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08/22/2005

[Spoiler Alert] Six Feet Under Finale

After the jump are some brief thoughts on the Six Feet Under finale. For those of you who don't want to read spoilers, don't click the jump. If you're reading this on a syndication feed, I'm sorry I can't do anything about the lack of a jump. Read no further.

I don't have a lot to say about last night's finale except that it contained some of the most brilliant 75 minutes of television I think I've ever seen. I don't think I've ever sobbed — sobbed! — so much out of both sadness and joy while viewing a program on TV. To see major issues in these characters' lives resolved one after another was satisfying and cathartic.

My one complaint is that the aging make-up in the show's final moments was completely distracting.

Brenda

But what a risk.

A friend of mine wrote me this morning and asked, "Do you think the coda was 'real' or was it entirely in Claire's mind? As I think about it more, I think the makeup effects make more sense if they are how she's imagining - and accepting - their deaths with her own twisted sense of humor."

An interesting take on it. Please leave your thoughts on the show in the comments.

Also, that gorgeous song in the final scenes was "Breathe Me" by Sia. It's available on iTunes in the Six Feet Under: Everything Ends album.

ADDENDUM:
Many of you have been emailing me asking if I have a screencap of Ted's apartment. Here you go ;-)

Tedsass

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Posted 11:31 AM EST by Andy in Film & TV | Permalink

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Comments

Dr. Zaius! Is that you? Oh, wait, it's Brenda. Sorry.

I ended up tuning in for the last fifteen minutes purely because I was awake and I was there. I don't regret it, even if I probably flooded a tidal basin with my tears.

Posted by: Justin Cognito | Aug 22, 2005 11:41:00 AM

Andy -- The "Claire's imagination" hypothesis makes sense, given the editing in the final scenes. Regardless, I think the makeup definitely lends support to the notion that these were possible, versus actual, ends to the lives of the characters. While I didn't quite "get" the whole Nate portion of the final episode -- his taunting of Brenda, then his reconciliation with the baby -- the show as a whole was a wonderful conclusion to an amazing series. And the final, dream-like scenes brought an appropriate emotional climax (to me!) that made it all the more satisfying ... James

Posted by: James Nebraska | Aug 22, 2005 11:42:29 AM

I think it was real, not Claire's imagination. Obits can be found here. http://www.hbo.com/sixfeetunder/obituary/episode63.shtml

Not only did the show leave me a heaving, sobbing mess, I had to take half an ambien to get to sleep I was so traumatized. Then I dreamt about it all night (which I knew I would).

Posted by: Jefferson | Aug 22, 2005 11:53:04 AM

sia's whole album is great. she's done a great job as one of the voices of zero 7, and her album has been out for 2 years overseas--don't know if its available here yet, but its worth the import price.

Posted by: jeremy | Aug 22, 2005 11:57:46 AM

I think the sequence was real and not imagined, especially since the Six Feet Under Website has the characters obituaries listed which seem to correspond with last night's sequence.

I don't know if anyone noticed that one of David and Keith's son's, either Durrell or Anthony turn out to be gay. If you look in the beginning of the sequence where Claire gets married you will see the grown version of one of them holding hands with his boyfriend.

Posted by: Octagon | Aug 22, 2005 11:58:46 AM

4 years of magic is over. in my opinion it was the best TV show ever.
Still feeling misty thinking that there will be no more 6' under sundays.

Posted by: Piotr | Aug 22, 2005 11:59:25 AM

I, too, sobbed. I, too, had to take half an Ambien but drempt about it all night anyway. I, too noticed that Anthony (the younger brother--the older brother Durrell was there with a wife and child) grew up to be gay and was holding hands with his lover at Ruth's funeral. And I would like all of us to take a contract out on Virginia Heffernan, the supposed TV critic for the NY Times for her patronizing, idiotic review.
(I don't think the deaths were supposed to be in Claire's mind...I felt that Alan Ball was taking us through to the end of each life).

Posted by: Al | Aug 22, 2005 12:05:20 PM

I thought Nate's taunting of Brenda regarding Willa was a brilliant way to dramatize Brenda's internal conflict and anxiety regarding the baby's health and chances for a normal future.

The future sequence at the end was a masterful piece of television. I can honestly say this is the first time I have ever really felt real closure with the loss of characters from a favorite show.

Posted by: Eric | Aug 22, 2005 12:10:38 PM

One of the show's hallmarks is its use of dream sequences and "ghosts" to illustrate the inner minds of the main characters. nate's taunting of Brenda, for example, isn't Nate at all - it's Brenda's own self-loathing and insecurity speaking.

Despite the obits on the HBO home page, to me the "coda" only makes sense as a projection of what's going through Claire's mind as she opens a new chapter of her life. You can imagine her - now that she accepts death - imaging almost humorous endings for everyone she loves. How else to explain that every woman in the show dies with the same witchy hair that Ruth inexplicably keeps even after she finally ditches those 50's frocks she's clung to for five seasons?

Posted by: alan | Aug 22, 2005 12:17:05 PM

I cried for 20 minutes -- hadn't cried that much in a long time -- held my pug and boyfriend close to me, and thought deeper than I had in two year about life, death, and brevity of our lives. Agreed -- one of the finest pieces of television I have ever seen ...

Posted by: Jeremy B | Aug 22, 2005 12:17:18 PM

I thought it was brilliant as well. So happy to see that Brenda ends up raising both Mya and what appears to be a healthy Willa (not to mention landing a hottie husband seen at Keith and David's ceremony). I would have liked to see Brenda's mother included in the ending sequence for no other reason than her charecter always added levity to the show and because Joanna Cassidy is a fantastic actress.

Posted by: JimG | Aug 22, 2005 12:29:25 PM

Re Nate's taunting Brenda ... Yes, the explanation of this reflecting Brenda's internal conflicts makes sense. Maybe I was confused because Nate--when he was alive--had been hostile to Brenda about the health of the unborn child...unless I'm misremembering. Regardless, it was a terrific finale!

Posted by: James Nebraska | Aug 22, 2005 12:43:36 PM

I agree about Brenda's mother, who delivered one of the funniest lines last night poking fun at the way Ruth dresses.

I'm thinking the montage at the end was meant to be 'real' in the sense that it wasn't all in Claire's head, mostly due to the obits mentioned above on the website. but like all of Ball's fantasy touches, there's a dreamlike quality to imagining their deaths that transcends the merely physical and becomes more of an artistic device to tease out our fears, hopes and expectations. I joked a few weeks ago to some friends that they should kill off all of the characters in the show at the end, and i was kidding at the time, so i was amused to find that they did just that and that it actually worked!

The pre-show retrospective material was a little over-the-top, but no other show deserves to bask in it's own glowing praise more than this one. Truly a landmark in the history of television. Ball teased us, provoked us, and confronted us with the ultimate taboo - death - with a sense of humor and humanity that is almost impossible to find in the mainstream cultural media landscape right now. not to mention creating the most 3-dimensional and inspirational gay couple ever put on film.

bravo. and rest in peace.

Posted by: Aatom | Aug 22, 2005 12:47:54 PM

I had a WHOLE lot of questions after last night, here.

Posted by: The Malcontent | Aug 22, 2005 12:48:34 PM

I cried. I love it. It was real.

Posted by: hoyaboy | Aug 22, 2005 12:57:30 PM

SFU started off as a great show, went downhill, came back a little but was still too overwrought, ended...I don't know. I didn't care to see the finale. I stopped watching along the way and didn't miss it. I realized I was happier not watching it. Such a gloomy, depressing show. I hope HBO replaces it with a comedy.

Posted by: BJ | Aug 22, 2005 1:00:00 PM

Andy, thank you for this post. I was completely blown away by last nights episode. I cried during Clair's drive to New York; the imagery over "Breate Me" is just amazing. Not to mention as young twentysomething I too struggle with taking risks and fearing what I really want out of life. I then called my mom, crying, and told her how much I love her and thanked her for giving ME life.

It's so scary out there, and life is so short.

I was torn apart by the last scene; Claire being left alone with just her pictures. It was beautiful and humbling.

Posted by: Michael | Aug 22, 2005 1:02:32 PM

The aged make-up on the characters reminded me of the awful aging jobs done with Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson in the film, "GIANT."

Posted by: Mark | Aug 22, 2005 1:06:42 PM

I am cold and dead inside - just ask any of my exes - but I was sobbing less than half way into this. What a perfect end to one of the best series ever. I also debated whether the coda (thanks for the word, I couldn't think of what to call it) was meant to be reality or Claire's projecting. Interesting theory on the makeup, especially since every aspect of the show's art direction is always flawless. Regardless, it gave me the closure I needed and I have the puffy eyes to proove it.

And let's hear it for Ted's ass!

Posted by: JTG | Aug 22, 2005 1:08:21 PM

The deaths seemed real to me, but I think some of them came across too comical - they really shouldn't have started off with Keith dying that way, everyone I was watching with was laughing.

Posted by: Michael | Aug 22, 2005 1:16:15 PM

Laughing? Wow...I didn't see any humor in that scene.

Posted by: Jon | Aug 22, 2005 1:30:20 PM

Oh my gosh, there were definitely moments of black humor in the last scene - the fakeness of Keith's shooting death being one, but let's give it up for Brenda being "bored to death" by Billy's ramblings about emotional closure. Now THAT is funny.

Posted by: Kurt | Aug 22, 2005 2:07:54 PM

Those were the funniest 15 minutes of TV I saw all year!!! It ranks up there with the best scenes in Showgirls! The Night of the Living Dead bad make-up job, the killing off of all those angst-ridden, pathetically self-obsessed whiners, the pseudo reconcilliations, the sappy Lillith Fair soundtrack, the good gay parenting snapshot, the I'm going to NYC to be find myself as an artist cliche, AUGGGGGGGH...Where is Tony Soprano when we need him...Loved to have seen him just blow off the heads of all the members of the sappy Fisher clan. R.I.P. all of yous! Bring on ROME, HBO!!!

Posted by: Ray | Aug 22, 2005 2:22:16 PM

Posted by: Ray | Aug 22, 2005 2:23:56 PM

Brenda bored to Death by Billy was brilliant. loved that bit of humor thrown in. like a final gift from the writers to the fans.

still haven't recovered from last night. what an amazing job they did closing it out.

Posted by: cb/CityRag | Aug 22, 2005 2:39:56 PM

I found the last show to be much like reading a novel and not wanting to read the last chapter. I think the ending was a surprise, when it comes to tv, and also a reminder for us all. While we watched the lives and deaths of the characters through claires eyes and motion, Mr. Ball challenged us to see our own life as we take our own journey, and see time flying by. I think the focus was meant to be more on your own tears, fears and dreams rather then those of the characters.

Excellent art.

Posted by: matt-chicago | Aug 22, 2005 2:41:28 PM

What a relief to find I am not the only one who was reduced to a blithering, sobbing mess last night...I thought I would never quit crying! Without a doubt, the best television I have ever seen.

Posted by: T H E O | Aug 22, 2005 3:11:35 PM

The gay renovation of the Fischer homestead was masterful.

Posted by: Cdn Looking South | Aug 22, 2005 3:18:03 PM

It felt very Buddhist to me. Seeing everyone's life in total.

You live, you die and life goes on for someone else.

Really liked the "gay makeover" of the old funeral home!

Posted by: jessejames | Aug 22, 2005 3:20:13 PM

LYRICS FOR
"Breathe Me" - Sia

Help, I have done it again
I have been here many times before
Hurt myself again today
And, the worst part is there's no-one else to blame

Be my friend
Hold me, wrap me up
Unfold me
I am small
I'm needy
Warm me up
And breathe me

Ouch I have lost myself again
Lost myself and I am nowhere to be found,
Yeah I think that I might break
I've lost myself again and I feel unsafe

Be my friend
Hold me, wrap me up
Unfold me
I am small
I'm needy
Warm me up
And breathe me

Posted by: Michael | Aug 22, 2005 3:50:37 PM

In the obits on hbo.com Nate and Brenda's daughter Willa has the last name Chenowith. Even though her father's death preceeded her birth, I would expect that she would carry the Fisher name. Just surprised me....

Posted by: JimG | Aug 22, 2005 4:54:46 PM

I thought that the finale was preposterous. Am I the only person who wondered why Claire was driving to NYC instead of flying there?
The show should have ended with David saying to Claire as she drives away "Don't pick up any strangers."
Why weren't we shown the date of the death of the cutie in the red hood?
The old-age make-up was laughable, and the bit where Keith was held up and shot was the most ridiculous thing since the suicide that ended the fourth season.
Farewell and good riddance!

Posted by: Arnold Himelstein | Aug 22, 2005 5:16:30 PM

I was absolutely blown away by the finale. It was more than I ever expected, and I was definitely fighting tears for a good 20 minutes after the show. I watched it with my family and all of us were crying. It was good to watch it with them, to remind us all how much we really do appreciate and love each other and the lives we have.

The last scene was wonderful. It really makes you think about the finality of life. I am going to miss that show, I have nothing to watch now!

Oh, Arnold, aside from you being too dumb to understand, I can explain the car driving to NY scene. She wrecked the Cadillac. This new car was a symbol of starting anew.

Posted by: Paul | Aug 22, 2005 6:07:02 PM

Oh, Paul! I guess I'm also too dumb to know what you mean by the "finality of life."
Please explain, if you can.
You can always watch the paint dry on the wall.

Posted by: Arnold himelstein | Aug 22, 2005 6:19:55 PM

It's interesting to me how people who hate Six Feet Under seem to be so very angry.

Posted by: gigi | Aug 22, 2005 8:47:04 PM

Andy - thanks for this. I, too, thought it was pretty damn brilliant. I'm an actor in NYC, and this show has always been a favorite - for several reasons - the writing, the acting, the creative direction. Yeah - it hasn't all been brilliant. But the show has produced amazing moments that ripped through the television envelope. I was genuinely surprised by the last sequence - how brilliant to end this show about death by letting us see the deaths of all the characters we've followed (and cared about) over the years. The catharsis of it – wow - fucking outstanding. It was an electric moment for me personally. My response: five seconds in - wide-open weeping. I'm an emotional fella, but damn… Thinking about it now, I don't think I was crying my eyes out just for the characters - it was more a recognition of my own "life" and how fast - unbelievably fast - our time goes. The take home for me - Really live your life. Love the people in your life. Without fear.

It's kinda funny. I've always preferred film. To me it's always been a more intimate, powerful way to tell a story. But after last night, having watched the entire series from its beginning, I have new respect for television. Part of what made that ending so brilliant to me was that I “knew” these people, and their death was suddenly shown to me. I was simultaneously experiencing their finality and reflecting on my own. It’s like in our lives, we know people we love will one day die, but we don’t often want (or need) to think about it. That is, until it happens. Part of the powerful effect was dependent on my long-term "relationship" with these characters. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. Alan Ball et al took us from “what if” to “when” and it just blew me away. I don’t think casual viewers of the show could have “gotten” the power of the final sequence the way so many long-time viewers did. It probably seemed over the top. Ah well, a little reward for the faithful. Hats off to the creative team, the cast and crew of this show - what a way to take it home.

And yes, the age make-up was a tad...off. In all my angst and catharsis, I remember thinking the dying Brenda looked like the chicken lady from Kids in the Hall.

Hats off to you too, Andy. God knows you’ve helped many people, myself included, feel more connected. And less fearful. Blog baby, blog.

Posted by: Bo | Aug 22, 2005 9:05:01 PM

Wow!!! What an ending...brilliant...

Posted by: Andy E. | Aug 22, 2005 9:48:02 PM

Another great anti-Bushco. rant from Claire, to Ted: "Promise me that if we invade Iran, you'll move to Canada. I don't want you dying so that Halliburton and Bechtel get richer". Or something like that. :-)

I have to side with the "that's how they really died" crowd, that those White Cards of Death weren't projections of Claire's imagination. I liked all the little details, such as Durrell seeming very interested in the embalming process (I assume he took over the business after David retired).

I love the obits on the HBO site. Some good bits:

David: I like that he asks that donations be made to the Southern California Opera Association. He also had a partner after Keith died (he outlived Keith by 15 years) named Raoul.

Keith: "He died suddenly at work on Tuesday morning". Um, yeah, I guess three bullets in the chest will do that. Nice to see he owned his own security company, though.

Brenda: Very nice to see that Willa survived (at least until 2051, when Brenda died) and that Brenda had another daughter by her new husband, the hottie Mr. Nathanson.

Claire: "in a time when nearly everyone else in her field had turned to digital scanning and computer-driven imaging, she continued to use a silver-based photographic process". Yeah Claire! Resist digital! Nice to see that her and Ted seemed to have a long life together. Claire + Ted 4Eva!

Woof, Ted--nice bit of chest fur there. Would it have killed them to show his cock, though? It's not like penises haven't been exposed on this show before.

Posted by: Jim | Aug 22, 2005 10:10:36 PM

The closure for me was deleting the season pass off the TIVO

Posted by: Andy H | Aug 22, 2005 10:58:16 PM

i'm on the fence-
did i hate it or love it?
i'll watch it again- and again
and get back to you

Posted by: carywd | Aug 23, 2005 12:42:20 AM

Loved the finale. I laughed. I cried. I cared. The last 10 minutes were freakin' amazing. I sat there thinking about the show for a while after he episode ended. Looking out my window, reflecting on what I had just saw and wondering what the future holds for me.

It's been a long time since a finale has made this much of an impact on my emotions.

I loved that Keith david get married. Durrel takes over the business and Anthony is gay with an Asian partner (+++ points for that one!)

Claire surrounded by her beautiful photographs, but yet she is unable to see it at the end due to her cataracs.

Today while I was driving home on I-5 I played the song and all the emotions from last night came back to me.

Thank you Alan Ball & company for an excellent show. R.I.P. SFU.

Posted by: Layne | Aug 23, 2005 1:03:38 AM

I loved the first season of SFU but grew less fond of it as time went on and the weirdness and whining began. I stopped watching after the sadistic episode where David was terrorized by the guy he picked up on the freeway (gasoline poured on his head, gun put in his mouth, etc.). I felt like I had been punched in the face by an old friend and refused to watch any more episodes.

I didn't regret that decision to stop watching, but tuned in to see the SFU finale. The only part which moved me at all was the final minute when Claire was seen on her death bed as an old woman, her photographs on the wall. The rest of it - bah. It was hokum about characters that the show made me dislike long ago. I wouldn't want to be friends with a single one of them. Each good friend I have in real life is far better than all the Fishers put together.

A lot of the fans of SFU confuse weirdness with genius. SFU has had flashes of genius, but mostly it's been stylish, weird, depressing, whining hokum. Fancy hokum, but still hokum.

Posted by: Bill | Aug 23, 2005 8:47:00 AM

The ending was heart-breaking, mind-blowing and brilliant. I loved it.

It was fitting that the deaths were overlaid with Claire's journey. Anyone who has done that drive, leaving L.A. and crossing the desert, knows that it can be a cathartic and transcendental experience.

Just one question though...did I see the carjacker (sans hoodie) sitting in the crowd at David & Keith's wedding? Hopefully someone with a Tivo can confirm for me (either YES: he was there or NO: You are crazy). Thanks.

Posted by: Stephen | Aug 23, 2005 12:59:08 PM

could someone tell me what was going on with maggie? was she in a doctor's office as a patient? was that a suitcase? does anyone know why? i missed that part - Thanks.

Posted by: mj | Aug 23, 2005 2:33:47 PM

maggie is a rep for a pharma company...dropping off samples at a doctor's office is my guess.

Posted by: Jon | Aug 23, 2005 2:46:59 PM

I had the pleasure of attending undergrad in SoCA and after graduation immediately fled east with my life in my car. There is nothing quite like leaving LA through the desert in a car alone on such a journey. The change of climate and geography combined with the transfer from city to desert hits you with a jarring sense of solitude unlike anything I have ever experienced. My trip was long forgotten until Claire’s began down that same highway. What a tremendous experience. What a tremendous series.

Posted by: dasduke | Aug 23, 2005 3:13:10 PM

I wondered about Maggie in the doctor's office too, and thought, maybe she was pregnant with Nate's child. Could it be?

Posted by: Molly | Aug 24, 2005 11:01:37 AM

Wow! What a incredible way to conclude the series. I have re-viewed the coda several times and caught new details I missed each time such as Keith & David's gay son at Clare's wedding. The Sia "Breathe Me" soundtrack was just incredible and very moving. I too, was and continue to be very moved by the conclusion. It makes me realize that the time to live is NOW, not to wait to make peace and say what is important to the people we love. Bravo HBO!

Posted by: Jack | Aug 24, 2005 6:18:15 PM

I'm really going to miss SFU. What a great finale for a great series. I think the closing scenes were what really happened and not just in Clare's mind. Who imagines how everyone they know will die and the years of their death? I thought it was a great way to end a series, it gives closure. And the song by Sia is awesome.

I have one question. Does anyone know what Nate meant in his last line to CLare before she left, something about you can't take a picture because it's already ended. I know that's now exactly what he said, I'll have to watch it again, but it didn't make any sense to me.

Thanks for posting that pic of Ted's apartment....very hot (even if he is a republican).

Posted by: Brian | Aug 25, 2005 12:32:27 AM

Having seen the coda for a second time (and whimpering just as much again,) I had a different take thanks to something Nate said at the end: "You can't take a picture because it's already gone".

After hearing that I thought that the coda was actually Claire lying in her deathbed reflecting on everything that had passed. It made sense to me at that point because each of the Fishers had a family member appear to them just before their death. Maybe Nates' appearance to Claire at the end served that same purpose.

Just a beautiful way to end a show, someone at journeys end reflecting on how that journey started.

SFU will be missed

Posted by: JT | Aug 25, 2005 12:29:42 PM

We never missed an episode. I thought this was a great way to end it. Is it just me, or did the writers attempt to make us hate the characters for the last season? I mean, really, Nate's deathbed (though he didn't know it) rejection of the mother of his child, Claire's whining, Brenda's incestous fantasies (gross!), Claire's angst-ridden self-ceteredness, Ruth's ruthless dumping of George (That'll do, pig.), Claire's earnestness, David's phobias (hey, get over it, you're lucky to be alive), Claire's intolerance for office drones, Frederico's greed (I mean, Nate just died, and all he can think about is when he gets his share. WTF? Ditto for Vanessa), Claire's hypocritical love for a Republican yuppie, Margaret's drama-momma behaviour (We're both widows together), and Claire's, well, everything about Claire.

Yes, the deaths were real, yes, most of the ghosts are figments of the character's imaginations (I like to think that they are figments when they are hurting people needlessly, as when Nathaniel gay-baits his son or when Nate taunts Branda about Maya, but real when they are decent, as in the scene with Nate, Nathaniel, Maya & Brenda).

Nate was really, really unsympathetic toward the end--you could totally tell where he was going, doing the same old crap to Brenda he apparently does to every woman he's with. Still, he was the central character of the show (or at least seemed to be), though it was a nice touch to have Claire drive off at the end, making the entire series seem like a memoir, and redefining her, retrospectively, as the central character. Even though they made her really, really annoying this last season.

Posted by: Scott | Aug 25, 2005 4:10:02 PM

I am reading a lot about everyone's thoughts on the coda sequence. Although I don't think the deaths are "made-up." Since we know the obituaries are posted at HBO.com and the death scenes are accurate. We can likely conclude that Claire was not present during everyone's death, so we can only see (in her mind's eye) how she remembers and perceives the other's deaths, with the the information that she has about each person's death. Hence, the "fake" old person, make-up jobs.

I have the last episode recorded and watch the final 15 minues almost daily. It was BRILLIANT and so sad and funny at the same time. I told my sister a few weeks back, the best ending of the show would be to show HOW everyone dies. They did just that, leaving nothing to wonder about.

When she is saying goodbye to her family in the end and wants to take their picture. Nate is there, telling her she can't take a picture, this is "already gone." Makes me feel the ENTIRE coda sequence including THAT scene as well as maybe even the entire SHOW was all Claire's deathbed thoughts and memories about her family. ????

Posted by: Judy | Aug 27, 2005 11:57:10 AM

The last episode was brilliant and still haunts me a week later. I do think Maggie was pregnant and I think that's ultimately why she leaves and cuts off communication with George. I loved the last 15 minutes of the show. When Ruth and David see their loves, still beautiful with youth, before they die--that's the first time I felt the show was saying there is an afterlife. The other "ghosts" we see seem to be more about an internal monologue being played out--like Nate chastising Brenda about Willa's health is really Brenda being afraid. Nathaniel bashing David for being weak is really David punishing himself--and he finally realizes that when he rips off the red hood and sees that he's the only real enemy he has. I just thought it was incredible. SO rare that a tv show makes you think this much--after a death in my family a couple of years ago--you realize how true it all is...as someone said above so well, it's not "if" but "when."

Posted by: JO | Aug 27, 2005 5:25:25 PM

Was surprised that the scene of Claire's death evoked that of Rose in the movie "Titanic": the photos showing her life's highlights; the rheumy eyes dissolving into youthful ones... Would not expect Alan Ball to make such an obvious homage to a blockbuster...

Posted by: MY | Aug 28, 2005 3:34:40 PM

i have not sobbed so deeply as I did watching this episode. I can totally relate to Claire driving away and thinking about the future - when I moved away from LA to DC at a young age for work I did the same thing all the way across the country.
This show and episode deserves to be on all the best lists for the year.

Posted by: david | Aug 29, 2005 6:03:53 PM

If you notice a little more closely (thank goodness for Tivo)they made an attempt to be futuristic with the armored car Keith died in. The tires look very futuristic and the California license plate is a barcode. I could not really tell, but it even looked like "California" on the license plate was preceded by a word I could not make out, like "Southern California" or something like that. Perhaps indicating something happens to the state's status in the future? Can anyone tell me what the word over "California" is on the license plate?

Posted by: Tim | Aug 29, 2005 7:14:38 PM

The producers and writers of Six Feet Under really knew how to go out with a bang. Kill the show while there was still some life in it. It's something the Soprano's creators could learn about.

One question though......why is the future always so white?

Posted by: Chris | Sep 3, 2005 1:53:29 AM

the future is always white because that is a color symbolizing hope and eternity, an established theme of the show from the beginning according to alan ball, also used in this case because most shows fade to black, not white, so it was yet another means of setting the show apart from regular tv standards, and the death scenes used white to symbolize the old cliche of "going into the light". here's another bit of trivia from six feet under's biggest fan: the young actress who plays maya at keith and david's wedding in the finale sequence, i believe, is the same girl who first appears to nate in the episode when he sees all of his potential "children" after he finds out lisa is pregnant. The little girl says "hi, you killed me...well actually, you drove lisa to have me killed...i'm pro-choice, at least i would be if i were alive..." I swear it is the same girl playing the aborted child of lisa and nate who plays "older" maya. also in brenda's obituary, you may notice that it said nothing about her grandchildren which means i guess that neither of nate's kids had children at all, hmmm interesting...its possible that maggie was pregnant with nate's baby. as we all know, from the above-mentioned episode as well as others throughout the show, nate was one firtile bastard, knocking women up left and right from the time he was in high school, but if alan ball had intended that to be a definitive idea, he would probably have shed more light on it, like blatantly making maggie's doctor's offoce into an ob/gyn office, or having her hint to george or ruth in some way, or maybe that is why she moved away, or why she was suddenly so explosively sngry at george for abandoning her and saying that she has ruined people and herself. I guess none of us will ever know until we can ask alan ball personally. some of you seem to think that alan ball didn't know what he was doing when he wrote the series finale. this show was his baby, and he knew exactly what he was doing when he created the show, developed his 3-dimensional characters with even more depth than some real people, who are flawed just as any real person is, and ended the show with claire beginning a journey, driving off in her new car to find her life, as everyone else on the show is settled and is already living their life. In the beginning of the show claire was still just a child in a world of adults, finding her path while the other characters were already on theirs. as we see where the journey takes claire, as well as everyone else, we see where and how each character's journey through this life ends: Nathaniel Sr. bringing his family together through his passing in a fatal accident, and lingering, guiding them through the stitching of wounds old and new. Nate dying young and somewhat unexpectedly of a previously treated brain disorder that constantly loomed over him throughout the show, finally facing his own mortality. Ruth passing peacefully with her remaining children and her "companion" George at her side, seeing both of her Nathaniel's with her once again, as it was when she was Claire's age. Keith gunned down in the line of duty, not hokey at all, but very fitting given his chosen career path and heroic, protective nature. David, retired, happy, surrounded by his family and another love, seeing his soulmate Keith again beckoning him to join him, almost familiar with and aware of his death as it happens. Rico, retired, on a cruise ship in Puerto Rico, his parents home country, with his high-school sweetheart, his wife Vanessa dies suddenly of a heart attack. Brenda, who also grows old with her soulmate, her brother Billy, her only kindred spirit, passes listening to him still rambling on like a crazy person, still there for him to the very end like she was her whole life. Claire, old, alone, with no children of her own, with nothing but her photographs and memories, passes at the age of 102 years old, reflecting on her obviously full life, her love Ted, her family. Claire was the main character, the one who saw everything, the lives and deaths of those in her life, the happiness and the grieving. Claire was the one with whom Nathaniel (and Nate or any spirit for that matter) were always most tender with when they appeared on the show, she knew prophetically that both Lisa and Gabe were dead from her trip to the cemetary in season three, and she drove the old hearse, even though she was the only character who was not stuck in another time. Claire was the only one who was always more focused on the future or the present than the past, so it is perfect that the show ended with her entire future awaiting, overlayed with the fate and legacy of her family. To Claire the past still exists in her photographs, but she knows it is gone. For anyone who wants even further explanation than this of Nate's line "Claire, you can't take a picture of this, it's already gone." watch these movies: Where The Heart Is starring Dabney Coleman, Uma Thurman and Joanna Cassidy aka Margaret Chenowith (not to be confused with the movie with the same title about a Wal-Mart baby starring Natalie Portman) and Home For The Holidays directed by Jodi Foster starring Holly Hunter and Anne Bancroft. The point of both of these movies is how there are certain moments in life that are fleeting and perfect and completely memorable, but as soon as you think about what it means, or say it out loud, it is gone, so most of the time, you do not even think or have time to take a picture before the moment has passed forever and now exists only in the memories and dreams of those who were there. Life is made up of so many of these moments that are gone forever, just like the people who leave us or the people we leave behind. Everything is changing and everyone dies, every moment leads to the next and every moment will disappear, so the point is to savor them and try to capture them if you can, good or bad, but let go if you need to. Nothing on this earth lasts forever, and, like Claire, even the young new life or idea or moment that is just beginning to form will eventually reach an end and will pass on with only memories to prove that it ever existed. To quote Nate Fisher in David's dream as Nate simultaneously lay dying: "This is what we've been waiting our whole lives for, this is what we came here to do!" All of our lives are leading up to our death. Six Feet Under, I think, has helped a lot of people face this as we learned this lesson with the Fisher's as honorary family members who feel the same range of human emotions as everyone on the show. True fans of the show should feel like bastard Fisher children, I know I do. Growing up on the outside looking in at their world, that is just how Claire always felt. To the best show ever on television: Rest In Peace Forever (no syndication or editing for prime time please!).

Posted by: cecelia | Sep 21, 2005 8:23:04 PM

I have nothing left to watch... My life is over... Just kidding, the finale was basically the best writing ever done for a hour long television series. I can make this opinion as I have spent more than 3/4 of my life watching television.... yes I know how sad... I can relate with alot of the other posters here. I too feel perhaps I've let my life kinda stagnate, after seeing the finale, I think perhaps I can go out and do something as well. However, I'll be damned if I'm going to live to be 101. At that point, I don't think anything will be working and sure as heck don't need that. Alan Ball it's been a couple of weeks now, your vacation is over, get back to writing and create another beautiful masterpiece of television history. Afterall you have to watch some tv no matter how much life you live. I shall now go out and buy the entire series on DVD... I will rewatch it over again, on my death bed....

Posted by: Derrick | Sep 22, 2005 6:13:09 PM

I've been looking at the obituaries on the HBO website: why would the writers have given Brenda's second husband the last name 'Nathanson'?

Posted by: sue | Nov 3, 2005 4:24:12 PM

I can't believe it took me from August to now to realize others would feel exactly as i do. i continue to watch (and cry) the finale and tonight, downloaded the sia song. this ending was spectacular, i met keith in canada this past summer too, while he was making the current series and didn't even realize how perfect he was for the part till now. i too reconciled how important todays is, before reaching my final days. For this show I will forever be indebted to the cast, the writers, the producers, et al. and to all the rest of us, we were very lucky to have lived in todays world. wrap me up, i am small, and breathe me. thanks especially to all of you, for being my friend and holding me. in this moment, i am not small, as each of you have made me large.

Posted by: Stan | Jan 2, 2006 2:50:03 AM

does anyone know the name of the song playing while Claire was taking pictues of Ted in his apartment during the finale? I believe it was a Christian Rock song?!? I can't figure it out and its been killing me!

Posted by: kara | Jun 8, 2006 9:39:17 AM

yeah wat was that christian song at ted's?

Posted by: gerald | Jun 22, 2006 3:44:28 AM

The songs are:
Song 01: At Ted's place, Claire and Ted listen to his music.
Lifehouse : Empty Spaces

Song 02: Olivier sings this French nursery rhyme to Baby Willa.
: Sur Le Pont D'Avignon

Song 03: At Brenda's house, the Fishers and Chenowiths mingle.
Arsenal: A Volta

Song 04: Rico and Vanessa have champagne and celebrate their new life.
Kim Weston : Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While)

Song 05: At Sarah's Topanga house, Ruth, Bettina and Bettina's daughter make their future plans.
Jackson Browne : Doctor My Eyes

Song 06: Claire receives a message about her job. Nate tells her to go to New York anyway.
Sarah Blasko : Always Worth It

Song 07: The Fishers celebrate the Funeral Home's new look.
Lyrics Born: I Changed My Mind (Stereo MC's Rattlesnake Remix)

Song 08: In the Fisher dining room, all reminisce and make a toast to Nate.
Nat King Cole : What'll I Do

Song 09: Claire has a dream of Nate singing as her clock radio plays.
Rare Earth : I Just Want To Celebrate (Mocean Worker Remix)

Song 10: Claire leaves for New York. Everything Ends.
Sia : Breathe Me -Available on Six Feet Under Volume 2 - Everything Ends

This was all the music played in the final episode of the amazing show SIX FEET UNDER

Posted by: Jim | Jul 2, 2006 11:32:43 AM

i just watched the finale for the first time last night, over a year since it aired. The DVR had it saved all this time at a friend's house and then spontaneously it starting freezing and rebooted and almost didn't work, but then we just prayed about it and it worked and played the whole episode.

i was wasted after that. i just watched the last 5 minutes tonight.

i will forever watch those last 5 minutes when i need a good cry.

Posted by: will | Oct 18, 2006 2:00:46 AM

I am from South Africa and we have just watched the final episode. To the producers thank you for making me a part of the series. I can relate and have connected with each one of the characters in some way. The final episode was one of the best pieces of television script ever. It brought tears to my eyes and allowed me to look deep within myself. I learnt to appreciate and respect life because it sometimes can be much shorter than we anticipate. The closing scenes with Claire driving off will remain in my memory for a long time to come. Once again, brilliant work and thank you.

gapsdarr

Posted by: gapsdarr | Oct 20, 2006 7:31:21 AM

Another piece of music in the final episode is Kelly Clarkson Breakaway when Claire is driving away and nate is running along-side the car.
FANTASTIC - i watched it last week for the first time (UK person here!) and ive never stopped thinking about it. WOW - haunting or what?

Posted by: Sian | Nov 13, 2006 10:03:07 AM

Posted by: Sian | Nov 13, 2006 10:03:08 AM

Well, watching that was pretty incredible. When I watched it each death hit me hard but at the same time filled me with a sense of hope for the future. This season overall seeded overly harsh, with needless death and destruction all over the place - particularly with Nate becoming a total arsehole and the extreme emotional trauma David had to cope with - but this ending restored the Six Feet Under balance. Harsh and dark, yes, but also funny and life-affirming.

Oh, and Sia's Breathe Me (The song played in the final scene) is one of the most hauntingly brilliant songs I have ever heard. As soon as I hear it it brings me back to the same emotional state as when I watched the finale for the first time.

Posted by: Dominic | Nov 18, 2006 10:07:32 AM

do you think that this serie is only for gay people? only gay people watch it?

Posted by: anonymus | Apr 2, 2007 8:54:12 PM

I have finally finished watching the show on Bravo (lost HBO and caught up through cable). Are all the 'ghosts' including the father suppose to be internalization's of the living people seeing the ghosts or are some of them actual ghosts?

Posted by: slkdfjlk | Apr 4, 2007 8:03:26 PM

Cried with a depth I forgot was possible. Left me wanting to cry like that again. At 52 and a new first-time father of a 3 year old girl, the finale hit to the core of all my wonderings about how long I will be there for her, who she will become, how I will die. Mostly, it touched my soul's longing for meaning more than any art I have experienced. I am still grieving that it had to end so soon- like life itself.

Posted by: Steve | Jul 19, 2007 2:38:37 PM

I just saw the final episode last night after watching the entire series, which I'd never seen while it was airing, over the past couple of months. The impact of the episode hit me really hard, I think partially because I've lost close family members and partially because I've been so immersed in the show for the past several weeks. I love that the occasional comment is still cropping up on this two years later; I imagine a few more will show up as people watch the last episode and hit Google in an attempt to sort out their feelings over the whole thing. I'm still stewing over it myself, but I think it was the perfect way to end the show. Geez, I'm misting up again just thinking about it!

Posted by: Chris | Jul 25, 2007 11:08:59 AM

most of the points to be made have already been mentioned. I would have liked some closure with maggie because she lost the person she was going to end up marrying and i think nate finally found someone to commit with. At least she has her landing strip.
everyone of us has a date...sooner or later.

Posted by: damon | Oct 8, 2007 4:49:15 PM

I happen to think that six feet under is the best show to ever grace a television screen. The characters are complex and unique but remind us of ourselves. Death is an inevitable reality but somehow watching SFU has made it more palatable and reminds us that the real lesson is to life each day to the best of our ability and to enjoy it to the fullest with love, laughter, joy, and fun. I found Ruth a most interesting character, perhaps due to her age is the closest to mine, and the fact that I am a mom too. I found that nate was the most complex of them all. He changed so many times and acted like a good guy to an asshole and back again. They all had flaws and that is what made them all human. The acting was supurb and the writing of the show marvelous. Alan Ball you are the best. I own every episode and season of SFU, and when the whim hits me I watch them over and over. I would like to know what you call the kind of funeral that Nate Fisher had. That is the kind of funeral I want. Please let me know what to ask for when it comes time for me to plan it. I especially liked the role of Brenda, she was the one person that could not be predicted with what she said or did next. There will never be another show on tv that I will love as much as SFU. I consider it the best education of what a funeral home is all about and what it takes to put on a funeral. Funerals are for the living, the dead are dead and except for their wishes being carried out, they are dead. Funerals are how we say goodbye to our loved ones and come to grips with the reality of their deaths. It is our time to reflect and celebrate their life. SFU has taught us that life is all about how much living we fit inbetween birth and death. May I thank everyone who helped in making the show SFU possible. The show will remain in my heart and memory forever.

Posted by: SUSAN | Nov 5, 2007 6:10:22 AM

I just finished watching the series, getting DVDs four at a time from Netflix.

Throughout the series we are made to confront the finality of death. We have to see at least the final moments of each person's passing, and confront their cold body lying on a table.

The show HAD to end this way--with a montage showing the future of each character. Showing each character's death is the only way to reinforce the finality of life. The audience can't be left thinking that the characters still "live on" somewhere after the series is over.

The main theme of this show was to confront the inevitability of death, and the finale is the perfect way to reinforce that everyone dies.

I would write a series like this just to be able to create the last fifteen minutes.

Posted by: John B | Jan 31, 2008 12:35:45 AM

Just watched the whole series in 3 weeks. The season finale was the best ever. I watched again the next day just to see if I missed something...
I think Maggie was pregnant with Nate's baby so another Fisher to lead on...

Posted by: Suzzy | Jul 9, 2008 6:30:21 PM

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