‘Raising Hope’ Series Finale Recap: Virginia’s Father, Arnold, Is Back In Town
In “The Father Daughter Dance,” Arnold (Jeffrey Tambor) comes back to town to try and smooth things over with his daughter, Virginia (Martha Plimpton). As Jimmy (Lucas Neff) put it in his voiceover, Virginia found out that her father left when she was young ostensibly because he was a gay man in a small town, but in the Season 4 premiere, we learn that he was actually just kind of a jerkface. So, Virginia is not thrilled by his return.
Arnold tells the Chance family that his reason for being in town is that he is going to get married to his partner, Oliver, and he promised him a big hometown wedding and his family would plan it. They’re not on board. Arnold offers to pay for Hope’s college. They’re on board.
They’re only given three days and Arnold’s credit card to plan, but luckily, Virginia had been planning a wedding fit for a princess ever since she was a little girl.
Meanwhile, Burt (Garret Dillahunt) is doing everything he can to make sure Hope succeeds at her future college — beer pong, fake IDs, and food fights. (Was our college experience lacking?)
‘Raising Hope’ Series Finale Recap: Virginia And Burt Renew Their Vows
Virginia decides that Arnold really has changed after he admits that he’s had such a good time planning the wedding with his family.
However, Frank (Todd Giebenhain) and Maw Maw (Cloris Leachman) have been spying on Arnold and show the family a recording where Arnold says, “They have no idea that the wedding is fake and that Oliver doesn’t exist.”
The jig is up, but not in the way you might think. Arnold admits that he’s been a terrible father, and reveals that the wedding that Virginia is planning is actually for herself and Burt — and he even bought her Princess Diana’s dress! Er… it’s not cute. But she is thrilled! The dress even has Diana’s 25-foot train — “a train that Hope would ride all the way to college.”
At their vow renewal, Burt tells Virginia that “If anyone ever hurts [her], [he] will punch them in the face.” Romantic! And foreshadowing.
Then, Kenny Loggins appears to sing “Danny’s Song” at Jimmy’s request — a song that Virginia used to sing to Hope. Jimmy had no idea what to do, but it gave him his first lesson in being a parent when Burt and Virginia sang “Danny’s Song” to Hope to get her to fall asleep on that first night Jimmy brought her home.
‘Raising Hope’ Series Finale Recap: Arnold Goes To Live In The Chance Household
Everyone is happy and merrymaking until Virginia asks Arnold if they can one day stay in his condo in Sedona, Arizona — the one that he put up as collateral in the event that he doesn’t pony up the cash for Hope’s college. Well, he sold it to pay for the wedding. Burt punches him in the face.
Because Frank seems genuinely remorseful, because he really did, for once, just want to make Virginia happy, Jimmy offers him his old room in the Chance house now that he has nowhere to stay.
“If you really want him to be a better father, you’re going to have to give him a chance at being a father,” Jimmy tells his mother.
In his voiceover as the whole family, Arnold included, sits down to breakfast the next day, he says, “Not everybody becomes a parent at the perfect time. Some of us do it way too early. Some of us do it way too late. The important thing is when you get the chance, you make the most of it.”
Raising Hopes ends with Maw Maw pulling a knife on Arnold at the breakfast table, so fans can rest assured that not everything has changed in the Chance household.
What did you think of the series finale of Raising Hope, HollywoodLifers? Let us know.
— Amanda Michelle Steiner
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