S01.E05/S01.E06: To Be / Not Be/Art Vs. Life

[PrincessPurrsALot]

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A difficult decision unexpectedly gives Edie a new lease of life. A trip to Art's new hospice leads Edie to ask Kate for help.

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Kate is horrified by Edie's proposition, but Art and Edie aren't willing to let it drop. Plus, Edie agrees to a secret rendezvous with Henry.

Original air date 2021.08.01

[aghst]

So I've been enjoying the series so far.

It was hard to tell what the show was about,  whether it was about one particular individual wishing to die or it's several variations on suicide and euthanasia.

Seems to be trending towards the latter after a half dozen episodes.

The pilot showed Edie's attempt to end herself, in a comic way.  She tried to asphyxiate herself in sleep but finds herself tearing the plastic bag off her face.  But she also set up her fireplace to burn her house down yet she decides to jump from the second floor bedroom window, only succeeding in breaking her wrist.

She survives all these attempts and tells her daughter Kate that she plans to try again.  Kate puts her in a swanky seniors condo while Edie warns her not to let Kate's children get too close to her since she doesn't plan to be around much longer.

Edie is a breast cancer survivor with double mastectomies, a loyal wife who discovers her late husband has been unfaithful to her for years before his demise.

Meanwhile, Kate is surrounded by death at work, where as a doctor, she deals with more than a few terminal patients.  One of them kills herself, after Kate refuses to administer narcotics which the boyfriend has acquired.  The boyfriend blames Kate for allowing his girlfriend to die in pain but then asks her to help him euthanize some other terminal patients he'd met in a support group.  In one case, he botches some pharmaceutical cocktail and Kate has to help to put the patient out of his misery.

Then Edie prevails on Kate to help Art, one of her neighbors, die in dignity before his disease -- maybe Alzheimer's -- takes away his wits.

It also turns out that one of Kate's children is trying to transition into a boy and Kate worries that she may also try to kill herself.

Edie is trying to compile a list of the pros and cons of living and as she makes friends with a social circle of other seniors, the list is balanced.  But Edie and Kate now openly talk about "helping" people die by the end of the sixth episode.

 

I wonder if the show wouldn't be better off evolving the characters away from death, have Edie find reasons to live rather than searching out others who want to die, like she did.  If they plan to have more than one season, it might be difficult to sustain -- Kate is taking a big risk if she continues to euthanize people and it would be strange if Edie's newfound reason for living is to help others die.

[Dminches]

On 8/4/2021 at 8:34 AM, aghst said:

It also turns out that one of Kate's children is trying to transition into a boy and Kate worries that she may also try to kill herself.

Edie is trying to compile a list of the pros and cons of living and as she makes friends with a social circle of other seniors, the list is balanced.  But Edie and Kate now openly talk about "helping" people die by the end of the sixth episode.

 

I wonder if the show wouldn't be better off evolving the characters away from death, have Edie find reasons to live rather than searching out others who want to die, like she did.  If they plan to have more than one season, it might be difficult to sustain -- Kate is taking a big risk if she continues to euthanize people and it would be strange if Edie's newfound reason for living is to help others die.

My understanding is that the transitioning daughter already tried to kill herself.

Edie is starting to evolve away from death.  She has made a “pros” and “cons” list and the “pros” side has been growing.  But, there are some people whose physical illnesses will result in death and they desire to end their life on their own terms.

 

[circumvent]

I am watching this now and i find it interesting enough. Mostly, I like that it is so different from American sows, we can see the cultural differences very clearly. No infantilizing children who know so much more than we want to believe, for example. I like that they show what a mastectomy looks like - although I don't think the actress did have a mastectomy - and the imagery in the hallucinations - especially the singing vaginas. That would be a big no-no in the US, because over here people rarely use the correct term, let alone have several images of vaginas singing.

I dislike very much the way the discourse is going when it comes to assisted suicide. It is a complicated issue and, as much as I would like to have someone help me dying if it comes to this, I don't think it is as simple as direction they seem to be taking, as far as messaging goes. It is a very small percentage of people who ask for it, and the risks to vulnerable people are immense. There are several ways of committing suicide, why does the message need to involve others, or legislation (which is not really talked about , at least to the episode I watched)? 

 

[AnnaCody]

Breaking Bad for the old people.  That's what my dad called them when he couldn't think of the phrase "senior citizens".  

Of course this does not just apply to old people.  Sadly, younger people are also affected.  

Edited June 14, 2022 by AnnaCody