Claire is a cliche and Toby called her out on it.
I adore this show to small bits and pieces.
I met the guy who plays Nate when I shot the Emmy Awards last fall. He showed up WAYYYY before almost anyone else, found his seat, and spent at least an hour just…looking around. Not smiling, just watching. It was interesting. Heavy duty dude. Falling in a major way for Brenda was easy. She’s got depth,she’s breathtakingly sexy and she does more with a glance or a smile than most actresses do with their entire body. I got all starstruck, I got to walk the two of them out onto stage, so they could present an award. Yeah ! 
Toby will be back, he’s a useful artifact. It was pretty obvious he was meant to play a barometer when he said he just wanted to lay there and hold her in that small building they wound up in last week. He is HER Jimminy Cricket.
Billy is, I agree, deeply frightening. He’s the person we all have met in our lives, who seems just wildly creative and neato, and underneath it all he is so desperately sick and destructive that it’s all just a delicate façade.
I LOVE this show !!!
Cartooniverse
This was my favorite episode of the series (the gang funeral one last season is close). Loved the biker widow. Nate riding the bike without a helmet was a great ending.
I thought the Nikolai/mafia thing was very obvious. Why else wouldn’t he want to call the cops? The whole key to this plot twist is that now Ruth finally has what she has desired for the last year: some one to take care of. She’s loving having N on her couch.
I agree, we haven’t seen the last of Toby. He’s a cool kid and was right on with his critisisms of Claire. Speaking of Claire, what about that lame-o guidence counselor who reavealed his attraction to her? I bet that will figure in somehow later.
This was Episode #8 so there are five more this season.
Haj
I want the Beaver Hunt photo on the inside lid.
I love this show. I really hope there is some other explanation for Nikolai’s legs being broken than “Russian Mafia” - this was exactly what I thought at the time - it’s predictable and cliche.
First off, I really love this show. It’s one of the only things on television that I sit with rapt attention for an hour, and then spend 90 minutes talking it over with the wife. Put me down as a HUGE fan.
My thoughts:
Rico - I think the posters who assume Rico has some kind of latent homosexuality thing going on, are underestimating the role of machimo in his life, as well as playing on a cliche. There is no doubt he is a homophobe, but saying its’ because of his own latent feelings is a huge stretch. Being a homophobe in high school )oh so long ago, and growing up to realize how incredibly stupid I was in that respect, I think Rico’s dealing with his own hatred is a fascinating story.
Claire - Toby was exactly right, which was what pissed Claire off the most. She needs to lighten up a bit.
Brenday - I like her, but she is quickly getting on my last nerve. She needs to straighten up and fly right. Hopefully, Nate’s illness will help her figure herself out.
Billy - I really like his character, in part because he is so realistic. Without his meds, he’s a dangerous psychotic. With them, he seems to be on a more even keel. His huge problem is he has so many influences in his life that actually want him off his meds. Which brings us to:
Brenda’s Mom - Without a doubt, the character I hate with a rage of a million suns. She is an unabashed BITCH who deserves to rot in hell. She’s a narcissistic, self-absorbed, inhuman creature who will be responsible for Billy’s eventual collapse and possibly for harm to everyone around her. I HATE HER!!
As to everyone else, I would echo the other sentiments by other posters.
I don’t know if we can call this homophobia, if it was that he wouldn’t be working at Fisher, let alone with David.
I like how they set up a possiblity of things going on between Ramon and Rico’s wife, with the looks and stuff and then wha-la!, it’s Ramon and a guy getting busy, very nice touch.
He should have known his wife was a blabber mouth.
Brenda, ah yeah, she seems a like she’s a bit committment phobic, which is why she’s acting out in a male kind of way.
Claire’s stuff is predictable, she’s always into the bad boys, she just can’t help herself.
Please, SFU fans, help me settle an argument:
Ramon is Rico’s cousin: right.
Graciela is Ramon’s wife: right.
Graciela is Vanessa’s sister: wrong, I say. Boyfriend’s co-worker says she is Vanessa’s sister. I think she’s getting Graciela mixed up with Vanessa’s sister, whose name escapes me, that lent them the money to buy the house. She’s sort of red-headed?
Brenda’s not the MOST attractive women in the world but, boy would I like to have her wrap her legs around me for a while.
You’re right. We saw Vanessa’s sister in the one where the low-budget actress died and they had her cremated and put in those little necklace things (and later snorted her remains…eewwww!). She (Vanessa’s sister) was there helping plan the funeral. She’s an actress.
Ramon is Rico’s cousin; we saw his wife and Vanessa looking at baby pictures in an episode about 2-3 weeks ago. I think that was the first time we saw her and learned that Ramon was married.
I don’t think Rico has latent homosexual feelings; rather it’s the homophobia. As someone else pointed out, I think it may be a Latino/machismo thing. If he’s caught him with a woman (but not Vanessa!), he probably would have kept his mouth shut.
I noticed that nobody mentioned the most heartbreaking thing about that scene. When she remembered the last moment she saw her husband alive, what did she do?
Did she kiss him goodbye and tell him she loved him?
No, she nagged him. Her last memory of her husband was of her nagging him. No wonder she’s so screwed up.
** Nikolai ** is completely repulsive to me. Dunno why, just is. And I take issue with the idea that someone can have two broken legs at 8pm and be home by morning. Don’t think so. Two broken legs is a sever incapacitation, they don’t send you home in a few hours. (I’m picky about this shit)
** Brenda ** is starting to really get on my nerves. Nate’s attraction to her is understandable…finding her to be “the one” is not.
** Claire ** was severely in need of Toby’s smackdown. She’s been an irritating little brat since day one. I just hope it sinks in.
I love ** Ruth. ** Even in her cluelessness, she is utterly lovable. Plus I relate to some things…
The bikers were by far the best mourners yet. The biker widow rocked completely.
This show is the best thing on television EVER, by several orders of magnitude. Flat out brilliant. Alan Ball is my hero.
My daughter and I love this show! If I miss it on Sunday nights (god forbid! LOL), at least there are several opportunities during the week to catch it again.
As far as Rico goes, while not being a Latina myself, I do think homosexuality still has many negative connotations within Hispanic/Latino culture. IMO, this probably accounts for most of Rico’s reaction to finding Ramon with another guy. We’re overlooking that Ramon was doing the vertical tango up in Rico’s house, though! LOL I know that I would be royally pissed off about that, if I were Rico. And imo, Ramon was wrong to come and punch Rico out–so Rico told his wife why he fired Ramon; it made sense to me, he had to explain his not wanting Ramon back in their house again. And Vanessa was right, yes that’s right, she was -right- to tell Graciela, because Ramon has probably not been practicing safe sex–Graciela had a right to know; STDs are deadly.
Brenda is really headed out of control–first watching the prostitute with the john, then jerking off one of her own massage customers, then in the clothing store, the guy feeling up her ass and more! LOL Although he was just as guilty as she in that!
The thought of Billy and Claire is very scary to me–I have to admit, I really liked Toby, and thought he totally hit the nail on the head about Claire. Glad to hear that her Aunt told her pretty nearly the same last week (which I guess I kind of missed). LOL Did anyone notice, btw, that the Captain from CHiPs was in that episode, one of the hippie friends?! And a few weeks ago, he was in Enterpise as a Vulcan! 
Do we know what happened to Gabe? Where is he? Did the police take him into custody, or has he gone into hiding?
Oh yes, and we -love- watching David & Keith! LOL Keith is so stressed out, though. I wonder what will happen with his sister and niece? Argh, I hope they don’t mess up the David & Keith relationship!
tarragon
I liked this, too, but wasn’t the guy’s bike smashed up in the accident? She gave him her husband’s bike, right? COuld it have been restored that quick?
Very good question. We are led to believe that he ran into the other vehicle head on. I don’t know how the bike would have been restored after a wreck like that, stranger things have happened though.
When I saw Nate cruising down the highway on the bike, it made me wonder what would happen if he had one of those attacks of his. Hmmmmm…
The guy that plays Billy is dead on. I have a friend who’s brother has a mental illness and he has that same look in his eyes.
He’s a great actor. The first season he was very creepy and scary. In this last episode he was very flat and one-dimensional, like he’s drugged up the wazoo.
What do you bet dear old Mommy decides he’s more fun without his drugs? She’s as whacked out as he is. :rolleyes:
I cried a lot more than usual this time. I even felt for Brenda, who usually I can’t remotely comprehend. This program just pushes my buttons every time. I think it’s a mixture of how they constantly deal with the big question, and how inordinately invested I am in these characters by now.
I enjoyed the range of emotions when Nate was looking at Billy. Feels sorry for Brenda, feels like he’s seeing a ghost, a mixture of awe and trepidation. Then he’s remembering that thing last season, the installation with the photos of Claire and the bloody bed - “You did this to yourself.” Cripes I’m about to puke just thinking about it.
Billy saying, “You should take that down Mother. It’s rather ghoulish.” Excellent.
All of Nate’s reactions in this ep moved me, especially the look of rapture while he rode the Harley. The flashbacks to Nathaniel were so poignant. They showed me how he was such an anchor for the family, and how adrift they are now, one year later.
I think it was more a function of the fact that they didn’t want to put him in the opening credits so as not to ruin the surprise.
One of the things that I like about this show is that it’s so realistic. People live their lives surrounded by their family but still alone, still keeping secrets. SOunds like life to me.
–Cliffy
Another thing I like is that everyone is so forgiveable. I hate Brenda passionately, but I can understand how her childhood has made her so insecure and self-sabotaging – she was a lab rat. Claire is overcynical, but how could you grow up with Ruth and not shut yourself off? There are many things to hate about Ruth – she’s so repressed and freaked out at the same time – but everyone she’s ever cared about has abandoned her emotionally. And poor Billy – I liked how Nate, himself now betrayed by his brain chemistry, is starting to forgive him but is still scared shitless. (The wisest course, probably.)
–Cliffy