wouldn’t you agree?
I sat and sobbed for 10 minutes, of course…Alan Ball gets to me like no one else, I tell ya. The man (and his writers) cut to the very heart of thebig issues in my head and heart…and it is done so beautifully, with wit, intelligence, and a marvelously fresh lack of cliches.
God I hope they can keep it up next season. What a perfect show. Absolutely perfect.
stoid
I didn’t cry, but I love the show. I have only seen a few episodes, starting with - oops - SPOILER
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the episode where Gabe’s little brother died. I hope that HBO is going to rerun the series starting at the beginning soon, I have a feeling I missed a lot. I don’t usually watch TV series, but this is one of the few I’ve really enjoyed.
Boscibo, yeah, you did miss a lot.
I’m sure they’ll rerun all the episodes eventually (later in the fall, maybe?). I’d like to watch them again, too.
You can also catch up with the recaps at Mighty Big TV. They’re pretty detailed, and funny.
SPOILERS
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I loved the opening of the second epsiode…you thought Gellardi (sp?) from Krohner’s was gonna get it, or the evil woman with him…but no, it was the stalker girl’s aunt on the fairway!
I really liked the use of the dead kid throughout both episodes. Very effective.
I love Rico. I am so glad he’s back. Having the baby’s christening party at the funeral home…too funny.
What was your take on Nate Fisher, Sr. at the end? Is that it for him? It struck me that he saw his family, and knew they were okay without him, and was finally leaving. But…his comment to Claire about her boyfriend coming “over to his neck of the woods soon” seemed like we may see more of Nate, Sr. later.
The whole Billy storyline was really scary. I was yelling at the TV when he was attacking Brenda. I was so glad she
finally realized he needed serious help.
I can’t wait to watch it again on Wednesday!
Funny, I got the opposite reaction: I think we’ll be seeing less of Gabe in the future.
And, I also saw Nate Sr.'s walking upstairs at the end to mean he won’t be back to haunt his family anymore.
I was a little dubious of the finale based on the previews. (I thought Billy was going to build another bomb.) But, I think it was well done, especially David’s coming out to his mother and his church, and Ruth’s final scene with Nikolai – “I’ll be your friend and your lover, but not your wife.”
Great show.
I took Nate Sr.'s walk up the steps at the end the same way you did, Montfort. I think he’s going to depart now that he’s seen that his family is able to manage without him.
And I agree with you; we’ll definitely be seeing less of Gabe next season. Although he’ll probably go out with a bang since <WARNING: SPOILER>
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they will have to follow up on his armed robbery of the liquor store. They’ll probably get a couple of episodes out of that, the way “The Sopranos” did with Jackie Jr. and his robbing the poker game.
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</SPOILER>
Still searching for a better closing,
Zappo
Yes, I meant that I thought his walking away meant we probably won’t see him anymore. But maybe we’ll see him once more, maybe to warn Claire away from Gabe?
But his comment about Gabe was pretty telling.
Zappo, my husband said the same thing; about Gabe going out with a bang. He thinks the next season will have Gabe robbing again, and killed in a shoot-out with the cops.
Anyone know when the next season starts?
:::waiting impatiently for a new “Six Feet Under”:::
Man, am I too picky or what? I thought the finale was sentimental. The first of the two shows was done well and the story developed quickly, but the end of the second one was a let down. During the promos, there was the promise of something unheard-of happening to someone in the family, and I inferred that Billy was going to cause someone (aside from himself) major harm. The christening was a soft landing to me. I am obviously a sucker for “West Wing” type, cliff-hanger endings.
I didn’t see Nate Sr. walking up the stairs as meaning that he wouldn’t be haunting his family for awhile. I took it as, he was walking up the stairs. We’ll see next season.
I get shivers every time they show a promo for “Band of Brothers”.
Woo! I’ve only caught a few episodes, but I LOVE THIS SHOW!!!
I thought the finale was a little sappy, but I like that better than a cliffhanger ending.
Can someone tell me the deal with the matching tatoos on Brenda and Billy - literary characters? Wouldn’t Nate be freaked out by dating someone with his full name tattooed on her lower back?
Billy disturbs me greatly. I think he is a master manipulator of his sister, and was giving a performance in the mental hospital. Who is with me?
Off to the MBTV recaps.
Well, I wept over this for much of the same reason I wept over American Beauty. The big truths, ya know? Why do we die? To make life important…it just speaks to me.
I’m pretty sure that in a far more profound and meaningful way, I love this show more than any televisions show I’ve ever watched in my entire life.
And as for the dad, that contributed to my weepiness: I saw it as him saying goodbye finally.
stoid
I’d like to know what’s up with the matching tatoos too. I think Billy is sick, and a manipulator, but I caught a glimpse of his inner agony (in the scene with Brenda, with the knife), and I saw a part of him that needs help. Claire reminds me of myself at that age, falling for the wrong guy…I just want to shake her. My favorite character is Ruth, David being a close second. I so wish I would have started watching this earlier in the season!
The tattoos were discussed in one of the first shows.
I think I can explain it.
There was a book that Brenda and Billy read when they were little, called “Nathaniel and Isabel” about two children on their own, with no adults. I think B & B played a game of pretending to be Nathaniel and Isabel.
When they were in their late teens or early twenties, B & B got the tattoos.
It’s deeper than I can explain, and I missed some of one show (when Billy trashed the psychiatrist’s office) so I may not be getting it quite right.
I think Billy thought he had to get rid of the tattoo to get past the obssession with Brenda.
Misc. Show Questions:
Is Billy a super-genius like Brenda? Is he jealous of her for all the attention she got as a child?
Ruth said last night she was married for 30 years, and was 52, but Nate is supposed to be, what 36 or so?
In one episode, he said he left home before Claire was even born. I think he said he was 20. So, if he was 20, and Claire is (what?) 16 or 17, he must be at least 36.
That would mean he was born when Ruth was 16?
Or am I wrong? Or too caught up in the show?
Thanks for explaining about the tattoos, Kinsey. It makes more sense now, I thought the one on Brenda’s back was referring to Nathanial Fisher for a little while. I also think the actor who plays Keith is totally hot, especially in his police uniform. Rowwrr…
Stoid, in another thread a while back I said you were crazy for comparing Six Feet Under and The Sopranos. After last night’s episodes, I have to admit you were right. These two episodes reached the level of The Sopranos in the first season, though I was slightly disappointed in the fact that so much was resolved. It seemed like too many things worked out in the end all at the same time.
I thought David’s inner dialogue showing his struggle with being gay was done brilliantly. It was quite powerful. (And assumed Father Jack was gay too.) I also really like how they showed Billy at the end and his realization of his state of mind rather than just having him be a psycho. Seeing him own up to what he had done and hearing him talk about how he doesn’t think he can find his way out made him seem more real. It will be interesting to see what they do with him next season.
See, I think he was maybe 1/2 genuine and 1/2 deliberately manipulating her letting him out.
You may be right – that’s one thing that makes it so interesting. I can’t believe we have to wait until 2002 for new episodes. At least we have reruns of The Sopranos to tide us over.
I’ve been watching 6FU since the first episode, and after every episode I’m left sort of overwhelmed with emotion… There is just so much going on in each episode it takes a while to digest…
I absolutely love Tracy… She has gotten better and better with each appearance… I had to fight back tears when she was at the kitchen table crying about her aunt…
I’ve never seen that actress before 6FU, but she can do it all!
SFCanadian
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. But what I really liked about that scene is that it reminded the viewers that Billy has a psychological illness. We’re so used to seeing him as a dangerous bastard that we tend to forget that it’s not a personality flaw, and that he deserves some sympathy.
Re the two tattoos…Did I notice a continuity error in the last episode. I thought Brenda’s tattoo was large, and in an Old Englishy typeface. But this week it was smaller and in a plain font. Did anyone else notice this? It happened so fast and the last time we saw Brenda’s tattoo was so long ago – it might just be me hallucinating.
There is so much history between Brenda and Billy that the show hasn’t even thought about touching yet. I remember in one of the episodes Brenda and Nate are arguing and she says out of the blue, “Oh. So what-- Do you think I f**ked my brother?”
Whoa. Issues.
Brenda is my favorite character so far. I can’t wait to find out more of what went on between these two.
I also think I’m interpreting all of the dead people differently than everyone else I’ve talked to. For example, I don’t think the Dad is haunting them. I don’t think the family ever really sees him [except when they’re dreaming]. But it’s the on-screen manifestation of the characters thinking about their Dad, and having mock conversations with him. It’s all just in their head. I see Nate Sr. walking away as commenting on his family’s feelings about his death [getting over it?] and not that the soul of Nate Sr. is now at peace. It’s the same with David and the gay kid. It’s a clever way to show us what he’s thinking and feeling. I think it’s all very creative and well done.
The entire subscription price for HBO is worth it for this one series.