Nate is by the side of his new friend Aaron, as Aaron finally succumbs to the pancreatic cancer. It is assumed this episode is some weeks after the last one, as Ruth has had lots of time to bond with her new grandbaby Maya. Nate's chagrin is apparent as he snaps at Ruth over pictures. But is it just that? After Aaron's death, Nate hastily makes an appointment to see the neurosurgeon. He's finally gotten sick and tired of worrying about that AVM. He either wants it fixed or he's gonna die trying.
Fisher & Sons seems ever plagued by problems. Sure the Kroehner bunch are out of their hair, but now the health department is inspecting due to a "complaint".
Claire interviews at LACArt college and ends up bursting into tears. Whenever Claire cries, I cry too. Lauren Ambrose just has that ability to get to me when she cries. This sequence reveals just how much Claire has missed her Dad and what a tough damn 1 and 1/2 years it's been.
Nate takes Aaron's body to the crematorium. The guy who works there, Phil, is kind of an ass.
David comes home to a house sans Taylor and is completely disappointed in Keith for throwing in the towel so easily. But Keith is convinced that this latest incident will not be deemed "a good beating". He decides not to even ask them to spare his job, and that he needs a change.
Finally, Brenda begins to realize how destructive her behavior has been to her own life. The first step of an addict. And she wonders if she indeed uses sex to balm her lonliness, her pain, her unresolved feelings of hatred and resentment toward her parents, and perhaps some deep down pain caused by some long ago incident with her brother Billy. As ever, I ask myself, what happened? Did the two of them, as youngsters or teens, feel so dependent on each other that they overstepped the bounds of normal sibling existence? Something happened, long ago. And it won't go away, no matter how much Brenda wishes it would. She visits a support group for sex addicts, and recognizes the lawyer from several episodes ago. She gets to know him, shockingly, without having sex with him, even though both of them have those behaviors, and Brenda reveals more and more about the terrible hurt in her life, or rather, how she chooses to deal with that pain.
Nate's plate is full too. His latest scan reveals that he's bleeding inside and must have immediate surgery. His terror increased a thousand times, he abruptly decides he wants to meet his infant daughter and try to mend his relationship with Lisa.
After the visit, Nate can stand it no longer and tells Ruth about his brain condition and the impending surgery. It's always sad how they have to be looking up to see the bottom before they confide in Ruth, but then again...Nate and David have a great scene together too. And then David and Keith have some great scenes too. Hall is another actor on this show that just makes me feel so deeply. Another great crier. Moody and distracted by his own shit, Keith doesn't detect David's anguish over Nate's situation.
Nate and Claire have a long great talk scene. Claire's talent is once again affirmed when Nate compliments the nude pix of Billy, even though he still thinks Billy's "a fuckin' freakshow". Claire points out the exact same truths about Nate that Brenda had on the evening of the big blowout. Nope, cute as he is, Nate isn't perfect. It's a really cute and revealing scene, but ahhh, this whole show is cute and revealing.
Rico is focusing on the bottom line as Nate's illness brings about the possibility of one less Fisher running the business. He buys a quarter of the ownership with some of Mrs. Perez's gift.
Nate takes Claire's thoughts over to Brenda, and they too, have a wonderful scene. Brenda courageously faces Nate, and her problem that now has a name, summing it up as "the fear of something real" in her life. Surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly, Nate comes this close to admitting that he might have the very same addictions and issues.
But he won't quite let Brenda back in, and hurries away to deal with preparing for his surgery. Feeling newly overwhelmed and lonely, Brenda packs up her stuff and leaves.
Nate and Ruth have a powerful scene. I never thought I'd love the Fishers so much. I figured I'd like this show, and sort of think the family was edgy, funny, profane and tough. With other shows like The Sopranos and Curb Your Enthusiasm failing to gain my interest, HBO really did good with Six Feet Under. It's a jewel, because the family you're supposed to root for is a family that makes you laugh really loud (as Dave and Claire get high and imitate Nikolai) and cry really hard (as Nate sobs on Ruth's shoulder and Ruth finally has her perpetual loneliness abated by her son's belief in her), a family that has piles of flaws, faults and shortcomings. a clan who makes you want to haul off and smack the shit out of them sometimes, and yet makes you see the same stuff in your own family. Am I getting too mooshy??? I'm just trying to say that they're just really lovable. Lovability isn't a quality HBO is known for. Cult-status? Sure? Edginess? Yeah. Groundbreaking quality entertainment without censorship? Indeed. But not lovability.
And just as revealing is the scene in which Ruth, in spite of her disagreement earlier, is joined by Claire and David, who have ditched Claire's high school graduation to come to the hospital and keep vigil with their mom. Ruth needed them as much as she wants them to need her.
Will Nate live or die? We shall see in Season 3. Season 2 closes here, with Nate teetering on the border of life and death. An outstanding season for me, just short of the greatness of Season 1.
