Did Simon and Rose tie the knot?
Was Rose pregnant?
Did “7th Heaven” really sing its swan song Monday night?
Stop reading if you don’t want to know.
Now for the answers. No (though the upshot of the wedding wasn’t divulged until the show’s closing moments). No (though we had feared she was). And yes, it really was the last episode (however much its fans hoped the series would get a reprieve).
After 10 seasons of the gentle family drama about the Rev. Eric Camden, wife Annie and a passel of kids growing up before our eyes, “7th Heaven” said goodbye for good.
For viewers hung up on such things (and a weekly average 5.2 million “7th Heaven” viewers obviously were), the question of whether college student Simon Camden would end up married to his equally immature and unsure fiancee Rose had been unsettled all season.
“I love Rose, but...,” stammered Simon (David Gallagher) to a couple of his siblings halfway through the finale, with the nuptials looming the next day. Gulp.
Even Simon’s supportive, loving parents (played by series stars Stephen Collins and Catherine Hicks) weren’t so sure it was a good idea.
“I don’t think Simon brings out the best in Rose, and I don’t think Rose brings out the best in Simon,” the Rev. Camden worried. “And I think that is, or should be, a determining factor in whether two people get married.”
On last week’s episode there were even suspicions voiced that Rose was pretending to be pregnant to pressure Simon into going through with the marriage. But all that was a false alarm.
Monday night, the wedding ceremony, after so much build up, wasn’t seen by viewers.
In fact, it didn’t happen.
“We never even got into the church. We just couldn’t do it. It wasn’t right,” Simon told one latecomer to the reception, where everyone seemed in wonderful spirits — and quite relieved by the outcome.
Adding to the good cheer: Son Matt (departed original cast member Barry Watson, making a guest appearance) and his wife Sarah announced they are having twin boys.
Pregnant daughter Lucy and her husband Kevin chimed in to say they’re expecting twin boys, too.
And, not to be outdone, daughter Mary (departed regular Jessica Biel, also back for the episode) and Carlos, reunited after a marital split, had their own scoop: They are expecting twin girls.
Thus did life promise to go on happily, if full of challenges, for the growing Camden family, just as it had since “7th Heaven” first aired in August 1996. The only difference in the future: It will unfold off-screen, in its fans’ imaginations.