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“Transparent” recap (2.5): Mee-Maw

Sarah Pfefferman is having a season-not of loneliness or craziness, but if Season One was summer, we’ve entered Sarah P’s winter. She asks Ali at the day spa if who you think about when you cum has to do with your sexuality. She admits she’s been thinking about Mr. Irons.

The women’s spa is decorated with beautiful, diverse, naked women. Sarah’s facial expression reads that she’s somewhere else, though, like a morgue. She asks Ali about her sex life with Syd. Ali explains she can’t have real, emotional intimacy with someone who hasn’t suffered from the patriarchy now. Sarah is deeply amused by this revelation. To her, this points to all signs that Ali is, in fact, a lesbian. Sarah’s rationale of this conclusion stems back to her own “I don’t give two fucks” feeling about the patriarchy. It presents that tired-out misconception that all lesbians are feminists and all feminists are lesbians. Maybe the word “patriarchy” rubs Sarah in a way this masseuse isn’t, but Ali’s feelings are realized and molding. She’s just now tapped into this part of her that she wasn’t onboard to explore before. Ali is learning.

Sarah has a first-session with that life coach she reluctantly won at the school auction. Like clockwork, the coach refers to an apparent book she wrote. How marvelous. There’s nothing platonic happening between these two. Sarah admits she used to have the picturesque life, but she breezes right through the tiniest of epiphanies as she speaks about it. She says life now is full of chaos and mess, but that she’s out there-living life in this new, scary way. What it doesn’t mean is that life is somehow wrong now-without the kids, the Los Feliz house, the marriage, and that blind acceptance from her matching peers.

The coach (unprofessionally) points out Sarah’s hostility, and that “people say” she’s controlling. It speaks to the parent culture Sarah’s had to likely put up with at her kids’ school, their definition of what is “normal” or “healthy,” and after that botched wedding to Tammy and the divorce with Len, it’s perfectly understandable that Sarah’s in limbo-and that being in any kind of limbo is exactly where you’re supposed to be in that moment, so chill and give yourself a break. Sarah-go through that damn drive-thru and get a cheeseburger if you want, girl.

In a later scene, she’s buying pot from one of Josh’s friend and he asks if she’s gay, and if that’s why she turned down his proposition for drinks. We see a flash of the word “mommy” on her wooden bead keychain. Sarah’s role has changed. And when dude says, “Give me a call if you ever need any help figuring it out,” he’s simply adding to this outdated notion that someone, a woman, has to declare their sexuality to be recognized-to be “helped.”

Sarah doesn’t have to take that date with the guy who says he thinks about “that puss,” as opposed to that “sweet, sweet D” and that, apparently she has to pick one or the other. As we know, she 100 percent does not. Sarah could call herself an Anti-Social Pansexual Mommy Stoner, and she’d still be Sarah.

In contrast, over at Syd’s apartment, Ali has no qualms about wearing their strap-on dick around the house. See, you can sleep with women and still be down with that “sweet, sweet D.” Syd on the other hand, she says the dick is for nighttime only. (Also, you guys, Syd and Ali look extremely adorable in their morning briefs.) Speaking of nighttime-there’s a big full moon ritual and Leslie (Cherry Jones) will be there with her partner Zelda, a white witch. Done. Lez all go.

At the circle, women are dancing by the fire and Syd asks Ali which one Leslie is. “She’s the one holding court,” says Ali. “She’s who you think she is.” It’s true. Leslie has this aura around her that puts her in the middle of a gathering. One younger girl is draped over her and Syd asks if that’s her partner. “You’re Mort’s kid,” Leslie says to Ali, who corrects her, adding that it’s Maura. Their back-and-forth suggests future episodes of Ali and Leslie working closely together. She asks if Ali is going to come study with the “big bad dyke.”

Already, Syd is on the outside of this connection. But she is connected to the girl sitting left of Leslie “Big Bad Dyke” Mackinaw, who apparently dated the same girl as Ali, which is verifiably exactly how it goes in the world of dating women. My friends and I made a chart once, a la L Word-you’d think we’d be pros at Musical Chairs.

The moon ritual continues and the women gather to speak about the Hunter Moon (which happened in October if we’re being accurate about 2015 Transparent world.) Ali listens to Leslie intently, and Leslie makes it a point to look at Ali as she speaks. Syd’s a perspective girl, so maybe she senses a little bit of spark and fascination-it’s nearly pouring out of Ali. It can’t go without mention: What will this do to Syd and Ali’s relationship? Ali introduced Syd as her girlfriend in front of Leslie, but was that an introduction, or a challenge?

The Hunter Moon places another kind of hunter in our midst, and that’s Colton’s adopted dad Pappy, also known as Paster Gene. He loves to hunt. He’s here with Mama, or Blossie, and their two kids. It’s Colton’s adopted family. They’ve come to check out Colton’s new life in LA-to make sure it’s what’s best for him. Nervous as fuck about the prospect, Josh asks Raquel to wear a fake wedding ring that looks like it has a pearly duck egg atop it.

What’s likeable about Raquel is her flexibility to roll with many a situation, but she has a bad feeling about this one, about wearing the ring, declaring some kind of comfortable “optic” as Josh puts it. So, what, if Colton’s family notices she isn’t wearing a ring? When Maura shows up mid-family-reunion, Josh’s expression says it all: He hopes Maura won’t fuck this up for him. When Maura introduces herself, Pappy doesn’t bat an eye twice and just remarks, “Oh, you must be Mee Maw.” Maura goes along with it. Colton’s father is Josh, which, sure-makes Maura a grandmother. “Mee Maw” may not be her chosen title, but she doesn’t seem especially offended.

Later on, the fun times are spoiled when Pappy and Josh get into an argument over whether or not Josh knew about Colton’s birth. Maura steps in and admits they paid Papa Gene’s church a significant amount of money and knew about the baby. Josh, mortified and shocked, storms off. Colton leaves with his family, though it’s clear Josh is still struggling to be that father he couldn’t originally be for Colton. As much as he might want him to stay, Raquel is worried about the stress of her baby. So, like that, Colton takes off in the family RV, and Josh and Raquel begin to walk back inside. They look broken and stunned-a child on the way, a child taken away, a child Josh never knew about, a child his parents knew about but hid from him, a child inside Josh, too.

So, like that, Colton takes off in the family RV, and Josh and Raquel begin to walk back inside. They look broken and stunned-a child on the way, a child taken away, a child Josh never knew about, a child his parents knew about but hid from him, a child inside Josh, too.

It’s perfect how this episode wraps itself up. Maura heads back home and immediately tells Shelly the inevitable, that it’s time for her to move out. Shelly can’t believe such luck-that this could happen to her twice. She thinks it’s about her not being good enough for Maura. It’s not. Sarah wasn’t too good for Tammy. Ali isn’t too good for Syd. Colton isn’t too good for Josh and Raquel. No one’s working the damn gate at Shelly’s condominium. Maura’s shouting, “Help me! Open the gate!” The tried-and-true relationship between Maura and Shelly that blossomed decades ago at the old Pfefferman house must be put to rest. Maura leaves. She isn’t stuck. Sarah isn’t stuck either. No one is. They’re just out there, flinging the mess up into the air with the moon-changing, phasing.

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