I thought for sure Brenda and new boyfriend were going to have a three way with Nate…oh well, wishful thinking on my part.
So now that we know Arthur had nothing to do with the deliveries of number two, does this mean Ruth will track him down, apologize and ask him to move back into the house? Surely there has to be more to the Arthur story…
The death by lightning on stolen umbrella was far too predictable…they are usually more clever with those opening scenes.
I haven’t seen the movie, but here’s a summary (check out some of comments): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072848/
You sorta got it–but, I believe that it was more Brenda describing the state of the building as old and kind of seedy, and those apartments were very common in Los Angeles in the 1920’s and 30’s (where the original novel & movie were set–those were definitely low-rent kind of places). Those styles of apartments are all over L.A. county, in the older cities, such as Hollywood, Santa Monica, Long Beach, Pasadena, and Whittier.
In the “Day of the Locust”, the protagonist lives in an apartment building with a variety of weird Hollywood characters. And Brenda’s apartment complex is definitely like that. Although there don’t seem to be any midgets or Eskimo families.
I will point out that Hollywood isn’t a city, it’s just a neighborhood in Los Angeles. It hasn’t been an independent city since before WWI. West Hollywood is a city, although it has a much different feel to it than Hollywood. West Hollywood would be much more of a place for Claire to explore her lesbian side.
Was a very chock-full episode this time, and the show went by quickly, I thought. Now… I’ve got to admit, I was wrong about Arthur being the sender of the dookie! Geeze, though … that George; as much as I’m enjoying the actor being in that role, the character is getting to me–there’s just something not right with him. And damn but Ruth is controlling!
Haven’t decided what to make of the psychic other than that I’m thinking that the “she” referred to is actually Brenda, not Lisa. Let’s not forget that Nate was in an altered state when he met up with Lisa Dog. 
Don’t know what to make of Claire now! I’m finding it less than credible that she is so unenlightened about masturbation. Someone get that girl a copy of “Our Bodies, Our Selves,” please. Which has been out for over 30 years, btw. And she was so mean in class!
Brenda’s mother is so twisted … and still fucking Olivier, apparently. Ewww… just ewww… she’s so twisted she probably does know about Olivier and her son… I don’t even want to continue down that road.
Yeah, I knew this, but I still think of it as a city in its own right–just like I live in Woodland Hills, which is the San Fernando Valley, but is still technically Los Angeles.
I’ve always thought of West Hollywood being more of a Boy’s Town kind of place, you know? There’s a very strong lesbian community down in Long Beach…
I thought this episode was the best of the season so far, though I couldn’t say exactly why. I’ve liked the season so far, but haven’t loved it like the prior 3.
I think the psychic was definately talking about Brenda. Nate certainly has no trouble get in touch with the other side - Late Nate drops in on a fairly regular basis - but he’s not that good at communication in the here and now. And remember the dream, where Lisa calls and says the number three is irrelevant, or some such thing? I thought of last season when Nate and Lisa and Brenda were all sitting in the pyramid together at the New Age Fair. There has always been a triangle with the three of them, and now it truely is not an issue. Nate and Brenda are far from over.
And what the hell - was Ruth trapped in a car for days without food, and it made her paranoid? The woman cannot leave the house without a supply of sandwiches!
The new Claire is completely obnoxious and self-centered. I want my old Claire back. And I would never hire those girls to paint a room. It would take a week to do one wall!
Oh, I know! All that sex talk, and all I could think was, “Why the hell aren’t they using rollers?!”
Heh. I was thinking the exact same thing.
Since you were the first to re-confirm that the show takes place in L.A. , I’m using this quote to bring up a question that was on my mind while watching this episode - I thought L.A. was warm - so why are the characters all dressed as though they were in Canada on a brisk fall day?
I agree that it’s the best episode so far. The main reason could be that it’s the first episode this season that was written by the show’s creator.(Please forgive me - I can’t recall his name right now.) I’m betting that the best episodes of the previous seasons were written by him,too.
I assumed they were working on an art project.
They were painting the walls in the carriage house, which Claire is moving into since Nate is moving back into the main house with Maya. It didn’t look like they were making a mural, just simply covering the walls with a fresh coat of paint.
Because we’re all a bunch of wusses, that’s why. 65 degrees is considered freezing out here, and there a few months out of the year where the highs are in the mid-to upper 60s (Usually January-March).
I myself have been known to bundle up when it gets that cold. Anything below 70 is the daytime is unacceptable.
She’s old-fashioned. She has too much taste in food to stop at a drive-thru.
I agree with you there. Except I think there’s DEFINITELY the possibility of some girl-on-girl action. In fact, I’ll be shocked if there’s not. I’ve seen it coming since Claire asked her art school friend about the “full-time lesbian” thing. And especially when she was watching her onstage at the party “jacking off” with the guitar. There’s just something in her face that says “hmmm…eeenteresting…this girl is cool and I might want to try this.” And it makes sense given the lack of luck she’s had with boys lately, and her newly revealed lack of orgasmic prowess/knowledge of what she wants. How better to get set straight (no pun intended) sexually than with a little girl lovin’? 
Yeah, what was THAT? I thought SIL’s reaction to Nate was excessive and unkind in the extreme, as was asking for $120 to cover Maya’s two square feet of space in the hotel room. SIL thinks Nate needs to get “help,” get his act together, or whatever. Yes, it’s kind of a weird thing to say, “The psychic said Lisa was still alive!” and perhaps SIL’s reaction was motivated by grief; just the same, Nate is grieving too, perhaps more acutely because their relationship was messy. Disbelief is a natural stage of grieving, but one that others often misunderstand.
Really, didn’t Lisa just die, pretty recently? How fast do they expect Nate to get over her? If he was all chipper and dandy, they’d probably have a problem with that too. I think it’s indicative of Lisa’s family’s dislike of Nate. Maybe their reaction is blowback from Nate not treating Lisa so well during their marriage. Perhaps secretly blame Nate for her death? It certainly seems that way, considering her mother’s attitude towards Nate about Lisa’s funeral arrangements. I imagine they’re building to some kind of open conflict, esp. if Nate gets in trouble somehow…
It’s been about three months. In the second episode, someone mentioned something about “three months ago” in reference to the first episode (the one with Lisa’s funeral).
Yeah, I can see some sort of open conflict or custody battle coming. I can also see Nate slipping at some point (getting drunk, maybe?) and mentioning that he buried her - and they think they interred her ashes, remember? That would also be a source of conflict.
And rather than blowing up at him, the SIL should have gently suggested he get some help or counseling. She’s a huge bitch.
Nothing new to add, just a comment. I think (perhaps as a bonus on the final season DVD’s), it would be kinda cool if they showed (back to back, one after another) the first couple of minutes of every episode. That is from the beginning of the first scene until either right before or right after the name and the birth/death years. It would be sort of fun to see all the different ideas they’ve come up with.
Joey, cool idea.
I think my favorite (hate to use that word in connection with death but can’t think of another) was the woman celebrating her divorce with friends, in a limo, and she stood up in the car, through the sunroof, and blam, hit a traffic signal. Rico’s best work.