Everyone's Waiting

Season 5, Episode 12, Aired

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9.7
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The drama about a Los Angeles funeral home meets its maker after five compelling seasons. Three weeks ago, Nate Fisher Jr.'s death ended speculation about which of the show's major characters would die. But in the hands of creator Alan Ball, who wrote and directed this episode, you can bet the finale will be anything but anticlimactic. One issue certain to be resolved involves the health of Nate's unborn child, since tonight, Brenda goes into labor. While the last two seasons have been downbeat, the writing has remained original, the acting terrific. Like Nate, the series will be missed.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (61)

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  • i have no words

    10
    "Perfect"
    By BrianK3, Nov 13, 2011
    Just perfect.
    I couldn't think about a better series finale for this show...
    God, i was about to die too, with those last minutes!!!
    I started crying, and i wasnt able to stop! Even my hands were shaking for the "shock"!

    "SPOILER"
    It was like... all those people who have become your friends, dying one after another... so sad... so beautiful in some other way...
    "Closing SPOILER area" XD

    Seriously... i got out of my room, and when my parents saw me... I gave them such a fright...i was all tears, like a baby XD

    I'm really going to miss this show... but if we've learnt something from this... it's that everything has a beginning... and an end.moreless

  • Absolutely stunning finale

    10
    "Perfect"
    By DukeOfTed, Nov 13, 2011
    Anyone who says its impossible to end a series well, needs to watch this.

    Alan Ball and crew outdid themselves with this beautifully written, directed and acted episode.

    I won't bother recapping what happened, chances are you watched and already know, and if you didn't, stop reading and watch it. You won't regret it. This is the best episode of any show I've ever watched.

    The raved about last 10 minutes of this episode were the most stunning, emotional and beautiful moments I've ever seen put on film. I was openly crying watching these characters meet their ultimate demise. The whole point of this show was to experience death and how people deal with it... And now here we were, the viewers having to witness and deal with the deaths of these people we've watched live their lives for 5 seasons, who we grew to love, or hate. And thanks to the brilliant cast and crew, they felt like real people, they were so wonderfully fleshed out and developed.

    Kudos once again to Alan Ball for creating such a wonderful show, and ending it so perfectly, I don't know that it could ever be topped.moreless

  • Brenda gave birth. Willa is premature, Brenda is worried. Willa is immediately sent to intensive care. Ruth is the only one who can take care of Maya and Brenda, Margaret being out of town.The critically acclaimed Greatest series finale ever.moreless

    9.9
    "Superb"
    By ninjacobra, Nov 13, 2011
    It has been rocking alot in the Fisher family in the the last episodes. Wella is born, Everyone's Waiting begins exacly where it ended the last time, wich is kind of special for the SiX Feet Under Show. This is the very best ending to any series, movie or video Ever. Peter Kraus, Michael C. Hall, France Conroy, Lauren Ambrose, Mathew St. Patrick, Freddy Rodriguez, Rache Griffiths... are Actors that we discovered and are going to remember. I am a massive movie fan and I swear, this is by far the most touching ending I've ever seen. A normal episode, a good one, that you see leading to a end, containing alot of touching moments, but that is nothing comparing to the finale. You just don't expect what's coming and start crying when it is delivered.The episode, because of this, is almost perfect. Without delivering the concept or the punch, must just say that it's simply simple(original) but just so perfect.moreless

  • Everything ends, everybody dies.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By PabloExobar, Aug 29, 2011
    What can be said about this episode? I think I never had such a complete feel regarding a show. It was simply breathetakingly beautiful.

    The last 15 minutes are the best 15 minutes you'll ever see on small or on big screen. It's just - incredible.

    The entire episode had a very finale like feeling to it - things weren't neccessery going as fast as a bullet train, and there were no huge twists... but that's not what Six Feet Under is all around.

    Every character reached a conclusion by the time Claire left the house. I was completetly satisfied. The whole drama with Claire - and Nate being with her - easily the best part of the episode excluding the last 15 minutes.

    Also loved how Nate and Natheniel visited Willa. I think that sort of closure was very very important for Brenda, who.... I actually liked this episode. And that's extremely important: I liked everyone in this episode, which normally I don't. I liked Ruth alot too.

    Perhaps it's Rico who I thought was a bit full of himself. He is right about plenty of things, but he seems extremely stubborn at times, even if he doesn't mean to be like that.

    Onto the last 15 minutes. I think that there's no english word made yet to describe it. It was so good I couldn't stop crying. I was crying extremely hard. It almost felt like losing my own family members. As Claire starts driving, we see flashforwards to the future to see how all the Fishers die.

    Extreme. Right now even thinking about those scenes make me shiver and tear up. I "loved" all of the deaths. All of them were extremely sad, even though it was only Keith who didn't die naturally - he was shot by some thugs.

    Alan Ball didn't fall in the creative trap. He could've made it more dramatic by killing off his characters in a more dramatic way and much sooner, so we get the sense that they didn't live a full life.

    But luckily, that wasn't the case. It was far more touching this way. Way more touching.

    Especially Claire's death - she takes one last look at her family photos and creations, and then.... she dies.

    As does everybody. Everything. The ending was perfect, very fitting, and I am going to say this and actually mean it:

    This is about as close as TV can get to our hearts.

    The best ending to any series I've seen so far, and I've seen plenty. I will miss the Fisher family.moreless

  • Hauntingly Memorable.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By omajoy, Aug 29, 2011
    One of the best episodes of television ever filmed. Very few others even compare. Television has a way of simply bringing emptiness. Viewers care little for the characters and the plots are thuddingly thick in their redundancy. It truly is sometimes McLuhan's vast wasteland.

    But not Six Feet Under. From its pilot to this finale, the viewer becomes drawn into the lives of the characters. We love and hate them, forgive them, and understand that their complexities merely reflect our own struggles to survive each day.

    There are some books which we often reread, but very few television series or movies give us that same joy. Six Feet Under is one of those that does.moreless
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  • TRIVIA (1)

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  • QUOTES (7)

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    • Ruth: If my experience is anything to go by, motherhood is the loneliest thing in the world. Nathaniel wasn't even here when Nate was born. He was still in Vietnam. Even when he came home and David was born. And having terrible asthma, Nathaniel was never really here for me. Whether it was the war or just him, I don't think I'll ever know. Brenda: You know Nate and I were. Ruth: I know, I know. I know he loved you the very best he could. And I know you needed more. So did I. And I hope and pray that you put everything. Everything behind us and let me help you, because I know you're gonna need it. Brenda: Thank you. I will need it. I do need it.

    • Nate: Claire, you wanna know a secret? I spent my whole life being scared. Scared of not being ready, of not being right, of not being who I should be. And where did it get me?

    • George Sibley: [Making a toast] To Nate. David: To Nate. Bettina: To Nate. Claire: To Nate. Keith Charles: To Nate. Ruth: To my firstborn. Anthony: To Uncle Nate. Durrell: Yeah, to Uncle Nate. Brenda: [to Maya] Can you say "To Daddy"? Maya: To Daddy! Brenda: To Nate. Raises Glass

    • Claire: It's just I'm eating fruit salad in bed with a naked frat boy who voted for George Bush.

    • Nathaniel: So you're really going to sell your legacy? Your birthright? David: Yeah. And good riddance Nathaniel: I can't say I'm surprised. You never had it in you. David: Neither did you. The only way you could handle it was to have a secret room over a really bad Indian restaurant.

    • Claire: Oh, I will take a picture of everyone. Nate as a ghost: You can't take a picture of this, it's already gone.

    • Margaret: Ruth, it isn't the '50s anymore. No matter how you dress.

  • NOTES (4)

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    • Featured Music "Empty Spaces" by Lifehouse "Sur Le Pont D'Avignon" performed by Peter Macdissi (Olivier) "Avolta" by Arsenal "Take Me In Your Arms" (Rock Me A Little While) by Kim Weston "Doctor My Eyes" by Jackson Browne "Always Worth It" by Sarah Blasko "I Changed My Mind" (Stereo MC's Rattlesnake Remix) by Lyrics Born "What'll I Do" by Nat King Cole "I Just Want To Celebrate (Mocean Worker Remix)" by Rare Earth "Breathe Me" by Sia Furler

    • Ruth is watching "Just Shoot Me" on TV when George walks in.

    • The glimpses into the future: 2005: Ruth (59) and Bettina plays with a yard-full of dogs. Evidentially Ruth gets her doggie daycare idea off the ground. 2005: David (36) explains the embalming process to Durrell (11). 2006: The family celebrates Willa's first birthday. Attendants are Brenda (37), Maya (3), Ruth (60), George, Margaret, Olivier, Billy (with a puppy!), David (37), Keith (38), Anthony (8), Durrell (12). 2009?: David (40) and Keith (41) tie the knot. Anthony (11) and Durrell (15) are best men. Father Jack performs the ceremony. Guests include Brenda (40, pregnant with her third child), Maya (6), Willa (4), Brenda's new husband, Rico (35), Vanessa, Ruth (63), and George. Claire (26) takes photos. (According to Entertainment Weekly's "No Small 'Feet'" column, Brenda's new baby is named Forrest, and her husband is Daniel Nathanson.) 2025: Ruth (79) dies in a hospital bed with Claire (42), David (56), and George by her side. Before she passes, Nathaniel and Nate appear to her. 2025: Ruth's funeral. Attendants include Claire, George, Keith (57), and David. The man at the grave with David is Durrell (31); the man sitting to Keith's left is Anthony (27). The woman sitting to George's right could be Maya (22). Ted shows up to meet Claire. (Note that the same actor who plays Adult Anthony can be seen sitting behind Maya in the clip from 2009.) 2029: Keith (61) drives an armored truck for his own company, Charles Security. He unloads the back and thieves shoot him to death. 2030?: Claire (47) and Ted marry. Guests include David (61); Anthony (32) and his boyfriend/husband; Durrell (36), his son, and pregnant wife; Brenda (61), Daniel, and Forrest (21). 2044: A huge family gathering. Claire (61) and Brenda (75) talk at a picnic table. David (75) sits with his boyfriend (again, according to EW) and watches a family football game. Keith appears to David, and he dies. 2049: Rico (75) on a cruise with Vanessa. He gets off his deckchair and heads for the door, but has a heartattack and dies. 2051: Billy pontificates to Brenda (82) as she dies of ennui. 2085: Claire (102) dies in bed with a nurse nearby. Her eyes are clouded with glaucoma. Photographs on the wall include George and Ruth (2005?); Ruth and Bettina (2005?); Brenda, Maya, Willa, and Daniel at David's wedding (2009); Nate from Claire's collage-mask series (2004); David and Keith (2020?); Nate and Brenda from the wedding series (2005); Maya (2005?); Claire and Ted at their wedding (2030?); and Ted in bed from earlier in the episode (2005).

    • The song in the end of the episode is : "Breathe Me" from the singer "Sia"

  • ALLUSIONS (1)

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    • The title refers to the song "Waiting" by The Devlins which is played at the end of the pilot. The phrase was also uttered by Nate when he addressed Claire in the final ten minutes of the finale.

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