NoTwo and a Half Menfinale would have been complete without referring to the character who made the show what it was during its first eight seasons. Charlie Harper was the life of the series untilCharlie Sheen was dismissed from the cast ofTwo and a Half Menafter a highly publicized fallout with its creator, Chuck Lorre. Harper was killed off-screen at the start of the ninth season of thefamous sitcom, which appeared to spell a definitive end to the character’s involvement in its plot until the finale.
Sheen was actively courting a comeback. Following apparent contact with Warner Bros. executives, the actor toldTV Guidein September 2014, “We’re trying to figure out what makes the most sense.” Yet, it was hard to see any return of Charlie Harper making much sense at all, given that he’d died three years earlier. InTwo and a Half Menseason 12, episodes 15-16, “Of Course He’s Dead,” Alan and the others begin to suspect that Charlie is indeed alive, but his return doesn’t play out very straightforwardly.
Charlie Harper’s Two And A Half Men Return Explained
The Character Was Revived For The Show’s Finale, With A Body Double
Two and a Half Menfound a clever way around Charlie Harper’s apparent death to have the character appear in the show’s final scene. The writers used the fact thatCharlie’s girlfriendRose, with whom he’d eloped at the end of season 8, was the only character who was actually there the moment he supposedly died to cast doubt on the whole story. As it turned out,Charlie was still alive after alland had been held captive in Rose’s basement for the period during which he was assumed to be dead.
Charlie finally managed to escape Rose’s clutchesjust in time to appear in the final scene ofTwo and a Half Men’s last episode. As a helicopter airlifted his old Steinway grand piano towards his old Malibu beach house, where Ashton Kutcher’s character Walden Schmidt now lived with Charlie’s brother, Alan, Charlie showed up at the front door in the sitcom’s final shot. It appeared that he was preparing to move back into the beach house by returning the piano that Walden had thrown out to its rightful home, thus bringing the show’s story full circle.
As the French death certificate obtained by Alan at the beginning ofTwo and a Half Men’s finale suggested,Charlie had previously been confirmed dead when his girlfriend Rose reported that he’d been hit by a metro trainin Paris. In her words, during the season 9 premiere “Nice to Meet You, Walden Schmidt”, “His body just exploded like a balloon full of meat.”
In fact, Rose was lying, andCharlie Harper didn’t really diewhen she said he did. She had intended to kill her boyfriend that day by pushing him in front of a metro train, after catching him with another woman. Instead, she’d accidentally killed the goat he’d also been found in bed with. It was the goat’s mangled body and ashes that were returned to Alan and the rest of Charlie’s family, whileRose held the real Charlie captive in her basement.
Alan was first alerted to the fact that Charlie might still be alive when he attempted to claim some royalties for musical jingles his brother had written, in the first part ofTwo and a Half Men’s final episode. Despite confirming Charlie’s death with the authorities, Alan was told that the money had already been claimed by someone else. That someone wasCharlie, who’d finally managed to free himself from Rose’s basementand intended to move back in with Alan.
Why Jake Harper Also Returned In Two And A Half Men’s Finale
The Show Decided To Honor The “Half” In Its Title
As the original “half” inTwo and a Half Men, it made perfect sense that Jake Harper should also return to the show as part of its farewell episode, as well as his uncle, Charlie.Angus T. Jones wasn’t inTwo and a Half Men’s final two seasonsotherwise, as Jake was written out of the series after the actor publicly criticized its humor, which ran contrary to his religious beliefs at the time. ButJones was persuaded to return for the show’s finale, so thatTwo and a Half Mencould honor each of the main characters who took center stage during its 12-season run.
In the finale episode,Jake makes a brief stop by Walden and Alan’s beach house to see them, having just finished a trip to Las Vegas. He’d unexpectedly received $250,000 from Charlie, along with a note saying “I’m alive”, which served as more irrefutable evidence that his uncle was, in fact, not really dead after all. His first thought upon receiving the money was apparently to travel from his home in Japan to Vegas, in order to gamble his cash windfall in the city’s casinos.
Jake somehow increased his wealth tenfold through casino bets, despite the games he chose to bet on being entirely based on the silly innuendos he inferred from their names. This admission led to the episode’s best meta-joke, as Jake, Alan, and Walden turned to the camera, implying thatTwo and a Half Menhad made an exorbitant amount of money out of seemingly childish humor.
During his brief appearance, Jake revealed that he’d dropped out of the US Army, which was the reason he’d gone to Japan at the end ofTwo and a Half Menseason 10. His decision to leave the army behind explained why he now had long hair and a beard. What’s more, he’d gotten married to a Japanese woman and had kids. He told Alan, Walden, and Berta thathis Japanese family was the reason he couldn’t spend more time catching upwith them, thus ending Angus T. Jones’ final appearance inTwo and a Half Men.
How Two And A Half Men Ended For Alan, Walden & Berta
Alan & Walden Were The Targets Of Charlie’s Revenge, While Berta Wanted To Retire
As they were throughoutTwo and a Half Menseasons 11 and 12,Jon Cryer’s Alan Harper and Ashton Kutcher’s Walden Schmidt were the central characters in the finaledouble-episode’s storylines. Both of them became the targets of threats from an unknown antagonist after they discovered that someone else had claimed Charlie’s royalty money, despite Alan being his brother and next of kin.
Charlie supposedly felt betrayed that his brother had been living in his house with a new owner who’d given away his grand piano, while he himself was imprisoned in a basement of his abusive ex-girlfriend.
Alan and his mother, Evelyn, received threatening phone messages, while Walden and Alan later found effigies of themselves placed inside nooses in the beach house, and graffiti on the window blinds expressing the intention to “kill” them. With Rose confirming thatCharlie was actually alive, having been held captive in her basement for four years before escaping, it became clear that he was behind the threats being made against Alan, Walden, and Evelyn.
Charlie supposedly felt betrayed that his brother had been living in his house with a new owner who’d given away his grand piano, while he himself was imprisoned in a basement of his abusive ex-girlfriend.Alan and Walden had every reason to fear Charlieuntil the police confirmed with them he’d been arrested. Unfortunately, the person arrested turned out to be Christian Slater, another star of the1980s Brat-Pack Western franchiseYoung Guns, who is occasionally mistaken for Charlie Sheen.
Alan, Walden, and their housekeeper, Conchata Ferrell’s Bertha, endedTwo and a Half Menenjoying whisky and cigars on their balcony, to celebrate Charlie’s apparent apprehension by the police. Bertha announced she was retiring because Charlie had given her a large sum of money from his royalty earnings, until Walden convinced her that what she wanted from retirement was right there with them.The scene ended with the three of them watching the helicopter delivering Charlie’s grand pianocome into view, wondering whether it was his.
Two And A Half Men’s Final Scene Explained
The Show’s Meta Ending Saw Charlie Harper & Chuck Lorre Killed By Falling Pianos
Althoughthey only revived Charlie Harper forTwo and a Half Men’s final scene, the show’s writers decided the funniest way to end it would be to kill him off again the moment he was seen on camera. In the closing seconds ofTwo and a Half Men, we saw a Charlie Sheen lookalike walk up the porch ofCharlie’s old beach houseand knock on the front door. We only saw the character from behind, so as to maintain the illusion that it really was Charlie Harper coming home.
Before there was a chance for Charlie to reunite with Alan and his housekeeper Berta, and meet the house’s new owner Walden,his Steinway grand piano fell from the helicopter delivering it to the address, and crushed him to death. This ending both honored the idea of Charlie returning home with his favorite item of furniture, which Walden had unceremoniously removed from the house, and continued the longstanding tradition of falling piano gags in American comedy that began in cinema’s silent era.
To add an extra meta touch to the ending,Two and a Half Men’s co-creator and producer,Chuck Lorre, appeared onscreen after the piano gag to quote Charlie Sheen’s real-life catchphrase, “Winning!”This part of the gag was perceived as Lorre lording it over Sheen that he’d gotten the ending he wanted for his show. However, the producer’s celebrations were promptly cut short when another piano was seen to fall onhishead, as if to prove that pride really does come before a fall(ing piano).
Why Charlie Sheen Didn’t Return For The Two And A Half Men Finale
Lorre’s apparent mockery of Charlie Sheen inTwo and a Half Men’s ending scene resulted from a standoff between the two of them about Sheen’s potential comeback for the finale episode. According to Lorre, Sheen himself was actually supposed to appear as Charlie Harper in the show’s last scene, butthe actor refused unless the scene featured the ending he wanted forTwo and a Half Men. Lorre explained what the show’s writers proposed to Sheen in his notes on the final episode’s post-credits vanity card:
Our idea was to have him walk up to the front door in the last scene, ring the doorbell, then turn, look directly into the camera and go off on a maniacal rant about the dangers of drug abuse. He would then explain that these dangers only apply to average people. That he was far from average. He was a ninja warrior from Mars. He was invincible. And then we would drop a piano on him.
Sheen, on the other hand, wanted the scene to involve a reunion with Jon Cryer’s character, Alan, which laid the basis for them both to star in a new spinoff sitcom together. Inevitably, Lorre said no to his idea, the actor rejected the offer to do things the writers’ way, and the ending ofTwo and a Half Menfeatured Charlie Harper being killed by a falling piano, without Charlie Sheen. The decade-longfeud between Sheen and Chuck Lorre eventually endedwhen Sheen agreed to cameo as himself in Lorre’s most recent sitcom,Bookie.
What Other Two And A Half Men Cast Members Said About Its Ending
Ashton Kutcher Was Scared Of Sheen’s Potential Return, & Jon Cryer Wanted To Continue Acting In Sitcoms
Before Charlie Sheen decided against appearing in theTwo and a Half Menfinale, his replacement on the show,Ashton Kutcher, expressed his trepidation about filming the episode. Kutcher had just heard the planned story for the finale, including Sheen’s involvement in Charlie Harper’s return, at a pitch meeting when he was asked about it onEllen. He implied that he might be in physical danger if Sheen was indeed making a comeback, joking, “If there’s sirens, come save me.”
Alan Harper actorJon Cryer, on the other hand, said he would have liked to have seen Sheen backon the show for its finale, according toDigital Spy. Cryer also suggested that he’d like to continue acting in sitcoms afterTwo and a Half Menended. He said he wanted to continue“performing for an audience,”referring to the live studio audience who watched the show’s episodes being filmed.
Although Cryer briefly starred in the now-canceled sitcomExtended Familyand made several cameo appearances in other comedy shows during the past decade, he’s yet to become a regular on another sitcom with legs in it. Instead, his biggest TV role sinceTwo and a Half Menwas wrapped up has been as Lex Luthor in five different CW series based on DC Comics and co-produced by Warner Bros.
Two and a Half Men
Cast
Two and a Half Men follows the Harper family: Charlie (Charlie Sheen), a womanizing, hedonistic jingle writer who enjoys his lazy lifestyle from the comfort of his large beach house; Alan (Jon Cryer), Charlie’s neurotic, far less successful brother; and Jake (Angus T. Jones), Alan’s impressionable son. When Alan’s marriage falls apart, he moves in with Charlie, much to the older brother’s dismay. After bonding with his nephew, Charlie reluctantly embraces Alan’s presence, paving the way for one of television’s most dysfunctional family environments.
