5. Six Feet Under - 'Everyone's Waiting'
Beautiful. Simply beautiful. That's how I would describe the ending to this show. For a show that is all about death, it ends with a great sense of hope as Nate and Brenda's child is born (the first time an episode begins without a death) and Claire heads off to New York to become a photographer. David finally confronts his demons to accept himself and his relationship with Keith and Ruth moves on to spend her years happy with her sister. There's a great sense that all the burdens this family have endured are finally being lifted. And what burdens they were. The show made a very brave decision to kill off the title character Nate three episodes before the finale, but his presence is felt in the finale as he appears to guide Claire to her new life and see his family, his wife Brenda and his child start new lives. But what makes this finale so special is that final sequence, played to Sia Furler's 'Breathe Me', that Claire listens to as she leaves for New York. Over the course of the next few minutes we jump to several points in the future, seeing the loves and lives of each character and most notably, in true 'Six Feet Under' fashion...their deaths. Ruth's final passing, surrounded by family reveals several years of happiness after all her woes. David and Keith's marriage. Keith's surprising brutal death and David's passing many years later at a family function. An obviously rich and successful Rico dying of a heart attack on a luxury cruise. Brenda and her brother Billy together in a funeral home. Claire's successful life as a photographer. Her eventual marriage to Ted and her death at the grand old age of 101, many, many years later. Bittersweet doesn't describe this wonderful ending. Breathtaking. Now that's a word to sum up the end of 'Six Feet Under'. A beautiful finale indeed...