While We’re Young, which also stars Adam Driver and Amanda Seyfried

STARZ / CORTEZY

But, ultimately, it was completely satisfactory and actually proved to be the unlikely inspiration for the Parks and Recreation jump. Why did this reboot of sorts succeed where the others failed? Actions had consequences, and characters were consistent.
TIE UP LOOSE ENDS
The time jump is a mainstay of series finales. Shows like Weeds and The Killing both tacked on some rather ham-fisted jumps to force a strong resolution for their messed-up characters. Dawson’s Creek spent jumped five years in the future in order to bump off poor Jen Lindley (what did she ever do to you, show?) and resolve, at long last, the love triangle between Pacey, Joey, and Dawson. But once again, these huge jumps rob us of the opportunity to bear witness to these adrift characters finally getting their shit together. That clumsy romantic spin on a platonic relationship in the coda of The Killing was the textbook definition of unearned.
But the show that got this particular move right is Six Feet Under, which didn’t try to explain “what it’s all about.” After having flirted with a more standard time jump earlier in the run, Six Feet Under just gave us a very tender (and wisely wordless) goodbye to all the characters we had come to love. Leaving it up to the audience to interpret how and why the Fishers ended the way they did is the smartest move in a show full of smart moves.