possibly modelled on the guy, no? 

Is Greg Coming Back To Ludlow?

In Rooster’s ending, Tommy invites Greg to see him at their usual diner, and unsurprisingly, there’s a huge turnout for Greg’s surprise going-away party. He gives an emotional speech about how all of these people showed him that he actually does belong. The man’s certainly grown since he’s come here, as Beth points out; he’s fallen just as much in love with it as she is. There’s a moment earlier in the episode when Greg gifts Dylan a first copy of his new book with a female protagonist. The first thing he says is that he’s not got anything to do with the cover because it shows off a scantily clad lady with unrealistic body proportions. Walt says “to be continued” to Greg, so I suppose that’s a sign that there’s a future for this show. Greg even gifts Dylan his scooter thing, and it’s all looking up. She says she’s glad she didn’t sleep with him because she has a real friend now. Man, it really is a loneliness epidemic in here: like, there’s Walt, Dylan, Cristle and Greg. 

Finally, we get that moment of silence that Greg and Katie needed together to end the first season on a great note. Greg’s speech definitely got to Katie, and she tells him that he doesn’t need to leave Ludlow on her account. They both have their own thing going on, and she also tells him that she’s left Archie for good this time; they’re going to get that divorce soon. So Greg does what he has been wanting to do for the longest time and makes that call to Walt to ask to stay back. But, in the end, Walt tells Greg that he’s given his job to Beth, and he’ll have to see a lot more of her, if he plans on staying back, and she’s the one he’d have to talk to as well. Greg’s first reaction (finally) is to be a good friend to Walt and ask him if he’s doing okay. He didn’t know this had happened, and he feels bad about not being there for Walt when this whole time he’s been going on about how he’s awkward and uncharismatic. But, it does seem like Walt’s actually okay and happy because this is a chapter he’s ready to close. But Greg, on the other hand, isn’t, as he takes down the picture of Beth she put on his wall. Maybe she was saying you can’t get rid of me so easily after all. 

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