It was never supposed to be easy. If you followed Rae Earl through the first two seasons of the E4 powerhouse, you knew the "happily ever after" wasn't exactly in the cards. Not really. When My Mad Fat Diary Series 3 finally landed, it felt less like a victory lap and more like a punch to the gut. It’s messy. It’s uncomfortable. Honestly, it’s probably the most realistic depiction of the "end of adolescence" ever put to film, even if it makes you want to hide under your duvet.
Teen shows usually end with a prom or a graduation where everyone cries, hugs, and moves into the sunset. This didn't do that. Instead, it gave us three episodes—just three—that dismantled the safety net we’d spent years watching Rae build. It’s about the terrifying moment you realize your friends aren't your life support anymore; they’re just people going in different directions.
The Brutal Reality of Rae’s Regression
Most fans expected My Mad Fat Diary Series 3 to be a celebration of Rae’s recovery. We wanted to see her and Finn being the "it" couple of Stamford. We wanted to see her ace her exams and skip off to university without a care in the world. But mental health isn't a linear graph that just goes up. It’s a jagged, ugly scribble.
By the time we hit the third series, Rae is spiraling. The pressure of A-Level results and the impending "Big Move" triggers every single insecurity she’s ever had. Sharon Rooney’s performance here is nothing short of breathtaking. You can see the physical weight of her anxiety. It’s in the way she hunches her shoulders and the way her eyes dart around the room when she thinks her friends are whispering about her.
A lot of people hated seeing Rae "backslide." They felt it undid the progress of the first two seasons. But if you’ve actually lived with depression or OCD, you know that’s exactly how it works. Stress is a trigger. Change is a trigger. The prospect of losing the "Gang" was enough to send anyone into a tailspin, let alone someone who defines her entire worth through the eyes of others.
The diary entries in this final stretch aren't as funny as they used to be. They’re frantic.
Why the Finn and Rae Dynamic Had to Break
Let's talk about Finn Nelson. Nico Mirallegro played him with such a quiet, effortless cool that he became the blueprint for the "perfect boyfriend." But in My Mad Fat Diary Series 3, the show does something incredibly brave: it shows that even a perfect boyfriend can’t fix you.
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Their relationship in these final episodes is strained by the very thing that makes them great—their intensity. Finn is ready for the next step. He’s looking at a future that includes Rae, but Rae is so terrified of her own shadow that she starts pushing him away before he can "inevitably" leave her. It’s self-sabotage 101.
There’s a specific scene where the tension finally snaps, and it’s not some grand cinematic blowout. It’s quiet. It’s sad. It’s the realization that they are two people at different stages of healing. Rae’s dependence on Finn was never healthy, even if it was romantic. For her to actually grow, the showrunners knew they had to strip that comfort away. It sucked to watch. I hated it. But it was right.
Chloe’s Evolution: The Unexpected Heart of Series 3
If you told me during Series 1 that Chloe Gemell would be the person I’d be rooting for most by the end, I’d have laughed. She was the "pretty, perfect" foil to Rae’s "messy, loud" persona. But the final series flips the script.
Jodie Comer—before she was an international superstar—delivered a masterclass in nuanced acting here. We see Chloe’s own vulnerabilities. She isn't just the popular girl; she’s someone who is also terrified of the future, just in a different font. Her friendship with Rae reaches a boiling point that is arguably more important than any of the romance plots.
The show recognizes that your "soulmate" at age 17 is often your best friend. And like any long-term relationship, it requires a level of honesty that neither girl was ready for until the stakes were high enough. The car accident subplot served as a massive, literal wake-up call. It forced Rae to look outside her own head—something she’d struggled with for years—and see the pain Chloe was masking.
The Critique: Was Three Episodes Enough?
One of the biggest complaints about My Mad Fat Diary Series 3 is the length. Only three episodes? It felt rushed.
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Honestly, I get it. There were so many threads to tie up. Kester’s departure, Tix’s legacy, the Gang’s individual futures, and Rae’s relationship with her mum (the ever-brilliant Claire Rushbrook). Cramming that into 180 minutes meant some things felt like they were moving at warp speed.
Some fans felt the ending was too abrupt. We spent so much time in Rae’s internal monologue that when the credits rolled for the last time, it felt like we were being kicked out of her room without a proper goodbye. But maybe that’s the point. Life doesn't give you a clean exit. You just... leave. You pack your bags, you get on the bus, and you hope the person you’ve become is strong enough to handle whatever is at the next stop.
Despite the brevity, the writing remained sharp. Tom Bidwell and the team didn't shy away from the "ugly" parts of the ending. They didn't give everyone a perfect university placement or a perfect romance. They gave them a beginning.
The Soundtrack and the Aesthetic of 1998
You can't talk about this series without the music. It’s the DNA of the show. By 1998, the Britpop peak was fading, and the music was getting a bit more introspective, a bit more eclectic.
The way the show uses tracks from Radiohead, Blur, and even the more obscure indie hits of the era isn't just for nostalgia. It’s emotional shorthand. In Series 3, the music often feels louder, more intrusive—mirroring Rae’s sensory overload. When the world feels like it’s ending, a specific bassline can feel like the only thing keeping your heart beating.
The fashion, too, stayed grounded. No "Hollywood" glow-ups here. Rae still looked like Rae. The rooms still looked lived-in and slightly damp. That authenticity is why people are still discovering this show on streaming platforms years later. It doesn't look like a "set." It looks like Lincolnshire in the 90s.
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Addressing the "Series 3 Controversy"
Some viewers argue that the final series was "too dark." They felt the show lost the humor that made the first series so balanced.
I’d argue the opposite. If the show had stayed light, it would have been a lie. Adolescence isn't just about awkward sex and funny diary entries; it’s about the terrifying realization that your childhood is a finite resource. The "darkness" of Series 3 is just the shadow cast by the real world.
Rae’s struggle with her body image didn't magically vanish because she got a boyfriend. That’s a trope the show actively fought against. By showing her still struggling with self-harm urges and body dysmorphia in the final episodes, the writers respected the audience’s intelligence. They acknowledged that recovery is a lifelong process, not a season finale.
What We Can Learn From the Finale
The final episode, "Viva La Rae," is a masterpiece of emotional storytelling. It brings everything full circle—the hospital, the diary, the mirror.
The moment Rae looks at herself and realizes she is "enough" isn't a "fix." It’s a start. It’s her finally deciding to be on her own side. That’s the most radical thing a person can do.
The takeaway from My Mad Fat Diary Series 3 isn't that things get perfect. It’s that you get better at handling the imperfections. You learn to breathe through the panic. You learn that your friends can love you and leave you at the same time, and both of those things can be okay.
Moving Forward: How to Process the Series
If you’ve just finished the series or are planning a rewatch, here is how to actually sit with the ending without feeling totally drained:
- Watch the "Tix" episodes first. If you’re jumping into Series 3, revisit the moments with Tix from the earlier seasons. It puts Rae’s fear of loss into a much clearer perspective and explains why she’s so triggered by the Gang splitting up.
- Don't look for a "villain." It’s easy to be mad at Finn for wanting to leave or Chloe for being "perfect," but Series 3 is better if you view every character as someone just trying to survive the transition to adulthood.
- Listen to the soundtrack separately. The music is a narrative of its own. Look for the official playlists; they capture the shift from the optimism of '96 to the uncertainty of '98 perfectly.
- Journal your own "Rae" moments. Part of why this show resonates is the "diary" aspect. If the finale felt heavy, writing out your own fears about change can be a weirdly cathartic way to mirror Rae’s journey.
- Check out the real Rae Earl. The show is based on her real diaries. Reading the books offers a completely different, yet equally valid, look at the events that inspired the show. It helps ground the fictional drama in a very real human experience.
Ultimately, the third series serves as a reminder that the most important relationship Rae—or any of us—will ever have is the one she has with herself. The bus ride at the end isn't just a trip to Bristol; it’s a transition into a life where she is the lead character, not just a supporting player in someone else’s story. It’s a tough watch, but a necessary one.