Bye Bye Frankie is the eighth and final episode of Season 5 of F is for Family. It is also the final episode of F is for Family.
Plot[]
Frank meets with Buster Thunder Jr at the airport the night before Christmas Eve and goes over the plan for tomorrow. Just as Frank is about to leave, Buster invites him for a drive around town in his motor home. After driving past the hospital, Buster sees Frank looking glum and Frank tells him about his father’s death. He tells him how Buster doing the jump the next day will get him a bonus. And he thinks his dad was trying to tell him when he died that work gives your life value. Buster tells Frank to let it go and tries cheer him up by speeding down a deserted road for fun
The next day, the town flocks to the airport to watch the event. As per a “pre-jump ritual”, Buster drinks and smokes heavily and passes out from intoxication. After a while, Buster decides to get ready for the jump. He notices that the ramps are at the ends of the 747 when the plane was supposed to be turned sideways to make the jump easier. Ed explains that it highlights the Ala-Hican logo for the cameras. Buster refuses to make the jump and prepares to leave. Frank stops him and convinced him to do the jump. Buster decides to start the jump 20 minutes ahead of schedule despite Frank’s objections. Buster speeds towards the performers, scaring them and causing them to climb the unstable speaker tower which begins to collapse. Nearby, Gagliardi prepares to shoot Rosie. This catches the attention of the TV camera man who films the altercation. Bob Pogo steps in and tries to talk them into shooting Rosie but ends up taking the bullet through the abdomen himself. As Frank tries to stop Buster from making the jump early, a crowd of spectators at the beer tent climb the already unstable speaker towers causing them to collapse. Buster makes the jump with all of Rustvale watching in awe and manages to land unscathed. During an interview with the sportscasters, Buster tells the crowd that despite the support from fans he hates risking his life for their entertainment. He continues to berate the crowd in a vulgar way and announces his retirement. He then reveals that the only reason he did the jump was so that Frank would get the promotion. He finishes by cussing out Ala-Hican, as he is quarter Cherokee, and abruptly leaves.
Meanwhile, Gagliardi meets with Tangenti in the grand stand and reveals that his union boys who constructed the speaker towers did not use nuts to secure the bolts. He then bribes the mayor into silence. Behind the grand stand, Jim Jeffords has Bob and Rosie help him slip his hidden camera tape into the nearby ABS sports truck showing Gagliardi bribing the mayor. Jim wants to get back at the mayor for destroying his reputation by concocting his pregnancy fetish before the tape can be aired to the public. before the men can act, Gagliardi and Tangenti hold them at gun point. As Gagliardi prepares to shoot Rosie, this catches the attention of the TV camera man who films the altercation. Bob Pogo steps in and tries to talk them into shooting Rosie in an attempt to spare his own life but ends up taking the bullet through the abdomen himself. The unstable speaker towers suddenly collapse and Bob pushes Rosie out of the way just in time for the tower to land on top of Gagliardi and Tangenti. As Bob is being loaded into the ambulance, now paralysed from his injuries, he tells Rosie that he will be a better man despite spending the rest of his life in a wheelchair. He then asks the paramedics if he can get a feeding tube inserted as the ambulance doors close. The next day, Mayor Tangenti announces that his is resigning as mayor much to the delight of Rosie and his family. It was then revealed that Tangenti was arrested and charged with accessory to attempted murder and bribery thanks the evidence presented by Jim Jeffords (who returns as news anchor). The construction of the tollway threatening Rosie’s neighbourhood has been cancelled along with all city projects linked to Gagliardi, who was killed in the speaker tower collapse.
Back in the Murphy’s neighbourhood, Ginny leaves her sons with Greg and heads for California with Eileen and Nora much to the delight of Mr. Holtenwasser. Kevin reconciles with Alice and he apologizes to her family. The two head up to Alice’s room where they decide to have sex with a condom that unbeknownst to them was punctured by Smokey. Erwin then walks in on them before they start and chases Kevin out of the house with Alice calling after him that she will see him in school.
On Christmas Day, the neighbours and the Murphy’s open their presents. Frank is depressed that he didn’t get his bonus and was demoted to lower management and will get a much lower salary and begins to throw his negative attitude around. Sue and his family get tired of his negativity as they have supported him the past few weeks and yet he blames others for his problems. Frank then leaves and heads to a local bar after he makes Megan cry during his rant to Sue. There, he is greeted by Dick Sawitzski and tells him of how his father made him rethink everything and brings up the topic of “Box 16”. Dick reveals Big Bill was referring to to Johan Sebastian Bach’s “Prelude and Fugue Number 16”, his favourite piece of music. The piece was used as a jingle for White House Beer in the 1930s on the radio. He would meet with Dick at the bar on Christmas and would sing the jingle while getting plastered and even wanted it played at his funeral. Frank is annoyed to hear this as he spent two months stressing over “Box 16”. He realizes that his father’s dying words was a song request and calls him a selfish bastard. Dick tells him that Big Bill wasn’t all that bad. He just didn’t know how to be a dad. Frank then leaves for the cemetery and plays Bach’s 16 at his father’s grave. After the song finishes, he tosses the cassette down at his father’s grave and heads home, finally having closure after his father’s passing. He tells Sue that he found out the meaning of “Bach’s 16” and says that his parents were two messed up people, who got together and made him. He apologizes to her and promises to be a better man. The family then sits down to a dinner of pigs in blankets and as Frank is about to talk to his family, the phone rings. The family anticipates him reacting negatively to the phone ringing at supper (as per Bleedin’ In Sweden). Kevin covers Megan’s ears to prevent her from hearing Frank’s vulgarities. Frank then picks up the receiver, presses the plunger and keeps the phone off the hook. Sue wonders if someone is hurt or if the call was something important. Frank tells her that the most important thing is family. As the Murphy family eat their supper, the camera pans out to a final shot of the neighborhood as the episode and series ends.
Quotes[]
Lou: Any last words?
Rosie: You know what? Go ahead and shoot me! Put a bullet in me if you want! You can kill me, but you can't kill what I stand for. And your time is running out. I will not beg for my life. I'm a man, and I DON'T GROVEL TO RATS.
Bob: Are you gonna take that from him? I say we shoot him. Eh, goombahs?
Rosie: Man, fսck you, Pogo!
Lou: (interrupted) Okay, THAT'S IT!
(he gunshots Pogo through the his body)
Bob: AW! Right in the Gordon!
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Sawitzki: It's on me, Walt.
Frank: Thanks Dick.
Sawitzki: What's got you staring at the bottom of a glass on this fine Christmas morning?
Frank: My wife and kids can't stand the sight of me. How about you?
Sawitzki: I lost a game of euchre to my granddaughter and told her to go fuck herself.
[they started drinking beer together]
Sawitzki: Thanks again for that beautiful funeral for Big Bill. He would've loved it.
Frank: You know, I'm glad you liked him, but I'm getting tired of hearing about a guy I spent my whole life hating. I mean, he barges back into my life and forces me to rethink everything. And just when it looks like we're gonna... we're gonna figure it all out, he dies and drops some shit about box 16 in my lap.
Sawitzki: Ha ha ha! Good ol' Bach 16.
Frank: [looks at him] You know what it is?
Sawitzki: Oh yeah, sure.
Frank: I've spent the last two months trying to figure out what the fuck that means. I must've looked through every box in the city.
Sawitzki : Box? No. It's Bach! Johann Sebastian Bach. The music guy with the faggy wig. Bach's "Prelude and Fugue Number 16." It was your dad's favorite piece of music.
[he started scatting a tune]
————————————————————————————
Sue: (as Frank enters home) So, did it dawn on you that it's Christmas?
Frank: I found out what box 16 means.
Sue: Really?
Frank: It means my parents were two messed-up people who fսckеd and made me. And nothing more. That's something to build on.
Sue: Yep.
Frank: (depressed) Ah, Sue, I'm so sorry. (comes up to Sue) You were right. You're always right. From now on, I'm just gonna listen to you instead of daredevils, angry candy men, psycho Air Force pilots, hοοkers at wakes.
Sue: (smiles) That's a start.
Frank: Right now, I'd just love to have a nice Christmas with my family, if that's okay.
Sue: I made pigs in blankets with your favorite vegetable, mustard.
Frank: God, I love you.
————————————————————————————
(after Frank hangs up the phone he comes to the table)
Frank: Let's eat.
Sue: What if they're calling from work? It might be important.
Frank: Nah, this is important.
Bill: Is he having a stroke, or am I?
Frank: (he smiles at being a better man) Ha Ha! Watch it!
(they all started laughing)
Frank: I tell you, Sue. He's a little comedian!
Kevin: (happily) Hey, I'm funny too!
Bill: Yeah, but looks and smells don't count.
(they both continued laughing)
Kevin: (chuckles and points at Bill) You're so DEAD!
Frank: Don't slack on your studies, Bill. Can't earn a living making people laugh.
Trivia[]
- Title Reference: the film Bye bye, Birdie; Frank's name; this episode being the final one.
- This is the series finale.
- The Ending Episode takes place on December 24, 1974, and on December 25, 1974.
- The song playing during end credits was “Surrender” by Cheap Trick.
- Frank finally lets go of the past to focus on his family.
- Minor characters make an appearance while watching Buster Thunder Jr. jump the jumbo jet. Julie is revealed to have died with her television on and one of her cats is eating her face. Father Pat watches from a vacation resort with two other women. Doreen, Chuck and Dick watch from Sawitzki and Sons on multiple televisions.