In case you missed our recap of the first half of Season 1 of my favorite show of all time, let me fill you in on what we’re doing here. This is a special rewatch for me of the best show ever made. For my dad, it’s his first time watching it. In this installment, we will cover the second half of season 1. I hope you’ll watch along with us, and feel free to leave comments letting me know why this show is special to you. I love to hear that.
Spoilers for the second half of season 1 to follow, but nothing will be spoiled beyond what we’re covering in this post. Because, of course, my dad hasn’t seen it yet.
Emily: So we’ve finished season 1, and Claire is still driving a hearse. Are we making peace with it, or is it still not working for you?
Charlie: OK. I’m fine with the hearse but only when she’s in it with someone. Alone it’s still just one body in a hearse. Not sure a hearse in really a hearse until it has at least two bodies in it.
Emily: That sounds like an existential question, and maybe something we should address later in the show. So for now… Let’s get into the story arc of the second half of this season. Any pleasant surprises here for you?
Charlie: Not sure they were surprises but things that were pleasant. I really like the development of Ruth in the second half of the season and that she got away from her religious guilt about cheating on her husband. I thought the way she dealt with David coming out was pretty realistic and I really appreciated scene where she talks with her coworker at the flower shop about the first time she had sex with Hiram; that really uncorked her coming out. Claire also become a more multidimensional character in the second half. I’m wondering what will happen with that creepy counselor.
Emily: That counselor definitely crosses the line with Claire a few times this season in a way that isn’t illegal but definitely is creepy. I also really like Ruth in this second half. I think Francis Conroy is a brilliant actress, and the amount of depth she brings to Ruth in the second half of this first season is lovely. What parts of this second half of the first season are you less pleased with?
Charlie: That AIDS was not addressed. Here you have an inexperienced gay man (David) going into a sexually active gay community in some pretty self destructive ways, and AIDS does not come up at all. I don’t think AIDS needs to be a major element, but that “Hey, you need to protect yourself” is only mentioned once. So it was something that was distracting in that I was waiting for it to be addressed and it wasn’t.
Emily: I think it does end up coming up later, but you’re right. That part of his self-destructiveness hasn’t been addressed yet. This is a character-driven show, so let’s talk more about characters. Of course, I’m coming into this having watched the show before, so how I feel about the characters is pretty cemented in their entire arc. There’s really no way to reset from that. So obviously, my opinions of everyone remain fairly the same. But have your opinions of any of the characters changed? Any standouts from this second half of the season?
Charlie: I’ve said something about Ruth and Claire. Through the first half I loved Rico. I was a little disappointed with his homophobia. I know that’s probably going to go somewhere so we’ll see. On the other hand, one of my favorite parts of the second half was Rico in “Life is short” where he’s having to prepare to infants body at the same time his own child is being born. His wife was great in that episode too. I liked the was the writers handled Gabe’s guilt and his development through the rest of the season.
Emily: Gabe could have been a really throwaway character, but I like that they’ve given him layers. I still think he sucks, but it’s complicated. As for Rico, I think I remember hearing in the commentary that the actor Freddy Rodriguez also didn’t like the homophobia part of the script, but I think he sort of made peace with the fact that Rico is a flawed and complicated character, like all of the characters in this show, and he accepted it. I think Rico is still learning. This was in 2001, so even though that seems recent to old people like us, a lot has changed as far as the public opinion of homosexuality. A lot more people were homophobic back then because they didn’t know any better. But yeah, I love Vanessa (Rico’s wife). Thankfully, we will get to see more of her.
I want to point out a few little things that happened in the season that I liked as well. One thing that really stood out to me was the set up of the ecstasy in the aspirin bottle. It’s such a small plot thread, but I love how that little thread carries through several episodes. It made me feel like I had an in-joke with the characters because I knew there was significance to the Tylenol bottle. And I also want to point out that there were TWO ecstasy pills in there, so this story isn’t over. I like that the show has little things going on like that. Do you have any small moments of enjoyment like that that you’d like to point out?
Charlie: Yeah. Flower arrangement school and what it revealed about Ruth’s developing self-awareness and her willingness to work on being better. Earlier it was “what’s wrong with my arrangement?” Loved the reply that they look like they’re for a funeral.
Emily: Those moments of humor are nice. How do we feel about where this season ended? The very last scene we get is Federico’s Christening party at the Fisher home. Everyone is there, and it’s a small moment of joy. I loved the moment where David turned to Nate and told him how thankful he was for him being there, and Nate gets really emotional and hugs him. It felt like a real moment of growth in their relationship, and it felt earned. Nate and Brenda also get engaged, which seems like a positive move forward in their relationship. What did you think of the ending of season 1?
Charlie: It was hopeful but at the same time made you think that they can get along in this space, this sanctuary, but wonder what’s going to happen outside this safe place. It’s always been funny that the funeral home has so much more happening there than funerals- they live there, square dancing, Christening, and don’t think that was happening when Nathaniel was running the place.
Emily: That’s interesting. I hadn’t thought of that. It didn’t seem like Nathaniel was very business-minded, so I guess he wouldn’t think to do that stuff. Looking forward to Season 2, what are your expectations and hopes? What questions did Season 1 leave us that we expect to get semi-resolved within the next season?
Charlie: One of the problems with IMDb is you it’s hard to check on things without seeing stuff you don’t want to see like the number of episodes characters occur. So there are some characters that I’d like to go away, like Billy, that I know are going to stick around for a while. I want to see AIDS addressed. I want Brenda and Nate to find some joy. I’d like for things to work out, at least for a while, for Claire and Gabe, but I’m not hopeful.
Emily: At least we will see some growth with Billy, I think. We’ll see. Overall thoughts about this first season of the show? Don’t worry. If you don’t love it yet, you won’t hurt my feelings. You’re still contractually obligated to finish it.
Charlie: It was a first season and it spent some time figuring out itself. But the writer trusted their characters and they emerged. I didn’t like the corporate takeover storyline and things associated with it like David’s dramatic presentation at the conference in Vegas. The characters and the acting are the shows greatest strengths. Love that. And although I’m still not too crazy about the hearse I’m learning to live with it.
Emily: Too bad IMDB doesn’t tell you how many episodes the hearse will be in.
Join us next time for the first six episodes of Season 2! I’m very excited.