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6 Mysterious Characters & Their True Motives?

posted 7 years ago by jasonmovieguy (182)
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This has always been one of my 3 favorite shows of all time! I watch it every year, and each time it brings something fresh, dramatic, funny and powerful.

But there are still 6 big question marks from 6 secondary characters on the series I would like some more insight on. What I do like about the show is that not everything is spelled out for you, so it truly is based on how one views the layers going on.

***SPOILERS***

1. LISA

Lisa, arguably the show's most hated character, actually was a lot more complex then one would on first viewing. She was nagging, overbearing and definitely trapped Nate into that marriage. But one thing always puzzles me. On her last appearance before she disappears and is later discovered to be dead, she is VERY chill with Nate. When she's going out of town to visit her sister, Nate and her had just "patched up" their relationship at Claire's art show. So when Nate asks if Lisa wants him to have a list of things for the baby, she brushes it off. "You know how to do that by now." We've never really seen her that relaxed. Was this the TRUE side of Lisa? Because viewers know later it's revealed she was having an affair with her sister's husband. And THAT's why she was on her way to see her sister. And of course, tragic consequences.

But her laid back manner those later few moments always made me wonder if Lisa was not as uptight as she put on in front of Nate. Notice how she acts with her boss Carol (the amazing Catherine O'Hara). Carol in a way, represents how Lisa is with Nate. Demanding, emotional and moody. Lisa was absolutely in the right to quit that job. Because Carol was a nightmare. But she seemed to do the same manipulations to her own husband. Any ideas?

2. GARY (as Claire's guidance counselor)

He always seemed supportive towards her goals, until one weird episode where he says "we need to acknowledge the sexual tension between us." Claire, of course, reacts to this appropriately - rolling her eyes because she never saw him that way (at least, I think so). Gary, however, makes this claim. Was this his ego? Or did he have an attraction to her?

Later, when Claire makes it into art school- she comes to tell Gary the great news. But he coldly dismisses her. Sure he's being fired and cleaning out his desk, but he really acts aloof with her. Why was this?

3. ARTHUR

Such a strange man. Ruth's relationship with him boggled me. Why wouldn't he have sex with her? Was he gay? Was he Asexual? Was he embarrassed he was a virgin? It's never explained. He had no trouble cuddling with her in bed. And when George came into the picture, he was jealous and quite annoyed by his presence. Perhaps he was just a companion to Ruth and when she accused him of putting feces on their porch, he was right to quit- it seemed he didn't belong anymore. But that whole "Have you ever had sex?" scene never really went where I thought it would.

4. GABE

Did he ever truly love Claire? Or was he just a sadistic bully using her? It seemed to go back and forth. The way he hurt her after she had his feet- that seemed cruel. He even seemed to not care after she confronted him. After his young brother's death, he comes to her for "guidance", and later rebels to the point that Claire herself breaks it off. And of course, whether he lives or dies is left up to the viewer's imagination. But was Gabe really someone who cared for her, or was this all an act?

5. EDIE (Mena Suvari)

Claire's art school inspiration and buddy seems super confident and aspiring in the first half of her storyline. Then she experiments with Claire's sexuality, and Claire turns her down because she's not a lesbian. Suddenly Edie goes psychotic and won't "forgive" Claire, even though Claire was not in the wrong. Why the sudden change? Edie seemed much more put together then the way the show finalized her.

6. MARGARET CHENOWITH (Brenda's mother)

I Love love love Joanna Cassidy. She so deserved her Emmy nomination in 2005 for Guest Supporting Actress, and I would have nominated her for season 2 as well. I just never really understood her personality. One moment she's full of light and humor, next she's horribly mean. Brenda of course knows her mother is "nuts" so to speak, always warning others of her narcissism. But I always wanted to find a scene where I found some genuine goodness in her. One was in the scene where she empathizes with Brenda's miscarriage.

But some scenes make no sense. One includes her inviting Brenda over to see her new condo. Then abruptly telling her to leave, yelling that "I'm not Billy!" This made no sense. Was she bipolar or something?

Her treatment of Ruth is also quite cruel. Was she really just a person who couldn't produce real feelings- and sort of just acted out for attention? Or was there more?

Again thanks for reading this long analysis. I'm sure I will think of other characters down the road. These represent secondary roles on the series :-)

[–] jasonmovieguy (182) 6 years ago

FAVORITE CHARACTERS: (tie) Ruth and Brenda. Both played impeccably by Rachel Griffiths and Frances Conroy, the latter who should have won the Emmy for Drama Actress and never did. I loved how both women not only were able to incorporate humor into their roles, but their characters truly grew throughout the series. Especially Brenda, who is a completely different person by season 5 vs season 1, and for the better. Ruth also relaxed. In the end you could see she was literally letting her hair down, not not trying to be a slave to others happiness.

LEAST FAVORITE CHARACTER: Rico. Just a total conservative jerk. Not creative. Not caring about anyone else but his own needs. When he lied to Vanessa about that girl he was dating being dead, I was done. His homophobic crap he gives David, his greed at the end towards the Fishers about the business. His disregard for anyone's personal feelings. And he wasn't developed well enough for me to care, even when Vanessa was treating him crummy enough for him to engage in that pointless affair. For someone who's job is to be an embalmer and to see SO much death, you would think he wouldn't be such a square in real life. Also the writing was always MUCH more cliche when it was him and Vanessa talking. The dialogue felt forced a lot. I wonder if a different team was assigned to their characters (as is the case often with a big show; multiple writers). Both him and Venessa were despicable people. It seemed they were so boring, the writers couldn't even show us how she dies in the big finale montage (even though they showed us how Keith goes). They both seemed selfish not very interesting.

[–] ADBruno1985 (3312) 6 years ago

she learned to bury it. In her line of work you'd have to, to distance yourself, be a little jaded so you can keep your sanity. I think she let people glimpse her emotions enough to remain tolerable to them, but only just, because she preferred to keep people at arm's length. That's how she was able to see her children as things she could profit from.

6: Agreed, Rico always irritated me as well. He talked about how they didn't value him, but he didn't always value them much either. I think he was more just there because realistically, from the writing point of view, you'd think the audience would figure the Fisher family would still need some help, who would always be around, so it'd make sense for them to play into the story.

[–] ADBruno1985 (3312) 6 years ago

Wow, great post, well thought-out. Definitely makes one think a bit.

1: I think Lisa went on that trip intending to end things with her brother-in-law. He reacted poorly, maybe was afraid she'd tell his wife/her sister, and so that's why he killed her. Lisa felt calm and at peace because she was going to end things so she could truly be right with Nathan, and she was feeling content with her decision, because she of course wouldn't predict things would go so badly.

2: I always thought Claire seemed attracted to Gary. This is common, for people to fall for people who are in functionary roles like that, such as therapists. And of course teenagers, hormones all over the place. I think Gary was truly trying to do the appropriate thing. There was tension, and it had to be addressed and dealt with through conversation, so he could make sure it would be inappropriate and nothing would happen, then move on. I think he was dismissive at the end not because he didn't care, but if you're that age and just lost your job, you're reminiscing about when you were young, where you went wrong, so it would be incredibly difficult to literally see a young person getting their dream right in front of you.

3: Arthur was odd and I didn't care for him. I feel like he later one day went on to snap. I feel like he was just embarrassed about his virginity. And, sorry for stereotyping, but guys with that attitude and style of dress tend to be mama's boys who were raised in strict households, and dating Ruth (not necessarily the age difference in and of itself, but his general way of treating her), clearly has mommy issues and probably a lot of discomfort about sex before marriage being bad.

4: Gabe did go back and forth. It got old. I think he did care for her, but not as much as for himself, so he didn't have issues with treating her (or anyone) poorly if he could benefit from it. I think he died.

5: Margaret. I think she had genuine emotion, maybe shown at one point to her husband, but

[–] jasonmovieguy (182) 6 years ago

Hey thanks for the in depth responses. I enjoyed reading your insights.

[–] LetThemEatCake (2717) 6 years ago

I know less is more but I definitely would have liked to know more about Lisa and her brother in law, and what happened to the family specially since they felt all high and mighty and superior to Nate and how he treated poor Lisa and wanted to take Maya away.

I absolutely LOVE Margaret, her character always cracked me up and her laugh.