投桃报李

　　In the eighth and final season, our beloved Bridgeton teens tackle new challenges as high schoolers such as: driving, drugs, sexual inexperience, enthusiastic consent, porn and the teenage mind, cancel culture, their changing bodies, and (in the end) fear of the looming future. Through it all, friendship is the cornerstone for surviving this time of life – whether one’s puberty is just beginning, like for Nick who gets his first growth spurt, or near its conclusion, like for a maturing (and prematurely balding) Andrew. At the height of the season, when many of our characters are in crisis, Compassion (personified as a new creature voiced by Holly Hunter), emerges as a crucial way forward. Ultimately, though, this season is about the importance of sticking by and supporting your friends, especially when life gets overwhelming and messy. In the end, our kids step into the harrowing unknown of the future, made less afraid of what’s to come because they have each other.