Summary
Episode 8 brings the final curtains, and fans will be pleased that the writers chose a brave ending while recognizing what was truly important in the story — friendship.
This recap of Hulu’s Shrill season 3, episode 8, “move” — the ending explained — contains significant spoilers.
The final ever episode, folks, and I believe many fans will miss the beloved Annie Easton. The opening scene sees Annie and Fran discussing living situations — Fran and Emily are moving in together, which means Annie needs to move out. However, the friends are cool about it — it’s a new phase in their lives, or so they thought — nothing is ever simple.
A change at The Thorn
Annie and Will are in an established (and now sexual) relationship, including having breakfast together. When Annie goes to work, she learns that the newspaper The Thorn is at risk of being sold. Amadi keeps it vague with all the staff, which doesn’t help the anxiety of workers. Privately, Amadi tells Annie that The Thorn is now what it used to be. Meanwhile, Fran and Emily discuss new houses — Emily tells Fran that she has kept the college-vibe going with Annie for a while and that they need to grow up a bit. Fran is pissed at what she said, but she keeps her cool.
Annie and Will have their first relationship issue
When Annie rings her parents, she claims that she and Will have talked about moving in together, but they’ve never spoken about it. Will speak to her about it after, but Annie just assumed they were making progress, and she thinks it would make her parents happy. However, Will is reserved about moving in together, as he’s still legally married and doesn’t want to rush. Annie hadn’t thought about his separated wife, but Will wants to be considerate of her feelings — he thinks being sensitive to her will make it better for them.
Regardless, Annie is feeling nosey and tries to research Will’s separated wife — she finds her socials, and Fran looks at the profiles with her. Fran brings up the “college vibe” and wonder if they’ve used it as a crutch for too long, and brings up that Emily thinks it is a bad thing. But, on the other hand, Annie feels it’s good saving a piece for themselves as friends.
Annie’s big mistake
Annie cannot help herself, and she visits the cafe & bakery that Will’s separated wife (Mikayla) runs. She buys something from the cafe, and the wife senses who she is. Annie explains that she really likes Will and that she was just wondering who his wife was. She apologizes and leaves.
https://youtu.be/n2091t8zCvE
Why do things need to change?
Fran asks Emily why they need to change things and that they should do things their own way — she asks Emily to move in with her and Annie. Fran feels she was encouraged into the house move — Emily is upset and cancels the house viewing. She kisses Fran on the cheek and states she is going to stay with her parents.
Meanwhile, at work, Gabe tells Annie and Amadi that he bought The Thorn — he is the new owner. Annie tells Gabe that she believes things should change, regardless of saving the paper — she suggests to Amadi that they can be a team as part of the leadership management. They want creative control shared. Gabe agrees.
Will wants to slow things down
When Annie returns to Will’s place, she’s excited about being the boss, but Will is not happy. He knows she went to the bakery. Annie lies and claims she ended up at the bakery and that she was just there. Will doesn’t understand why she did that and that he hasn’t spoken to his wife for four months. Annie states that she feels insecure, but Will feels she hasn’t considered him and wants to slow things down.
The ending
Annie tells Will she doesn’t want to slow things down and apologizes. Will tells her to leave. Fran and Annie meet on a park bench after ruining their relationships. Fran gets out the alcohol to drown their sorrows — she tells Annie that if they want to let people in, they have to finally change. Annie states that their friendship is the only safe thing that has felt good, and change scares her. They call their friendship the greatest love of all time.
As they take a swig of alcohol, they both agree to “fix everything”. This was a worthwhile ending to the series — rather than giving a “happy ending,” it ends with the best friends needing each other in an hour of need. They accepted that maybe they’ve outgrown their friendship and that they need to set a new chapter in their lives because their respective partners make them happy.
Shrill season 3, episode 8 brings the final curtains, and fans will be pleased that the writers chose a brave ending while recognizing what was truly important in the story — friendship.
