The season 5 finale of Grace & Frankie is one of the show's most poignant — and that's saying something for a show that deals primarily with loneliness and mortality. The finale itself, titled "The Alternative," is a bittersweet affair, playing out the It's A Wonderful Life version of Grace & Frankie. After a blowup fight, Grace (Jane Fonda) and Frankie (Lily Tomlin) imagine what life would have been like if they hadn't become odd couple-ish friends after their husbands asked for divorces. The answer is, as expected, that life would be terrible. The two wouldn't be friends, and, even worse, their families would be ripped at the seams because of it.
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But that's not the most emotional part. The end of the episode bears a title card that reads: "This season is dedicated to the loving memory of Melissa DiNicola." DiNicola was a writer on the show who passed away in the spring of 2018. She was 26 years old.
Per DiNicola's own Instagram, she worked on the show for all five seasons, starting as a writer's assistant and later moving into a position as a full-time writer on the show. DiNicola was a cancer survivor by the time she started working on Grace & Frankie; a 2013 BandCamp EP from DiNicola is described as "the result of 9 months of cancer treatment and a lifetime of self-pity." According to Express.co.uk, DiNicola died due to complications of cancer. The talented performer and writer co-wrote the season 4 finale of the show, and is credited as a staff writer for season 5.
Refinery29 has reached out to representation for Netflix for further comment.