Sunday July 17, 2005
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David and Keith struggle to create boundaries. Nate and Brenda receive some ambiguous news. Ruth fills her days with activities leaving no time for relaxation.
Write a Recap »Is this the bottom of the barrel? Hopefully. hide show
Not the worst episode of SFU, but not much was missing for it to be. Ruth continously getting spotlight is just plain annoying, frustrating and questionable. She's uninteresting and has absolutely stupid motives. I felt really sorry for George again. Sure veryone deserves to know the truth but we all know that that was not the way to go, stupid psycho retarded Ruth.... jesus christ, I get so annoyed of her screaming. I think the writers think it's cool to have her randomly scream sometimes but it's not. It's bad for everyone's health.
Another problem with this episode I thought I had was the... dullness. Just like the last episode, Keith and David are the saving graces wit their adopted kids storyline.
Although i enjoyed Nateand Brenda "sort of" spliting up for the hundreth time.
Great storylines all round. hide show
I can't believe I'm into the last five episodes of this show, things continue to be just as good as the last four seasons. Ruth was great as always here, I was shocked when George told her he was getting remarried, and he said it so casually as well. I loved how she shouted at him at the end, plus it was hilarious when she confronted the fiancé.
Claire was good here too, her work place is funny and I'm interested to see what will happen with the guy she seems to like, he seems to like her too. Rico and Vanessa are apparently back together, yeah right. It was funny to see Vanessa so disinterested, but it seems that things are in the open now.
David and Keith hiding there porn from there new kids was funny. As was how they went to Darnels play without telling him. It's not good for Nate and Brenda, when she finally tells Nate that things aren't good. Plus Nate still seem to be attracted towards Maggie. What's gonna happen here, I can't wait to see what happens to everyone.
This is the episode I think turned Season 5 around as a whole. Nate and Brenda have funnaly come to the conclusion that they will not be able to make it as a couple in the long run. Nate and Maggie seem to have a little something, maybe just a spark for now but I definatly see Maggie and Nate having a little something in the episodes to come. Ruth ruining Georges relationship with whatever her name was was funny. Rico and Vannessa are at wits end with one another and David and Keith have ups and downs as parents in this episode. This was the best episode of Season 5 so far.
A Kind Of Hush
Written by Bruce Eric Kaplan
Directed by Joshua Marston
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Boy, again I’m sorry for the delay of this review but it took me almost forever to find the right download and get this baby but finally I managed to get it yesterday evening and watched it a few hours later and while this episode (if you catch the teaser) is a little less exciting than last week’s, there was still some top-notch moments with nearly every plot speeded forwards in some ways or the other…
First off, Nate and Brenda the ever important issues for them in this episode begin with test results indicating that their unborn child could be at risk for downs syndrome or spine ebifida. That’s possibly mind but Brenda understandably enough takes offence when Nate suggests a termination. Anyways the incessant conflict of interest (underneath it some sage advice from maniacal Margaret) brings up the real issue between them – that big, wider than wide, gaping distance that’s been ever since Brenda’s miscarriage in the premiere. Two seasons ago, Nate would’ve been seen as the sympathetic party but he’s most definitely not here. He’s married to a woman who loves him for who he is and doesn’t condemn him for it as well as being a healthier influence on Maya than he is often and yet he continues to act like he’s been suffocated by her presence and the reality of their relationship.
And his involvement with Maggie doesn’t make things better in my opinion. I like the woman and she does genuinely seem like a good person and even if Nate has no intention of bedding her (yeah right), he’s still having a more intimate relationship with her than he is with his wife. Revealing nearly all of his innermost thoughts and feelings to her is definitely grounds for an emotional affair and to some extent, Maggie has to be aware of that. She notices the tension between Nate and Brenda and while she’s not doing anything to directly egg it on, she could at least try and maybe get Nate to open up to Brenda a bit more. Maggie’s faith which is Quaker is quite interesting. I have to admit I’m not privy of it but given her and even David’s descriptions, Quakers seem to have more inner peace and commune with God in silence rather than prayer. It’s the same faith that kept her sane after her son’s death and it’s another attractive Nate has to her as he seems to embrace the Quaker way of thinking by the end of this episode.
While we’re on embracing, the David and Keith plot continues to pick up nicely as both men still have their ups and downs on the parenting front. First off is their hilarious attempts of getting rid of their porn after Durrell and Anthony take a peek before school and then there’s Durrell’s school play which reaps all kinds of scenes including a melodramatic rant from David about being a single parent. Give me a break, Dave. Keith’s struggles with embracing the kids has been intriguing but the next time he wants advice don’t ask the Pasqueakers , they’re just too freaky for my taste. Still though by the resolution of this plot Keith and Durrell begin to find a common ground and hopefully this means less housewife outbursts from David, who’s beginning to sound like his mother.
As for Claire, it’s so great she’s getting her shit together as the character continues to redeem herself by settling into her new job fairly nicely. Okay so she isn’t initially keen on socialising with her new co-workers which I don’t entirely blame given their love for using a phrase that was momentarily kinda sexy last year but seeing as there’s no lesbian performance artist or a guitar lying about, it’s just plain annoying. However the arrival of hunky but slightly smug lawyer Ted bumps the angle up, especially when the two kick off the mutual flirting and revealing personal stuff to each other. Ted’s the lowest paid lawyer in the building (is he really bad at his job?) and Claire’s in an artistic dry spell (technically she’s been that way since those bloody collages but still), which could be one reasons why she finds him attractive but I really hope the writers don’t make Claire a total corporate chick even if she’s succumbing to some of the office politics in her new work place.
Elsewhere with Ruth things are more frustrating as her new single status proves to be more trouble than it’s worth. Her protests of liberation to her clearly bored knitting circle were utter bullshit even before she started acting hysterical at Victoria’s bash and the biggest shocker is George quickly moving on by demanding a quicker divorce so he can get married once again. Yes, that’s right George moves faster and is obviously just desperate to be with someone just as much as Ruth. While neither party are remotely sympathetic here, did Ruth really have to reveal all about George’s personal history to his new fiancé? She can dress it up all she likes but even I think there was some malice attached to her little bombshell. I love the woman but she’s beginning to get on my nerves. If she wants George, then take him back but if not then she needs to mind her own business. As for George, there is a slight chance he could be conveniently getting engaged yet again just to annoy Ruth.
But whether they end up back together or not at least there’s a flicker of passion with the two, unlike Federico and Vanessa. They may be reunited and even sharing the same bed but their relationship is still cold enough, I’m surprised Rico hasn’t gotten frostbite at this stage. Vanessa spent way too much here reading magazines and rolling her eyes and body features in excruciating pain and imposition every time her husband was any time near and in a truly brilliant scene with Ruth (why did it have to be a fantasy sequence?), Rico wonderfully describes the non benefits of his return home. The limbo between the pair is well played between Freddy Rodriguez and Justina Machado but with only five episodes left in the series full stop, can it really be stretched out any further?
Also in “The Silence”
Death of the week: Peter Thomas Burns died in the theatre either by heart attack or stroke. He was also a friend of Maggie’s and a catalyst for the Quaker plot.
Keith: “You know I’ve been noticing how much I’m watching my temper and I’m really trying to be patient but those boys are not easy”
David: “Yes I know and if I forget you remind me at least once a day”.
It’s been mused on the HBO forums but if David and Keith didn’t want the boys finding their porn stash, don’t you think they would’ve put in a much safer place than under their bed or just locked their room?
Ruth: “Sometimes you think you’re better than everyone else”
Claire: “Hopefully I am”.
Okay this just may be me but did anyone else think the dive bar Claire and her co-workers went to was like one out of Desperate Housewives? There was even a Nicollette Sheridan lookalike riding a mechanical bull.
George: “Do you want to talk about you feelings?”
Ruth: “Strangely enough, I don’t think I have any”.
David: “From now on say it’s Keith”
Durrell: “Yes Master”
David: “I told you I don’t like that joke”.
Some character bits here – Margaret’s cheating on Olivier, Billy’s gone for a while (not a bad thing), Brenda’s beginning to show and I don’t remember seeing Maya in this episode. Plus we learn Maggie’s son was called Jesse.
Federico (re Vanessa): “I want my wife to want me so bad that every time I walk by she wants to squeeze my ass and grab my - ”
Keith: “Of course I have a soul. What a terrible thing to say to your partner”
David: “Yeah well it’s a terrible thing to feel about your partner”.
Chronology wise, it’s supposed February 2005 but Durrell’s play was on April 15th, so what is it really SFU writers?
This week’s fantasy sequences, Nate imagining Brenda and Maya were taken from him could be foreshadowing something bad, Federico on what he wants from his marriage and David as a sailor boy. God, did Michael C. Hall just pull that one off.
Joy: “Maybe none of this is true, maybe you’re just a bitter, angry, psychopath”
Ruth: “I am not angry”.
Great casting in Cynthia Stevenson as George’s fiance. Her character in Dead Like Me was also called Joy.
Brenda (to Nate): “For once in your life just do what you want, not what you think other people want or what you should do because I just don’t give a fuck anymore”.
Standout music this week was Sarah Mc Lachlan’s “Fallen”, Black Toast Music “Ya, Ya, Ya" and the end credits score piece.
A less noisy and chaotic episode than previous instalments, “The Silence” is probably Season Five’s “weakest” episode and if this is what weak episodes will be on this show for it’s remainder, then the standard is pretty damn high. Another great episode, just roll on the next one.
An average plot and average death, but you need to see it before you see the next episode. hide show
The introduction death was poetic however not as poetic as previous deaths in the series. During this episode we discover how Ruth is coping with her new single status, how Rico is getting on with his wife and what risks are present for Ruth's new baby, which could affect Ruth and Nate's relationship. There are other plot lines included in the episode but none so important as these, because if you don't see them you'll be lost next episode. Six Feet Under has always had a tendency to make me cry, however in the past few episodes I just haven't felt it.
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