Kate Plus Eight: The Finale

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

This is the end. It's hard to believe just how long the Gosselins have been on television. I remember when you couldn't understand any of the sextuplets speak. I remember before Mady and Cara were in school. I remember the specials that took place before the show picked up and brought us regular installments about what it was like to raise eight young children. I watched every special and every episode of the original Jon and Kate Plus Eight. [listed my favorites here!] While many scoffed at the show still filming during the parents' divorce, I stood by the show. I was happy when it was rebooted, even if it was without Jon. There were many uninteresting episodes, but I truly was interested in the family, their trips, and how they kept things together under such stress. It lasted 6 years and more than 150 episodes. 

Kate Plus Eight "The Finale" (S02E17): Kate talks about how stress got the best of them on the RV trip. She mentions that she was surprised that Ashley really did leave mid-trip. Kate's first thought when she found out the show was ending was "oh my gosh, I'm unemployed and I have eight kids to provide for." [makes sense... I think that would be my first thought if I was in her shoes, too! though I'm not the biggest fan of all her heels...] We see some footage from the first voiceover session in January 2007. [somewhat interesting but a bit blah.] We see videos of the babies from 2004. January 2008 was when Kate realized that her life had changed. [About a year into the full-time show... makes sense.] Kate first felt like she needed security after a local television appearance. [I had always wondered how that came about!] When Steve was put on the head of security, he didn't think they'd really be recognized that much. [hahahahaha!] The first episode aired in April 2007. [It's hard to believe that they moved into the new house in November 2008... so long ago already.]

Kate said the original appeal was people wondering how they got through the day with droves of little kids. [yep!] Steve said that the conflicts between Kate and Jon kept adults tuned in. [...okay. maybe. I can see it a liiiiiitle.] Jon was always ready to quit. Kate's still saying that their show is the "realest" reality show. [yeah, yeah. take a number...]

Kate is asked how often she cringes when watching the show. She was shocked at how she came across at times, seeing it again. She said that she especially can't stand herself in Season 2. She thought that people thought she was horrendous (a la Mommie Dearest), since the edits tend to show a lot of her crabby moments. [in all honesty, I believe her here. She may only have had three blow-ups over a two-day period, and we see all of them in 22 minutes.] Kate shared that the biggest lesson she learned was that, when you're put to the test, you find out you're a lot tougher than people thought.

Ashley saw the divorce coming because of how close she was to the family. Kate will always say that the show wasn't the reason for the divorce. When you look back on the Hawaii trip and the re-commitment and how they were staying together thru everything, they were already going through the motions.

Kate talked about the kids' favorite trips. [why not have each child answer for himself??] Cara - Australia, New Zealand. Mady - Australia. Alexis - her special day at the reptile house. Hannah - Hawaii.  Aaden - Pittsburgh Zoo. Colin - building the chicken coup. [that's not a trip... that's an activity at the house, LoL.] Leah - Hawaii because she learned to swim. Joel - everything. All of the kids loved the haunted house. Then Kate gave some memorable birthday moments - the 3rd birthday with Nana Janet on the horse. The 4th with cupcakes and Aaden didn't finish his dinner so he didn't get his. The 5th when the kids invited friends for the first time. They also took their last family picture that day. [Um. we saw Cara & Mady's birthdays on the show, too! Why not mention anything from theirs? Like the American Girl trip...]

The kids tell us who their favorite crew members are and we see some funny moments with the crew over the years.  Then the kids told us what their career aspirations are... Leah wants to work in a bakery. Aaden wants to be a paleontologist. Alexis, an animal rescuer. Hannah, an art teacher. Cara, a teacher. Mady, a veterinarian. [I can't tell Joel and Collin apart, but one wants to be an animal rescuer with Leah and the other wants to be a builder.] For whatever reason, Mady also shared that she wants four children, named Mason George, Emma Violet, Phoebe Ann, Peyton Rose. [I didn't pick out future children's MIDDLE names until graduate school! and the two first names I wanted in first grade I no longer really care for, LoL.]

Kate says that this isn't "goobye," it's "we'll see you around." After all, Kate wants to stay on television and in the media. [makes sense... plus Jamie mentioned that Kate has changed so much since the six were born... she's so much more absorbed with her looks now. The show ends with a nce photo and video montage.]