Six Feet Under, 2000-2005
Even though I knew in advance exactly what was going to happen, including those brilliant final ten minutes, I was pretty much a sobbing wreck from Claire's farewell to Ruth and David.
I've been exactly where Claire was. I have driven away from my parents' house in tears because I didn't want to leave them. Maybe I'm feeling a little vulnerable, because my parents have just sold their house and I'm kind of losing my touchstone. I won't be able to drive away from their house again for a while...their house will be driving to me, ha ha.
David has always been my favorite character. I've always been drawn to the dichotomy between the somewhat uptight, funeral-director facade he wears and the warm, fun-loving man that he is on the inside. It's been nice to see that warm side of him more and more as the series went on, and in his goodbye to Claire I was struck by how at ease he looked, and drove home again just how good an actor Michael C. Hall is that he can communicate so much about David just by how he holds himself and how his face looks. Seeing him die, a vision of Keith at his most young and handsome before his eyes, sent me into hysterics.
It made me very happy to know that the Fishers and the Chenoweths and the Diazes stayed friends, stayed family in a way. I hope that professional competition didn't come between Rico and the Fishers! I loved the "gay" makeover that the Fisher house got, and the idea of Ruth living with Sarah and Bettina in Topanga is wonderful, although I was very disappointed they couldn't, apparently, get the exquisite Patricia Clarkson for the finale.
I've been rewatching the first three seasons on DVD this weekend, and knowing what ended up happening, there's so much that seems to ironic, so resonant, and so foreshadowed that it makes me wonder how much of the series five-year run Alan Ball had planned out. In particular, David wondering about why his father left the business to him and Nate...and LateNate explaining that the business had to continue and David sure was never going to have any kids. And look what happened...Fisher and Sons went on. Through David's son.
I'm also partial to Billy, and his relationship with Brenda, and I loved it that she died with him. It seems she found someone else to be with...at David and Keith's wedding she was with some man. I kind of wish it had been Joe, I liked him. Oh well. At least Claire got to marry Ted. I paused, too...at Claire and Ted's wedding, you see David with Anthony, who's apparently also gay (he's holding hands with an Asian man) and Durrell, who seems to be married with a young son and whose wife is pregnant.
Poor Keith. That broke my heart. Keith is such a stand-up guy. And the super-hotness of Mathew St. Patrick is a reason to watch that new "Reunion" show this fall.
I'm so sad the show is over. I loved it. Now I can just look forward to getting those final two seasons on DVD.
In other news, I'm once again squeaking by before midnight for my post-a-day August project. Go me.
I bit my tongue really hard earlier to day and it hurts like HELL. Owie.
My, this weekend went fast.