The Wonder Years - Plot Synopsis - Final Episode and Epilogue

Final Episode and Epilogue

In the finale double episode, Winnie decides to take a job for the summer of 1973 as a lifeguard at a resort. Kevin, anxious to experience a taste of adult life, plans a cross-country trip with his friends. Kevin's dad, Jack, vehemently objects to Kevin's plan and ultimately Kevin abandons his planned trip. Kevin returns to his job at his father's furniture factory and telephones Winnie, who by all accounts is distant and seems to be enjoying her time away from Kevin. Eventually, Kevin and his father fight and Kevin announces that he is leaving, reasoning that he needs to "find himself." Kevin hops in his car and heads to the resort where Winnie is working, hopeful that she can secure him a job and they can spend the rest of the summer together.

Much to Kevin's chagrin, Winnie does not appear too pleased with Kevin's arrival and maintains her distance. Kevin is finally able to secure a job at the resort's restaurant and resides in the bus boys' dorm. Feeling confused and frustrated over Winnie's behavior, Kevin searches out other activities to occupy his time. Kevin decides to play poker with the resort's in-house band members. Kevin wins big (by bluffing while only holding a pair of 2s) and goes searching for Winnie, anxious to share the tale of his good fortune. When Kevin finds her, Winnie is engaged in a passionate kiss with a male lifeguard.

The next day, Kevin confronts Winnie about her actions, and they fight. The fallout with Winnie leads Kevin to play another round of poker with the band. This time Kevin ends up losing everything, including his car. Desperate, Kevin confronts Winnie and her new beau at the restaurant and ends up punching him in the face. Kevin then leaves the resort on foot.

On a desolate stretch of highway, Kevin decides to begin hitchhiking. He finally gets picked up by an elderly couple and much to his surprise he finds Winnie in the backseat. Winnie was fired over the fight Kevin instigated at the resort. Kevin and Winnie begin to argue and the elderly couple gets fed up and kicks them out of the car. A flash rain storm begins and Kevin and Winnie search for shelter. They find a barn and discuss how much things are changing and the prospects for the future. At first Winnie tells Kevin that she doesn't see them ending up together but quickly recants, telling Kevin "I don't want it to end." Kevin moves over to Winnie's side as she extends her blanket to Kevin and they share a passionate kiss. The adult Kevin narrates that night they made a promise to always be together and "it was a promise full of passion." It is implied that the two make love for the first time in the barn in that final episode, just as they both kissed for the first time in the first episode.

They soon find their way back to their hometown and arrive hand-in-hand to a Fourth of July parade. During this parade, the adult Kevin (Daniel Stern) describes the fate of the show's main characters: Kevin makes up with his father, graduates high school in 1974 and leaves for college and later becomes a writer. Paul studies law at Harvard. Karen, Kevin's sister, gives birth to a son in September 1973. Kevin's mother becomes a businesswoman and corporate board chairwoman. Kevin's father dies of a heart attack in 1975, and Wayne takes over his father's furniture business. Winnie studies art history in Paris while Kevin stays in the United States. Winnie and Kevin end up writing to each other once a week for the next eight years. When Winnie returns to the United States in 1982, Kevin meets her at the airport with his wife and eight-month-old son.

The final sounds, voice-over narration, and dialogue of the episode and series is that of Kevin (voice of Daniel Stern), with children heard in the background:

Growing up happens in a heartbeat. One day you're in diapers, the next day you're gone. But the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul. I remember a place, a town, a house, like a lot of houses. A yard like a lot of other yards. On a street like a lot of other streets. And the thing is, after all these years, I still look back...with wonder.

A little boy (Stern's real life son) can be heard asking his dad to come out and play catch during a break in the final narration. Kevin's narrative responds, "I'll be right there" as the episode closes.

In 2011, the finale was ranked #11 on the TV Guide Network special, TV's Most Unforgettable Finales.