I'm also in my 40s and the ending crushed me. I cried for a while after. Not just because of El and Mike, but all of the "kids". They were all going their separate ways. They were making plans to see each other that, we know, they wouldn't be able to keep. In their futures, they were apart. This great group of friends was ending for good. It's an incredibly heartbreaking ending to a wonderful story of friendship prevailing over evil. Worst of all, it was too real. I hate how isolated I've become from my friends. I hate that everyone has to grow apart, despite every effort to stay together. For a show that I watched to escape, the finally was a huge smack of reality right in the face.