'F is For Family' Season 4: William's ability to change resounds with fans who say they saw cliffhanger coming
Spoilers for ‘F is For Family’ Season 4
Season 4 of Bill Burr’s animated Netflix sitcom ‘F is For Family’ revolved mostly around the protagonist Frank’s (Burr) relationship with his father William (Jonathan Banks), who was introduced at the end of season 3.
For fans of the show, it has always been evident that Frank and his estranged father had a troubled relationship. But this season revealed just how deep the wounds ran. The season progressed around their relationship and Sue’s (Laura Dern) pregnancy, culminating in the birth of the fourth Murphy child and William suffering a heart attack. While the fate of William has been left for viewers to speculate as of yet, this season had a lot more to offer than just the final cliffhanger.
Fans seemed to love this season. On Twitter, there seemed to be no end of people expressing their appreciation for the show and especially season 4. Many remarked on how hilarious it was, and that Burr had managed to keep the writing as fresh as ever.
Many also commented on how the show is one of the more underrated animated adult comedies out there. A Twitter user wrote, “Oh my God. ‘F is for Family’ is back for season 4 on Netflix. This makes me so happy. ‘BoJack Horseman’ and ‘Big Mouth’ get a lot of the critical and popular acclaim and deservedly so. But ‘F is For Family’ is right up there with them for me. Bill Burr is a sharp funny dude.”
Many on both Twitter and Reddit appreciated the character of Bridget Fitzsimmons, voiced by Debi Derryberry, who voices several characters in the show. The daughter of Mr. Fitzsimmons, the hockey coach-cum-school janitor, and the younger sister of Jimmy, Bill’s bully, Bridget is a hard girl. Having lived her entire life in poverty, she is tough. But she is also good at heart, which is often not visible to all. Except for Maureen Murphy (Haley Reinhart), who becomes her friend this season.
A Reddit user, however, commented, “Twas probably the best season so far, no definitely. Just one thing that I would change, is what happened with Bridget. I don’t know why but she just seemed a bit different, but also it feels like her season 4 timeline sort of sets up what she will do in season 5. Great season and it has made me depressed right now.”
Most fans claimed they could see the cliffhanger coming from a distance, adding that they seemed to like it for it left for things to be addressed in season 5. A Fan commented, “Am I the only one who actually ended up really liking Bill Murphy Sr.? I feel awful about the ending since he wanted to make it all work out with Frank. But at the same time there couldn't have been a better ending for the season I think, as it was a small cliffhanger but in a way gave us so much info on the potential of season 5 and its plot!”
Addressing William’s character too, many fans seemed to appreciate that the old man was capable of change. Was he horrible to his son? Yes. Is he a mean man? Yes. But ultimately, he did try to make things better.
A fan on Reddit noted, “Yeah but I think in a weird as f*** way, I ended up liking him because he actually improved himself and made the efforts instead of acting up towards the end and being an arsehole the whole way through the season. I also think that he had the same happen to him as a kid with his own father. For example, he sits in the diner looks at himself and says attaboy, something which Frank longs for. Frank was like Kevin when he was younger, and Bill Sr acted as Frank would towards Kevin; which to me shows that its a passed down thing from father to father to father. (Just getting less violent as the generations go by).”
‘F is For Family’ Season 4 is available on Netflix.