really, the most bittersweet part is that carter ends up with the same family dynamic that he absolutely hated and ran away from. essentially, he is married to his mother at the end
kem is so desperately stuck on losing joshua the same way that carter's mother was on losing bobby. i don't see a way forward for them; kem is cold and withdrawn, and carter is stuck on trying to find that connection with her any way he can. making do with scraps. he literally died, and he puts kem in the same category as his parents: no point in bothering them
and carter wants to honour joshua, to build from the pain, dedicating most of his family fund and legacy for his son. kind of similarly like he wanted to honour bobby by becoming a doctor. who he is intermingles with the way he copes with loss, and it affects him tremenduously, but he's not closed off from it like kem is