'Trying' Season 5 Finale Ending, Explained
Trying (2020) Season 5 is quieter in a lot of ways, yet so much happens in the eight episodes that it manages to feel like the series' biggest season since its third. It began as a show centered around a couple trying to adopt, and now, years later, Rafe Spall's Jason and Esther Smith's Nikki have teenagers and plenty of drama on their hands. Still, it's as wholesome as ever, with Trying Season 5 bringing in riveting conversations about legacy, expectations, and the typical shenanigans that come from being part of a family.
We spend the entirety of the episode outdoors, as it delivers one of the most emotional endings in a hopeful tone only this show can manage. Full of excellent performances from the whole cast, there's a lot to appreciate, and naturally, to question when it comes to Apple TV's quiet gem.
What Is WoodScott In 'Trying' Season 5? Does Scott Finally Find His Calling?
Season 4 ended with Scott's legacy in question as he decided he was going to row the Atlantic. However, the last few seconds of the episode made us believe that he might've been dead because of a car crash. That thankfully wasn't the case, and as we learned in Season 5, Episode 2, "First Days," he also didn't end up rowing the Atlantic. He was hiding in their basement all along, pretending to be out at sea while Karen held the weight of his secret.
The failed endeavor naturally has ramifications on his psyche, and he starts to lose himself with the realization that all his wild ideas have resulted in failures. It's a realistic character journey in more ways than one for Scott because since the show's debut, all we've seen him do is start something, realize it cannot be done, and then immediately jump into another. Only now, he isn't jumping to the next idea on his list. He's fully broken and genuinely believes there's nothing he can do.
In her attempt to bring back his shaken confidence, Karen goes through his manifesto and decides that they should attempt to make WoodScott a reality. She rallies all their friends and families while also putting up flyers all over Camden in hopes that people will make it to show him that at least one idea can succeed.
In hindsight, sure, maybe it could have. WoodScott is essentially a festival where people could come and trade their skills without any money. So, for instance, if you can paint a picture, someone will take that while they give you a handmade plate. On the surface, it actually sounds like a really sweet idea that could work for community building. Still, as we see throughout the episode, it starts to fumble when people start arguing over whether or not the thing they've received is worth what they've given.
While it doesn't work, it does give Scott his confidence back as he's simultaneously reminded that, if nothing else, he's got people around him who care. And that detail matters more than anything else because so much of Scott's troubles from Trying Season 4 essentially stemmed from him thinking that no one cared enough about him, so he wanted to prove that he could be great in order to earn their love. But everything about the Trying Season 5 finale showcases that's not the case with this show. No one has to earn anyone's love, especially in a family as odd as this one.
The 'Trying' Season 5 Finale Brings Growth For All Characters - Princess Especially
From Scott to Princess, there's a lot of character growth taking place in Trying that makes the season feel incredibly nuanced. For as long as we've known her, especially the teen version played by Scarlett Rayner, Princess has wanted to meet her mom. She's wanted a relationship with her, and she's wanted to understand why she left her and Tyler. At times, this has come at the cost of her relationship with Nikki, but in the Season 5 finale, Princess comes to the momentous understanding that her mom simply isn't the woman she wants her to be. At least not right now.
Interestingly, the best part of Trying is that it doesn't try to frame Charlotte Riley's Kat in a negative light. She's simply not suited for motherhood, and that's okay. However, Princess has to be the one to tell her that she essentially can't keep sleeping on Nikki and Jason's couch, and she struggles with it until the very end. In a moment where she thinks she's venting to Nikki in the WoodScott Goose mascot costume, she ends up pouring her heart out to her mother and voicing everything she's bottled up about her pain and abandonment.
Rayner delivers a gorgeous performance as Princess confesses that she used to keep a bag fully packed in case Kat would come back, or that sometimes she'd get so lonely, she'd call a hotline so they could read her a bedtime story. She then says that she's spent so much time thinking about her mom that she needs to figure out who she is without her.
When Kat hears all this, she realizes that there's ultimately nothing she can do for her daughter at this point, and the smartest choice she can make is to say that she's gotten a job elsewhere. Whether the job in Thailand is true or not, she's doing the right thing by leaving Princess this time. She and Tyler aren't alone or uncertain about her, but they're older and, simultaneously, with parents who love them deeply.
Will There Be A Season 6 Of 'Trying?'
Trying is such an underrated show that sometimes I'm convinced I'm the only person who watches it. But considering it's gotten renewed for five seasons now, clearly my views aren't the only ones contributing to the numbers. Still, it took us so long to get a Season 5 renewal that it's unclear if there will be a sixth.
Whether there is a renewal for Trying Season 6 or not, the Season 5 finale is so lovely in how it ends on a hopeful note that if this is where we leave these characters, it's reassuring to know that they're all going to be okay.
