This episode ended the long long wait for the wedding I wanted to see since season 2. And being in the season premiere gives me and the fans an entire season of their marriage, which was the least the writers could do after what they did in past seasons. The whole cast crew seemed very happy, I don't know how they were when they filmed the episode, but seemingly all enjoyed it, especially Paula and Matthew. After all, this was the happiest event filmed in the series. With the wedding coming, the Salingers couldn't find a good place, as the theater that Bailey reserved turned out to be unsafe for reparations (that'd been a bad choice) and because he changed his mind about the Presidio Gardens for some reason (that'd have been great). Charlie suggests the backyard of the house, and incredibly Kirsten, Claudia, Julia accepted. Bailey was the voice of the people saying the backyard is rotten luck for weddings, so then he books a church near the Fairmont hotel at 8 am, with the banket for 9 am. Kirsten doesn't agree because it's too formal, she prefers a more casual wedding and Charlie supports her (maybe she didn't want that because in season 2 finale she almost committed a big mistake in a church). Bailey decides to let them choose the place but when Charlie informs him about a casual wedding in the backyard, he convinces his older brother to find a more special place, because this is the farewell from the siblings so he can start his own family with Kirsten.
Ellie and Gene arrive but past problems are not forgotten. At first, in the airport, Ellie friendly greets Charlie while Gene just gave him a cold shake of hands. Seemingly she gave Gene the order to keep his opinion for himself and to pretend happiness. Kirsten takes him to go for baggage while Charlie takes Ellie, probably to avoid discussions. Then, Ellie seems eager to meet Daphne and Diana, but Gene doesn't want to, remarking Charlie "the home he made for Kirsten": an out of wedlock child with a woman he "wouldn't trust his houseplants". Charlie and Kirsten stop his criticism and make him to pretend, like Ellie said, and they go to dinner. The next day, while Gene reads the newspaper and Ellie serves coffee to Charlie, Daphne arrives, hands Diana to Kirsten and tells how went the experience with eating. Charlie asks Kirsten if she'll throw a garter and she confirms, so he asks one to Daphne. To avoid another awkward for her parents, Kirsten tells Daphne to leave, and forces Gene to express his opinion, despite that Charlie is fine. Gene notes that Daphne used to strip, and Kirsten defends her saying she handles a lot with so little. Charlie doesn't want her arguing, but when both parents show concerns for Kirsten's state, as she could have a breakdown if she argues or goes to the aisle again with Charlie, Kirsten feels upset because they don't trust her. She knows she can handle the wedding now, and tells that if they don't support her marriage with Charlie, she doesn't want to see them. She leaves to her room, so surely Charlie went to comfort her. I think that Ellie supports them together, but she had fears for the wedding. She was kind to Charlie and surely they agreed to try to keep Gene calm, for Kirsten's sake. But her husband is very stubborn, traditional, and he can't understand why Kirsten always headed back to Charlie. Seems that he doesn't even understand that she loves taking care of children. He decided to take Kirsten away from Charlie, to send her with Paul to a safe life of unhappiness without children, all for "the greater good". But he never realized that Kirsten became a Salinger since season 1, that she would always head back to Charlie, to "his children", to his family. If Ellie or Kirsten can't convince him of this, maybe they'll have to call Paul, considering he accepted him before.
Back to the plans, without a certain place and date, Bailey lost the band so Claudia suggested Cody's one. Sadly, she's forced to finish the relationship with him because he's older and acted like a jerk (he cheated on her), yet is too late to fire his band. Then Julia, with Griffin's advice, decides to transfer to another college so she can write a book thanks to editor Evan. Meanwhile, Bailey and Sarah still are distant given the broken engagement. While booking the church, she tells the priest that she hopes, maybe one day, marry Bailey. When the priest leaves, Bailey shows again his upset side, because he is the one who knows, and she doesn't, that's why it hurts. Seemingly after 4 months of silence, and a talk with Owen, Sarah finally blasts Bailey for mistreating her for saying no, because she has the right to decide not to marry him. The next day he says he's sorry and while getting dressed, they "reconcile" before going to the wedding. While the poor Owen waits for them, Claudia and Julia help Kirsten with the dress, without knowing where the wedding will be. Claudia makes a small reference to the disaster of season 2, but Kirsten tells her that Charlie swore it's going to happen, somehow, somewhere. Then, she goes downstairs and finds him looking for bar stuff, and with the wedding dress on, she feels it's bad luck. Charlie tells her the truth, after everything that happened to them, breaking up, his cancer, Paul, her parents, there's no more bad luck. He says his whole life belongs with her and their past mistakes are behind now (wonderful scene, especially for the look in her eyes). Finally, Charlie and Kirsten get married on the beach, October 2nd, near a lifeguard station where his father took him many times as a kid. Claudia and Julia were the bridesmaids, Bailey the best man. Joe, Sarah, Griffin, Diana, and Daphne were present. The big absents were Meg Bennett (Leslie Hope where were you), Ross, Dudley, Justin, Will. I admit, the place surprised me, but probably was the most perfect place for this special occasion. The moment of the wedding was brilliant, and the doves flying to the sea, that was a magnificent detail. Kirsten was simply beautiful, and the flowers were a really nice touch. Then, Charlie's toast was about how he wishes his parents could see him, how they taught him to hold on to what matters to him, and for that, he doesn't let go the persons he loves, in this case, his beloved wife. At the same time, we see dancing Griffin and Julia, Bailey and Sarah, Owen with Diana. Claudia is alone for that, so for me, the breakup with Cody was out of line. I mean the wedding is a happy event and the breakup of one of the bridesmaids doesn't stick. Considering how much she loves Charlie and Kirsten together, Claudia should have been very happy today but Cody's story saddened her. Despite this, the band performed well (though I prefer the piano or the pipe organ). There are other details to add: in 2x03, Claudia said that she wanted to watch them dance. Considering the episode 2x05 was made for that purpose, today we missed Charlie and Kirsten dancing. Also, in 2x08, Claudia, Julia, and Bailey read Kirsten's love vows, but today we didn't hear those vows, we missed that too. About why they would have accepted a wedding in the backyard, it's weird, considering that in 4x07 Kirsten said she couldn't handle it. The only reason could be that now she felt strong enough and wanted to overlap the good memory with the bad one. Fortunately, the writers/Bailey, and Charlie chose the beach, otherwise, would have been unbelievable, risky for Kirsten's health. To make it different from 2x09, was also a good idea Charlie didn't fully shave. Then, about the toast, I'd have liked to hear some mention of the failed wedding, about how much he regrets what happened, given that besides the family, surely there were unknown friends who attended 4 years ago. Anyway, it was well written and says the truth, despite that he lost her for complicated situations which escaped his control, Charlie never let Kirsten go. He loved her since the day he met her and during the year living together, they built a family, a marriage. Despite their hurtful breakup he managed to clear his doubts and promised he'd love her for the rest of his life. And he fulfilled that promise when he took care of her during her illness like a true loving husband. He never moved on from her, not even after the devastating breakup. And neither she did because she stayed and supported him during the cancer, even later. That was like a kind of marriage, that never ends. They showed the meaning of true love, one that overcomed infertility, distance, time, cancer, manic depression, her brief marriage with Paul, his relationship with Daphne which gave Diana, a failed wedding and one early pointless infidelity. Their love story is special, much more than many others in the history of TV.
After the wedding, Ellie went to see her daughter near the cliff, apologized because in the last years she has seen her mostly sick, and said that she prays for her happiness. Kirsten told her that she is truly happy, she finally married the man she always loved, the love of her life. So they shared a strong heartfelt hug, and tears ran down Ellie's face. That scene was beautiful and touching. It made me wish to see how much Ellie did for her daughter when she was sick, suffering the illness. Then, Ellie and Gene were present for Charlie's toast with their daughter, happier than before. Still, it would have been nice to see Gene taking Kirsten to the aisle, and then with Ellie be present for the whole ceremony, not just the toast. I hope that off-screen, Gene can finally forgive Charlie and accept him as his son-in-law, they are family. That way, Charlie won't feel like he's alone with Kirsten, and they can visit them and Meg's family in Chicago.
The ending, with the four siblings sharing a farewell with the happy couple, who left for their honeymoon driving by the sunset and the sea, was perfect. And they remained married as long as they lived and beyond, and they lived happily ever after.
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