Tropes associated with this episode:
- Call-Back: When Kevin claims to have never felt about another woman the way he has about Winnie, she asks "what about that woman from the lake?" Kevin is surprised that she knew about her.
- Easily Forgiven: Early in the episode, a restless Kevin – among other things he is desperate to reignite what he once had with Winnie (don't worry, he will) – gets into a huge argument with his father. Jack tells him to hit the road, "and doncha come back no more, no more, no more, no more ... ." By episode's end, Kevin and Jack make up and their "final round" argument is apparently forgotten.
- New Job Episode: Kevin (temporarily) gets a job at the resort where Winnie is working.
- Tropes associated with Kevin and Winnie and their big scene:
- The Big Damn Kiss: Even though viewers only see the first few seconds, it's clear Kevin and Winne and their hard kisses is a mere warm up to the main event we don't see.
- Easily Forgiven: His father isn't the only one that Kevin forgives or has someone forgive him ... .
- Friends with Benefits: Even better – they weren't even friends at this point.
- Making Love in All the Wrong Places: Kevin and Winnie find refuge from a severe thunderstorm in an old barn ... and the two finally let go, and do they ever, in grand epic style!
- Next Thing They Knew: After arguing and having what appears to be their final round, goodbye forever argument ... well, you know by now.
- Roll in the Hay: Where Kevin and Winnie let go ... and we mean REALLY ... let go.
- Sex with the Ex: Kevin and Winnie are exes at this point, to the point where they don't even want to think about being remotely cordial or polite to each other, let alone acknowledge that they are exes (because that would mean acknowledging each other even existed).
- Their First Time: Kevin and Winnie, after all this time, go all the way ... and do they ever!
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Throughout the episode, Kevin and Winnie ... the worst of enemies until ... .
- Take This Job and Shove It: Kevin, in a fit of rage, quits his job at the furniture factory. (It is implied he is rehired by episode's end.)
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: The steamy sex scene aside, this – The Wonder Years finale – was best known for its final scene, where Kevin and Winnie enjoy the Fourth of July parade with Paul and the rest of the Arnolds. In a voice-over, the adult Kevin reveals the futures of each of the main characters:
- Kevin – who earlier had a falling out with Jack – makes up with his father. He graduates (along with Winnie and Paul) the next year (1974), he going to college to become a writer.
- Paul enrolls at Harvard to study law and is now a successful attorney. note
- Karen and Michael welcome their first child, a son, in September 1973 (two months after the events of this episode). Michael continues his job on the Alaskan pipeline.
- Norma becomes a businesswoman and eventually joins a corporate board of directors.
- Jack, who had never shown any signs of illness, suffers a fatal heart attack in 1975 (two years after the events of this episode). Wayne is forced into the role as CEO of the furniture company, which he is successfully able to do.
- Winnie enrolls in art school in Paris. She and Kevin remain friends and write each other weekly for eight years(!) ... and it is implied they remain friends even when she returns to the United States in 1982 ... to reunite with Kevin and meet his wife and eight-month-old son.
Growing up happens in a heartbeat. One day you're in diapers; next day you're gone. But the memories of childhood stay with you For the long haul.I remember a place,a town,a house like a lot of other houses,A yard like a lot of other yards... On a street like a lot of other streets. And the thing is,After all these years, I still look back...with wonder.
Kevin's son: Hey dad, wanna play catch?
Kevin: I'll be right there.
Kevin: I'll be right there.
