Six Feet Under: The Invisible Woman

July 9, 2019 9:03 PM - Season 2, Episode 5

A woman chokes to death on her TV dinner while alone in her apartment, and the Fishers do their best by a woman who seemingly has no family or friends to mourn her. Claire takes the SATs and Parker doesn't, Brenda embarks on several new departures, David meets someone new and then temporarily reconnects with Keith, who is devastated by a terrible turn of events on the job, and Ruth takes a personal interest in their friendless client's funeral and demands intimacy from her children because she fears sharing her fate.

The obituary from this episode:

Emily Previn (July 14, 1954 - September 2001)

Emily Previn of Hollywood passed away recently. She was a graduate of Fairfax High School, class of '72. Friends are invited to a service in her honor on Friday, September 19th at 4PM at Fisher & Sons Funeral Home.

posted by orange swan (3 comments total)

Emily Previn certainly is a cipher. But I think she was a contented person -- that little smile as she began her crossword puzzle indicates she was enjoying her peaceful, solitary meal at the end of her work day -- and that she must have had some friends and family somewhere. They just didn't hear of her death in time to come to her funeral. It was lovely to see the Fishers make sure she had a fitting funeral service. They all are quite decent and kind-hearted people. There was a slightly out of focus woman in black who appeared behind David and Rico during the funeral service, which likely was meant to be Emily's ghost, and I thought that rather a nice touch. I also noticed that Ruth, who picked out a pair of pearl earrings from Emily's jewelry box during the trip to her apartment, seemed to be wearing them during the funeral service.

Rico's dedication to his work really is something. He not only enjoys and prides himself on doing an amazing job, he needs to do an amazing job. He just couldn't stand it that he wasn't able to restore Emily's body to a presentable state, even though it simply wasn't possible for him to do it.

Can't blame Claire for dumping Parker after her SAT fraud. I would have done the same thing. For all her disaffection and poutiness, Claire really isn't the wild child she is sometimes taken for. She has a strong moral code.

Brenda's sitting in as a watcher on her friend the prostitute's blowjob session was her first move towards seriously spiralling out of control. Proposing to Nate is yet another way for her to cast about for direction in her life, but their engagement is only going to accelerate the process because it's not really what she wants or is ready for.

Poor Keith. His shooting that guy on drugs who swung around with a gun was justifiable force, but it was still a horrible choice to have to make and now he has to live with it. His turning to David rather than Eddie for support indicates a certain lack of something in his and Eddie's relationship. Enjoy your smoking hot boyfriend while you still can, Eddie!

Ruth really doesn't need to worry about dying alone because she has three children who clearly really love her. But then that's so much the case with her in general. She's a good mother who has a good relationship with each of her children, and what she really needs to do is attend to the self-development that got neglected for decades while she was occupied with being a wife and mother -- and which consequently resulted in her becoming angry and repressed. Interestingly, Ruth has noticed that something is up with Nate, while Brenda, Ms. Super Smart Armchair Analyst, has no fucking clue.

Nate, TELL YOUR GIRLFRIEND, TO WHOM YOU ARE NOW ENGAGED, ABOUT YOUR HEALTH ISSUES.
posted by orange swan at 2:07 AM on July 12, 2019

I think differently about Ruth. I suspect she's been a mother so long that she's unable to forge adult relationships with her children, and they find this exasperating. Of course, Claire isn't yet an adult, but as we see in so many episodes, Ruth just has no clue about what Claire's about. Also, of course, David has yet to leave the nest, but Ruth - being an emotional ostrich - doesn't grasp what he's struggling with. Or if she does, she won't go near the subject.

Am thinking of the first episode, when Claire is driving her mother home from the hospital. The crisis has emboldened Ruth to inquire of her daughter if she's on drugs. Is she having sex? Really, Ruth - you ask NOW?
posted by goofyfoot at 5:59 PM on July 31, 2019

Adam Scott! And he looks the same as he does now!

I think Ruth sees the relationship her children have with each other and it feels like to her she’s the one not included in the group.
posted by LizBoBiz at 11:16 PM on September 16, 2019 [1 favorite]