Summary
The Season 4 finale presents plenty of new challenges ahead for Nikki and Jason in an episode that provides a couple of good twists.
Rafe Spall and Esther Smith hinted that the Trying Season 4 finale would have a massive cliffhanger, so Episode 8 does not disappoint. While the ending looked to hint that Scott was in some fatal car crash, the real twist was when Princess’s birth mom, Kat, turns up outside Jason and Nikki’s house.
Here are my three takeaways from the finale of Season 4:
Kat Presents A Real Problem for Princess And Nikki
At the end of Episode 8, Nikki sees Kat outside her house. If you cast your mind back to Episode 7, Nikki found Kat in Mallorca, but she disappeared before getting any answers. Nikki spared Princess the heartbreak and lied to her — she told her that she could not find Kat while abroad.
But, just before Nikki finds Kat outside, Princess is on Nikki’s phone, and while looking through the photos, she can see that her adoptive mother did see Kat in Mallorca. While this series is a comedy, I am more than expecting this to blow up. Expect tears, heartache, complications, and a uniquely different family dynamic. Princess may have passed her GCSEs (by flagrantly cheating with family help), but this has been at the forefront of her mind since Episode 1.
Scott Is Not Dead Or Injured, But He’s Taken The Atlantic Ocean Mission
Scott decides to begin his rowing mission on the Atlantic Ocean in Trying Season 4, Episode 8 (Credit – Apple TV+)
It was bizarre that Episode 8 tried to imply that Scott had been in a fatal car accident. The sound editor even gave us a screeching car sound as Scott reached for his daughter’s drawing in his car before cutting away.
Most of the Season 4 finale centers on Scott about to embark on his rowing trip across the Atlantic Ocean. Everyone shows up, including his American sponsors, ready for the launch. However, it suddenly hits Karen that her husband is going on a dangerous mission.
After making amends with Nikki, Karen angrily tells Scott that he should not row the ocean as she fully expects him to die; she apologizes for not appreciating him and begs him not to go. At first, Scott abandons his mission, letting his sponsors down, and all the awareness he has raised for global warming feels like nothing.
But Scott had a change of heart by the end of the episode because he’s seen rowing in the ocean. While Karen felt that Scott was doing it because he felt underappreciated, it’s apparent that Scott wants to complete something in his life and make his daughter proud. After all, his daughter is his inspiration, so when he saw a drawing made by her, which was a sketch of him being her hero, he made the life-changing decision to turn around and start his mission.
My only problem is my dislike for Karen; she’s absolutely selfish. I’m unsure why Scott stays in a marriage with her because while she apologizes for underappreciating him, she also puts him down, mocks him behind his back, and shows no evidence of love.
Jason’s New Career
It turns out Jason is good at community support and working with children. Season 4 has seen the adoptive parent start a kid’s football team with the less privileged children. In the finale, he makes an effort to make his team draw against an arrogant opposition gunning for the title while also protecting one of the young boys who had prospective adoptive parents watching. His efforts to lead and gain an aura of trust with children have caught the eye of social worker Noah.
Jason has been asked to train to be a social worker—a completely different career than his current job as a taxi driver. Of course, this means a new dynamic for his relationship with Nikki, but he deserves it. He’s one of the most understanding men in fictional form.
Final Thoughts on Season 4
I wouldn’t say this has been the best season, but Trying needn’t always be the best. It’s heartwarming because it just exists most of the time, and the ending of Season 4 proves that as long as the characters’ chemistry remains, the comedy is still intelligent, and there’s a story to tell, it will be fine.
The next challenge in Season 5 is for Nikki and Jason to navigate the problem head-on. Before, their children’s birth mom, Kat, was a mere myth—a person who disappeared from their universe. But now Kat is in their universe, and they will have to maturely and effectively ensure that everything they’ve built remains intact.
