Wipe Them Out, All of Them

The last episode of Six Feet Under was fantastic. I find finales are often a let down, but I think series mastermind Alan Ball sent the show off on a perfect note. Needless to say, there may be spoilers in my comments.

Even if the show had ended with Claire driving away, it would have been a satisfying moment to leave the extended Fisher family as they were, finally having a few things going their way and appreciating it instead of messing it up. The montage capping things off was so utterly perfect; for what other series would it be entirely fitting to show each of the main characters die? Counter to the randomness of most of the deaths which began each show, the original characters were spared some cruelty and died of natural causes. Poor Keith was gunned down, but that’s the price for not becoming a regular at the beginning of the series I guess.

It’s hard to describe what made Six Feet Under so compelling to watch. The characters are all so selfish and self-destructive; you spend more time being exasperated at their actions rather than rooting for them. But maybe it’s like accident gawking – you want to see how bad it is. The father of the family was killed by a bus in the first episode, and it basically went downhill from there. There was the odd moment of hope and happiness, but it was always short-lived; just plain fucking things up seemed to a sport on this show.

I think that the writing, from the complicated issues to the twisted (and incredibly funny at times) dark humor, really sets it apart. I watched most of the final four seasons over the past few months, and if anything felt the show picked up steam as it went along. It’s only now that I’ve caught up and began reading info on the web (greatly avoided before so I wouldn’t be spoiled) that the final two seasons aren’t as highly regarded. While it’s certainly tough to top the Lisa storyline of season three, I’ve enjoyed the more recent episodes just as much.

An odd thing happened as I began to catch up with the season five episodes. While watching previous seasons that were a few years old or more, there was a sense that “this is the way things were in the SFU universe” and it was just a matter of it finally being revealed. But then as it sunk in that the supply of episodes was running low, and I knew just as much of the story as those watching since the beginning, there was more anticipation, speculation, and expectations. Shows were more surprising, because events didn’t feel as set in stone as before and it felt like anything was possible. Strange, eh?

As addicting as Six Feet Under was, I don’t think it’s something that’s easily rewatchable. It’ll probably be more than a few years before I could sit down and watch it through again. I heartily recommend it to those who like something on the “different” end of the spectrum, but I won’t be having any marathons to help get others addicted. That’s more fitting for Wonderfalls (check!), Firefly (check!), and Lost (next on the hit list).