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Once in there, Danny calls his dad and asks what's up. His dad says, "I have some bad news. Your mom died." Danny can't believe it, and his dad has to repeat it.
Okay, in the spirit of honesty, I should say that my mom died, suddenly, of a brain aneurysm at the age of fifty-nine, back in late February, so this is kind of a touchy subject for me. In addition, I'm not a good enough writer to be able to recap the rest of this episode in the kind of detail that Danny's pain and suffering deserves. So if I kind of gloss over it, I hope you understand.
That said, it brings up the question of whether this should have even aired on the show. Back when Lindsey found out that her friend committed suicide, I kind of felt like it shouldn't, and I still feel that way. Obviously, they have to address the issue, but I just don't think that we have to see the moment that Danny finds out. It's private, and personal, and even though Danny signed up to be filmed for the show, he had no idea that something like this might happen. I'm sure the producers would claim that this show is a documentary, and that they just show what really happened, but you know what? That's bullshit. They certainly didn't show the controversy in Chicago when someone was killed near the house. It's a manufactured situation, where people are given a bullshit job and get to live rent-free and get drunk and make out with each other for our amusement, which is fine. It is what it is. But don't claim that it's a documentary. The only exception I would make is if, by showing the footage, it might help someone else. Like when they showed Ruthie's drunken escapades. It was sad, and it might have made someone take another look at his own drinking habits. But I don't get what purpose this serves, except to convince people to hug their moms, which I think could have been accomplished by explaining the events through interview footage and the reactions of the other roommates. And I also have to believe that Production knew what happened before Danny did; don't you think his dad probably called them? So it's not like they couldn't have planned out how to deal with it from a production standpoint.
Anyway, Danny finds out that they think his mother had a heart attack. He starts sobbing and accusing his father of lying. Nehemiah lingers in the doorway, not really sure how to help. Danny's dad starts crying too. Nehemiah calls Melinda over as Danny says he'll call his dad back, and hangs up. Nehemiah just holds Danny as he sobs and reports the bad news. Lacey finds out the deal and tells Rachel and Johanna, who are shocked.
Danny walks outside. Lacey asks what they should do, and no one knows. Nehemiah interviews that no one knows how to react, and that there's nothing they can say. The cameras film Danny sitting outside, sobbing. Wes interviews that his best friend died in a car accident a few years ago, so he understands some of what Danny's feeling. Wes sits on the couch and numbly stares into space, perfectly capturing that feeling of helplessness you get when someone you love is in pain and you can't make it better. Rachel, Lacey, and Johanna discuss how unexpected this was, and how Danny has been having such incredible bad luck lately.