Note: This story contains spoilers from the “grown-ish” series finale.
As “grown-ish” — and by extension the “black-ish” franchise — came to a close with the series finale on Wednesday, the Freeform show kicked off its last episode with a walk down memory lane.
“We focus so much on life’s big moments — the triumphs, the failures and the lessons learned — that we forget the story we’re really telling is written in the in between, with the people you realize mean the most,” Marcus Scribner’s Andre said, looking back on his most formative moments at Cal U.
After officially graduating and walking across the stage, Andre turned his attention to what mattered most to him: Hosting the graduation party of his dreams. Those aspirations were interrupted rather quickly, however, as Rich Paul called Andre to tell him his gig at Klutch Sports had already begun.
Andre then ran into Aaron (Trevor Jackson), who admitted he was “humiliated” following his failed proposal to Zoey (Yara Shahidi) and Andre, in an effort to cheer him up, invited Aaron to come with him to yacht Rich told him to help clean up.
Meanwhile, the finale caught Zoey amidst a spiral after walking out on Aaron’s proposal when she was greeted by her best friends from college, including Nomi (Emily Arlook), Ana (Francia Raisa), Vivek (Jordan Buhat) and Doug (Diggy Simmons).
Without knowing Zoey didn’t accept the proposal, her friends congratulated her and told her Jazz (Chloe Bailey) and Sky (Halle Bailey) were sad they couldn’t make it. Even Luca (Luka Sabbat) appeared via FaceTime, pleading Zoey not to marry Aaron despite having a girlfriend, himself. Zoey admitted she didn’t respond either way to Aaron’s offer, eventually revealing that she was afraid to say the wrong thing as she worked out her feelings.
After learning that Andre had postponed his graduation party to work, Zaara (Tara Raani) had the bright idea to bring the party to Andre by welcoming loads of friends and a ton of drinks onto the yacht, just in time for the boat to set sail per Rich’s guidance.
While on the boat, Andre, Zaara, Annika (Justine Skye) and Kiela (Daniella Taylor) expressed their concerns about staying close after college, prompting Zoey and her friends to speak up about how their friendships have changed after moving to different places. Vivek admitted Zoey and Ana weren’t as close as they used to be, prompting an honest moment from Ana, who revealed to Zoey that the couple miscarried several months ago.
Aaron and Zoey finally came face-to-face and Zoey shared her fears that she could put her work between their relationship again or screw their relationship up in another way, though she ultimately told Aaron she didn’t want to live without him and asked if the offer was still available. Aaron proposed to Zoey again, and Zoey accepted.
On another part of the boat, Andre apologized to Kiela for getting upset regarding her plans to be in Portugal over the summer, and Kiela quelled his nerves about the situation. Despite throwing an illicit party on the yacht, Andre’s boss told him he kept the boat out of dodge as he had instructed and applauded him for helping the company.
To wrap up the series with a bow, Zoey and Aaron decided to get married right then and there on the yacht, surrounded by their friends and family.
All episodes of “grown-ish” are now streaming on Hulu, with the series finale available to stream on Hulu beginning Thursday.