A flood of old memories come rushing back into Scratch, revealing not only the truth of his past and who—and what—he really is, but forcing him to make a big and life-changing decision that could very well mean the end of his and Molly's misadventures with one another.
Tropes:
- All Animals Are Dogs: Amusingly, Bartholomew refers to the Ghost Shark as a "doggie", despite all evidence to the contrary.
- Always with You: Before reuniting with Todd, Molly assures Scratch that even if he might forget her, she will always remember him.
- Ambiguous Situation: While Scratch/Todd appears to have overall forgotten everything about his past adventures as a Wraith once he returns to his body to the point where he doesn't recognizes the McGees, Libby or Ollie, he still remembers some aspects of the past such as Molly's catchphrase, the word "enhappify" and even calls Molly by "Moll" before leaving Brighton, leaving it up in the air if he truly forgot everything, only forgot some memories or does remember everything but is pretending not to for one reason or another.
- And the Adventure Continues: Even though the series ended with Scratch leaving Brighton, Molly still knows about ghosts and the afterlife, the position of the Chairman is still vacant, there are still Frightmares loose, and while it isn't said outright, Geoff is implied to take Scratch's place in the ending, as he's the ghost now hanging around Molly and family.
- An Astral Projection, Not a Ghost: Scratch is revealed to have been a wraith this whole time, with his human body still alive.
- Bait-and-Switch: At first, we thought Scratch/Todd recognized Molly right on the spot, but it turned out he spotted a penny on the ground.
- Bittersweet Ending: Scratch returns to his once-abandoned human body, Todd, and is able to go ahead and live out the life he never could before due to his depression, however by doing so he seems to have forgotten about Molly and all his friends in the living and ghost world during his time as a Wraith (with only some vague remnants of their time together remaining such as Molly's catchphrase and the term "enhappify") and he ultimately leaves Brighton to explore the world and reunites with Adia. Regardless, Molly and her friends and family remain tighter than ever and set out to live out their own lives, too, while never forgetting about Scratch and see him off before he leaves.
- Book Ends:
- The show began with Molly moving to Brighton and meeting Scratch. Now the show ends with Scratch moving out of Brighton.
- In addition, both the premiere and the finale had a Title-Only Opening.
- As well as the fact that this episode is called "The End" with the first episode being called "The Curse".
- The Season 1 finale "Molly vs. the Ghost World" involved Molly turning into a ghost in the form of a wraith while her body becomes an emotionless Empty Shell, and returns to her body in the end. The series finale itself reveals Scratch was a wraith who left his own body and returns to his body in the end.
- Both the first and last episodes feature Scratch bestowing a curse on Molly, with her family and friends joining her in the latter.
- In both episodes, Scratch flies out the window in a huff, with Molly calling after him to "come back, Scratch!" Only, this time it doesn't work because the curse was broken.
- Also in both episodes, both involve Scratch listening in on Molly engaging in a call with someone from the comfort of their bed, with the caller having information that changes Scratch's perspective.
- Borrowed Catchphrase: Todd uses the words "sweet baby corn" and "enhappify" before boarding the bus, hinting to Molly that Todd may still have his memories as Scratch.
- Brick Joke: When Libby and Co. reveal that Scratch isn't a ghost, Scratch tries to prove them wrong by laying a curse on them that will cause them to sneeze whenever they hear the word "toboggan." After Todd leaves to travel the world with Adia, the rest of the cast sneezes when Pete mentions a sundae called the "Toffee Twirl Toboggan."
- Butt Biter: Grimbella is the unfortunate victim of this when the Ghost Shark chomps her on the rear.
- Cerebus Callback: In The Jig is Up, Scratch mentioned that Todd's, depressed, listless behavior was as if he had "no soul". Here, Molly makes the exact same remark as she realizes that it because he literally has no soul, having lost it.
- Cerebus Retcon: When Molly tries to encourage Scratch to resume his human life, he entertains the idea for a moment, before suggesting they shirk it off with another one of their usual misadventures. Molly, on the other hand, recognizes that this is Scratch's way of procrastinating his life again. And in hindsight, he never truly regained his lust for life when he became a ghost. In the grand scheme of things, his mischievous and standoffish personality was a symptom of his inability to embrace life.
- Character Development: Scratch (as Todd) displays this towards the end. On his way to the bus station, he's stopped by old (forgotten) acquaintances who bring up interesting or even tempting reasons to stay in Brighton. As opposed to the old Todd who clung to any excuse not to travel, he casually shrugs all these distractions off, more focused on catching the bus. This cements the new Todd's personality, being unafraid to embrace his new life.
- Comically Missing the Point: When Libby and Ollie tell Molly and Scratch that they saw something "very interesting" on a security camera, Geoff mistakenly believes that they're referring to a swarm of raccoons.
- Creative Closing Credits: Instead of the regular end credits, we're treated to snapshots of Todd's adventures around the world before ending on a picture of him happily reunited with Adia and then a painting of Molly and Scratch in the same pose.
- Dark and Troubled Past: This episode reveals Scratch's past. In life, before his best friend Adia moved away, they’d planned to travel the world together. They reconnected after growing up, but while Adia made her way around the world, Scratch had become an anxious man with a Soul-Crushing Desk Job who spent his life playing it safe, “so afraid of dying that [he] never lived a day". Though Adia invited him on her trips time and time again, he always turned them down with a “maybe next time” as he was too scared of what could go wrong. One day, she gave up trying to convince him to come with her, and Scratch became so depressed and emotionally detached from being left behind that his soul “just slipped away”, becoming a wraith and leaving his body an Empty Shell.
- Demonic Possession: Rather than wait in line for funnel cakes, Scratch simply possesses the bodies of those who just bought one so he can eat them, then move to the next person in line. It is how he ends up possessing Todd, his actual body, and regains his memories, thought he at first attributes it to the funnel cakes.
- End-of-Series Awareness: The episode title itself indicates this is the end of Molly and Scratch's time together as well as the end of the series itself.
- The Friends Who Never Hang: Libby and Ollie rarely hang out together and this is probably the first and only time we get the see them interact with each other as they work together to uncover what really jogged Scratch's memories.
- Grand Finale: The final episode of the series. Compounded by Scratch returning to his body and apparently losing his memories of his past adventures before setting out to explore the world, parting ways with Molly for a long time if not forever.
- Hard Truth Aesop: To quote a certain old gargoyle, "Life’s not a spectator sport - if watching is all you’re gonna do, then you’re gonna watch your life go by without ya." Living in itself is about taking risks, and playing it safe all the time will cause you to regret the opportunities you missed.
- Hope Spot: For a second, it looks like Todd recognizes Molly at the bus stop, but it turns out he just saw a lucky penny.
- I Never Told You My Name: Before getting on the bus, Todd addresses Molly by her nickname, "Moll", even though she never introduced herself. This serves as an indication that Todd possibly still remembers his afterlife as Scratch.
- Irony: Todd tells Libby that he doesn't believe in ghosts, despite having been one himself not long beforehand. note
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: a platonic example. Molly admits that she’ll miss Scratch more than anything if he goes back to his human body, but she’s fully willing to go through that pain so that Scratch can truly live life to the fullest.
- Left Hanging: In the previous episode, Scratch put a curse on the Chairman's robe so it would search for a new, worthy host, but the series ends with no conclusion on who its new host will be. The Ghost Council appear, but there is nobody sitting in the Chairman's seat yet.
- Losing a Shoe in the Struggle: Once Scratch begins to remember his life, he immediately seeks out Molly but because of how fast he's flying, he tackles her hard enough to knock her out of her shoes. After a few seconds, Ollie returns them to her and Molly proceeds to put them back on while asking Scratch what he's talking about.
- Meaningful Echo: Back in "The Jig is Up", Scratch uses Todd as an example to Jinx to prove how miserable Brighton still is, stating, "It's like he has no soul." Then at The Reveal in this episode, Molly is in denial at the prospect of Scratch and Todd being the same person, saying the exact same thing, only to trail off as she realizes how true that statement is.
- Meaningful Name: Scratch's real name, Todd Mortenson, alludes to how he's dead inside.
- Mundane Utility: Scratch uses his possession ability to possess people and eat their funnel cakes for them. It's how he possesses Todd and gets some of his memories back.
- Not in the Face!: While being mauled by the Ghost Shark, Bartholomew screams that it's chewing on his face.
- Not Me This Time: When they find the living room full of funnel cakes, Pete and Sharon immediately assume it's one of Darryl's scams. Turns out it was Molly who brought all the funnel cakes for Scratch.
- Opening Shout-Out:
- Before Scratch returns to Todd, he and Molly quote the theme song in one last exchange:Scratch: Dream team, you and me?
Molly: For all eternity. - The credits song, "Live a Little", ends with the final notes of the theme song.
- Before Scratch returns to Todd, he and Molly quote the theme song in one last exchange:
- The Reveal: Scratch was never a ghost at all—this entire time, he's been a Wraith, and to top it all off, he's been the Wraith of the gloomy-faced Todd Mortenson, who just seemed like a random background citizen at first, but is actually sporting the same face and voice actor as Scratch.
- Rewatch Bonus: Scratch's This Is Gonna Suck reaction to Molly throwing him a Death Day party and not remembering how he died in "The Many Lives of Scratch" makes a lot of sense now because he never died - he became a Wraith and was out of his body for so long that he forgot his human life.
- Shoo Out the Clowns: Darryl disappears after the first quarter of the episode, followed by Libby and the Chen siblings leaving following the first half, building up to Molly and Scratch's emotional farewell as he returns to his real body, and it isn't until the final scene do they return.
- Shout-Out/Tuckerization: When attempting to stop Todd at the bus stop, Molly pretends to read a book titled Bill & Bob's OK Adventure, which is not only a parody of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, but also to the creators of the show, Bill Motz and Bob Roth.
- Theme Tune Cameo: In addition to Molly and Scratch quoting the opening theme (above), Todd is then heard scatting along with the typical closing credits music while walking down the street, having put the pep back in his step.
- This Loser Is You: Scratch's musical number "Maybe Next Time" is meant to establish his human persona as this, and boy does it ever! Compared to Adia who made the most of her life, Todd kept making excuses to stay in Brighton and passing up her invitations to travel the world with her. A good deal of his time was wasted sticking with his Soul-Crushing Desk Job, playing games on his phone, and generally staying in his comfort zone. This drives home that Scratch can't afford to remain a ghost and (as Todd) needs to live his life to the fullest while he still can.
- Title-Only Opening: This is the second time the theme song is skipped since the series premiere.
- Wham Line:
- When Molly asks Adia how Scratch died, she begins to say he's not dead before the call shorts out, which then leads to this shocking reveal:Scratch: So why in the world would she say I'm not dead?
Libby: (enters) Because you're not dead, Scratch. You're not even a ghost. - After June realizes that possessing Todd Mortenson unlocked Scratch's memories, this leads to the biggest reveal of all:Molly: Why would this rando unlock Scratch's memories? Look at him. He's got no joy, no mischief. There's nothing at all behind those eyes. It's like he's got... no soul.
Scratch: 'Cause he's me.
Molly: Scratch?
Scratch: I remember it now. I remember everything. - Once Scratch returns to his Todd body, he seemingly loses all the memories of his time with Molly...but at the bus stop where he heads off to explore the world, he lets out some familiar words that imply the memory wipe didn’t remove everything:Todd: Sweet baby corn, this is gonna be... enhappifying. (Realizing what he just said) "Enhappifying"? What?! Where'd that come from? I must have just made that up, right? Whatever. You know what? I love it, and I shall be using it frequently on my travels. Arrivederci, Moll.Molly: (confused) "Moll"? But I didn't tell you my...
- When Molly asks Adia how Scratch died, she begins to say he's not dead before the call shorts out, which then leads to this shocking reveal:
