| Nate's not dead. Well, he was at first, which gave us the nicest kind of nasty shock. Would HBO really kill off such a major character? Would they attempt to have two deceased Nathaniel Fishers (Junior and Senior) popping up throughout the third season of Six Feet Under? How would Ruth and the rest of the Fisher clan deal with the loss? Would Nate's death mean Brenda would never return? Would it mean that Lisa could finally get over his ambivalent ass? Would the grief finally cause Rico to shut up for a minute or two?
The first 15 minutes of 6FU's season premiere explored the possibility of Nate's death. Scenes of family history were interwoven with alternate-reality versions of Nate, including Casket Nate, Tumor Recovery Nate, With-Lisa Nate, With-Brenda Nate, Uber-WASP Nate and NASCAR Nate. We were confused but intrigued, and relished Nate's mounting terror as he asked his father whether or not he was dead, only to receive metaphysical questions instead of answers. It was weird and freaky, but it was nifty and pretty original TV.
Until it turned into a die-on-the-operating-table-then-recover-fully-with-all-your-hair-back plot device. Nate's non-death felt a little cheap for a network that prides itself on exploring topics other networks can't or won't. That cheap feeling stuck around during the exposition scene that followed the intro, where Nate explained, "Now, seven months later, it doesn't even show up on an MRI," and Lisa talked about marrying Nate after knowing him eight years. Honestly, couldn't we just have seen a quick slide show of Nate in the hospital and the touchy-feely train wreck his wedding to Lisa was bound to have been?
We draw a cruel sort of glee from the marriage, though. Since Rachel Griffiths is still in the opening credits, we know Brenda will return and bring her own special brand of crazy with her. We give the Fisher nuptials ten episodes, tops.
Adding to the strain on the marriage is Lisa's boss, a movie producer played by Catherine O'Hara, who brings a completely different special brand of crazy to the show. And then there's Ruth. Dear, sweet, hopelessly passive-aggressive Ruth, who can't help but clash with equally passive-aggressive Lisa over parenting Maya, Nate and Lisa's infant daughter. Make that six episodes.
Elsewhere in Fisher-ville, David and Keith are in couples' therapy, trying valiantly to save their own lost cause of a relationship, and Claire has entered both art school and a brand-new doomed romantic endeavor (we can tell just by the hopeless way the guy looks at her, although the enormous dragon tattoo is also a pretty good sign). Rico is griping about not being treated like a partner, and we get the distinct impression that he's been doing it non-stop since last year.
In other words, the Fishers are still dealing with the same crap as the rest of us: relationships, parenting, work, school. The fact that death is their business partner offers them endless opportunities to get some perspective on all these issues, but more often than not, they decline. Watching Keith and David try to talk their way through a stir-fry-induced power struggle is both deadpan funny and unnervingly familiar to anybody who's ever tried to live with their beloved. It's that combination of unrepentant giggles and uncomfortable ones that will keep us coming back for the rest of the season.
But we want Brenda back from whatever Arctic expedition she's on ASAP. The show just isn't the same without the brutally honest, ambiguously incestuous, sex-addicted, dysfunctional stoner.
Gadgetgirl
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