So for anyone who knows me even a little bit, you know that 30 Rock sort of changed my life. That's a weird thing to say about a show that, just tonight, had a joke about a character that wiped their ass with a wedding dress because they ate too much seven-layer-dip. But I discovered 30 Rock at the ripe, impressionable age of 13, back when the most notable thing about it was that it wasn't Studio 60. I watched it go from a show only my friend watched because she had a lady crush on Tina Fey into the most acclaimed comedy on TV. And watching those early 30 Rock days, watching it proudly put some of the most beautifully bizarre comedy I had ever seen up on display - from Paul Reubens playing a deformed inbred prince, to Rachel Dratch running around in a blue costume that only Tracy Jordan could see, to responding to NBC's "Green Week" orders by having a verbally abusive character named Greenzo run around and harass everyone about global warning, had more of an effect on me then I had realized. It was my introduction into the world of comedy, into a world where all of those weird thoughts that go through your head can somehow not only make sense but turn into things that other people might actually watch and enjoy. So over the years, I've become attached to the 30 Rock characters, to the universe it's created. Sure, some younger, shinier shows have come along - maybe Parks & Recreation takes its characters a little more seriously, maybe Community takes the experimental vibe of 30 Rock and kicks it up even higher - but 30 Rock will always have a special place in my heart as the show that introduced me to it all.
So needless to say, I looked forward to the perhaps overhyped Liz Lemon "WEDDING SPECTACULAR!!!" as if it was someone in my own family getting married. Liz Lemon's journey to happiness has been the theme that strung 30 Rock together through the years, the central focus that's kept the show on its feet despite veering into legitimate cartoon territory every now and then. 30 Rock may not be as interested in its characters story arcs as Community or Parks & Recreation, but it has been carefully constructing a slow build into some sort of endgame for Liz Lemon since pretty much the beginning. When the series started, we saw Liz Lemon slumming it with Dennis Duffy, a hilarious but highly flawed guy who she stayed with because it was easy and he was very good at buying her food. Liz Lemon dumping Dennis Duffy back in early Season 1 was a significant step for her character - it showed that she wasn't content with settling down with a Dateline predator (sorry, exonerated Dateline predator) and kicked off her search for something more.
But it wasn't all uphill from there. The bulk of the series thereafter was focused mostly on a string of mishaps, bad dates, and romantic failures. There was Floyd, who left her for the city of Cleveland. There was the time she bought a $4000 ham napkin that was supposed to be a wedding dress (also the aforementioned seven-layer-dip wiper). And then there was...well, Season 4, which was a season almost completely devoted to watching Liz Lemon get knocked down over and over again. The show's been criticized for being too harsh on its protagonist at times, but I was always pretty forgiving of the show in that department, as it's always been clear to me they were going to give her what she wanted in the end. She just had to fight for it, to make it all that much more rewarding. And now here we are, halfway into the show's final season, as she's finally getting what she wants. The show's actually had Liz in a happy place since the beginning of last season - Criss, unlike her previous lovers, seems here to stay, and is actually someone the writers clearly designed to be her companion, rather than someone whose primary goal is to serve up laughs. (I still love you, though, Wesley Snipes). Finally, all of the years of ham napkins and Anna Howard Shaw Day and Emily Dickinson the Cat are behind her. Liz Lemon is happy!
But what really makes this an excellent conclusion to Liz Lemon's "quest for love" is the way it's executed. The show could've done a big, traditional wedding episode like so many other shows have done. It could've done a two-parter where Liz decides she's "JUST NOT READY!!!!" for no apparent reason and decides to bungee jump into a tomato truck to escape her feelings. (Bonus points if you can figure out what show that's from! Or maybe negative points!). But that wouldn't be 30 Rock. That wouldn't be Liz Lemon. Liz Lemon isn't the type of person to make a big deal about her wedding. Liz Lemon is the type who wants to make a big deal about her wedding, but is convinced she shouldn't and tries to sneak it in without anyone noticing. And the show just nails that. It gets everything right about her wedding - it's a weird hybrid of a half-assed city hall event and a big-ass ceremony, just like Liz Lemon's mind wants it. And it lets her feel like the "princess" she wants to be without forcing her to be like...every other princess. (Seriously, how fucking perfect is her dressing like Princess Leia for her wedding?) It's the exact bizarre, abnormal and yet strangely sweet conclusion to the story of Liz Lemon's Quest for Love that we've been waiting for since the day we watched Dennis Duffy's episode of To Catch a Predator. And as we see Liz Lemon give Criss his wedding grillz as Dennis stands behind her, signifying how far she's come since the days when it was almost him standing across from her at the alter, suddenly all of those years of The Hair and Liz Lemler and Wesley Snipes seem...worth it.
Also, this episode had Dr. Spaceman. Automatic A+.
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