SEASON 2

EPISODE 10: THE SECRET

An older man collapses and dies of a heart attack while taking out the garbage.

Lisa, feeling less hormonal, is more civil to Nate, and they amiably decide to sign over Nate's parental rights. Lisa is a little sad, but is pretty resolved that this is best for everyone, including Nate, whom she is convinced is "the last man on earth who ever wanted children". Nate is not the heartless tomcat she seems to think he is, and appears a little wistful after she leaves.

One amusing moment before Lisa leaves: "I just want to mess this woman's hair up, just a little." She goes on to say that life's all about being a mess. "When I die, I want to be a mess." Wow, if only Lisa knew how clairvoyant she turned out to be.

Nikolai packs his stuff into plastic grocery bags and declares that it's time for him to return to his own little house. Ruth is aghast. Why wouldn't Nikolai want to move in??? They've had a long term relationship, and she's been taking care of him, and...

But Nikolai needs his own space.

The family whose patriarch passed away while taking out the garbage is Thai. As David comes in to begin his workday, he is using some vulgar language about having to wait in line at the video store. Boy, he and Nate need to try their best to remember that, although this is also their home, it's a business, and it's a wonder their customers don't call them on their language or just get up and leave. Of course, upon seeing that there are clients in the waiting room, David slips effortlessly into his professional, knowledgeable demeanor and impresses the Thai family with his expertise on Buddhist funerals.

Claire has patched up her quarrel with her buddy Parker, who cheated on the SATS to try to get into Harvard or Yale or something. Now Claire, inspired by Billy's creepy photography style, is taking photos of every person who has had a funeral at Fisher & Sons. Her black and white photos of human repose surrounded by satin linings and fragrant flowers are beautiful in Parker's eyes, and Parker convinces Claire that her new hobby could really take her places.

Brenda finds herself sitting in front of a therapist, and wonders why she listened to Melissa the hooker. She hasn't yet admitted that she has some kind of subconscious problem. She's been having sex with strangers, the first being that author from the book show. But the problem goes deeper, and spans years of time. As she chats with the pretty blonde women therapist, and learns that the therapist specializes in the dynamics of sexual addiction, Brenda decides she doesn't belong here. She has no idea that she has a problem, and until her behaviors threaten to destroy her life, she won't realize it.

Later, she and Nate go to visit Ma Chenowith, and lo and behold, since Billy has gone up to Oregon to visit some friends, Margaret has gotten back with Bernard, who has sold the house with the pool to move into the Westwood condo. Brenda is disgusted with her mother all over again. She has never met such a pathetic person so scared to be alone.

Nate is forced to spend time with a child, Rico's son Julio, and I wonder if this is what started the dreams he had later in this episode.

Ruthie makes an unannounced visit to Nikolai's apartment, and immediately tries to get back in control of his life by redecorating and cleaning.

Brenda and Melissa make plans to go to a "lifestyle party". Oh for the love of Pete, just call it a "spouse-swap-meet" or an "orgy"!!! Lifestyle party!!! Nobody's there to talk about their hobbies. It's not a gathering of GLADD people, nor a convention for lovers of the motorcycle culture. It's just a party where people want to get laid (and maybe do a few drugs) without facing any consequences.

Claire inadvertently "shows" her photos of dead people to Nate and David, and Nate screams bloody murder at her. I would have expected David to have done this. Ruth walks in on the fuss, having decided that Nikolai's place is too "dank" for her, and naturally, everyone clams up and refuses to discuss what was so upsetting. Oh yeah, one of the people in the photos was a Mrs. Sibley!!!

At the "lifestyle party" Brenda snorts some coke and proceeds to have a threesome with a creepy couple in their forties. Just trying to visualize Brenda doing things with these two is pretty nauseating. This, to me, is the lowest point of Brenda's low this season. Even what she does in a future episode isn't nearly as gross as this was.

Nate finds himself having strange dreams about children, a teenage girl, another girl of about 7 or 8, a little boy, and then a roomfull of children, and Ruth carrying a tray of cookies and milk. Creepily and beautifully done. These children all claim to be the aborted children that Nate didn't want, and although I see no preachy pro-life messages in these sequences, the emotions Nate must be facing, be them guilt, regret, relief, whatever, are hard to read, yet at the same time, undeniable. No matter what you do in life, what decisions you make to shape your destiny and direction, you always wonder, "What if?" And you always question whether your decisions really have made you happier, more free to persue your ambitions, etc.

The day after her experimentation with three-way sex, Brenda is late for her own wedding shower. She and Ruth have a beautiful scene, and at last, I can stop wanting to throttle Ruth, thinking she hates everyone. Brenda can rest assured, Ruth doesn't hate her. The moment is so heart-squeezingly and achingly good that Brenda immediately begins to hate what she's turned into these past weeks, and she begins to hate Melissa, and the whole world that Melissa represents. She decides she must rid herself of that sordid influence once and for all, and cling to Nate, Ruth and their goodness, and try to make that goodness a part of herself.

Claire appears down and depressed, perhaps about being yelled at so viciously by Nate the night before. Bernard tries to have a conversation with Ruth, and offer his psychological expertise on the matter, but Ruth's bladder is bursting. Too bad Ruth and Bern didn't have more scenes, because it was quite amusing!

On the way to visit Keith and David, Karla and Taylor bicker in the car and suddenly, Karla has run over a homeless man. Terrified that she will be busted for drugs, she leaves the scene, and the victim dies. Karla asks Taylor to promise to keep "their secret", but being a child, having been witness to the dreadful event, Taylor can't help but divulge to David that her mother ran over someone. Inevitably, Karla is arrested, Keith and David get custody of Taylor, and Taylor blames herself and David for her mother being put into jail.

Brenda tries to convince both Melissa and herself that Melissa is the reason why Brenda is so loose in her morals, but Melissa, thank God, is not going to put up with that kind of bullshit. She gives Brenda a hard dose of the truth: she's got a dark side, and she can either deal with it by changing her ways, or she can live it up and fuck whoever, whenever, however. But either way, don't blame someone else because you can't deal, especially when you have always had loose morals and just didn't realize it until you made friends with a prostitute. I give Melissa LOUD claps for not allowing Brenda to play the blame game with her like Brenda does with just about everyone else.

Nate decides he wants to be a father, but according to Lisa, he's got a long way to go before he realizes he has to quit putting himself before everyone else. I wasn't sure whether to agree with her or not. The fact that he suddenly realizes that he wants this baby is a huge step for him.

A very entertaining and thought-provoking episode. I'll give it A+.