Miranda's happy-ever-after had nothing to do with romance
"We need to be reminded that it doesn't matter if we don't fit in with the norm, look right or say the right thing. It’s a message that doesn’t get broadcast enough," says Ellie Walker-Arnott
If Twitter is to be taken literally, last night’s Miranda finale saw fans weeping, wailing and shrieking when our clumsy, funny and unlucky-in-love protagonist finally got her happy-ever-after.
Miranda married Gary. She bagged the dreamy, savoury muffin-baking chef she’d been after since series one. It was a satisfying and pleasing ending for fans of the hit BBC sitcom.
But, for me, the ‘"I do’s" weren't the highlight of the show.
Because, really, Miranda’s happy ending wasn’t a result of her finding a man to spend her life with, it was that Miranda Hart’s silly and jolly alter-ego finally accepted herself.
Hart has long promoted silliness, friendship and just doing what the hell you feel like. You know, falling down, tripping up and finding yourself in excruciatingly awkward social situations. And that message didn’t sway in the final ever episode. In fact, Hart popped it in bold – and added a footnote of female empowerment.
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Catching up with our star after an emotional break up with Gary on Christmas Day, we found a confident and strong Miranda, ready to put her needs first and “focus on my dreams instead of faffing with a stupid boy.”
She even stood up to her over-bearing mother – “I have officially had it with your constant meddling and your inability to let me be and do and say exactly what I want to be and do and say” – before coming out with wonderful soundbites, such as, “We’ve never needed men for the fun times before.”
“Since I broke up with Gary I’ve finally worked out who I am,” said Miranda, unapologetically. “I’ll always gallop with gay abandon and I’ll always find a euphemism for anything. I’ll always sing if someone inadvertently speaks song lyrics and I’ll always love the word plunge.”
“Women like me can be sexy, it’s just the world might never affirm it so it takes us a little longer to realise it.”
Sure, there may have been some dancing to Sisters Are Doin’ it For Themselves involved – this is still Miranda after all – but the message was loud, clear and more than welcome. We need to be reminded that it doesn't matter if, like Miranda, we don't always fit in with the norm, look right or say the right thing. It’s a message that doesn’t get broadcast enough.
After they got back together, Gary told her he loved her “just the way you are,” but the more important realisation was that she learned to love herself that way too.
The romantic declarations and wedding rings won't be what I remember when I think back to Hart's silly, slapstick sitcom. It will be her falling over – and always picking herself back up again.
