Posted by Katherine Recap | Hollywood, TV

[For Transparent “Mee Maw” or any other recaps on Fetchland, assume the presence of possible spoilers.]

Amazon.com Summary:
Mee Maw Maura re-imagines her past, Colton’s adoptive family visits, Josh faces a tough decision, and Sarah tries to change.

Season two of Transparent engages episode after episode of “this changes everything” events and none more so that this game changer: “Mee Maw”. We’re right in the middle of the season and the Pfeffermans are going through major changes. Sarah and Ali head down a collision course with comical characters, including each other. Meanwhile Maura and Josh confront their deepest fears and end up with life-altering choices. The story ends up in a completely altered world from where it began with an unknown road ahead.

The episode opens as Ali and Sarah get nude massages at a spa and talk about what it means to be a lesbian. The convo ends when Ali says she can’t have emotional intimacy with someone who hasn’t suffered under patriarchy and Sarah concludes Ali must be a lesbian because she herself couldn’t care less about patriarchy. So, Sarah’s clearly questioning whether she’s gay at this point. Later in the episode she says, “What does it mean to be gay, really?” so this is where her mind circles through the episode. In the next scene Colton awakens Josh and Raquel to tell them his adoptive parents are driving their mobile home here to meet them, in fact, they’ll be arriving today, in fact real soon. They can call his father Pastor Gene and his mother’s name is Blossie. Nervous tizzified Josh has Raquel wear a Pfefferman family heirloom ring as a place-holder for the upcoming engagement ring because, “these are conservative people,” and although Raquel hates the idea, she finally acquiesces to cool his jets. She also, rightly so, says why should we care what they think of us? “we’re good people and he’s lucky to stay with us”. Josh retorts that he thinks she means they’re lucky to have Colton. But both things can be true – no? It seems like a fight but doesn’t have to be.

Then the shit hits the fan fast when Pastor Gene and Blossie find out the Pfeffermans are Jewish. The condescending bite of their pathetic attempt at a polite reaction creates an uncrossable canyon right there in the living room between the two families. Blossie and Gene are each incredibly, unknowingly offensive in their own special way. But the crevasse just keeps getting bigger with the Pfeffermans as they then learn about Raquel’s pregnancy, insist that Rita be deeply involved in Colton’s life, and then accuse Josh of abandoning Colton. At this critical moment Maura (the Mee Maw referred to in this episode’s title) interrupts to confess that she and Shelly did indeed know about Rita’s pregnancy and, in fact, made a large donation to Pastor Gene’s church to pay Rita’s medical bills. Josh, having just found out about Colton a few weeks ago, dives into tailspin territory with Raquel in a back bedroom. He rants about how everything would be different in his life if only his parents hadn’t lied to him and Raquel responds that everything would have been different if Rita hadn’t molested him. This sets Josh off the rocker completely and he shrieks at her that he was in love with Rita and thus it wasn’t molestation. Again, he can’t see how both things could be true. He could have loved Rita AND the fact that he was a child at the time also made it molestation – which is the truth of the matter. But Raquel doesn’t have time to address this because Colton is at the door with a mind blowing question for Josh. It seems Pastor Gene and Blossie have fired up the Winnebago and want Colton to come back with them. So, he asks if he should go with them or stay. Josh’s tailspin now spirals into the Tazmanian Devil zone. He doesn’t know what to do. Colton gives him a moment to think it through and he asks Raquel what to do. She says this whole thing stresses her out and these feelings can’t be good for the baby.

Meanwhile Sarah attends the life coach session she won at the school gala auction in the “Cherry Blossoms” episode. But the flaky coach fills the session with irritating catchphrases and phony sincerity that bend the experience into an annoyance rather than inspiration for Sarah. So, afterward she calls up Josh’s pot dealer/doctor guy and gets some joints – like ya do. The doc has the hots for her and wants to get a drink with Sarah, even if she’s gay like Josh says but Sarah turns him down. Instead she gets high and eats a burger in her car, completely ignoring his advice about candles, pillows and listening to Sade in lotus position. Funny part is that the pot dealer doc probably helped and inspired Sarah about a hundred times more than the life coach ever could. Ali and Syd have playful and funny banter while Ali wears a strap-on, then they attend a Full Moon Ritual evening hosted by Leslie Mackinaw and her followers. Young ladies hang all over Leslie, blissed-out from toes to eyeballs. At one point Syd asks Leslie what she’s teaching and she says, “Well I don’t really teach. I talk about things that matter to me with people who are ready,” classic grad school non-hierarchical power structure rhetoric. But it doesn’t make it OK to sleep with your students, Leslie. No matter how much you believe your own BS.

As “Mee Maw” winds down Maura goes back to tell Shelly that she told Josh everything about Rita and the money they gave to the church seventeen years ago. Then when Shelly tries to turn it into the two of them bonding over schnapps and coffee Maura says she’s gotta go. “This isn’t working. We’re broken. You know that,” so, Shelly’s pissed about being rejected yet again. But no matter; Maura packs her stuff and goes.

Speaking of going, Colton stands by the Winnebago in the dark because it’s night now and asks Josh if he’s certain he really wants him to leave. “If you want me to stay just say so,” and everything in Colton’s eyes begs Josh to say so. It’s even clear Josh wants to say it. But the heartbreak wave peaks between them when Josh glances at Raquel in desperation and she merely looks down, immovable. Colton’s brother and sister sing a haunting hymn from inside the Winnebago –Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up… higher and higher… and he shall lift you up and the song fills the story, replacing dialogue between Josh and Raquel and revealing how truly humbled they are in that moment. Standing there in the dark is their goodbye to a whole life they’d been planning for a family that included beloved Colton. The poignance of this scene points to how all of us are at the mercy of circumstances and timing. Some things are out of our control no matter how hard we try. We see it in how no matter how good and generous and kind Colton was, it just wasn’t going to work. And the same holds true for Shelly and Maura. Shelly yells at Maura for making her feel like she’s not good enough but that’s not really the issue. No matter how wonderful Shelly was, it just wasn’t going to work out. Maura just realized it first is all. Look forward to more laughs in the next episode and hopefully you’ve got some tissues on hand in the meantime.

–Katherine Recap

  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Leave a Reply