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3.7 Timing & Space Brenda: "Baby's first funeral?" Nate: "Hardly." Reciprocal parental funerals for Nate and Brenda. Nathaniel Fisher's death brought Nate and Brenda together at the beginning of the series. Will Bern's death bring them back together again? I never thought they could make it work, but they're both so much calmer and more mature now. Maya has changed Nate. Losing Nate as well as her father has apparently changed Brenda. And let's face it, anyone is better for Nate than Lisa. Nate's marriage to Lisa was such a tragic, ugly mistake. Note how he carefully asked permission to go to Bern's funeral, exactly as she had requested, but she still went apeshit on him. Lisa is obsessed with controlling Nate, making him something he's not. It's got to end somehow. Maybe an affair with Brenda will make it happen. Except that Nate would probably lose Maya if he divorced Lisa, and that would be even more tragic. Nate is crazy about his daughter. He spent this entire episode carrying her around, and they were so cute together. That baby (or those twins) look so much like Peter Krause. I've said it before but it bears repeating: perfect baby casting there. Ah, those wacky Chenowiths. Billy still appears to be sane and balanced, but Margaret certainly went off the deep end. I loved Margaret telling people the absolute truth and offending them at the funeral. (Laughing, too. That's fairly common when you're completely freaked by grief, though; it's happened to me.) Margaret said the children had never felt more hers. Well, gee, Margaret, that's probably because you were completely focused on Bern and criminally neglected your children. And now, they're all you have. Ruth finally has another kid to take care of, but somehow she has translated it emotionally into a romantic crush. The way she stalked Arthur with her gardening hat as a disguise made me laugh out loud. What a visual. They're so not meant to be a couple but I find Arthur, played by the talented Rainn Wilson, to be a lot more amusing than Nikolai. Everything Arthur said in this episode made me laugh. Everyone is so good on this show. Claire also has a relationship, but was more turned on by cobalt blue. I liked that Russell bought her that fifty dollar tube of paint. We should find all the joy in life that we can. And as an amateur artist, I can vouch for the fact that there's definitely a difference in quality between a fifty dollar and a five dollar tube of paint. I was actually startled with the ghost of Robert Foxworth showed up. Nate admitted to Bern's ghost that he wasn't happy. It's a first step. Symbolism, irony, etc. -- The funeral was held at the same place where Nate and Brenda were going to be married. Place of marriage, place of death, a baby at a funeral. -- I also noticed more than one crap references: Nate talking to Maya, and the terrified dog at the party. And when Nate and Brenda were scouting out that funeral/wedding location last season, there was horseshit everywhere. What sort of symbolism can I assign to that? Death is shitty? Well, yes. -- Keith was completely at a loss at David's kind of party, uncomfortable with party games. There's something interesting about that, and I can't put my finger on it. Maybe it's that Keith is so militant about being gay, but he's also uncomfortable with it. Bits and pieces: -- "Bernard Asa Chenowith, 1939-2003." -- Vanessa, who also lost a parent, was deeply depressed. Rico needs to wake up and pay attention. Quotes: Nate to Maya: "Well. what do you want to do today? We could fill some things up, dump 'em out. Maybe later we can poop." Nate: "Where's Mom?" Claire: "I don't know. She just left, said she needed a new gardening hat. She seemed kind of weird." Nate: "How can you tell when Mom's weird?" Claire: "Good point." Margaret: "He never forgave your father for being a success. Or giving up Hanukkah." Arthur: "Hi, Ruth. Did you have a good time stalking me this morning?" Ruth: "I have to go upstairs. My hair feels funny." Nate: "She discovered the telephone the other day. It's become, like, her favorite new toy. She accidentally speed-dialed my neurologist's office yesterday. For two minutes, the nurse thought she had a stroke victim on the other end of the line." Brenda: "I don't want to put you in a weird position." Nate: "I'm already in a weird position. I live my whole life in a weird position." This episode made me laugh out loud several times, and it captured the weirdness of a death in the family so well. (But it always does.) Four stars, Billie |
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