Diary of a Six Feet Under virgin – What the hell happened to Claire?

by Bob Degon

(Season 5, Episodes 1-3)

I can’t believe I’m already into the final season of Six Feet Under. It’s bittersweet for me, as I’ve really loved this show and don’t want to see it end, but I’m excited for the finale that so many people have said is one of the best ever.

It turns out that I was wrong about a few assumptions that I made at the end of season four. I thought that Ruth was going to come through for George and be a great caretaker for him. After all, she was attentive to a fault when Nikolai had his legs broken. The situation here is different though, and Ruth is reacting quite differently indeed.

“A Coat of White Primer”

How horrible would it be to have to go to your wedding ceremony the day after you miscarry a child? I can’t even imagine. The mere fact that Brenda was able to go to the wedding was incredible to me.

I don’t know what’s going on with Claire. I thought that her pretentious snob act in the finale of season four was brought on by the cocaine, but her behavior at the beginning of this season would indicate otherwise. I hope that Billy can stay on the healthy path that he has been on and not make things difficult for Claire. Of course, I really wish Claire hadn’t dropped out of art school, thinking that she was too good for it.

With the darkness of Brenda’s miscarriage and George’s shock treatment and descent into madness, it was nice to see that David and Keith are looking to have a child, either through surrogacy or adoption. The arc of their relationship through this series has been something special. They’ve come a long way and I hope they get a happy ending.

“Dancing For Me”

I feel so bad for George. Ruth is being anything but helpful or supportive to the poor guy. I can understand that she feels betrayed by him for marrying her without telling her about his illness, but did she ever really love him? I have to wonder. The poor guy is just trying to get by now, and Ruth is treating every single thing he does like it’s the action of a crazy man. I hope the presence of Maggie will help to relieve the tension in the Fisher house.

It’s been fun watching Rico date Pam Beesly, the second future Office alum on Six Feet Under. Too bad he’s such a complete moron when it comes to dating that he doesn’t get it when she tries to dump him passive aggressively. Rico really is a little pathetic. Of course it gets even worse when he tells Vanessa that his girlfriend died just to get some sympathy and attention.

“Hold My Hand”

Claire really showed what a bad attitude she’s been copping lately in this episode. She threw a complete hissy fit (in public) when she discovered that her trust fund had been turned off because she dropped out of school. I almost don’t blame Ruth for slapping her in the season premiere. I really hope that she turns herself around before the end of the series; Claire has, perhaps, been my favorite character up to now, and I don’t want that ruined.

I never expected to see Angela again on this show, but Illeana Douglas’s appearance was welcome and hilarious. Her and Rico make quite the pair, and it was a great light moment for the show.

Not so light was Brenda’s violent encounter in her (supposedly cushy) internship. I suppose when you are dealing with troubled people every assignment is going to have an element of danger. In any case, I’m glad that the therapist that she is working for is getting to know Brenda. At first, it certainly seemed like she was going to hold it against her that Margaret pulled strings and got her the internship.

I was thinking how ironic it was that Ruth was so angry at Claire for doing the same thing that she did: fall for a mentally unstable man. It came to a head in this episode, with a big falling out between the two Fisher women. I think it’s clear that Ruth is taking a lot of her own frustrations over her relationship with George out on Claire, but Claire is far from innocent.

I’m nervous about some relationships as the season moves on. There was definitely a connection between Nate and Maggie, and Billy is off his meds. How are those going to play out as the series winds down?