Diary of a Six Feet Under virgin – The past gets buried, then burned

by Bob Degon

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Six Feet Under

(Season 4, Episodes 1-3)

Season four of Six Feet Under has begun, and it picked up right where season three ended, without the time jump that occurred between seasons two and three. As the season opened, everything is where we left it: Nate is still railing against the loss of Lisa, George and Ruth are newly married and everyone is trying to get used to the idea, Claire is done with Russell, and Rico continues to hang out with his new stripper friend.

I have to say that I continue to be blown away by this show. It is quickly becoming one of my favorite shows ever, and I still have the majority of two seasons to go through. The acting is impeccable, the writing is top notch, and the characters are endlessly fascinating. I love it.

“Falling Into Place”

Poor Nate (will I ever stop writing that?). It takes a special show to make the act of burying a half eaten, mostly rotten corpse in the middle of the night a true act of love and compassion. Nate did what he needed to do to honor the woman he loved, no matter how morbid it was. I think it was just sad that Lisa’s family didn’t give any respect to their daughter’s wishes.

It’s clear that Nate and Brenda still have very strong feelings for each other. I’m curious to see how their relationship is going to play out, with Brenda’s new love interest, Joe, entering the picture. Other relationships were taking center stage in this episode as well. The scene between Claire and Russell, as she told him about her abortion was pretty intense. They seem to be pretty much over, though. Keith and David, on the other hand, seem to be going in the right direction. I hope that by quitting his job, Keith will be able to find some more happiness, in life and in love.

“In Case of Rapture”

I loved the dynamic between Arthur and George in this episode. Arthur is obviously jealous of George and is probably kicking himself for letting Ruth go. Nothing says “I hate you, you stole my woman” like a freshly delivered box of poop. Very mature, Arthur, very mature.

I can’t believe I’m going to say it, but it seems like Brenda is really getting her act together. Good for her, because I really couldn’t stand the character through most of the first couple seasons. I really appreciate the growth that she has gone through. I hope that it continues, and that her relationship with Joe is a healthy one, even though she broke the 90 day sex rule.

“Parallel Play”

Another episode, another fresh delivery of poop to George. It looks like Arthur is out of the picture after this episode though. It’s a shame, because he was a very interesting character. I think I’ll miss him. He’s been replaced with some intriguing new characters, however, including George and Claire’s new friend, Edie. Claire seems quite smitten with Edie. I’m wondering if a little romance is budding between the two of them. She seemed even more fascinated with Edie when she discovered that she was a lesbian.

There were a ton of other interesting things going on in this episode. The relationship between Rico and Sophia continues to be a bit confusing. Rico’s dream sequence was fascinating though, filled with religious imagery. Does he actually get off on thinking of himself as a “savior” for the hard luck stripper? I can’t imagine that this is going to end well for Rico, even if they aren’t having sex.

I loved the end of this episode, when the Fishers lit their pasts on fire after their moderately successful yard sale. It was a cathartic moment as past relationships, past personas, and junk went up in flames. I hope that indicates a move forward for the Fisher clan, especially Nate.