S01.E04: The Funeral

[DoubleUTeeEff]

I started this thread just because of a line in this episode that I absolutely loved.  Grace tells Frankie that Sol is wearing a tie she gave Robert for his birthday and Frankie responds with "They can't leave us AND share clothes."  Just a quick line but so funny and true to human nature.

[Chaos Theory]

This was the first episode I felt something for Robert. I always understood the Sol/Frankie relationship but the Robert/Grace one was harder to understand. This episode I got it.

Edited May 11, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[Primetimer]

The best moment of a mostly terrible funeral.

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[TeeVee329]

"You bitches got any gum?"

[gesundheit]

That was definitely the best moment of the terrible funeral. Even though it was a terrible moment. Emotional gut punch (that also made me laugh, the way painful things often do). More than a few people told me to hold out until this episode to really start making judgments, and I'm so glad I did. The balance of drama and comedy is cementing itself.

[bybrandy]

I agree this was the first episode where you see who Robert and Grace were.  I think how their family worked or didn't work really is missing in a way that it isn't for Sol/Frankie/Bud/Coyote.    That moment with Robert and Frankie getting into Sol's car were both ouch moments.  As was Grace's assumption she'd be at Christine Lahti's daughter's shower and the awkwardness.   40 years of being in somebody's extended family and then not so much?   Ouch.   

[Aethera]

Yeah, that Christine Lahti moment was killer, as what Frankie getting in the car and Robert realizing he misses Grace.

[possibilities]

I have nothing different to say, but just piling on with the multiple gut punches. And how about when the widow says Frankie's situation is worse? Ye Gods.

[paramitch]

This was the episode that turned me from teetering on this show as a diversion to going, "I need to see what happens." Really lovely episode with some lovely moments.

 

And I find myself luxuriating in so many moments because they seem new and unusual and different -- and then I realize, oh, wait -- I'm just watching a show about a group of older men and women navigating through life. Which, of course, you normally don't see in popular culture.

 

And it's such a treat to see how beautiful Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin both are -- utterly defying any idea that these women are useless or discarded or at the end of their lives in any way. And I've become a fan of Robert and Sol -- there's a sweetness there that has really disarmed me. It's so affecting especially to see Waterston so diffident and humble and emotional.

 

I loved seeing Christine Lahti again -- it's been years, and my lord, she looks fantastic -- but what a thankless role. I hope she's fleshed out a bit further eventually.

 

A funny side effect -- my Mom passed away a few years ago -- far too young at 70 from a benign brain tumor, and this show has made me miss her so sharply. She would have loved it so much.

[PokerNerd]

I wasn't invested in the first episodes. I don't know the writing was weak, or it just took that much time for the characters and show to gel, or if the show just realized after three episodes it's a drama and not a comedy. After feeling the opportunity cost of the first three episodes and almost giving up, the fourth was so gripping and powerful, tender and heartbreaking. Like Paramitch, seeing real characters in their 70s is also making me feel the loss of my mother. My mom a fan of Jane Fonda, had Grace's meticulous attention to appearance, perfect pose and navigation of social norms at any gathering - party or funeral - and the inner strength to pull herself up out of any rough situation. Jane was amazing and made me miss my mom terribly, but in a cathartic way.

 

Sol's ability to choose compassion over the insult of being treated as an embarrassment and his insight into Robert's feelings was well-written and well acted.

This episode was the first time I had compassion for Robert as well, despite him being the main villain in the story so far. You get the sense in the first three episodes that he wanted to fast forward to a place where he was settled with Sol and everyone around him had adapted without dealing with the havoc his choices wreaked on everyone around him. The scene at the funeral you can see him realize all the damage he's done to those he's loved that he was trying to ignore. I usually can't watch Martin Sheen without the baggage of his stardom and past roles overriding whatever role he's trying to portray, but in that scene he got me to suspend my disbelief and actually tear up a bit. The episode was so good it made the first three mediocre episodes feel less like they wasted my time.

[Duke2801]

This was the episode that turned me from teetering on this show as a diversion to going, "I need to see what happens." Really lovely episode with some lovely moments.

 

And I find myself luxuriating in so many moments because they seem new and unusual and different -- and then I realize, oh, wait -- I'm just watching a show about a group of older men and women navigating through life. Which, of course, you normally don't see in popular culture.

 

And it's such a treat to see how beautiful Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin both are -- utterly defying any idea that these women are useless or discarded or at the end of their lives in any way. And I've become a fan of Robert and Sol -- there's a sweetness there that has really disarmed me. It's so affecting especially to see Waterston so diffident and humble and emotional.

 

I loved seeing Christine Lahti again -- it's been years, and my lord, she looks fantastic -- but what a thankless role. I hope she's fleshed out a bit further eventually.

 

A funny side effect -- my Mom passed away a few years ago -- far too young at 70 from a benign brain tumor, and this show has made me miss her so sharply. She would have loved it so much.

 

 

First off, I love this show, and this episode was so, so good. I am a longtime fan of "9 to 5" and it's just so... heartwarming to see these ladies together again.  And as FUNNY as ever! 

 

Now onto the more superficial. Jane and Lily both DO look so great, don't they??  Lily is just lovely in a natural "earth mother" way but Jane... damn Jane, that body will NOT quit--at 77!?? That black dress at the funeral?? You get it, girl. 

 

I was literally floored, too, when I looked up Christine Lahti on IMDB and saw that she is 65.  I thought early 50s at the most!  She's a natural beauty.

[Chai]

when'he widow was being led out we are taking a quick break I LoL at Frankie's For How Long!!! She recovered nicely. it took me until this episode to love it! I love this show. Jane and Lilly are awesome!

[CitizenJeanne]

In Season 1, Episode 2, "The Credit CardGrace says Robert's mother was Irish, but she dies much later in the Series. And in Episode 4, "The Funeral," Robert's sister, Lydia, is thankful that their father is dead so he didn't find out about Robert's being gay, but, again, no mention is made of their mother.

[Harvey]

On 1/2/2020 at 2:30 AM, CitizenJeanne said:

In Season 1, Episode 2, "The Credit CardGrace says Robert's mother was Irish, but she dies much later in the Series. And in Episode 4, "The Funeral," Robert's sister, Lydia, is thankful that their father is dead so he didn't find out about Robert's being gay, but, again, no mention is made of their mother.

Because the mother lives secluded in a retirement community so news won't reach her there.

[Bastet]

I love this episode, and it's the first one in which I don't hate Robert. 

I love the parallel in the two homes, where Robert is trying to get Sol to get moving and criticizing his choice of shoes, and Grace is doing the same to Frankie at their house.

One of my favorite little moments is when the couple they both know comes up to Frankie and the husband asks her where Sol is.  The wife tries to signal him, and this happens:

Husband: Oh my god, did Sol die, too?
Frankie: No, no, he's over there drinking a Johnny Walker neat.
Wife: Yeah, I told you, honey, remember?  He's with Robert now.
Husband: I thought you were joking.
Wife:  Really?  Why would I joke about that? Why would anyone joke about that?

Grace's face when Lydia effectively uninvites her from the niece's bridal shower is heartbreaking.  (As is Frankie's when she realizes she has gotten in the car with Sol out of habit.)  They'd been having a good conversation - I love the exchange about Grace and Robert having sex four times a year ("It was seasonal") and Lydia being surprised they were doing it at all, saying that's more than her and her husband have sex - and we could see they had been close, and then she just pulls the rug out from under Grace all with that same smile on her face, and we know "I'll be in touch" is now a total lie.  Ouch.

This episode really gets into the perception - some accurate, some not - life has just merrily gone on for the husbands, while the wives are still struggling and subject to so much scrutiny.