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.
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 ;-)
Posted 11:31 AM EST by Andy Towle in Film & TV | Permalink
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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
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