Air Date: Monday, September 26, 2011 10:30 PM E/P
Rating
Talk about cliffhangers! I’m dangling by my fingernails right now and I can only hope they’ll hold until next season! I’m debating as to whether I’m more stunned by the ending or if I’m just pissed that I have to wait nearly a year to find out what the hell happens because I did not see that coming!
Cathy gives Sean a hair cut as they share a sibling moment of bonding (doesn't he look thrilled?)
The season two finale puts you on a bit of a tilt-a-whirl of emotions. You spin around in a tizzy with all the disgustingly funny lines Sean (John Hickey) spits out, only to get jerked into another position dealing with Paul’s (Oliver Platt) neuroses about Cathy’s (Laura Linney) medical bills and his little cocaine habit. Does snorting blow on snow cause brain freeze? I’m a little peeved Paul quit his job to avoid a drug test. After all the whining he’s been doing about the bills piling up, instead of trying to step it up at work, he buys more blow and quits. Of course, a man of his size and health shouldn’t be doing lines of coke like he’s a 20-year-old. That last bump of coke will be Paul’s undoing – the final kick-in-the-bucket, if you will. *hint, hint*
Cathy changes her bloody socks during the marathon
In memory of Lee (Hugh Dancy), Cathy uses his marathon badge to run/walk the New Year’s Eve marathon. While I commend her determination, I also think it’s a bit selfish and foolish. She’s thinking only of herself and her sorrow over losing her “mole-mate;” she isn’t thinking about her husband, son or brother who love and want her to be around for a while. She foolishly begins training two days before the marathon and for a woman with terminal cancer on a clinical trial, she should have just “planted a tree” like she suggested to Rebecca (Cynthia Nixon) when she lost the baby. Although, I will say I don’t like it when Cathy plays the ‘I have cancer’ card when applying for her own marathon registration. While the scene is funny, with her knocking over some papers at the marathon office, not everyone will automatically believe you when you say you have cancer. There are a lot of people out in the world who manipulate others by saying they have an illness just to get what they want.
Adam, Sean, and Dr. Todd all cheer Cathy as she inches towards the finish line
One of the best moments is when Adam (Gabriel Basso) talks to his mom about his ex-girlfriend Mia (Alexandra Socha) and their possible reconciliation. Adam has really grown this season. Adam even blows off Mia’s New Year’s Eve party to cheer his mom on as she trudges through 26 freezing miles. I also think he’s coming to grips with what can happen with his mother’s cancer if the clinical trial meds stop working. When he chats up Dr. Todd Mauer (Reid Scott) at the marathon, I’m surprised at how well he receives the answers to his probing questions.
Lee (Hugh Dancy) and Marlene show up...but is Paul really dead too?
<SPOILER> If you haven’t seen the finale, get some tissues because it’s a real tear-jerker. When Cathy finally reaches the end of the finish line and is limping towards her family, she sees Adam, Sean, and Todd, and then the ghosts of Lee and Marlene (Phyllis Somerville) show up, which chokes me up a little. And when Paul appears, a smiling Cathy is thrilled that everyone has showed up. However, when Adam mentions Paul isn’t there yet, you realize Paul is also a ghost. But I have a theory – wild hair variety: what if Paul isn’t dead yet, meaning he isn’t a complete goner? What if he’s just flat lined while the paramedics are trying to resuscitate him? It’s not unheard of – perhaps he’s having an out-of-body experience. Guess we’ll have to wait to find out!
To close out on a funny note, I have to highlight a few of the hilarious lines from Sean. The writers really do give him the best lines!
- Cathy tells Sean that Lee allowing her to watch him die was the best gift he could’ve given her. Sean replies, “Yeah, of course that fucker would give you the gift no one else could top.”
- Sean was inspired by Cathy to keep on surviving but warns Cathy: “Don’t get a big head. I was also freezing my testicles off. Toes were bleeding – nuts were freezing; I was really ready to get back.”
- A conversation between Adam and Sean regarding what Sean will do now that he’s back:
Sean: “Right now, I’m just composing my New Year’s list of 2012 totally terrific things about life. Just things to keep me sane and still, buddy, sane and still.”
Adam: “How many do you have so far?”
Sean: “One – female pubic hair.”
Adam: “Seriously?”
Sean: “Yeah. Women used to let their – their follicles grow wild like, like nature intended. I remember when going down on a woman was like…snuggling open-mouthed with a baby lion – an absolute delight (Adam cringes). Now it’s like licking a dolphin’s blow hole.”
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What's more fun - running a marathon in 20 degrees or talking about 'wet farts'?
Sean attempts to run alongside Cathy to be the supportive brother. As they chat about “totally terrific things,” Sean mentions, “Oh, when you cut a really wet fart and you’re sure you shit your pants and you check and you didn’t…that’s pretty terrific.” (Uh, I think I’ll stick with Cathy’s terrific thing – finding money in a jacket you haven’t worn in a while.)
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Photos © 2011 Showtime. All Rights Reserved.
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Judy Manning
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