This episode takes one of the harshest turns in tone from the moment that Nate's bereavement support group meeting is temporarily halted by the false fire alarm. What follows next is an acid trip of sorts, the sort of nightmare midnight experience like the ones in the films Blue Velvet and Eyes Wide Shut to name just a couple. It's not always easy, it's in fact frequently unpleasant and infuriating but that's by design. Never has an episode of Six Feet Under felt so difficult to digest as this and yet it's an episode that I feel is done in good taste. It's surprisingly (or maybe unsurprisingly) controversial, some seem to love it and others loathe it as the episode that ruined the show but I for one loved it.
There's such a tension to the second half of the episode since it practically does not leave David once after he lands himself in a sticky situation. The editing is merciless in that it never cuts away from this unpleasant storyline and the scenes themselves appropriately linger. There's that one moment where David seems to have gained the upper hand over Jake but runs away, not retrieving the gun from Jake, which falls as an oft-used cliche in film and television. And yet, since the episode maintains such an intense rhythm and it very much gets at David and the manifestation of all his fears put together, I feel it could be overlooked.
I LOVED IT!
