Marriage fans praise 'beautiful' and 'brave' finale

Marriage characters Ian and Emma having fun in the pub
Ian and Emma have been through a lot over the past few episodes... (Image credit: BBC)

Marriage came to an end this week and fans are mostly satisfied with the conclusion to the Sean Bean and Nicola Walker-fronted drama, with many praising the performances and overall story.

For the past few weeks, fans have had plenty to say about Marriage including this hilarious complaint and claims people are "missing the point", but the finale has seen an outpouring of praise from TV fans. 

Stefan Golaszewski's latest BBC series follows Emma and Ian, a couple who have been married for 27 years, and documents all the ups and downs that come from a long-term partnership including parenting, job stresses, intimacy, and more, with the story feeling raw and relatable for many viewers.

Throughout the course of the four-part series, Emma and Ian have juggled a lot, including the latter coming to terms with his recent redundancy and a difficult job search, while Emma's career seems to be going great. It's a slow-paced drama but fans have loved following the couple's day-to-day lives as they deal with a number of roadblocks.

Sean Bean and Chantelle Alle

Ian and Jessica had a heartwarming moment in the season finale. (Image credit: BBC)

In the series finale, their daughter Jessica (Chantelle Alle) moves out of the home she shares with her boyfriend Adam, much to Ian and Emma's relief as they really didn't like him. While Ian helps pack up her stuff, Adam attempts to make small talk by berating women, and Ian tells him to "grow up", finally getting to tell him exactly what he thinks of him.

Meanwhile, Ian opens up to Jessica about adopting her and shows her the letter he wrote to her as a baby, finally having a conversation it's clear they've never had before. As well as this, truths are revealed about the couple's deceased son Nicholas, and the episode is filled with bittersweet moments.

Because of the emotional rollercoaster and a conclusion which unites the family, seeing Jessica back with her parents, fans have taken to Twitter to have their say on the ending with many calling it "beautiful".

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It's not yet known if Marriage will return for a second season, as things seem to have been wrapped up quite nicely for viewers who have followed Ian and Emma on their everyday journey. But if that changes, we'll let you know!

Watch Marriage online now via BBC iPlayer

Lucy Buglass
Senior Staff Writer

Lucy joined the WhatToWatch.com team in 2021, where she writes series guides for must-watch programmes, reviews and the latest TV news. Originally from Northumberland, she graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a degree in Film Studies and moved to London to begin a career writing about entertainment.


She is a Rotten Tomatoes approved film critic and has a huge passion for cinema. She especially loves horror, thriller and anything crime-related. Her favourite TV programmes include Inside No 9, American Horror Story, Stranger Things and Black Mirror but she is also partial to a quiz show or a bit of Say Yes to the Dress