S04.E01: A House Divided

[Cranberry]

Daniel is navigating the complicated dynamics of group living at The New Canaan Project and learning to cope with his new normal.

[Kathemy]

Can't wait.

[Fisher King]

In the link hidden below are two sneak preview clips from episode 401.

http://www.sundance.tv/series/rectify/videos/rectify-episode-401-clip-daniels-first-counseling

[MaryPatShelby]

I'll be watching tonight in our basement "man cave", and I told the family I'm not to be interrupted unless there's uncontrollable bleeding or fire.

[Armchair Critic]

This episode took me awhile to get into, I have to sit with it awhile. Anxious to see what others here thought.

[Primetimer]

Daniel plays an open hand and the show ponders questions of self and reality in the season premiere.

View the full article

[Cabarb]

Armchair Critic, I absolutely agree!  Don't get me wrong - any episode of Rectify is a good episode. I understand they have to establish this story of the New Canaan House but it just moved so so slowly. I feel like there are so many stories and issues to be resolved in what is now just 5 episodes. I'm not going to lie - I'm a little concerned. And that speech by Daniel about not knowing for sure whether he killed Hanna makes me very nervous. I don't want that to be left open ended at the end of this!

[Fisher King]

I'm glad we're back! It absolutely takes the proper mindset to get back into this show. I did a mini-rewatch beforehand, so that helped.

I'm not too concerned over Daniel's uncertainty about his own guilt. The counselor (Avery?) gave him fitting advice IMO.

I like Chloe.

[SusanSunflower]

Interesting to realize also that because Daniel was incarcerated at such a young age, his "relationship" history was stunted and abbreviated, particularly on death row where those nameless/faceless "correspondents" and/or friends/acquaintances did simply cease as individuals died or were executed.  Much as an only child often has little experience  of the rough and tumble, give and take, and get.over.it. most of us learn from our sibling relationships, be they loving or bullying, intimate or hierarchical.  Daniel had his sister -- even when incarcerated -- and his parents, but he did not have the "passing parade" of a young person's circle of friends, lovers, enemies, acquaintances, co-workers -- not to mention jobs, good and/or bad.  Hence, he has not had much experience gauging the "significance" of casual conversation ... his anxiety level must be bouncing off the charts often enough to make him wary of even such low level intimacy. 

[AuntiePam]

If nothing else was accomplished, this episode really brought home the damage done to Daniel.   He was uncomfortable and tense with his family, but that was different.  He knew they loved him and he had a history with them.  This process of going out into the real world -- it'd be like us going to another planet and meeting aliens.  When he said he had lost himself, it was believable.  He feels like nothing, which is different from feeling nothing.  Very powerful.

He's incredibly lucky to have those men around him.  The house leader was perfect in his reactions -- really listening -- and the other guys were way more understanding and caring than one would expect from cons.   Even the co-worker who was missing a concert extended himself. 

I'm glad this first episode didn't go anywhere except work and the house.  We could focus on Daniel and not think about the rest of the family. 

I'll be fine if we never know whether Daniel did it, or even who did it.  It doesn't seem that that's what the story is about. 

[Ms Lark]

It's back! Yes, slow-moving, but that's the way of Daniel. He was damaged before the murder and even moreso after. I'm sure we will find out who did it and it will be even more crushing for him since his entire young life was destroyed (yes, I think he's innocent.). It just rips your heart out. My only hope is that it doesn't end badly for Daniel, but I'm not so sure it won't.

[MaryPatShelby]

9 hours ago, Cabarb said:

 I feel like there are so many stories and issues to be resolved in what is now just 5 episodes. I'm not going to lie - I'm a little concerned. 

Is it 5 episodes though?  I thought all along too that this was a 6-episode season, but I read an article yesterday (it was either Vox or New York Times) that said this season is 8 episodes.  I was thinking the same as you....we didn't even check in with the other characters, and now we have only 5 eps left?  I hope it's more.

8 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

If nothing else was accomplished, this episode really brought home the damage done to Daniel.  

I really understand now why we all had those moments through the series in which we wanted to yell "Daniel, embrace life!  Get out of your own way!" He couldn't do either one.  In fact, during the first half of this episode I was a little annoyed at Daniel for not embracing the New Caanan experience.  Now I get it. He can't.  Not yet anyway.

Edited to add: I found one other article that said 8 episodes.  There are a surprising number of articles out there about the 4th season, but very few specify the number of episodes.

Edited October 27, 2016 by MaryPatShelby

[taragel]

I thought this episode was actually quite different and more forward-momentum having than most episodes of Rectify! First of all, pretty sure that Aiden Young had more to say here (possibly in his final monologue alone) than he ever has at one time previously in the show. And I was actually quite surprised that they've brought up his need to know what actually happened with Hannah. I thought the point of last season (and the whole show) was that it really didn't matter if he was innocent or guilty, because the damage that's been done to Daniel by his long incarceration was the point, and when Daniel left home, I thought that was the end of the Hannah mystery storyline. So I'm surprised (but pleased) they gave this closing arc a goal to hang its hat on.

I, too, missed checking in with the others this week. But previews show they return next week. It'll be fun to compare and contrast Clayne Crawford's Teddy with his Riggs from Lethal Weapon.

[Stella]

2 hours ago, MaryPatShelby said:

Edited to add: I found one other article that said 8 episodes.  There are a surprising number of articles out there about the 4th season, but very few specify the number of episodes.

The IMDB page for season 4 shows 8 episodes. I had read there would be 8 back when the final season was announced. So it seems certain to me there will be 7 more.

It was a powerful moving episode for me. Yes slow but it goes so deeply and movingly into his psychology. I'm so happy to watching it again!

[DoubleUTeeEff]

I did miss the other characters but I thought it was the right choice to focus on Daniel since this is the first time he's been on his own.  Was the letter he was not opening from Tawney?

The counselor was a really wise man.  I loved the way he listened to Daniel's "truth," and pointed out that living in solitary confinement is inhuman.  I also liked the advice he gave Daniel about what else he can do but make a decision and not making a decision is the same as making one.

[Cabarb]

I'm part of a Rectify FB group and there is wild speculation about that letter, but nobody knows for sure yet.  Some people think it's from Tawney, some think it's a check from Melvin, some say Jon reporting on Trey's arrest, etc.  But I think if it was Melvin or Jon, there would have been a return address.

[Stella]

16 minutes ago, Cabarb said:

I'm part of a Rectify FB group and there is wild speculation about that letter, but nobody knows for sure yet.  Some people think it's from Tawney, some think it's a check from Melvin, some say Jon reporting on Trey's arrest, etc.  But I think if it was Melvin or Jon, there would have been a return address.

Absolutely agree if the letter was from anyone in Daniel's family, Jon, Melvin etc. there would be a return address. The only one who may not do so is Tawny.

But I wonder if it is an anonymous letter with some reveals about the killing. Just a thought. I certainly lean to the Tawny idea.

[SusanSunflower]

One of the rude surprises in Daniel's world is how un-together and needy everyone else is ... as he is trudging along as a member of the walking-wounded brigade. Did he liberate Tawney, provide her with an easy-out, an opportunity to act on what she might otherwise have been too cowardly or beat-down to do? 

I confess I can't remember where we last saw Tawney** but Daniel really stumbled into the Briar Patch when he responded to her kindness and curiosity and offered friendship ... his mother's marriage and his battered "nuclear family" were trashed, like the kitchen -- demolition completed without clear plans for the remodel.  I thought of that kitchen when Daniel was admiring that strong-but-delicate pendant

** wiki says she had just informed Teddy she was changing the locks and Teddy had just moved back in with Janet.  (I'm not sure where Ted, Sr. is) 

I had to laugh at the relief in the other cardplayers to discover the Daniel has a sister -- a sister!!! -- who he plays gin rummy with!!! ... obviously hopeful sign ... a sister ... 

Edited October 27, 2016 by SusanSunflower

[Kathemy]

This was a beautiful episode. It was also very significant in that it's the first episode of the entire show that has only focused on Daniel. He was in every single scene. That really lent him a lot of room to make an impact, and Aden Young knows how to make an impact.

Quite frankly I've never seen anyone better at playing "damaged" than him. This episode... I've never seen anyone that sad in my whole life. He really managed to convey the feeling of being completely uprooted - no predictable existence in prison, no friends, no family, no familiar surroundings. He's tiptoeing through life, scared of everything.

I'm curious what will happen with the female artist. In any other show she would be a standard replacement love interest. Rectify doesn't do crap like that. Also I think it's absolutely necessary for Daniel to meet Tawney again and by the promos you know the show thinks that as well.

I have no idea what this show's endgame is.

[peeayebee]

9 hours ago, taragel said:

I thought this episode was actually quite different and more forward-momentum having than most episodes of Rectify! First of all, pretty sure that Aiden Young had more to say here (possibly in his final monologue alone) than he ever has at one time previously in the show. And I was actually quite surprised that they've brought up his need to know what actually happened with Hannah.

I think I got the same feeling as you did. His directly talking about the murder and laying out how he feels about it and what he remembers seemed to be a way to satisfy viewers who want this uncertainly addressed more fully. We may not learn the answer; we may just learn that sometimes you have to live with accepting the unknowable.

I'm not sure how many times I teared up this ep. Daniel/Aiden really knows how to reach into my heart.

I was so pissed off at the boss and coworker at the warehouse who blamed Daniel for the order mixup even though it's unfortunately true that you can rarely tell big customers they are wrong. However, I did like that the coworker wasn't a one-dimensional bad guy since he invited Daniel to come to eat with them.

I wonder what will happen with the arts people. I think at the least Daniel will be able to use art to express his pain and, hopefully, heal.

[bmoore4026]

I sympathize so much with Daniel.  Even if he does get fully exonerated, the damage has been done.  Though this episode did end with a bit of hope that'll he'll open himself up just a little over time.

[bmoore4026]

3 hours ago, Kathemy said:

He's tiptoeing through life, scared of everything.

This is why I sympathize with him so much.  I never been to prison, let alone death row.  But one doesn't have to go through that specifically to be broken.  For me, it was bullying and abuse from peers and classmates.  It's people I thought I could trust turning on me (my high school special ED guidance councilor flat out called me a manipulator and a therapist told me not to come back after throwing everything I told him in confidence mockingly back in my face).  It's a word or common phrase that can trigger a flashback of pain and regret.

[pfk505]

Nothing much happened, and this might sound over the top, but that ranks among the best episodes of television I've seen in the past few years, and certainly one of the best this show has produced. I've always liked Aiden Young, even if I found Daniel frustrating at times. He is every bit as good as the rest of the cast (Clayne Crawford being the standout in my eyes), but in this episode he was a revelation. Absolutely spellbinding.

14 hours ago, taragel said:

First of all, pretty sure that Aiden Young had more to say here (possibly in his final monologue alone) than he ever has at one time previously in the show.

And this is precisely why I think he was able to put so much into that performance. This chance to finally express some of what has been driving him this whole time. I was almost shocked to be reminded that he's only been out "a few months," given how long this show has been on, but I think that over the course of this season we will start to see him really transform a bit more.

So glad this excellent show is back.

[Kathemy]

20 hours ago, Cabarb said:

I'm part of a Rectify FB group and there is wild speculation about that letter, but nobody knows for sure yet.  Some people think it's from Tawney, some think it's a check from Melvin, some say Jon reporting on Trey's arrest, etc.  But I think if it was Melvin or Jon, there would have been a return address.

I'm pretty certain it's from Tawney. Tawney would be the only one to send a personal letter like that, it's very her.

[Endeavour]

Great to see this show again. I agree with others - it took me a bit to adjust to the pace again, but everything led beautifully to Daniel's talk with the counselor and then the artist and ended on a perfect note with the card game. 

[HavartiHead42]

Quote

...that ranks among the best episodes of television I've seen in the past few years, and certainly one of the best this show has produced.

That was my feeling as well. I was riveted throughout the entire episode.

I flinched every time someone would refer to him as "Dan". When Chloe asked his name the first time, it was heart breaking to hear him say it doesn't matter (not an exact quote, I don't think). There was another scene, and I forget the context, where he was completely silent and his eyes were cold and distant. Then you could see him snap himself back into the moment to deal with whatever BS was happening. I'm doing an amazingly inadequate job of gushing about how great he is in this role.

[Kathemy]

My site mate's review of the episode:

http://www.douxreviews.com/2016/10/rectify-house-divided.html

[Corgi-ears]

I suspect that the ending of this episode portends how the series as a whole will end. When Daniel willed himself to sit down and play cards with his housemates, that small gesture was a huge step for him; if the show indeed ends in the same way, I would be perfectly satisfied. 

[Syren]

It's back! This wonderful, spellbinding, heartbreaking, beautiful show is back.

I don't have anything to add that hasn't been said but it still makes me so happy to come here and share the love of this show with all of you.

This whole episode was stressful for me as I was tensed up, waiting to see how people would treat Daniel. Me, practically the whole epi: "Please be nice to him. Please see he's just damaged and needs a kind hand reached out to him."
I was so relieved when his co-worker invited him to eat and said the earlier confrontation was "no big deal." I realized then how masterfully McKinnon has managed to make me actually feel a bit like Daniel while watching. In my own life, that little dustup would've been nothing at all, but the show made me completely stressed out for Daniel while it was going on. Like I forgot how normal it was and viewed it just as Daniel would, a much bigger deal than it was.
His whole life is such a damn minefield now. Every interaction is just so hard for him to understand, much less navigate.

Of course, the mere mention of Kerwin, even without using his name, and how lonely Daniel was after his execution totally got me right in the heart. That entire speech made me cry but man was I glad he got to say it all to someone who actually listened and understood enough to say the right things to him in response.

I liked Chloe. "I was in a sorority once and I don't feel too good about that." Not sure the exact words, but I liked her delivery. I chuckled out loud.

Loved him sitting down with his housemates to play cards at the end. I finally felt a little hope that he was going to be okay. Eventually.

I think we'll get some resolution to Hannah's murder. I didn't think we would early on in the show, didn't care if we did actually, but as the show's gone on, I feel like there will be some satisfaction on that front. Preferrably with Trey in prison 'cause I'm pretty sure he did it at this point. But if we only ever get hints that Trey and what's his name who killed himself did it, I guess I'll be okay with it. As long as Daniel can live with that uncertainty and can move forward, I can live with never knowing for sure.
 

[kieyra]

Never mind, had my actresses mixed up. Caitlin Fitzgerald (Chloe) looks very similar to Elizabeth Debicki. http://9gag.com/gag/anNBQEb/elizabeth-debicki-and-caitlin-fitzgerald-respectively-two-beautiful-ladies-the-same-beautiful-face

Edited October 29, 2016 by kieyra

[Madding crowd]

This was a sad, slow episode and I enjoyed it. I liked Daniel with a little longer hair and some scruff. I wonder if anyone at the halfway house views Daniel slightly differently because of him being released from Prison due to presumed innocence rather than as a parolee. I do like it that they showed how things can be on a job and how no one can ever be really trusted or really trust you. I enjoyed the scenes with Chloe and hope she and Daniel can be friends. I'm not sure where this last season will go or if we will ever get answers as to Daniel's innocence or guilt. I hope they will end on a positive note with Daniel though. 

[The Mighty Peanut]

"If I am nothing, then I am not, and if I am not, then I am dead. But if I'm dead, why am I still so lonely?"

 

heart = broken

Edited October 31, 2016 by The Mighty Peanut

[justmehere]

Loved the counselor so much - he struck just the right tone with compassion and understanding while avoiding pity and maudlin responses. Loved Daniel finally starting to reveal himself and let out some of his pain. Then realized, I really love Ray McKinnon. That was some spectacular writing (and acting, of course, but ya gotta have the words first). --I'm a little afraid to want anything particular from this final season, especially a happy or happy-ish ending for Daniel. There are so many ways it could go sideways, but I'm hoping, just the same.

[The Mighty Peanut]

I am still very affected by this episode. I've never been incarcerated but I've experienced significant isolation and loneliness throughout my life, and I keep thinking about the statement about the profundity of losing one's sense of self. "Losing the psychic glue that holds your entire notion of existence...becoming unglued." I don't know. It struck a deep chord.

[candall]

Like everyone else, I had to wait and find the moment I was ready to travel along with Daniel again.

When the episode turned out to be set at the Canaan House, I was glad for him.  I thought it would be such a relief to be with strangers, who had too much of their own baggage to worry about his, instead of everyone back in the hometown shooting x-ray vision at him, trying to figure out this or that, ALL THE TIME.

Okay, I guess I should have known they weren't going to let it be that simple.

I got very frustrated with Daniel in past seasons.  The show certainly took its sweet time prying him open enough to tell us about the place he's in.  It makes sense now, when you sometimes see the effort it takes him to get one foot to go after another.

(I have also felt, at times, that just unlocking my jaw and making polite word sounds at other people might completely drain all my resources.)

 

That Chloe was a little ray of sunshine.  I can't remember if I've ever been able to produce a response as perfect as "I was once in a sorority" in my whole life.

It would be nice if Daniel found an outlet through creating art--you know it would be a powerful expression, whatever it was.

[natyxg]

On 10/31/2016 at 2:27 AM, The Mighty Peanut said:

"If I am nothing, then I am not, and if I am not, then I am dead. But if I'm dead, why am I still so goddamn lonely?"

 

heart = broken

Best moment of the whole show, for me.

[natyxg]

On 11/02/2016 at 10:00 AM, The Mighty Peanut said:

I am still very affected by this episode. I've never been incarcerated but I've experienced significant isolation and loneliness throughout my life, and I keep thinking about the statement about the profundity of losing one's sense of self. "Losing the psychic glue that holds your entire notion of existence...becoming unglued." I don't know. It struck a deep chord.

Same for me. 

Edited April 15, 2017 by natyxg

[DrSparkles]

On 11/2/2016 at 10:00 AM, The Mighty Peanut said:

I am still very affected by this episode. I've never been incarcerated but I've experienced significant isolation and loneliness throughout my life, and I keep thinking about the statement about the profundity of losing one's sense of self. "Losing the psychic glue that holds your entire notion of existence...becoming unglued." I don't know. It struck a deep chord.

Yes.

[zobot81]

On 11/2/2016 at 10:00 AM, The Mighty Peanut said:

I am still very affected by this episode. I've never been incarcerated but I've experienced significant isolation and loneliness throughout my life, and I keep thinking about the statement about the profundity of losing one's sense of self. "Losing the psychic glue that holds your entire notion of existence...becoming unglued." I don't know. It struck a deep chord.

Well, Mighty Peanut.  You've had a lot of people resonate with your response to this episode and the scene between Daniel and Avery.  I do, too.

When I first watched that scene, I could not be consoled, which is what my husband thought I wanted.  Instead, what I felt was an overwhelming flood of ... relief.  For the first time, Daniel connects with his trauma, and has that "breakthrough" moment, which, for people struggling with complex PTSD, is an almost herculean moment of growth. 

I wanted to kiss the writer's feet, Aden's feet -- everyone involved in the making of that scene, I could feel my awe evolve into worship.

That scene, for me, was a spiritual experience.  Beyond moving.  It stands apart from any attempt in art or media to explain such a specific moment of human intervention, bravery, and compassion.  It was the first time I really thought, Jesus! Daniel is gonna be okay!!

Oh, Looooord!!!

Then I cried for like five years. I might still be crying. It's fine, guys.  : )