'F is For Family' Season 4 Ending Explained: William's death remains uncertain as does Frank's shot at peace
Spoilers for ‘F is For Family’ Season 4
Season 4 of ‘F is For Family’ has two central plots. One, of course, is Sue’s (Laura Dern) pregnancy. The other is Frank’s (Bill Burr) relationship with his long-estranged father William (Jonathan Banks). Both are deeply intertwined with each other.
Throughout the season, Frank tries to deal with both. In Sue’s case, he has to deal with her demands that he learn to be a better father to all his kids so that their fourth one would not have to suffer like the others. She demands closeness, sensitivity, and above all else, a resolution to the anger he has been holding against his father for years.
That proves to be difficult for Frank. After all, he has only been taught to be stoic, and never express his feelings. He has never experienced fatherly love. And the fact that the man who was mean to him all throughout his early years was now pretending to be a lovable grandfather to the kids was something he wasn’t able to digest.
Things seem to find a semblance of normalcy for a bit when Frank and William find reconciliation after they hug for the first time. But As Sue predicted, it wouldn’t last. Because as Murphy men do, neither really addressed the forty years of resentment they held against each other. Things spiral out of control in episode 8, ‘Murphy and Son’ when during a school play featuring Maureen (Haley Reinhart), Frank and William get into a heated discussion. It ends with Frank punching his father in the face.
Following that, Frank gets into an argument with Sue, and he runs away to Cleveland for a work thing, leaving both issues unresolved.
The season 4 finale, predictably, ties the thing together. Sue goes into labor while Frank is in Cleveland. What makes things worse is just the night before, the two got into a major fight. Also, her water breaks when no one is around -- neither her husband, nor her children, nor her father-in-law. She somehow manages to reach the hospital on her own.
As the rest of the family slowly trickles into the hospital, we see Kevin (Justin Long) help his mother feel comfortable. We also see Bill (Debi Derryberry) and Maureen firmly ask William to not be there in the ward, just in case Frank shows up. A saddened William resigns to the Hospital chapel. Frank is the last to arrive. He runs into his father while looking for Sue. William tries to apologize but Frank says that it was all good and that they could talk things through after the delivery. Despite all this, for a change, Franks arrives on time and doesn't miss the birth of his child.
A new baby girl becomes part of the Murphy family. When Frank takes the baby to the chapel to introduce her to her grandfather, we see William sitting there alone, mumbling to himself. As soon as Frank notices something is wrong, William says, “Here it comes,” holds his left arm, and passes out. His mouth was foaming. The finale ends with Frank shouting for help.
It is unclear if William dies in season 4. The heart attack may not have been fatal. But it leaves things in a suspended state for viewers who were waiting all throughout the season for Frank and William to find peace. But assuming that he does not make it, season 5 of ‘F is For Family’ is only likely to be grim and morbid. The show has been upping the ante with its underlying sadness every season. But to end season 4 in such a manner has got to be the darkest writing in the show so far.
One can only pray for a less morbid outcome of this. One can hope that Frank gets an opportunity to forgive his father. But judging by what we have seen so far, it’s unlikely that ‘F is For Family’ will let Frank have his peace. Bill Burr, it would seem, has doomed Frank to eternal unhappiness.
‘F is For Family’ Season 4 is available for viewing on Netflix.