# Six Feet Under 6/13/04 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 14, 2004, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-6-13-04/250223 "2004-06-14T02:04:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-6-13-04/250223/21 "2004-06-14T14:04:45Z")
> [@KSO](#): > > The bloom is certainly off that rose, as shown by the scene at the end where he’s snoring away and Ruth is slowly brushing her hair. I thought she was looking at him lovingly, not with disgust or anything. Ruth seems happy to be married again and she and George are doing well… though like her children, I have reservations and feel that something negative will happen with George. Married 6 times makes me think he must have serious relationship issues. > [@](#): > > As for Claire, I think she’s just feeling completely overwhelmed by everything–the abortion, Lisa’s death, her mom’s marriage–and Russell is the only person she has that she can completely spill her guts to. She gave a very cogent reason for telling him-- she’s lonely, she’s suffering about the abortion and wanted to feel that connection again. In some ways I have a modicum of sympathy for Russell getting all upset about “his” baby and the fact that Claire didn’t tell him she was pregnant, but you know, if he could have resisted fooling around with Olivier, he could have been there for her. I don’t blame Claire for leaving him out of the loop on that decision. She has such atrocious taste in men, though. > [@](#): > > I was thrown by the ending–I thought Nate had Lisa cremated but then switched the ashes so he could scatter them in the forest or whatever. What a gruesome scene–it reminded me of Wuthering Heights where Heathcliffe digs up Cathy’s body… I thought the same thing and was a bit shocked that he had her undoubtedly reeking body to inter by himself. On the other hand, I can completely understand why he did it. Dealing with her body, digging that huge hole, etc., was a form of atonement for him; it gives an excruciating sort of closure. After her being missing for so long, her absence is replaced by a horrifyingly intrusive physical presence for him to deal with. He also gets to feel like, finally, he was able to give Lisa what she wanted, save her from her “monstrous” mother (for whom I also felt sympathy) by duping her. Despite my deep sympathy with Nate, I thought it was pretty cold how he used Brenda for physical comfort and then shut her out. Considering how she’s trying to change her life, not just have sex as a substitute for intimacy, the way he used her was no doubt a big setback. I do like her new boyfriend and hope she gives him a real chance. Any guy who feeds stray cats like that is A-OK with me. ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-6-13-04/250223/22 "2004-06-14T14:15:20Z")
I’m always impressed with how well the relationships between the Fisher siblings are written, and how the actors have such incredible chemistry. This episode was no exception: David immediately offering to claim Lisa’s body with Nate, Claire’s reaction to the news of Lisa’s death but then asking Nate, “What happened to your face?”, both Nate and Claire’s curiosity and happiness at David getting back together with Keith (which I have reservations about, but whatever), and David seeking refuge in Claire’s room during the wake. David’s really emerging as the glue that’s holding the family together, and it seems all of them sort of look to him as a source of stability and wisdom. The quick glimpse we got of Lisa’s body was just gruesome. Appropriately so, but horrific all the same. And Nate and David’s reaction to the smell was pretty visceral. I’m torn between hoping we find out how and why Lisa drowned, and just letting it become one of those tragic, inexplicable events. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-6-13-04/250223/23 "2004-06-14T15:20:13Z")
> [@Judith Prietht](#): > > The quick glimpse we got of Lisa’s body was just gruesome. Appropriately so, but horrific all the same. And Nate and David’s reaction to the smell was pretty visceral. I’m torn between hoping we find out how and why Lisa drowned, and just letting it become one of those tragic, inexplicable events. I was wondering why the Econoline van in which they transported her body wasn’t set up so the smell wouldn’t be noticed in the passenger compartment. I assume that it’s a van they own for such errands, and I’d expect that the rear cargo area would be sealed off for exactly that reason. ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-6-13-04/250223/24 "2004-06-14T15:20:50Z")
Did anyone else notice the parallel between the spot where Nate buried Lisa and the tree in the middle of nowhere with a grave underneath it that’s shown at the end of the opening credits? ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-6-13-04/250223/25 "2004-06-14T15:51:35Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > Despite my deep sympathy with Nate, I thought it was pretty cold how he used Brenda for physical comfort and then shut her out. Considering how she’s trying to change her life, not just have sex as a substitute for intimacy, the way he used her was no doubt a big setback. Ya know, it was subtle, but I got the idea that Brenda was simply fantasizing a hot sex session with Nate while he was really just laying in her arms. I guess I’ll watch that again on Wednesday, but I was left with the impression that they didn’t actually do the deed; Brenda just thought about it and did not act on the impulse, thus showing the audience what progress she’s made. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-6-13-04/250223/26 "2004-06-14T16:15:36Z")
There was a great bit of meta-humor in the beginning. Remember that there was several months in the time line between Seasons 2 and 3. Season 4 starts right where Season 3 left off. Then we have the scene with Keith and David sitting in front of the wedding cake. Keith: “I feel like I’ve been eating this cake for a year.” Haj ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-6-13-04/250223/27 "2004-06-14T16:18:40Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > I was wondering why the Econoline van in which they transported her body wasn’t set up so the smell wouldn’t be noticed in the passenger compartment. I assume that it’s a van they own for such errands, and I’d expect that the rear cargo area would be sealed off for exactly that reason. I was wondering the same thing, as I don’t know a whole lot about transporting bodies and all that. When Nate and Claire went to Seattle to take a body back to L.A., they just rented a normal old van. Because I’ll forgive this show any faults, I led myself to believe that the smell of Lisa’s decomposing body was clinging to David’s suit when he got into the car, sort of mirroring the flashback scene where Lisa’s complaining about the smell of the embalming chemicals on Nate’s clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Selkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@Selkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Selkie)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-6-13-04/250223/28 "2004-06-14T16:20:56Z")
> [@porcupine](#): > > Did anyone else notice the parallel between the spot where Nate buried Lisa and the tree in the middle of nowhere with a grave underneath it that’s shown at the end of the opening credits? First thing I said to the people watching with me was “Look! A Six Feet Under Tree!” Received plenty of blank looks. Glad someone else noticed. ---
**Author:** ![SilentButDeftly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/0ea827/32.png) [@SilentButDeftly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SilentButDeftly)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-6-13-04/250223/29 "2004-06-14T17:07:55Z")
> [@BiblioCat](#): > > I was just surprised that David was involved as much as he was. He’s such a stickler for rules and such. Yeah, that’s been bugging me about this episode. I could imagine Nate going ahead and doing the ash swap, but I could never imagine David going along with it. I kept thinking about the first season where he lets Nate know that by law, the casket is cremated with the corpse… So was Lisa’s casket empty during the funeral service? (David didn’t want to allow a secondhand casket in the first season because of a corpse’s “seepage”… I can only imagine what Lisa’s decayed body would do to the inside of a casket…) Did Nate ever actually show up at the crematory? What happens if the cremated kid’s family shows up for his cremains? Still, a great episode and I don’t care if the evidence keeps dwindling away rapidly – there’s a part of me that still suspects Nate’s still on the operating table dreaming this all. ---
**Author:** ![5que](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/3bc359/32.png) [@5que](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5que)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-6-13-04/250223/30 "2004-06-14T17:10:04Z")
> [@Judith Prietht](#): > > I’m torn between hoping we find out how and why Lisa drowned, and just letting it become one of those tragic, inexplicable events. I always figured Lisa’s death as a suicide. Walking into the sea fits with her “natural” way of life. I think some of Nate’s grief comes from him also thinking she drown herself. All in all a great episode, and fine appetizer for the season finale of Deadwood! ---
**Author:** ![bare](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bare/32/471_2.png) [@bare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bare)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-6-13-04/250223/31 "2004-06-14T17:11:48Z")
One of the reasons I like the show is the open portrayal of gay partners. I have always wondered though if Keith and David are gay in real life? If they’re not, that’s some REAL acting! ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-6-13-04/250223/32 "2004-06-14T17:19:21Z")
Not too much being said here about the David/Keith relationship. Honestly, I am getting very tired of that story line. They keep hashing out the same problems but never really get anywhere. The Lisa burial bothered me, I know it is what she wanted but I also have a feeling that sometime down the line it will be found, and the funeral home is going to be in some big trouble. I could have slapped Clare for calling Russell, what was she thinking? And telling him about the abortion when she knows his emotional state? Rocky road ahead, I imagine. **bare** , I know the actor that plays David is not gay IRL, he’s married. I don’t know about the actor who plays Keith. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-6-13-04/250223/33 "2004-06-14T17:58:54Z")
> [@SilentButDeftly](#): > > Yeah, that’s been bugging me about this episode. I could imagine Nate going ahead and doing the ash swap, but I could never imagine David going along with it. I didn’t think David knew about it. I could be wrong. Was there any indication that he was in on Nate’s entire plan? Part of me felt that Nate was acting alone. Though the Fishers are pretty close, they do keep secrets from each other, esp. really deep, scary ones like this. > [@](#): > > I kept thinking about the first season where he lets Nate know that by law, the casket is cremated with the corpse… So was Lisa’s casket empty during the funeral service? Is that SOP, to have an empty casket just for display purposes when the person is cremated? Lisa would have been cremated fairly quickly, so I imagine if she had actually been cremated, her body would have been at the crematorium while the funeral was going on. > [@](#): > > What happens if the cremated kid’s family shows up for his cremains? The cremated kid died in 1975, so no one is going to claim those ashes. I imagine that’s why Nate picked Bruno for the ash fake-out. He wouldn’t be missed. > [@](#): > > Still, a great episode and I don’t care if the evidence keeps dwindling away rapidly – there’s a part of me that still suspects Nate’s still on the operating table dreaming this all. Me too. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-6-13-04/250223/34 "2004-06-14T18:01:27Z")
> [@SilentButDeftly](#): > > Did Nate ever actually show up at the crematory? What happens if the cremated kid’s family shows up for his cremains? I figured he chose the oldest unclaimed cremains. Given that they’re all “unclaimed,” what are the odds that someone will come looking for them after 30-some years? And I do know that it takes several hours to cremate a body. I thought that was a bit of a plothole there - they had the service, with a casket, and then her family was heading out in what seemed like just a short time later. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-6-13-04/250223/35 "2004-06-14T18:05:26Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > I didn’t think David knew about it. I could be wrong. Was there any indication that he was in on Nate’s entire plan? Part of me felt that Nate was acting alone. Though the Fishers are pretty close, they do keep secrets from each other, esp. really deep, scary ones like this. Yes, David knew about it. When they were standing on the front porch waving good-bye to Lisa’s family, David asked if he (Nate) was heading out right then and Nate said yes, but there was still some things to be cleaned up in the basement. David said he’d take care of it, and we saw him brushing off a table and dumping the cremains box of Bruno into the trash. ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-6-13-04/250223/36 "2004-06-14T18:07:24Z")
I’m quite sure David knew what Nate was doing. After her family left, he asked “Are you going?” Nate said something about how there was still something to clean up in the basement, and David simply went down and swept the rest of the ashes into the old can, and dumped it. Also, my impression was that Lisa’s family was leaving the day after the service, and presumably they’d cremated the body overnight. I could be wrong, though. ---
**Author:** ![SilentButDeftly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/0ea827/32.png) [@SilentButDeftly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SilentButDeftly)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-6-13-04/250223/37 "2004-06-14T18:12:24Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > I didn’t think David knew about it. I could be wrong. Was there any indication that he was in on Nate’s entire plan? Part of me felt that Nate was acting alone. Though the Fishers are pretty close, they do keep secrets from each other, esp. really deep, scary ones like this. We saw David going back downstairs, sweeping up some of the extra cremains and throwing away the canister that contained Bruno’s cremains… David wouldn’t just throw something like that away without knowing exactly what was going on. He was in on it. Ack, on preview, **porcupine** beat me to it. > [@BiblioCat](#): > > I figured he chose the oldest unclaimed cremains. Given that they’re all “unclaimed,” what are the odds that someone will come looking for them after 30-some years? Indeed – what are the odds? Could make for an interesting plot complication. They’d have to grab someone else’s cremains to give to Bruno’s family… and then someone else’s for that guy’s family… Eventually I guess somebody gets kitty litter. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-6-13-04/250223/38 "2004-06-14T18:16:18Z")
> [@SilentButDeftly](#): > > We saw David going back downstairs, sweeping up some of the extra cremains and throwing away the canister that contained Bruno’s cremains… David wouldn’t just throw something like that away without knowing exactly what was going on. He was in on it. The reason I thought maybe not was because David told Rico to get rid of the unclaimed cremains, coincidentally right before Nate needed to use someone else’s ashes. But upon consideration, you’re all probably right. David is a good brother. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-6-13-04/250223/39 "2004-06-14T20:28:57Z")
I want to add that that opening sequence was by far the best depiction of an acid trip that I have ever seen. They very nearly nailed it. Haj ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-6-13-04/250223/40 "2004-06-14T21:06:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Indeed – what are the odds? Could make for an interesting plot complication. They’d have to grab someone else’s cremains to give to Bruno’s family… and then someone else’s for that guy’s family… Eventually I guess somebody gets kitty litter. Well, apparently Brent Marsh, the crematorium owner in Noble, Georgia, who dumped corpses in the woods instead of burning them, gave the families canisters of cement dust. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-6-13-04/250223.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-6-13-04/250223.md?page=3)