Episode Report Card M. Giant: A | 3 USERS: A+ YOU GRADE IT Dead and Buried
By M. Giant | Season 5 | Episode 12 | Aired on 08.20.2005
Ruth sits alone at her table full of flowers as the phone rings. Finally she picks it up. It's George, calling from his van pool stop at UCLA to check in. Astute listener that he is, he's able to pick up from her flat voice and almost total lack of affect that she's having a bad day. Ruth confirms it, saying that Ma Chenowith took off with Maya. "Now I'm alone," she says as David comes in carrying his bag. "I'm completely alone." George tries to comfort her, but she sees David standing in her kitchen and hangs up. "I can't be at home right now," David tells her. Ruth asks where he'll go. "Here," he duhs. Did Ruth change her number and only give the new one to George or something? People just keep showing up and dropping bombshells on her. Ruth takes this news much better than she did the repossession of Maya; she tells David to bring his stuff upstairs and she'll make him some cereal. She offers it "in your yellow bowl." David starts to say he hasn't eaten out of that yellow bowl since he was a little boy, then agrees as his oblivious mother gets it out of the cabinet and fills it up.
Claire's answering machine sure gets a lot of lines tonight. She runs in to her place and picks up the phone just as someone is leaving a message. The caller identifies himself as being from "New Image. We're a stock photo production house in New York City." They want her to apply for a job as a photographer's assistant, and the guy mentions that a lot of their staff photographers started as assistants. Claire can barely believe her luck.
Cut to her down in the Fisher kitchen, doing that thing where you're pretending not to be totally stoked about something even when you are. She yammers on about how she's sure the pay is shit, and she wonders who recommended her (the gallery owner, or Billy, or someone else). It's basically a one-shot of her talking, so we're just waiting for the reveal where she turns out to be talking to an empty room. But when she finishes mixing her coffee, she turns around and realizes that she might as well be; Ruth and David are both sitting motionless at the kitchen table in their bathrobes. Ruth miserably says, "That's wonderful to hear," and David adds, "You couldn't pay me to live in New York City." Ruth offers Claire a bowl of cereal, but Claire, hearing only "one of us one of us one of us," declines and gets the hell out of there.
Rico and Vanessa are touring what may be the Diaz & Diaz funeral home (of course you know Vanessa will insist on having her name first). Rico gets assurance from the realtor that the plumbing problems in the basement were fixed, although she's not clear on the particulars. "When everything gets backed up, then blood comes out of the toilet," Rico explains to her. Vanessa asks for a copy of the work report and guarantee, then points out a spot where they can put in an espresso bar. Rico says he always wanted to do that, but "David thought it would be disrespectful." I have to agree. Go with a beer tub. They both smile happily during the fade to white.