The time has come, and Remy and Gramma must return to Big City in the season finale of Big City Greens, but it seems that the rest of the family has a hard time leaving them behind.
Though aired slightly out of order (remember that VR Christmas Episode?) Remy and Gramma all are packed and ready to go in the season finale, leaving Smalton to head back to Big City. After all, Gramma has her own house, farm, and business (with Gloria) to look after. And Remy, well, he needs to get back because his “study abroad” program is ending. Conveniently for our story purposes, Vasquez has a welcome back dinner set up for Remy, and Gloria needs Gramma back for an unnamed business purpose, but it is something that needs a signature from her.
While the family is saying their goodbyes in the Smalton residence, Nancy suggests that the kids go with Bill so they can spend a few extra hours together. As they approach Big City, the family is filled with nostalgia, taking the same exit (just like the opening sequence!) that they did when they first arrived back in season one. They have a bit of time allotted to hit the old Big City Farmer’s Market just for the day to sell some produce but Gramma and Remy have to get back for dinner and business. As soon as they put up the sign for their booth, Officer Keys recognizes them and welcomes them back to the city, sharing how bored he has been without the weekly hijinx caused by the Green Family.
It was nice to see Keys, but unfortunately there is not enough time to revisit all the old friends. Oddly, Keys has a group chat on his phone of Big City Residents who miss the Green family, and has alerted everyone that they have returned. This brings about a slew of recurring characters, including friends of the kids and the adults. Community Sue, Benny, Wheezy, Kiki, Cricket’s Girlfriend Gabriella, even Doug Perkins shows up.
Over at the Green household in the city, Gloria is waiting for Alice when the notary shows up to sign the papers early. We’ve already caught up with where Gloria has been – lots of couch time – but now we get to see her stall with Merv Stampington, who is ready to retire at 6:00 PM after this last document is taken care of. Too bad Gramma is still out with the family, and Gloria begins to panic. We also get to see Vasquez at the Remington mansion serve up a nice dinner as they wait for Remy’s return.
A number of months ago, I was promised a guest star during the season finale that was a big get for the show, and it didn’t let me down. Merv Stampington? That’s Danny DeVito making his appearance in Big City, but the character is seemingly destined for Cancun, so we might not be hearing him again unfortunately.
After the day at the Farmers Market and seeing everyone again, it’s time to finally get Gramma and Remy home, but the blast of memories makes Bill, Cricket, and Tilly want to revisit old locales and stomping grounds. We, the viewers, are treated to a montage of familiar locations from previous episodes, including the karaoke bar, traffic filled freeways, the park, Times Circle, and others. The family keeps it going but Gramma and Remy are clearly getting frustrated ready to go home. Bill isn’t having it and finding every excuse to keep everyone in the car and having fun, prolonging the goodbye and inevitable return to Smalton.
Gloria is calling Gramma trying to figure out where she is as Merv is adamant that these papers must be signed by 6 so that he can retire, and Vasquez is growing concerned that Remy could possibly be in danger. When Cricket wants to stay in the city longer, he takes their phones and locks them in the glove compartment. This triggers Vasquez to go into protective bodyguard mode and hunt down Remy, who is somewhere in the city. He heads directly to the Green household, only to find Gloria and Merv still waiting for Gramma Alice. When Gloria realizes that he will find Remy, and Remy is with Alice, she tags along in Vasquez’s chopper, dragging Merv with her. After all, she spent months trying to get these mysterious permits, she’s not letting it go to waste.
After a visit to the billboard district, Gramma has finally had enough and Remy is ready to go home and they stand up to the rest of the family, threatening to just walk home. Bill has a bit of a breakdown and locks them in the car, taking them on a wild chase that is only worsened when he sees Vasquez and Gloria (and Merv!) in a chopper approaching them with haste. Remy starts to realize the chopper is Vasquez but the family denies it. His bodyguard hands over the controls of the chopper to Merv so he can smoke bomb the Kludge and get them to stop. They finally do, and find themselves back in front of the Green household. Gramma jumps out of the car, and with Merv literally counting the seconds down to 6:00, Gloria drags him to Gramma and signs the permit just before he throws on his Cancun garb and is able to retire. The permit? Now Gloria can sell cheese. Remy is safe with Vasquez, and they get ready to go home for dinner.
Gramma, however, is sending Bill, Cricket, and Tilly home. They went on this crazy adventure, and they need to figure out what they really want. They can visit whenever, but they need to head home…to the country….their home. Right?
As they drive, Bill stops the car. Oh wait, no he didn't, they ran out of gas. Their wild adventure was so distracting that he forgot to fill up the Kludge. Conveniently, they are 80 miles away from Big City and 80 miles away from Smalton. Stuck literally in the middle of their two settings. Wait, now we know Smalton is 160 miles from Big City. That’s not too bad. Bill calls Nancy for help, and she brings them gas. Asking how the city was, Nancy gets an answer that she might not have been expecting, but the audience sure was. They miss the city, and it feels like home, perhaps more than Smalton.
Nancy poses an idea. She knows she belongs in the country, the city was never a fit for her, she only liked it because she could see her kids. As the last few episodes have shown us, Nancy is more responsible now and can take care of the big farm in Smalton, knowing that Bill and the kids have a place to stay in Big City. Bill, so heartbreakingly happy, likes the idea and collapses into Nancy with a big hug.
The gang (sans Nancy) heads back to Big City, now with the option of going between the two with ease. Seemingly they have no problem now, and with the whole country people in the city/city people in the country base of the series out of the way, what next?
As they drive, we get that answer. Along the road, outside of the city that he was banished from, we see a tombstone for Chip Whistler, longtime series antagonist who has not been seen since season 2. A keeper of the graves gives a bit of exposition, reminding us that he was banished and tormented a family, when a nearby shadowy figure with a chip in his tooth reminds us that it was the Green family that he tormented, and that family’s worries have only just begun.
A feature-length Big City Greens film is in the works, and the series has been picked up for a fourth season on Disney Channel. You can catch this episode on the network, as well as the DisneyNOW app. Earlier seasons and episodes can be found on Disney+.