Felicity and Ben arrive at the police station to pick up Noel's belongings, now that he's dead. Felicity picks up the 8-ball key chain that she gave to Noel for his new apartment. Ben signs some release forms. Felicity says, "This is all my fault." Ben tells her that it isn't. Felicity feels that if she hadn't traveled back in time, Noel never would have died. Ben puts his arm around Felicity and escorts her out of the room.
Ben and Felicity have just informed Sean about Noel, and Sean says that he can't believe it. Meghan walks in and sees all of the long faces, so she asks, "Okay, who died?" Sean answers, "Noel." Meghan tells Sean that he's not funny, and Felicity tells Meghan that it's true. Meghan sits down and is silent for a minute, and then tells Felicity that she might be able to undo it, because Meghan found Korsakoff. Felicity tells Ben (and anyone who missed the last episode) that Korsakoff is the guy who wrote the spell that sent Felicity back in time in the first place. Meghan hands Felicity Korsakoff's address.
Felicity knocks on Korsakoff's apartment door. A creepy-looking guy opens the door to the extent that the chain will allow, and Felicity says that she's looking for Paul Korsakoff. The guy says, "Sorry. Not interested," and slams the door in Felicity's face. That's exactly how I handle telemarketers. Actually, I don't generally let them get their whole sentence out. Felicity knocks on the door again. The guy opens the door again, this time without the chain, and says that he's not buying anything. Felicity quickly says that she's not selling anything, and that she needs his help. She explains about the book, and Korsakoff wants to know who told her about it. Felicity explains that a friend of hers did the time-travel spell. Korsakoff starts ranting about some guy who must have sent Felicity; Korsakoff adds that he burned the manuscript, and that his spells don't work. Felicity says that the time-travel spell did work, and that she's proof of it. Felicity tells Korsakoff that she came back to be with "this really great guy," and now he's dead. Korsakoff relents and lets Felicity into his apartment.
Felicity is in her room, packing a box full of mementoes. Ben asks what Korsakoff is going to do with all of the stuff, and Felicity says that Korsakoff needs to get a sense of her friends. Felicity asks Ben for his watch, and explains that Korsakoff thinks that the only reason that the spell worked for Meghan is because she already knew everyone and everything that happened. Ben is reluctant to hand over the watch, and asks how Felicity knows that Korsakoff isn't conning her. Felicity says that she doesn't, but says she has to give it a shot; she points out that the worst that will happen is that Korsakoff gets Ben's watch. Ben sheepishly says that he likes the watch. Felicity rolls her eyes at him, and Ben gives her the watch and offers to come with her. Felicity says that she thinks that she should do it alone, but that she'll call him when it's over. Ben reluctantly watches her leave, since he doesn't really want her to go back to the future in the first place.
Back at Korsakoff's apartment, Felicity tells Korsakoff that she wasn't sure what to bring, so she just brought something from everyone. Korsakoff -- dressed in bathrobe and pajamas -- tells Felicity that he's sure that whatever she brought is fine. He tells Felicity to set her box on the couch, and starts sprinkling something around the room. Felicity asks what they do , and Korsakoff tells her to start talking. Felicity isn't sure where to start, since it's been either five or three-and-a-half years, depending on whether you count the time-travel years or not. Korsakoff sits down and suggests that she start at the beginning. Felicity says the beginning would be the day she graduated high school. Thus begins the first of many flashback scenes. We see Felicity asking Ben to sign her yearbook. If you've never seen the pilot, just hit the link and read that page, because that's pretty much exactly what they show in this clip, and if I recap every single clip in this episode, I will still be writing this recap in two years. Oh, they look like little babies! Also, I can now see the benefits of eyebrow grooming, because Keri Russell really had some wild brows in the pilot. Korsakoff asks Felicity if she really went across the country for this, and gestures to the yearbook sitting in his lap. Felicity says that she did. Korsakoff starts to rip the page out of the yearbook, and Felicity tries to stop him. Korsakoff insists that Felicity leave the magic to him.
Korsakoff asks whether Ben was really creeped out when he realized that Felicity was stalking him. Felicity says that she wasn't stalking him, and that Ben actually handled it very well. We flash back to Felicity getting her student ID picture taken, when Ben sees her for the first time in New York and doesn't remember her name. It's amazing how many of the scenes in the credits are from the first season. Then they cut to Felicity bitching Ben out for writing such nice things in her yearbook and making her fall for him, and Ben freaking out over Felicity's stalkerlike behavior. At which point, Felicity discovers that Julie was in the loft the whole time. And that's when I kind of started hating Julie, and I know it's irrational, but I can't help it.
Felicity says that it was "really hard being just friends" with Ben. Korsakoff adds, "Given your intense feelings." Felicity agrees. Korsakoff retrieves a huge piece of driftwood and places it on his coffee table. Felicity asks about it, but Korsakoff tells her to keep talking. Felicity says that she wouldn't have survived without Noel, because he was the RA on her floor freshman year. We flash back to Felicity arguing with Mr. Assface Porter on the phone while Noel totally spies on her and then he says, "Yo!" and I should have started being annoyed by Noel right here but for some inexplicable reason I still liked him until the second season when he was such an assface about Felicity ditching him for the summer. Anyway, then they cut to Felicity, dressed as the Bride of Frankenstein for Halloween, crying to Noel about how she feels lost, and then she pukes on him. Heh. Cut to Noel giving Felicity his "Stay in New York or perish" speech, and then revealing that he has feelings for her. Korsakoff tells Felicity, "The guy let you vomit on him. Of course he had feelings for you," as he hangs the tassel from her graduation cap on the piece of driftwood. Felicity says that she had feelings for Noel, too. We flash back to Felicity and Noel's first-season Boggle game that ended in a make-out session, which was then interrupted by Meghan. Korsakoff arranges the little cubes from Felicity's Boggle game to read "hickey," since that's the word that sparked the make-out session in Felicity's tale. Felicity looks zoned out, and Korsakoff asks what's going on. Felicity says that she hasn't thought about any of this stuff in a long time, and she can't believe Noel is gone. Felicity puts her head in her hands and struggles to keep her composure. She asks Korsakoff if they can "take a little break." Korsakoff says that he needs to get matches anyway, and tells Felicity to take all of the time that she needs. Felicity puts her hand over her mouth and appears lost in thought.
Korsakoff pokes his head back into the living room and asks if Felicity is okay now. Felicity chuckles and says that she's fine. Korsakoff hands her a box of tissues and suggest that they not talk about Noel for a while. Korsakoff waves some sort of lighted wand over the memento-enhanced driftwood, and Felicity asks what it's for. Korsakoff says it's not for anything; he just really likes it. Korsakoff picks up a baseball cap and asks Felicity to tell him about it. Felicity says that it's part of her uniform from Dean & Deluca. Felicity adds, "One of the great things about living in New York -- I just became great friends with all of these people I never would have met if I had just stayed in Palo Alto." Of course, that's the introduction to Javier. We see a clip of Javier hugging Felicity's mother like a long-lost relative upon their first meeting, Javier wearing a rug, and Javier pretending that Ben is his lover to make an ex-boyfriend jealous.
Korsakoff finishes preparing some sort of powder and tells Felicity to watch her eyes because there is a big flash coming up. He tosses a bit of the powder into a candle while Felicity shields her face and...nothing happens. Korsakoff says that he should quit, too, because the spell isn't working. Felicity suggests that Korsakoff use a strand of her hair, because that's what Meghan always does. She yanks a piece out and hands it over. Korsakoff says, "You mean your crazy Wiccan roommate?" and tosses the hair aside. Korsakoff says that from what he's heard, Meghan and Felicity don't seem like very good friends. Felicity laughs quietly and says that Meghan didn't think so either. Cut to Meghan, in Sean's docuventary, saying that living with Felicity is "like living with a TV that's always playing Little House on the Prairie, only with more sweaters." The clip shows Felicity finding Meghan's underwear in her fridge. , Meghan steals the last Jell-O from Felicity in the cafeteria, and Felicity calls her "a selfish, offensive freak show." When Meghan refuses the give the Jell-O back, Elena shows up and demands that Meghan give back the Jell-O, accentuating her point by pointing a plastic gun at Meghan (which means that must have been the episode where they were playing that "Assassins" game).
Korsakoff says that Elena "seems like she's got some issues." Felicity says that Elena was a great friend, but that "she could just be really tough when she wanted to be." Okay, Felicity is talking in the past tense here, so would now be a perfect time for her to remember that if she goes back to the future, Elena will be dead? Right? Just to further underscore the point that the writers hate Tangi Miller, all of Elena's clips feature Elena kicking ass: the time she punched Blair for cheating on her, the time she told Sean she could kick his ass, the time she tackled Felicity when she walked in the door, and the time she kicked Richard in the head because he tried to feel her up. Felicity adds, "But deep down, Elena was a softie, especially about Tracy." Flashback to Tracy's proposal to Elena. Korsakoff asks what Elena said, and Felicity says that Elena said yes, and that they planned the wedding, and Javier was the wedding coordinator, but then they didn't end up going through with it. Felicity tells him that Meghan and Sean got married instead, and Korsakoff asks who Sean is.
Felicity laughs and says that Sean is "this amazing guy who makes all these crazy inventions." This triggers a montage of Sean explaining some of his inventions like milkless cereal, the combination sleep mask/alarm clock. This montage made me realize that Sean is totally the template upon which Marshall from Alias was built. Then there's one of my favorite Sean scenes ever: Sean reading off his list of possible names for Smoothaise to Ben. , Sean shows off the wedding favors he created for Elena and Tracy: musical condoms that play "Here Comes the Bride." This scene was great, if only because it featured Scott Speedman with short hair in the background. Korsakoff hangs the musical condom on the driftwood and says that Sean has too much time on his hands. Felicity protests that Sean is just enthusiastic and "nothing bothers him...well, nothing except Meghan." Flashback to Sean and Meghan arguing about whether she should pay for their vacation, which led to Sean clucking like a chicken. Meghan makes fun of Sean in one of their therapy sessions with Teri Garr. Okay, you know how earlier I said the scene with Sean and the condiment names was my favorite Sean scene? I totally lied. It's actually the scene they show : Sean, dressed all in leather, returning from the Fetish Ball, and then walking away from the camera to reveal that he is wearing assless pants.
Korsakoff pulls tape out of a cassette and Felicity asks what he's doing. Korsakoff asks, "Did you just say assless pants? Tell me about this," referring to the tape he's holding. Felicity says that they're just tapes that she used to send to her friend Sally, and that they used to tell each other personal things that they couldn't tell anyone else. Oh, no. It's one of the most cringe-worthy moments from the series: when the DJ played Felicity's tape (in which she talks about how she's ready to have sex) at a party. Korsakoff asks Felicity, "So who'd you lose it to?" Felicity asks if this is really necessary. Korsakoff prompts, "Len or Noel?" Felicity answers, "First of all, it's 'Ben.'" Korsakoff thinks she's answering the question, but Felicity clarifies that she was just correcting his name. Korsakoff assumes that Felicity's first time must have been with Noel; Felicity admits that it wasn't, but says that it should have been. Flashback to Felicity showing up at Noel's room to have sex, a scene which culminated in the room starting on fire.
Felicity tells Korsakoff, "The real problem was Ben, because once [Noel and I] started going out, [Ben] became interested." Korsakoff says that once Felicity got together with Noel, Ben started coming after her. Felicity says that he wasn't exactly coming after her. Flashback to Ben telling Felicity that she makes him nervous and giving her a necklace. Korsakoff gazes at the necklace and asks what Noel thought about all this. Felicity says that he was fine with it, for the most part. Flashback to Noel, high on smart powder, bursting into the library and yelling at Ben and Felicity, and Ben accidentally hitting Noel in the head with a bottle of beer, which led to a fistfight. Felicity tells Korsakoff, "The thing is, there was always this...I can't explain it. This force between Ben and me, and I guess it had been there from the very beginning." Korsakoff hangs the necklace from the driftwood. "Habanera" from Bizet's Carmen starts playing so you know something sexy is coming up. Flashback to Ben trying to convince Felicity to go on the road trip with him after freshman year, which ends with him pulling her face to his and laying one on her. Aw, yeah.
Felicity tells Korsakoff, "But [Ben] had let me down too many times, and I just couldn't trust him. It was a really hard time for me, and I ended up doing some really stupid things." Flashback to Felicity getting all her hair cut off. Felicity tells Korsakoff, "And then it just seemed like everyone had an opinion." Korsakoff asks, "About your haircut?" Felicity says, "Well, actually, yeah. But that's not what I was talking about." Flashback to Javier telling Felicity that Ben has changed a lot, and making her put his glasses on so that she can see the new Ben. Felicity tells Korsakoff that she did see the new Ben, but she still saw Noel, too. Korsakoff says, "So, basically, you had these two guys who were in love with you." Felicity says that she knows it doesn't seem like a real problem, but it was, because she loved them both, and she had to choose. Flashback to Ben telling Felicity that he's changed, and that he wants to redo the moment when he stood her up for the movie in the park. I remember that I watched this episode at Wing Chun's house, and she cried during the final scene. She's such a girl. ["I would argue, but it's totally true. And normally I'm not that much of a girl, but I'm powerless against the Speedman. Or I was back then, anyway." -- Wing Chun] Sorry, I interjected a little flashback of my own there. Anyway, the movie-watching scene leads to a montage of Felicity and Ben making-out scenes, which are too numerous to link to, but it's like porn for Felicity and Ben fans.
Korsakoff ends Felicity's reverie by saying, "So?" Felicity says, "I chose Ben, and in the process, ended up losing Noel." Felicity and Korsakoff stare at each other for a minute and then Felicity sighs and says that she can't believe Noel's dead. Korsakoff suggests that maybe that's what was supposed to happen. Felicity asks what he means, and Korsakoff says that maybe that's what she came back to the past for. Felicity says that she didn't come back there to kill Noel. Korsakoff says that she didn't come back to kill him, but she loves two people and she had to make a choice. Felicity, indignant, says that she did make a choice. Korsakoff says that she's holding on to something and he can't undo the spell until she lets it go. Felicity digs into her pocket and finds Noel's 8-ball key chain. She stares at it and says, "I forgot that I had this. It's a key to Noel's apartment. We were supposed to live there." Korsakoff tells her to give it to him. Felicity hesitates. Korsakoff says, "I know. This is scary. But your story's not over -- just this chapter. What you made here will always be a part of you. You have to finish it." Felicity thinks it over, and then hands Korsakoff the key chain with tears in her eyes. Korsakoff hangs it on the driftwood, directly opposite the necklace Ben gave Felicity so that they balance each other out. Korsakoff tells Felicity that there is one more thing that she has to do. He hands her a candle and tells her to "seal it off." Felicity pours wax on all of her mementos, which are now hanging from the driftwood as "Displaced" by Azure Ray plays. They've used this song a few times already this season, but it gives a nice sense of closure. This scene goes on way too long, though, especially given the fact that they apparently couldn't spare a second to explain Elena's reappearance (more on that in a minute).
Felicity and Ben lie in bed. Felicity explains that she told Korsakoff all about Noel and the rest of their friends, and about her and Ben. Ben asks what she said. Felicity says she told him how she followed him there, how he gave her that necklace, how they watched the Charlie Chaplin movie up on the roof, how Wing Chun cried. ["And then Ben was all, 'Who's Wing Chun? She sounds like she must be my real soulmate!'" -- Wing Chun] Oops, she didn't say that part. ["Rats." -- Wing Chun] Felicity sighs, and Ben asks her what's wrong. Felicity says that she's afraid to go to sleep, since she doesn't know what will happen when she wakes up. She might still be there, and Noel will still be dead. Or she might wake up in the future and Ben won't be to her. She forgot to add the part where Elena would be dead. Ben asks her if she'll forgive him if she goes back to the future. Felicity says that she'll try, but she doesn't know if she'll remember being in the past. Ben tells her, "What I did...it was stupid, immature, and it was unforgivable. But you have to find a way to forgive me. I don't know how. But you have to. Because I don't want to live my life without you." Felicity gazes at him and looks troubled.
That night, Felicity lies in bed, tossing and turning. The screen starts rotating, and the light changes on Felicity's face. Felicity wakes up to find Javier, Meghan, Sean, Noel, and Ben standing over her bed. They tell her that she was sick last night. Felicity sits up and expresses surprise that Noel is okay. Meghan says that Felicity is the one who had the high fever. Javier says that Felicity was talking in her sleep. Sean adds that Noel almost postponed the wedding. Felicity remembers that Noel is getting married to Zoe. Noel laughs at how goofy Felicity is being, from his standpoint. Felicity says that she just had the weirdest dream, in which Noel died in a fire. She says hello to Ben. Meghan says that she couldn't keep Ben out, and offers to get rid of him. Felicity says that it's fine; she says that Ben was in her dream, too, and that he rescued her from a psych ward. Ben laughs, and Javier says that Ben is always so heroic. Ben asks if he can talk to Felicity, and if everyone will give him a minute. The others all start to leave. As Noel walks out, Felicity tells him that he and Zoe are going to have a great life together. Javier asks if he can stay and watch, and then realizes that they don't need an audience, so he leaves.
Ben sits on the edge of Felicity's bed and says that she had a rough night. Ben says, "Look, I know you don't want to hear what I have to say, but I am so sorry for what I did. It was stupid, and immature, and it was unforgivable. And I know this is an impossible thing for me to ask, but you have to find a way to forgive me, because I don't want to live my life without you." Felicity gapes at him in shock and says that he said exactly the same thing in her dream. Ben asks what she said back. Felicity says that she didn't say anything, but she knows that she was thinking that she doesn't want to live her life without him, either. Ben apologizes again, and Felicity says that she knows. Ben asks if she forgives him, and Felicity says that she does. They kiss, even though Felicity would have really, really bad breath.
Sarah McLachlan starts singing "I Will Remember You" and I wish they had used any song but this one. We see scenes from Noel and Zoe's wedding. Noel and Zoe up at the altar. Felicity smiling at them from the seats. Zoe throwing her bouquet and...what the hell? Elena knocking Javier down to catch it? Isn't Elena dead? According to the official site, there were some scenes explaining this that were cut: Felicity remembered about Elena and told her to attend Duke, so that she wouldn't be killed in a car accident at Columbia. At the wedding, Felicity discovered that Elena lived, and also got back together with Tracy. As much as I enjoyed this episode, leaving out that explanation kind of ruined it for me, because I spent the final scenes wondering what in the hell was going on instead of enjoying them. Coupled with the writers' apparent hatred of Tangi Miller, the whole thing was just weird. And, as someone pointed out in the forums, if Elena didn't die, that means that Felicity didn't become distant, and Ben never cheated on her, and thus Felicity never wanted to go back to the past, and thus it's just a vicious cycle of none of this ever happening. Sigh. Anyway, in the final scenes, all of the characters stand in a group and listen to Sean give a toast, laughing uproariously. Rumor has it that in one of the takes, Greg Grunberg gave a little speech about the show and the cast, breaking character, and I wish we could have heard some of it. The camera pans across many faces: Noel, Richard, Javier, Elena, Tracy, and Ben. Felicity and Meghan hug and wipe tears from their eyes. Sean raises his glass, and the others follow suit and then clink their glasses together. The final shot is of Felicity laughing and drinking from her glass, which fades into a shot from the pilot of Felicity in her graduation gown, smiling and looking down. Goodbye, Felicity! I will miss you. While the quality of the show was uneven at times, when it was good, it was very, very good, and I thank God that I get the WE: Women's Entertainment network so that I can watch the episodes this fall in syndication.