Happy summer, Retrowatchers! At long last! I had my doubts as to it ever being warm again, but am writing this while wearing a sundress sporting a tan. Let’s all breathe a collective sigh of relief: Ahhh!

We’ve made it to the end of season three. And what a season it has been: Lou Grant bought a bar, had a bullet removed from an unmentionable area, and went on an awkward Man Date with Mary’s father. We finally met Mary’s parents and Rhoda’s dad. Rhoda won a beauty contest, pondered a move to New York, and (spoiler alert) opened her own store. Ted hired an agent and briefly dabbeled in commercials, became temporary BFF’s with Lou, and got a girlfriend. Phyllis, of all people, came out of the season the most progressive, encouraging Mary to go out for a promotion and hardly batted an eye when she found out her brother is gay. Murray…well…nothing much happens to our Murray. (Nothing ever happens to Murray.) As for Mary – she had quite a year as well. She finally got a raise, reconnected with her father, and nearly got engaged before realizing she’s not looking for Prince Charming. (Retrowatching HQ remains firmly #TeamDanWhitfield.) We met some new people – some good (Georgette, Walter Richards, Ben Sutherland, Philly); some not so good (the majority of Mary’s dates, most especially he-who-shall-not-be-mentioned-again, Warren Sturges.) The writers started to change structure a bit in season three, experimenting with subplots and comic runners. These mostly went to Ted; a few went to Rhoda. And speaking of writers, the question still remains: Who is this season’s MVP?

The answer will be revealed at the end of this post. First, let’s finish out season three. This time, we will discuss episodes 21-24, including:
Episode 21: Murray Faces Life
Episode 22: Remembrance of Things Past
Episode 23: Put On a Happy Face
Episode 24: Mary Richards and the Incredible Plant Lady

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