La Petite Mort

Season 2, Episode 12, Aired
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Hank finishes Lew Ashby's biography. Mia prepares to travel around the country to sell her book. Sonja is giving birth to her child. Charlie moves in with Daisy and they both get new jobs. Karen is given a job offer she can't refuse resulting in Hank and Becca to make sacrifices.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (4)

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  • finished up everything, but could have been a lot better.

    8.5
    "Great"
    By DoddsDonnelly, Dec 30, 2008
    Hank and karen are always on different pages. I am glad that the chicks kid wasn't hanks, but it sucks that now that she knows that she has already made plans to move away. I can't wait to see what happens now that hanks a single dad. I am still mad that they killed off ashby I liked him, and I thought that he was good for the show. they should have had more on him and the book in this episode. I wish becka didn't take that little boy back I don't like him. I am glad the runkle is getting what he deserves now. He was stupid to get with the dumb porn chick.moreless

  • Below average

    6.0
    "Fair"
    By Ho_Man, Dec 21, 2008
    Make this two reviews, one for this episode and one summing up season 2.
    For starters, this episode was pretty average. It wasn't really interesting and just plain boring. Considering the season 1 finale was so much more insightful and revealing, it didn't exit on the same note. I watched this episode hoping to be entertained by the dry humor and story-line that first captured its audience a year or so ago but this time, nothing like it.
    I'm glad the whole Sonja-Hank baby thing is over and done with as that sub-plot was boring as bat crap, Lew died so no loss there, Karen's going to New York, Becca and that douchebag get back together (terrible excuse for a filler), Charlie and Marcy are getting a divorce and Charlie moves in with Daisy while Hank just stands there as Mia steals his story. All in all, nothing major happened and it will be one slow year to see if season 3 will improve. Wish there was more to say, but this episode has left me with nothing to talk about.

    Okay, season 2 review. In one word: slack. Season 1 started off as this dramedy about a sex crazed writer who had a lot of personal and family issues to deal with. It gained a lot of controversy in Australia thereby exposing the show, people got curious and started watching it. Season 1 was so groundbreaking in the humor, plot and controversy it created, season 2 had to live up to the hype. Unfortunately, it fails. Miserably. It seems (maybe, just maybe) that the writers knew that had stumbled upon a treasure trove and following the feedback (positive or negative), felt as though they were on cloud nine and got cocky. This attitude resulted in a mediocre season involving implausible and cliche storylines and nothing for the actors to feed off. It became a tamer version of itself, which is not what viewers of the first season were looking for.
    Maybe it's just me, but for the whole season Hank stands by twiddling his thumbs while Mia gets away with stealing his story. Shouldn't he be doing something about it, go on the offense instead of taking it up from behind? More had to be done about this plot area.
    Writers of TV shows normally plan ahead, thinking they can get to the five season mark. If this trend in planning is the best the writers can muster, the show and season 3 will die painfully as will the viewers who loyally followed this show from its seedy and witty beginnings. If the planning is a season-to-season thing, they've got to take their heads out and bring Californication to its former glory or risk it disappearing into irrelevant television viewing.
    I'll keep watching, but for how much longer... it's hard to say.moreless

  • Hank celebrates finishing the book, Karen gets a new job, Charlie starts his new life with Daisy and Sonja gives birth.

    8.5
    "Great"
    By hrgaffney, Dec 21, 2008
    So this is the finale to season 2. This episode managed to tie up a lot of loose ends leading on to season 3 later in 2009. The most important event was Karen leaving for New York and Becca staying behind in California with Hank. This should allow season 3 to be more like season 1 with a lot less of Hank and Karen rowing and the whole on again off again situation out of the way. Also Sonja's baby was born and it turns out Hank isn't the daddy so no ties to her either. Charlie has now become a car salesman and living with Daisy while working out a split from Marcy. Overall this was a satisfactory conclusion for the season with plenty to look forward to next time.moreless

  • Not as good as Season 1 finale.

    7.3
    "Good"
    By thefanof, Dec 15, 2008
    Californication's second season started off with so much promise and picked up right where the hilarity left off last year, but since then we've had an array of less than stellar half hours. This was not the worst episode of the season, but when Californication focuses on trying to be sweet and romantic instead of being cutting edge and raunchy they fail, and fail miserably.

    In what is becoming the norm the Charlie Runkle scenes stole the show. From his masturbating to his conversations with Daisy he's just such a well-written character right now. Hank Moody had some good one liners as well, almost flashing back to his Season 1 level of brilliance.

    I know a lot of people have given up on Californication this season, and I cannot say that I fully blame them. With Karen out of the picture though, Season 3 just got a little bit more interesting.moreless
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  • TRIVIA (5)

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    • When Hank visits Damien at the fast food restaurant, Damien is looking down as he asks to take Hank's order. When the shot turns to Hank, Damien is looking straight at him, but when the camera turns back to Damien, he looks up for the first time as if just noticing Hank.

    • This episode closes with the song "California Dreamin'", which was playing in the opening scene of the first episode of the season. In the first episode, the original version by The Mamas & The Papas was playing, but this episode contains the remake by Shaw Blades.

    • "La petite mort" is french for "the little death" and refers to the male orgasm.

    • This is the first episode where surfer girl's name is revealed to be Michelle.

    • Featured Music: "Keep Me in Your Heart" by Warren Zevon (Opening scene) "It's My Life" by The Animals (Hank arrives at the graveyard) "Rewind" by Andy McCutcheon (Played at the bar) "Raj Mirage" by Extreme Music "Lost Verses" by Sun Kil Moon "High on Desire" by Sky Parol "Keep Me in Your Heart" by Jorge Calderon (Karen leaves) "California Dreamin'" by Shaw Blades (Closing scene)

  • QUOTES (10)

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    • Hank: (after seeing Sonja's baby) BOOYA!! The baby is black! Karen, dammit, the baby is black! You see that shit? God dammit, I didn't knock her up!

    • Daisy: I had sex with Gus. Charlie: What? Daisy: I got confused. Charlie: You got confused? What the fuck does that mean? Daisy: Well, I've never done a scene like that before, and we got to the kissing part and I got all confused. My autopilot kicked in and I kissed him for real, and the next thing you know, he was inside me. Charlie: That sounds like rape! Daisy: No, not really. Unless he wants to press charges.

    • Damien: (to Becca) I got you something. (He gives her a mp3 player) I put a playlist on there, our playlist, the one we made out to. All 17 songs. Hank: What! Seventeen songs? That's a lot of making out.

    • Karen: Oh, I just need a manny. Hank: Oh, I have excellent references. Karen: Plus my vagina's become really attached to you. Hank: Not your heart? Just your vag? Karen: Well it's tough if you know the heart and vag are not on the same page. But you know what? In this instance they are. Hank: Well, that's terrific 'cause I'm all about improving heart-vag relations. It's my thing.

    • Karen: (talking about sex with Hank) I can't live without this. Hank: Um. I thought maybe it was because you wanted to make a black baby with me.

    • Hank: (to Karen) I'm not entirely convinced it's mine. You know I never came inside her. I don't think I did, unless when she broncoed me I spasmed out a little dogwater, you know.

    • Karen: (talking about Sonja's baby) I'm not talking about your writing or lack thereof, okay? I was talking about the impending arrival of your latest mistake. Did you forget? Hank: Ah, Sir Francis Drake said he was totally down with raising the little bastard as his own.

    • Lew: You got yourself a little ritual there. Hank: Yep, every time I finish a book, Whisky, weed and Warren Zevon. It's the little things.

    • Hank: I like it here, it's nice. The sun is chirping, the birds are shining, the water is wet. Life is good, sweetheart! Life is good.

    • Hank: I'm not scared of you. You're very diminutive and I know ju-jitsu. Becca: I can still kick your ass. Hank: Yeah, at Guitar Hero maybe.

  • NOTES (2)

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    • Original International Air Dates:
      Czech Republic: March 24, 2009 on HBO
      Sweden: March 30, 2009 on TV4
      Finland: March 30, 2009 on Nelonen
      Germany: October 7, 2009 on AXN
      Slovakia: February 27, 2012 on JOJ

    • This episode is rated TV-MA for graphic language and adult content.

  • ALLUSIONS (6)

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    • Sonja: (referring to her baby's father) I forgot about that fuckin' barista, he was so hot. He looked like Lenny Kravitz. Lenny Kravitz is a musician who has won numerous awards, including four Grammys for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. Kravitz is famous for using a variety of musical styles in his songs.

    • Hank: (to Karen, referring to Julian) Sir Francis Drake said he was totally down with raising the little bastard as his own. Sir Francis Drake was an English sea captain who lived in the 1500s. He was popular to the English people, but was considered a pirate by other nations. Drake was granted knighthood by Queen Elizabeth I in 1581.

    • Charlie: (referring to Daisy) She's taking some Groundlings classes. She's really quite funny. Hank: I'm sure she's a deep-throating Lucille Ball. Lucille Ball was an actress and comedian who is best known for her role on her comedy series I Love Lucy that ran from 1951 to 1957.

    • Charlie: (to Hank, referring to the car salesmen) These fuckin' guys, they all think they're the only one who ever saw Glengarry Glen Ross. Glengarry Glen Ross is a Broadway play about a group of real estate agents in Chicago who use any means necessary to sell unpopular real estate. The play was written by David Mamet in 1982, and a movie adaptation of the play was released ten years later.

    • Hank: So, Michelle, huh? That's...that's interesting. Surfer Girl: You're disappointed, aren't you? Hank: Well, you know, I did kinda like not knowing. It was...it was cool in a Last Tango in Paris kind of way. Last Tango in Paris was a 1972 Italian movie about a middle-aged man, played by Marlon Brando, who has an anonymous relationship with a young French woman who is engaged to be married.

    • Hank: I'm still holding out the hope that she bagged some dude in the P F Chang's parking lot while she was looking for Mr. Goodbar. Looking for Mr. Goodbar refers to the 1977 movie staring Diane Keaton as a schoolteacher who spends her nights cruising bars looking for abusive men with whom she can engage in progressively violent sexual encounters.

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