The thing that everybody feared the most has happened: Nate has died. And despite how tough it is on everyone (especially David), the funeral has to be prepared.
This one deals with the emotional repercussions of the most shocking loss yet. The worst thing about this is that Ruth was away, so she never got to be with David on his last day. Her regretfulness and anger at how he could just die so suddenly, why no one was able to "help" him is portrayed in such a painfully realistic manner. She starts blaming herself, then everyone else for not doing too much. She's being hurtful, but in a way that you can't really blame her. Its hard to imagine to terror of coming home and being flashed with the news that your son is dead. Frances Conroy, whose character has been on the more heartless side this season, gained my sympathy again as her anguish is so relatable and human.
Claire becomes lazy and passive at work, coming in every day either drunk or high, plus gets mad at her boyfriend Ted when he tries to stop her from driving drunk outside in the dark. Just like Conroy, Lauren Ambrose simply gives a phenomenal performance as she's lost the most important figure in her life. Even though they didn't always get along, he's always been supportive or her endeavors and protective. I also like the psychological aspect of how the bad memories keep coming up instead of the good ones. With Nathaniel, who she had a much worse relationship with, she always thinks about the good memories while with Nate it's the complete opposite. It's likely a defense mechanism to make this loss easier to deal with than the last one, but the sad reality is that it's always hard. Even the bad times you start to miss when it's a person you care deeply about.
David gets the heaviest deal of all, and it's heartrendering to watch. Losing a brother, suspecting his father cared about Nate than him, plus the returning PTSD from the kidnapping drama. He's never had an easy life, but to see him this emotionally destroyed is so horrific to observe that I just want to reach out and comfort him. There's not one moment with him onscreen (except for a mildly comic moment between him and a priest, the only source of humor found whatsoever) where he gets to rest from all the baggage he has to carry. My favorite scene is where he gives a speech at the funeral and tries to finish it, but keeps getting haunted by the vision of his kidnapper. If Michael C. Hall didn't get an Emmy nomination for his performance, I'm amazed. This is easily his finest work in the entire show.
Brenda gets to deal with a myriad of complex feelings. The loss of her husband, Maya losing a father, finding out in one of his final hours that he loves someone else, and then even doubting her own ability as a mother causes a ton of emotional disruption. She doesn't know whether to be devastated or angry at Nate for leaving her just when she was the most worried about him. The fact that I would probably feel exactly the same as she does is a testament to the superb credibility of the acting and the writing.
And most importantly, I also got to re-evalue my own life. Before I watched this, I had felt like it was in complete dispair. That everything couldn't possibly get any worse. But afterwards, my mindset was entirely changed. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes it's not perfect by any means, but until I am forced to go through the same horrible thing that these characters do, I should be more appreciative of the things I have. That maybe life isn't as hard as I think it is. So even though I had a very depressing experience watching this episode (I cried at least 5 times, something that very, very rarely happens), it also made me look at my own situation with a bit more optimism.
One fantastic god-damn hour of television.
This one deals with the emotional repercussions of the most shocking loss yet. The worst thing about this is that Ruth was away, so she never got to be with David on his last day. Her regretfulness and anger at how he could just die so suddenly, why no one was able to "help" him is portrayed in such a painfully realistic manner. She starts blaming herself, then everyone else for not doing too much. She's being hurtful, but in a way that you can't really blame her. Its hard to imagine to terror of coming home and being flashed with the news that your son is dead. Frances Conroy, whose character has been on the more heartless side this season, gained my sympathy again as her anguish is so relatable and human.
Claire becomes lazy and passive at work, coming in every day either drunk or high, plus gets mad at her boyfriend Ted when he tries to stop her from driving drunk outside in the dark. Just like Conroy, Lauren Ambrose simply gives a phenomenal performance as she's lost the most important figure in her life. Even though they didn't always get along, he's always been supportive or her endeavors and protective. I also like the psychological aspect of how the bad memories keep coming up instead of the good ones. With Nathaniel, who she had a much worse relationship with, she always thinks about the good memories while with Nate it's the complete opposite. It's likely a defense mechanism to make this loss easier to deal with than the last one, but the sad reality is that it's always hard. Even the bad times you start to miss when it's a person you care deeply about.
David gets the heaviest deal of all, and it's heartrendering to watch. Losing a brother, suspecting his father cared about Nate than him, plus the returning PTSD from the kidnapping drama. He's never had an easy life, but to see him this emotionally destroyed is so horrific to observe that I just want to reach out and comfort him. There's not one moment with him onscreen (except for a mildly comic moment between him and a priest, the only source of humor found whatsoever) where he gets to rest from all the baggage he has to carry. My favorite scene is where he gives a speech at the funeral and tries to finish it, but keeps getting haunted by the vision of his kidnapper. If Michael C. Hall didn't get an Emmy nomination for his performance, I'm amazed. This is easily his finest work in the entire show.
Brenda gets to deal with a myriad of complex feelings. The loss of her husband, Maya losing a father, finding out in one of his final hours that he loves someone else, and then even doubting her own ability as a mother causes a ton of emotional disruption. She doesn't know whether to be devastated or angry at Nate for leaving her just when she was the most worried about him. The fact that I would probably feel exactly the same as she does is a testament to the superb credibility of the acting and the writing.
And most importantly, I also got to re-evalue my own life. Before I watched this, I had felt like it was in complete dispair. That everything couldn't possibly get any worse. But afterwards, my mindset was entirely changed. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes it's not perfect by any means, but until I am forced to go through the same horrible thing that these characters do, I should be more appreciative of the things I have. That maybe life isn't as hard as I think it is. So even though I had a very depressing experience watching this episode (I cried at least 5 times, something that very, very rarely happens), it also made me look at my own situation with a bit more optimism.
One fantastic god-damn hour of television.