Rob Reiner opens up about the emotional farewell scene in All in the Family. Discover why the goodbye felt so real, deeply moving both for the cast and viewers.
Rob Reiner Reveals the Truth Behind His Emotional Final Scene in All in the Family
When Rob Reiner bid farewell to his role as Mike “Meathead” Stivic on All in the Family, the goodbye was anything but ordinary. In the Season 8 finale, “The Stivics Go West,” Reiner and Sally Struthers’s characters depart for California, delivering a heart-wrenching moment between Mike and his on-screen father-in-law, Archie Bunker.
“I looked at Carroll… I’ll never forget it,” Reiner later reflected. “Because it was one of those times when you don’t act because all of your emotions just come out.” In his moving recollection, he emphasized: “There was no acting. There was just no acting.”
Why It Felt Real
After eight seasons together, the cast had grown closer than family. As Reiner explained: “You spend more time with your TV family than with your real family. And so you get very, very close to them—and it’s very emotional.” In that final farewell, the boundary between performance and reality dissolved, revealing raw, unscripted emotion.
A Finale That Still Resonates
Fans continue to describe this farewell as one of television’s most poignant moments. One viewer recalled:
“All in the Family: The Stivics Go West. The last 10 minutes are tearjerking… Archie starts crying… Edith returns with a beer so he can’t be seen tearing up.”
Such comments reflect the power of that scene—not just as scripted drama, but as a real emotional release shared by actors and audience alike.
The Legacy of a Farewell
Rob Reiner’s parting words to Archie in that episode transformed the moment from mere script to deeply moving truth. It was the emotional anchor that grounded the show’s end—and remains one of its most unforgettable scenes.
