Mr. Salads, you are right, and the scene with the kids looking at Santa getting flattened was funny (are we demented or what?), but the scene from mall was so subtle. Of course Santa’s not there! He’s on a slab at Fisher & Sons!
We knew Santa was gonna die…someone always dies in the first 2 minutes.
Exactly. And Lilly Taylor, she always plays a psycho (6fu role included). So Nate is into psychobetties.
Which leads me to beleive that if he gets involved with the Rabbi (and she’s so hot) either it won’t work or she’ll turn out to be psycho too.
Looks like we have to wait two weeks for the season finale. The promo for the final episode was for June 2. Fooey!
Is it possible that Billy has become the sane sibling while Brenda has become the insane one?
I’m glad Nate finally found out what Brenda has been up to. And I find it hard to believe that she is as broken up about it as she would have us & Nate believe.
I felt sorry for Ruth breaking it off with Nicolai, but it will probably work out for the best for her.
And I’m even more convinced that Lisa’s baby is NOT Nate’s. The baby was born two weeks early! Always a bad sign. And Ruth will probably bond with the infant, only to learn that it’s not really her grandchild.
Looks like Keith is in some real hot water this time. … and just in time for the social worker to be interviewing Keith’s supervisor!
Loved the insights into Rico. . . and think Claire may have finally found her niche at the art school. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed for her!
Goodness, the fight scene between Nate and Brenda was the most entertaining bit of TV I’ve ever seen! You know, I had this thing typed out about why Brenda having had those affairs would have ruined the show - I hate how she always plays her victim card whenever it’s convenient, especially when it comes to Nate. And I wanted to say that that’s just not real life - most people don’t give a shit what your parents did to you and won’t accept, “Wahhh, my parents were swingers!” as an explanation for a late assignment or infidelity.
So it made me ungodly happy to hear Nate tell Brenda that she used her parents as an excuse for everything. I actually laughed out loud and clapped. It has to be my most favorite moment in the show, ever.
I can’t wait until next week!
Brenda deserved (and probably needed) what she got from Nate, but I felt so bad for her…she looked like she was in so much pain (Rachel Griffiths is su great).
I hope Claire gets into Cal-Arts…err…LAC-Arts, that other hearse jsut cracked me up. Leaving that picture for her counselor was so sweet…I’m in love with that girl.
Now that she’s broken up with Nikolai, Ruth will want to move Lisa & her baby into the house so she’ll have someone to take care of. That’s gonna cause major problems for Nate.
Brenda will still be around because Billy is still very interested in Claire, also a source of major problems.
I’m also worried about Keith getting in trouble for beating up the redneck. Definitely not good timing.
I was really happy to see Rico & his wife get the unexpected inheritance.
That’s exactly what I thought. She needs to have someone depend on her. What was Lisa doing here, being a personal chef for a movie star? I think she will get Lisa to either move in or give up custody of the baby. With David out of the house, she will move them into his apartment.
(I do, however, think the baby is Nate’s)
I think Rico will use the money to buy a partnership in the business. It’s what he’s wanted. He has the power now to go out on his own, and will threaten to leave, but Nate and David know they need him.
I also liked the insights into Rico. I always felt that he had a lot of compassion for the people he worked on, and now we see he got that from Nate, Sr.
I think Brenda really was in pain over Nate leaving. She knows that he represents the stability she wants (and has maybe been looking for her whole life?) and she screwed it up. She knows that she has no one to blame but herself.
She is most likely thinking that he will go to Lisa now.
Rico’s background was well done, and gave an unexpected look at Old Man Fisher as well. He wasn’t the chain-smoking sarcastic doom-meister he usually is in the flashbacks, which raised interesting issues as to the Fisher family’s relationship with him as indicated in their encounters with Dad and Rico’s elevation of him to mentor/father-figure status. Actually, I’m not so sure on the father-figure thing, but helping with the grass clippings kind of signified that for me.
And now Kroner’s bankrupt!
BiblioCat, it didn’t even occur to me that Rico would try to buy a partnership in the business, but you’re totally right. I can see that fitting right in.
I love love love this show, but one thing that it does sometimes is brings in characters/situations for one or two episodes and then you never see them again. For instance, the thing with Rico’s brother-in-law never really came up again. Or Claire’s friend from her aunt’s Howl weekend - he gave her the what-for and then disappeared.
Well, that was my first thought from the previews. I guess they don’t have an urgent need for the money now that Kroener’s out of business and the lawsuit is gone, but I think they might take him up on the offer (if that’s what he does), just to get a little cushion of money, or maybe make some upgrades.
He definitely has the upper hand. I don’t know if $150,000 is enough to set himself up in his own business (some of that equipment is probably pretty pricey), but he could use it as a threat.
Last night’s eppy was a stunner. The fight between Nate and Bren was worth it … all barrels blazing and every neuroses exposed. I don’t think Brenda is inconsolable at the loss of Nate – I think she was crying because her life is now officially completely screwed up and exposed. Not something Brenda likes much. A smart person who outsmarted herself. God, Rachael Griffiths is good.
Just saw Lilli Taylor in I Shot Andy Warhol where she plays a psycho militant lesbian. A really edgy role compared to Lisa.
I suspect that in the last episode that Nate is going to stroke out, have a near death experience, which will end this season. Next season, he’ll be in rehab and unable to work at the biz and this will open the door for Rico to buy out at least part of his share of the business. At least I hope so, since Rico is an interesting character who should have an expanded story line.
As much as I loved last night’s episode (and the show in general), I have to ask:
Was I the only one thinking, when Nate was asking Brenda to read everything on her computer, “Please, don’t destroy that beautiful laptop!”? 
That argument though was more payoff than I was expecting for the number of times I’ve yelled, “You stupid stupid slut!” at my TV while watching that show. I’ve enjoyed seeing both the Fisher boys lose their tempers, for good reasons, in the past two episodes.
I also laughed my ass off when David, after poo-pooing Keith’s obsession with the house not looking “too gay” said, totally deadpan, “Okay, that’s really gay” when Keith asked about the nude photo on the wall. He’s my favorite character on the show: Totally straight-laced appearance and workplace demeanor, but says things like “Hey baby” when Keith calls him and admits there’s no obligation to give that woman the Guadaloupe casket when Rico asks about it. Just a great, great character.
I just love that the two main characters, Nate and David, are people I really don’t mind rooting for, unlike an anti-hero like Tony Soprano.
Ugh… after June 2, no HBO original series until September. 
Nope, I was right there with you. I am now officially a geek.
I agree completely. He’s such a good guy, and the writers never make a huge deal out of his being gay, even when he revealed it to his family. It’s just a fact of life, and I respect the way the writers handle it. He’s also hilariously droll and so smart that he makes nearly every show for me.
Nate, on the other hand, it just the kind of intense/conflicted/drama-ridden babe I go crazy for on TV, even though I avoid them like the plague in real life. I think he’s a great character, but David is just perfect.
As far as Brenda goes, I think she got what she deserved and I am so happy Nate lost his temper with her. I dislike people like her on principle (Rachel Griffiths does a great job, because I know loonies like that in real life). But the show wouldn’t be the same without her.
Gah! You’re forgetting Sex and the City, a show I love equally as much as Six Feet Under. Miranda’s a new mom, Big and Aiden are history, Sam’s got a killer broken heart, and Charlotte’s moving on from Trey for good. I can’t wait for the new episodes to start!
But that show only had a few shows filmed before being put on hold for a while due to SJP’s morning sickness. Is it back in production yet?
I really hope they don’t write her pregnancy into the show. That would ruin it.
Back on track… I also loved David’s straight-faced, “Okay, that’s really gay” about the naked photo while braiding Taylor’s hair.
He just kills me.
I really like Rico’s character. I hope they let his character have an expanded storyline next season.
I also think something bad will happen with Nate’s AVM, a season ending cliff-hanger, a stroke or something.
I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Gary, the school counselor. Maybe he will contact Claire at some point or they will run into each other somewhere? He admitted having feelings for her.
I don’t think they’re going to write it in.
Eight new episodes premiere sometime in July. Hopefully, they’ll be able to tape a few more for winter like they did last year. 
I thought this last episode was very good, but I’m worried about Nate and Brenda. Specifically, I’m worried they’ll get back together. (For the last few weeks, whenever they’re on the screen together my wife and I yell “Run!!!” to Nate, but until last night he never listened.)
One of the things which has made this season not as good as the last one is that two supporting characters – Keith and Billy – have been changed around because their earlier incarnations didn’t fit the plot. (Although at least there are on-camera reasons; the meds and the shooting.) I’m a little worried about the whole Keith thing – it seems pretty obvious he’s going to take a poke at either David or Taylor in the season finale. I hope it ends up being Taylor – an abusive gay relationship is just so cliched; this show is better than that. Whereas if it’s Taylor, that’s a much more interesting arc for the character: even good guys can become abusive; what’s more, even abusers can be otherwise good guys. (That’s what’s horrifying about it.)
–Cliffy
Could be. I wonder if he wasn’t fired for inappropriate relations with students. Claire’s friend talked about trying to sleep with him. Maybe it ended up happening. Maybe he will come back and try something with Claire if he’s getting used to sleeping with high school students.
If he does, I would guess it would be Taylor. I’m a little disappointed in the way Keith has evolved on the show. He used to be the only stable character. Now he’s losing his grip and David is the most stable in the relationship, for God’s sake. I kind of wish they’d give us a stable character. Nate is the closest there is now and that ain’t saying much.
I missed the second half of this episode. I’ll have to try to catch the big fight on reruns.
I also thought that last season was better because the family members were the central characters and the others were in more supporting roles. This season it seems that everyone is becoming a main character, Kieth, Billy, Brenda, their mother, ect. I even think the school counselor may end up with a major role at this point.
:eek: I just hope it doesn’t get to out of control or the show will suffer.
I like Billy changing