The Frasier Sequel Destroys The Original Series Finale's Happy Ending

At the start of the two-part "Frasier" series finale, protagonist Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) is aboard a plane and begins recounting to his seatmate what brought him there. All the while, viewers are led to believe he's on his way to San Francisco for a new job. However, the last episode's final scene reveals he chose to fly to Chicago in pursuit of his love interest, Charlotte Connor ("Ozark" star Laura Linney). While what happens next is left intentionally vague, viewers can assume Frasier lives happily ever after with Charlotte after choosing a grand romantic gesture over advancing his career.

Now that "Frasier" is back on Paramount+, fans know definitively what happened between Frasier and Charlotte. As it turns out, the revival nullifies that happy ending.

The sequel series takes place approximately 20 years after its predecessor, mirroring the amount of time that has passed between both shows. Near the start of Episode 1, Frasier meets up with an old friend named Alan Cornwall (Nicholas Lyndhurst) and reminisces on his recent past. During this conversation, he reveals that his gambit from the original series finale paid off. However, just prior to the events of the new show, Charlotte left him. After dropping this bombshell, Frasier moves on to other topics, so precisely what went wrong between them remains unclear.

Ahead of the "Frasier" revival's premiere, Laura Linney told Metro that, to the best of her knowledge, Charlotte's storyline won't factor into the new series. Coupled with these comments, the way Frasier casually writes off what he describes as a nearly 20-year relationship seems to indicate the show's writers simply want to move on from Charlotte.

In a Reddit thread dedicated to the topic, user ScrutinEye argues that Frasier's separation from Charlotte is acceptable. "I always thought Charlotte came across as a plot device to end the show, so to me it isn't an egregious sin for them to undo Frasier's potentially happy ending in 2004," they wrote.

However, the opening post of another, otherwise positive, Reddit thread characterizes Charlotte's absence as something of a disappointment. "I agree about Charlotte. And I felt it was weird how they brush it off so quickly," replied user indianajoes in that thread's top comment. "It's just odd that Charlotte is now his longest relationship and even that is over like it's no big deal."

For better or for worse, "Frasier" appears to be done with Charlotte entirely. Moving forward, Frasier now has room to pursue one or more new love interests in the sequel series.