Derry Girls Season – A Fitting End

Aaryika Jaipuria ‘26 / Entertainment Monthly Staff Writer

Erin, Orla, Claire, Michelle, and James are back for their final year of high school. On the brink of the Good Friday Agreement, the notorious five are back for their last year of shenanigans in an (almost) “Free Derry.” 

Anybody who has seen the show’s previous seasons is already in tune with the witty and absurd humor in the situations in which this crew seems to find themselves every episode — whether it be discovering the presence of God on earth or clogging a toilet with edibles at their grandaunt’s funeral. This season has no lack of incidents such as these, ranging from the girls (+James) unknowingly aiding a school burglary, investigating Ma Mary’s secret love for a plumber, and fighting ghosts in Donegal. Life in Derry remains eventful, to say the least.

Writer Lisa McGee drew upon her own school days and satirized her upbringing to create Derry Girls. As she grew up in an Irish Catholic family in Londonderry during the Northern Irish peace process, so do these girls (+James). The beauty and brilliance of this show lie in McGee’s ability to draw a bubble of normality within the abnormal. The feel-good factor of the show relies on every one of these characters existing within this bubble, exempt from the Troubles in Ireland. She presents their teenage lives as a simple childhood, rather than a troubled one, allowing their teenage experiences to be something to be laughed at, like any others. 

Nevertheless, as the Good Friday Referendum approaches this season, it is hard for the show to maintain its otherness from the political climate around the plot. Along with the invasions of more serious political tensions, there are many serious issues of grief and loss that risk the popping of their bubble. What’s great, however, is that McGee embraces this completely, making for some very tender and insightful moments in this final season of Derry Girls, as the girls (+James) make their peace with the changes occurring around them. Along with the highs of childhood, we also are reminded of the lows one can face in their teenage years.

The end of the season is poignant. Bitter because we must now say goodbye to some form of the reflections of younger selves we see in these characters, but sweet as we know they have so much more to look forward to and so many laughs and memories they can look back to.

All in all, this season, like the two before, did not disappoint. It’s filled with snarky humor, some new relationship dynamics, many very pleasant guest appearances, a lot of happiness, and this time around, something a little more. Derry Girls will forever have my seal of approval, now more than ever!