If I were asked what my favorite Kerry moment in the entire series was, I'd say it was the finale of Season 10, Episode 20.
Thanks to the writers, we saw a completely different Kerry: smiling, embarrassed, disgruntled, screaming, angry, crying, happy, laughing, confident, cozy, lost, caring, with bright makeup, in her pajamas and a smart suit.
Laura pieced together this puzzle with great care and talent, giving us the opportunity to see her character from completely different and sometimes completely unexpected sides. For me, she's great in every way, but there's something so stunning about this moment that, despite all its tragedy, I watch it again and again.
Kerry is experiencing the most terrible days of her life: the woman she loved has died, and her young son has been taken from her to another family. She has no parents to help her cope with the loss, no Jeanie to support her. She is completely alone in her grief.
She is wearing a sweater, her hair is disheveled, and she wears no makeup, but I have never (NEVER) seen her more beautiful.
With her dull eyes, filled with grief for the happiness she once had but will never have again, her coffee has gone cold, and her beloved son's singlet, which she has been holding to her heart and pressing to her face all this time (I'm sure) to smell him, she is incredibly beautiful to me.
This is not just a moment of weakness and total vulnerability.
I don't see a single mask on her. She is REAL. And she is simply stunning in this moment.
I really love the storyline with Elizabeth, who, knowing what Kerry is going through, puts all differences aside and very delicately, yet persistently, tries to help her. Yes, Kerry is a fighter; after a while, she'll come to her senses, rise like a phoenix from the ashes, and rebuild her life from the ruins.
But now, she's sitting on the couch, completely indifferent to everything, listening to her wife's voice on the answering machine and clutching her son's clothes in her hand, as if they were the thin strings still holding her to this world.
And I'm simply torn into a billion little pieces by how incredibly beautiful and real she is in this terrible moment.