Post — Aaron Ngo

Major Spoilers are included in this season review. Please read with caution.

This American sitcom’s latest batch of episodes dropped on June 13, 2020. I binge-watched Part 4—all 8 episodes—on June 16, 2020 with my brother. This was also Alexa & Katie’s final season. The series centered around Alexa (Paris Berelc) and Katie (Isabel May), two best friends navigating the terrors of high school in addition to Alexa’s cancer diagnosis. Their close friendship was the heart of the series and the driving force behind the topic of cancer survivors and their treatment in today’s society.

With Alexa officially in remission by the end of Part 3, this season had the best friend support flop. This time, Alexa was standing by Katie’s side while she went to therapy to manage her anxiety and panic attacks, which also happened at the end of Part 3. The actors—Paris and Isabel—have amazing chemistry, and they played the best friend roles with a lot of heart. I would even compare them to Disney best friends like Chelsea and Raven (That’s So Raven) or Lily and Miley (Hannah Montana). I will miss watching Alexa & Katie. I had no idea I was watching the final season until the second-to-last episode.

It was difficult not to cry during the cancer fundraiser episode (“Speaking of Cancer”) when Alexa and her mother Lori (Tiffani Thiessen) spoke so honestly about their personal experiences dealing with cancer. It was also a nice touch to have Alexa deal with her feelings about being a cancer survivor, drawing a line between sensitivity and sympathy.

The humor was on-off for me, given that I’m not the target audience to a kids’ show, but I truly believe Dave (Eddie Shin)—Alexa’s father—won the most comedic moment in the whole series when he got high off his smoker. Hearing him mispronounce “smoke zone” as “zoke smone”—and wondering which pronunciation was right—was the funniest thing I had ever heard from this show. I was cracking up the whole time, probably more than I should’ve.

The final moments of the series were also tear-jerkers. Watching Alexa and Katie decide to separate for different colleges was natural and necessary for growth. The montage of all their best moments from beginning to end was also an emotional barrage to the gut. The final scene when they reunited for Thanksgiving Break was the best follow-up ending; I needed to see their amazing friendship survive the college distance.

Overall, the final season was full of humor, emotions, and inspiration. I have enjoyed watching Alexa & Katie over the past couple years. The show ended on a high note and gave closure to all the other characters like Katie’s mother Jennifer (Jolie Jenkins), her little brother Jack (Finn Carr), Alexa’s parents Lori and Dave, and her older brother Lucas (Emery Kelly). I would highly recommend watching this series from start to finish. It’s available on Netflix.

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