The Entire Two And A Half Men Story Finally Explained

While it might not be remembered in quite the same spirit as TV classics like "Cheers," "Seinfeld," or "Friends," "Two and a Half Men" was a pivotal sitcom that lit up the small screen of the early 2000s and lasted for 12 seasons on CBS. Initially, the show starred Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones as main characters Charlie, Alan, and Jake Harper, respectively. However, Sheen was cut from the series after Season 8 (per Reuters). This brought about a plethora of changes, including Ashton Kutcher's introduction as new lead character Walden Schmidt. While there are many fans who believe the show lost a significant quantity of its magic after Sheen left, "Two and a Half Men" still remains one of the rare sitcoms that was allowed to end on its own terms and complete its story.

Throughout its 12 year run on television, "Two and a Half Men" aired 262 episodes, in which an abundance of events take place. But at the same time, all these happenings weave themselves together into one overarching storyline. From Alan's initial arrival at Charlie's house to the shocking finale that sees Charlie return for his swan song, we're breaking down the entire story of "Two and a Half Men."

Alan Harper's world crashes down around him when Judith (Marin Hinkle) divorces him in Season 1. While their marriage doesn't sound like the happiest relationship around, Alan is still devastated when Judith leaves him, and it dents his already fragile self confidence. At the same time, he is concerned about the effect the divorce will have on his young son, Jake. Ironically, Jake doesn't seem to be too fazed by his parents' split.

From the moment Alan moves in with Charlie, the two brothers have a clash of cultures. Alan is neurotic and controlling, swiftly attempting to change how his brother runs his household and the shenanigans that take place in the evenings. At one point, he even musters complaints about Berta's cleaning and work ethic — something that doesn't go down well with the housekeeper or Charlie. After some time, though, Alan calms down and admits to his brother that he is jealous of his life.

As the polar opposite of Charlie, Alan struggles to make ends meet. It doesn't seem like he's ever been an especially successful chiropractor, even when he was married. His financial difficulties are compounded further by alimony payments. To make matters even worse, Charlie has a fling with Alan's attorney, Laura Lang (Heather Locklear), who doesn't take too kindly to being used and dumped. Thus, she does everything in her power to raise his alimony responsibilities. Ouch!

Charlie nurtures a burning resentment towards his brother at this point. After all, he called off his wedding to Mia because she wanted Alan to move out — only to find out moments later that Alan planned on leaving anyway, making the obstacle into a total non-issue. To further rub salt in his wounds, Alan won $500,000 at the slot machines. As a result, Alan and Kandi buy their own condo at the beginning of Season 4 and move out of Charlie's house.

Drowning his sorrows in booze and beauties, Charlie reverts to his previous lifestyle and parties harder than ever. It doesn't take long for Alan to come knocking on his brother's door again, though — four months, to be exact. In a case of history repeating itself, Kandi has kicked Alan out of their home and kept their dog and the rest of his winnings. Broke and homeless, Alan goes back to the only place he knows.

However, it isn't like Charlie is waiting for him with arms wide open. He eventually admits to Alan that he didn't marry Mia because she wanted Alan out of the house. While Alan is taken aback at this revelation, which shows his brother truly cares, he also points out that Charlie must have been looking for a reason to not get married, and this made for the perfect excuse.

At this point, viewers are served a major plot twist. Who ever thought that Charlie would fall for his stalker? Rose lurks throughout "Two and a Half Men," staring through the window or sneaking her way into Charlie's home when he isn't looking. Eventually, no one even blinks an eye when she appears out of nowhere; in fact, they welcome her as if she's part of the family or a close friend.

In Season 8, Charlie realizes he actually cares for Rose. Things escalate when Rose tells Charlie she's engaged to a man named Manfred Quinn and is about to get married. He doesn't believe the legitimacy of her claims, though, so he follows her to the church, where he sees the ceremony taking place. What Charlie doesn't know is that Manny is a mannequin, and simply part of Rose's game to make him fall for her. A few months after the wedding, Charlie sees Rose again, and they begin what he thinks is an affair. However, Charlie wants more, begging her to leave Manny for him. Eventually, the two run away to Paris, where it's later revealed they get married.

While Alan can't afford to keep Charlie's house, Walden Schmidt can. Alan and Walden quickly strike up a friendship, as they bond over all the hardships they've suffered in recent times. Before long, Walden reveals he's a billionaire and buys Charlie's old house. He even decides to leave everything as it is — a move that must have gone a long way towards keeping the production budget down.

Alan doesn't move back in straight away, though, as he's still staying at his mother's place with Jake. However, after helping Walden to get a second chance with his then-wife, Bridget (Judy Greer), Alan is invited to temporarily stay at the house. Poor Walden doesn't know this is the equivalent of inviting a vampire in, since Alan has no plans of ever leaving again. Eventually, Alan does move in with Walden permanently — not paying rent, of course.

Jake's departure in Season 10 leaves a gigantic hole in the story. However, Jenny Harper (Amber Tamblyn) steps in to fill the void. Jenny is Charlie's illegitimate daughter, and she might as well be the second coming of her father. She loves partying and the horizontal tango just as much as Charlie, has plenty of flings with various characters, and generally lives on the wild side of life.

When she arrives on the Malibu beach house's doorstep, Alan is shocked to find out that Charlie knew all about Jenny and never told him. What particularly angers him is that Jenny received money from Charlie, but his brother never gave him any cash when he needed it. He seems to conveniently forget he lived with his brother rent-free for all those years in this burst of anger, but hey — the sudden emergence of previously unknown relatives has that effect on people.

At one point, Jenny leaves Walden's house to live with Evelyn for a while. But, much like her uncle, she finds her way back to the house when no one is looking. Jenny's adventures take a backseat in the final season of "Two and a Half Men," as she isn't featured as much in that slate of episodes as she is in the prior season.

Given all the controversy he became involved in, it was always unlikely that Charlie Sheen would return for the series finale of "Two and a Half Men." In fact, the producers invited Sheen to make an ending appearance, but he turned down the opportunity. That doesn't mean Charlie Harper is absent from the last episode, though.

In the final episode, entitled "Of Course He's Dead," Rose finally reveals that Charlie didn't die, and is very much alive. She explains how she caught him cheating and pushed him in front of a train, but a goat saved him. Afterwards, she brought him back to America, where she kept him captive and brainwashed him. In a final twist, she makes it clear that he is not quite himself anymore and decidedly dangerous.

Using angles that don't show Charlie's face, the series sees Charlie return to his Malibu beach house. Before he can interact with any of the other characters, though, a piano falls from the sky and crushes him to death. The camera pans out to show showrunner Chuck Lorre say, "Winning," before a piano falls on him too. It's one of the most bizarre endings to a sitcom ever filmed, but it's also totally on-brand.