Everybody-Loves-Raymond-Cast
Initially starting as a show whose future was in serious doubt after its first season, Everybody Loves Raymond became a phenomenon that captured the hearts of audiences. Through nine stellar seasons, the show gave viewers a lot of unforgettable moments, with its sensitive and moving finale the penultimate tribute to everything that made it great. Despite what is explicitly indicated in the show’s name, not everyone really cared about Ray Barone (Ray Romano), or at least that’s what they showed. The entire Barone family was a hodgepodge of personalities more diverse than the flavors in a box of jellybeans, each of them annoying Ray in their own little way. However, with all the marbles at stake, they proved that family always matters.
What Was the Final Episode All About?
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In the final episode, Ray comes home to Debra (Patricia Heaton) and the kids to discuss his doctor’s appointment. His adenoids need to come out. It’s not a dangerous procedure, but the oft-paranoid Ray treats it like a gunshot wound that’s going to leave him dead. Debra urges him to go for it, while his overly protective mother Marie (Doris Roberts) is dramatically concerned with what’s going to happen. His brother Robert (Brad Garrett) is visibly annoyed at this. It’s a daily occurrence for him for Raymond to receive all the attention while he gets scraps, and today was just another reminder of his second-class citizenship among the Barone children.
Frank (Peter Boyle), the ever-masculine and obnoxious father, mentions that he should get his undescended testicle checked out as well. In one sweeping sequence, the audience gets a refresher of what this entire show is about. Ray complains about everything in his life even though he has more to be thankful for, and his family either becomes a benefit or bane to everything. When he is brought to the hospital to undergo the procedure, Robert complains that he was only brought along because he is the same blood type as Ray. Everything seems to be fine, and Marie goes to the restroom. The entire situation is suddenly turned upside down when a nurse informs Debra that he couldn’t be brought back from sedation.
Everybody Really Does Love Raymond
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Seen as an impossible instance for such a routine procedure, the idea that they may actually lose Ray has everyone showing their true colors. Debra is often exasperated with her husband, regularly calling him an idiot, and is even implied in several episodes that she is dissatisfied with him. Suddenly, we see her in her most vulnerable state, fearing for her spouse’s life. It is as if all the annoyance that she has been on the receiving end of from Ray was erased, as she clings on to every inch of hope. In desperation, she calls on Robert and delivers the news. Robert, who has been vocal about his distaste for his brother and even admits to hating him more than anything in the world, shows a grave look of concern and sadness while pleading with the nurse that he is the same blood type. Frank, the character you could always count on to deliver the funniest comebacks, is entirely speechless. He is a father after all, and the thought of losing his youngest son brings him more pain than his countless war stories and experiences in Korea.
As Robert rushes to the operating room, the doctor greets him and tells him that Ray is going to be fine, with the Barones all experiencing a sigh of relief. They regroup and agree to never tell Ray, or Marie for that matter, about what had just transpired. It is a brilliant scene that makes everything clear. Everybody does indeed love Raymond. It is as if they have made all of its episodes as mere building blocks to subvert in this scene, and its result was nothing short of spectacular. In the aftermath of this eventful visit to the hospital, everyone retreats to their old personalities like a Turtle locking itself in its shell. Perhaps it was one of their ways of dealing with their discomfort in displaying intimacy towards family, but a slip of the tongue once again uncovers their true feelings.
With Ray resting in his bed while eating a big bowl of ice cream and reading a racy Sports Illustrated issue, Debra looks into her husband’s face with pure romance. Ray, obviously surprised by this unusual show of care by his wife, asks why. Suddenly, Debra breaks down into tears and kisses her husband. Without a concrete idea of why she is doing this, Ray reciprocates. On the other hand, it transitions to a scene with Frank and Marie in bed. Frank is spaced out and suddenly becomes emotional in addressing his wife. Marie inquires as to the sudden change in character, and he accidentally spills the beans on Ray’s near-death experience. Dumbfounded, Marie rushes next door to Ray’s room while he and Debra are on their way to having sex. She jumps on the bed and begins to kiss and hug her son, making for an extremely hilarious situation. Ray is obviously shaken, but once he opines that they must have not cared when he was almost dead, Frank shouts at the top of his lungs that Debra was devastated, and he never wants to see her that way again. Robert was also experiencing a sentimental moment in the car, singing along to “You Are the Sunshine of My Life.”
A Lasting Final Image of the Barone Family
everybody-loves-raymond-finale-castImage via CBS
The following day, Frank chases Marie into Ray and Debra’s home, while they are having breakfast with their kids. Frank apparently has broken the stove, and Robert and Amy (Monica Horan) have nowhere to eat. They see that Ray is enjoying some French toast with his nephews, and sit down with them to have some. Marie, as always, tells them to sit down while she prepares some real food rather than the ones Debra made. All of them enjoy some food at the crowded Barone dinner table, and the camera slowly pulls away and ends the episode.
There is nothing ostentatious in this episode. No one dies, no one experiences a lasting sense of heartbreak, and no one goes away for good. The final image of the entire Barone family sitting in the kitchen eating while the camera slowly pulls away is sentimental, endearing, and the most fitting way to end everything. While most shows end with the entire cast being split, and their lives completely changed for either good or bad, Everybody Loves Raymond does not. In fact, you could see that none of them have really changed and are all still the same people during its pilot. However, that is the point. The truth is, they are a dysfunctional family that all of us could really relate to, and while there are some quirks to how they interact with each other, they are genuine in their love for each other. Some may purport that there could have been better endings to this show, the numbers that the episode pulled in may just have been proof of its poetic conclusion. Everybody does love Raymond, and the almost 33 million viewers of its finale would be inclined to agree
