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Six Feet Under Season 2 Episode 11

The Liar and the Whore

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9.0

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 5/12/02

Edith Kirky
1929-2002

David is having a rather interesting time trying to deal with Keith's niece. Nate has to leave work for a bit so he and Brenda can visit with his rabbi friend, but before he can leave he gets served with legal papers. They are getting sued by a former client. Keith's mother and father visit only to tell him how much they don't approve of his "lifestyle" and they don't want his niece exposed to it.

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Fan Episode Reviews (5)

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9.2

By Canogaparkcindy, Apr 07, 2011

As Six Feet Under closes out it's sophomore year, the quality of the episodes are getting better. Six Feet Under has been superb all season and this episode really was no different. I loved the scene with the rabbi and the whole conversation on honesty. It was so ironic, I loved it.

We also got some intense scenes coming from David tonight what with Kieth treating him like a door mat and on top of that, he's being sued. Nice return of the guest character a couple episodes back, she brought us more powerful scenes on tonight's episode.

Yes! Claire is finally talking to her counselor again. I'm loving the subtle development between the two. Can't wait to see what happens with them by the end of the season, as I'm interested in Brenda as well. At least we know why she is the way she is. We got to see a bit of her messed up past. Nikolai needs to go. That's all I'm going to say on that subject. Overall, amazing episode. Can't wait for the next.moreless
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9.0

By cavanagh15, Aug 04, 2008

I really like it when David and Nate have to handle a big situation in terms of dealing with the business. David going off on the woman who was trying to sue them was a great scene. Loved that he hated his father for never accepting him and he still tries to save this business every chance that he can get. Nate and Brenda have gotten back together...for now. However, Nate was honest with her and she forgave him. She has told him nothing. Knowing Alan Ball, this is sure to come into play in the final two epsiodes. Really love how they are getting Rico a little more involved. I think Vanessa and him have a great relationship on camera and I like seeing there characters devolop. Ruth + Nikoli? Don't care for either one and there storyline. Claires storyline was paired with Ruth, so it hurt her a little bit. Overall, 2/4 of the Fishers with some really good scenes and obviously the scenes with Brenda were predictable, but very well acted on her part.moreless
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Newsflash: Brenda is a whore.

8.0

By PabloExobar, Jul 14, 2008

Fine episode, pretty much the qualiy i want from this show. There were several great storylines. In fact , apart from Brenda's threesome, Everything was superb.

I started to like Ruth too. Which is surprising, but for some reason I started to pity her. She doesn't deserve the treatment she gets and finally she's not doing anything crazy to gain attention.

Keith and David dialouges were interesting and it's nice to finally see Keith under true pressure. His character has been way too "stable" until now.

Nate as usual proved to be consistently good throughout the episode... the season... the show.

Overall, very good episode but Brenda's character is so annoying I don't see how this episode could be anthing more than a 8.moreless
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The Nate And Brenda Show Written by Rick Cleveland Directed by Miguel Arteta

7.0

By shawnlunn2002, Nov 17, 2005

Nate and Brenda seek advice from Rabbi Ari, who leads them to a more honest place in their relationship. Ruth's need to control both Nikolai and Claire's lives leads to a surprising self assessment. When Federico is suspicious of a death of an elderly patient, he inadvertantly puts Vanessa under scrutiny, while a disgruntled former client files a lawsuit against Fishers & Sons, masterminded by an old friend at Kroehner.

Yep, those annoying people at Kroehner strike once as does the widow from "In Place Of Anger" and it's only a rather pissed off David that saves the day. There's a lot of great stuff going for both Fisher men, but this subplot slightly bogs thing down a bit.

Thankfully, their main plots are more meatier. David, for instance is the one who has to force Keith to stand up for himself against his father in order to stop Roderick from taking Taylor with him and Lucille and even Karla displays sympathy here when she begs Keith to take of her child.

Pity, she didn't do this earlier on in the show as it would have made her plight more sympathetic as well. Thankfully, Keith does stand up to his father, causing something of a breakthrough with him and David.

Ruth and Nikolai, it needs to be said - Ruth, enough with the clingliness and dump the silly sod as this relationship is practically dead in the water as we speak anyhow. And it's making you miserable.

Unlike Claire, who actually provides a lot of the humour in this episode when her and Parker get high on magic mushrooms, courtesy of Sarah. Both Lauren Ambrose and Marina Black display some brilliant comic timing here as Claire even makes a spangly dress for Ruth and finally acknowledges to Gary - post high, that she needs to treat her mom better.

Thinking about The Simpsons for a second made me think about the fact that they have a cartoon within a cartoon and this season of Six Feet Under has felt like a drama within a drama as Nate finally confesses to Brenda that he got Lisa (who doesn't appear here)pregnant. Brenda responses by screwing two surfer dudes while high, and suffering a nasty flashback to her own childhood.

Worse still, the two lovers reunite at the end of the episode and try to pretend that nothing never happened (Nate still isn't aware of Brenda's little secret).

Also in "The Liar And The Whore"

Death of the week: Edith Kirky with a sausage caught in her throat.

Ruth:"Claire are you depressed?"

Claire:"I'm not even gonna answer that question"

We missed Claire's birthday. Must have been somewhere between this episode and last.

Yuri (to Nikolai):"I'll be back. Like Terminator, no?"

Ari:"Are you alright?"

Nate:"Yeah i'm great"

Ari:"Okay that's bullshit. I'm coming in and you're gonna offer me something to drink".

Aaron has pancreatic cancer and a sense of humour to boot.

Karla (to Keith):"People don't change. They just get older, that's all".

Chronology wise, it's April 2002, a month after the previous episode.

Brenda:"As fucked up as you are, you are the sanest thing in my life, so let's work this out, okay?"

Nate:"Okay".

Standout song in this episode was Laura Nyro's "Povery Train" during Brenda's flashback.

Following last week's excellent instalment, "The Liar And The Whore" is a little bit of a disappointment and feels slightly like a filler, despite some pivotal moments here, which can only mean that the next two episodes will kick ass big time. Still, points for an incredibly disgusting way to kill a character as the elderly person dies from choking on a sausage and I will refrain from the amount of smutty jokes that I am tempted to make as a result.moreless
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Reasons Edith Kirky 1929-2002 Written by Rick Cleveland Directed by Miguel Arteta

9.0

By DFisher2005, Sep 11, 2005

"Ramona... I'm in such pain... RAMONA! Uh, I'm in such agony I wish the good lord would take me soon. RAMONA!!!"--Edith Kirky

It seems this week the moral and value the Fishers have to deal with is the reasons why we do the things we do. This episodes reminds me a lot of an Earth, Wind and Fire song perfectly entitled "Reasons" (which is one of my favorite bands and songs, by the way). There is always a reason that people do the thing we do for instance there is a reason Ramona Kippleman murdered her roommate Edith. There is a reason Ruth is so concerned about her daughter, Claire's wellbeing. There is a reason Keith's parents wnat to take responsibility for Taylor. And ultimately the reasons why both Nate and Brenda have betrayed each other and trying to save the relationship before it goes "six feet under".

The opening death is probably (in my opinion) the most entertaining and the most interesting of the deaths in my opinion. Two women at the Bay Breeze Nursing Home (where Vanessa Diaz works) are casually eating lunch while watching the classic CBS soap, The Bold and the Beautiful. Edith is complaining to her roommate Ramona about the details of her sad life. When Ramona feels she is about to explode she silences Edith sending her into a code. When Vanessa and her nurse friend Delores come to make rounds they discover Edith quietly sitting still when they realize she is dead. The attempts to resucitate her are null since she has been dead for several minutes. Later, at the funeral home Federico discovers a visible problem with Edith's cadaver where there are contusions around her neck, Federico opens her mouth, removes her dentures to find deep in her throat a very large frankfurter. And remembering from the cold open that Ramona was eating a hot dog, that is what she used to silence poor old Edith.

When the coroners discover that Vanessa and Delores were Edith's nurses they are immediately sent into the police for investigation on why they could not see that the roommate had choked to death. With no answer, the police hand them over to the nursing home where they are fired for negligence and thanks to Federico his wife is out of job. It seems Federico is in the doghouse once again even though he had did the right thing.

As this charade is simultaneously occuring, David and Nate must be worried when a client from the past threatens to sue them for emotional distress. The client turns out to be Mrs. Catherine Collins from Episode 6 who claimed Nate showed her Mr. Collins' badly decomposed and damaged body. When David appeals to the lawyer, the lawyer feels that they should settle. However when they go to Ruth for money she tells them that most of Nathaniel's money is gone since she used his life insurance to pay off the Russian mob, a kind deed for her lover Nikolai. David then must ultimately come to the rescue when he confronts the widow about her domestic violence. When David gets his way, Mrs. Collins agrees to tear up the lawsuit and asks him to leave immediately.

David then arrives home to find Keith's parents at his apartment where they ask casually if they may raise Taylor in San Diego feeling Taylor will have more stability rather than living in a "gay" home. Now I really don't think that makes any sense, gay families can do just as well as can a straight family. It matters how well you can love the child and how much the child loves you whether or not both parents being of the same sex. Keith stands up to his father where he says that Taylor is remaining with David and himself. In anger, his father confronts Keith who shows no fear and leaves furious. David feels proud since Keith has finally stood up for himself in front of his abusive father.

Nate and Brenda attend a pre-marriage counseling session with Rabbi Ari where she advises them that honesty is always the best policy to have a stable, healthy marriage. Brenda disagrees stating some relationships have to have lies in order to work. Nate then comes clean about his affair with Lisa and that she is pregnant. Brenda hurt, leaves the synagogue and goes home where she looks for comfort by calling Billy who is also not home at the moment. Brenda then invites two stoners into her home where they have a threesome and when the one stoner asks for her number, Brenda replies "Why so we can date?". After they leave, Brenda absorbs all of her day and her little event and starts writing.

After Brenda arrives at the funeral home feeling she needs Nate as much as he needs her and they agree to put aside the differences for now and keep the engagement on as planned.

Other important events in "The Liar and the Whore"...

*Title: I like the title which describes a scene where Nate and Brenda are both wearing "Liar" and "Whore" shirts respectively.

*According to Alan Ball, the "Edith Kirky" death was based on an actual story from a newspaper where a roommate murdered her roommate by choking her with a hot dog.

*Ruth is a very sincere and wonderful woman despite having so many flaws. She really has a good heart and cares for the people she loves. By giving away the insurance money for Nikolai's benefit was a really sweet gesture and yet Nikolai didn't even have the decency to say "Thank you".

*Not much happening with Claire this week other than Parker and herself getting into a birthday gift from Aunt Sarah which Claire believes are Chinese holistic herbs when in reality they are "magic mushrooms". The two get high off the mushrooms and Claire makes a thoughtful gift for Ruth: a pair of halloquin pants which Ruth affectionately wears until Claire asks her not to. Claire is then giving a brochure for LAC Arts College which Ruth believes she has true talent for. This brochure can be an outlet to some great and wonderful things in the future. We will see how this plays out.

A funny and entertaining episode with just the right amount of drama. The Fishers are really digging themselves deeper and deeper into holes which resolve quickly but what the future has for in store may not as quickly to resolve when the actions may have serious consequences.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Peter Krause	Nate Fisher
Mathew St. Patrick	Keith Charles
Frances Conroy	Ruth Fisher
Lauren Ambrose	Claire Fisher
Freddy Rodriguez	Federico Diaz
Michael C. Hall	David Fisher

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Chase Penny	Short Stoner	Guest Star
Kim Coles	Dolores	Guest Star
Molly Parker	Rabbi Ari	Guest Star
Aysia Polk	Taylor	Recurring Role
Joel Brooks	Robbie	Recurring Role
Marina Black	Parker	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (1)
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- David should fire their lawyer. Mental anguish, emotional distress cases, and the like are some of the hardest to prove in court. Few ever result in a verdict for the plaintiff. Yet, the lawyer says the case is "airtight". Absurd.
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QUOTES (2)
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- Claire: If we live our lives the right way, then every single thing we do becomes a work of art.
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- Ruth: Claire, are you depressed?
  Claire: I'm not even going to answer that question.
  Ruth: Well, whatever you're going through, I hope you don't blame me.
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NOTES (3)
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- Ramona and Edith are watching "The Bold and the Beautiful" on TV.
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- Brazil title: "A Hora da Verdade" ("The Time of Truth")
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- Songs:
  The Doves - "Meet Me At The Pier"
  
  Mendelssohn - "String Quartet, Opus 44 #1"
  
  Laura Nyro - "Poverty Train"
  
  Tosca - "Orozsco (Dubphonic Mix)"
  
  Air - "The Way You Look Tonight"
  
  Mozart - "Quartet in D major"
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ALLUSIONS (1)
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- Claire: That's the whole f*cking problem of the world right now. It's that we don't try to be creative with every single thing we do.
  Parker: Martha Stewart does!
  
  Martha Stewart is an American business magnate, author, editor, convicted criminal and homemaking advocate. Over the last two decades Stewart has held a prominent position in the American publishing industry; as the author of several books, hundreds of articles on the domestic arts, editor of a national home keeping magazine, host for two popular daytime television programs, and commercial spokeswoman for K-Mart
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