Okay, readers, let’s chat. I know there aren’t as many of you out there reading about The Big C as there are people commenting on Breaking Bad or Louie or even the Arrested Development DVDs, but there are always a few of you good eggs who pipe up when the wiseacres say “People watch this show?” I'd like to hear what you want to talk about when it comes to The Big C. What do you like about it that keeps you tuning in? I want to know—it may change the way I watch the show and open up some new topics to explore with future episodes.
On to tonight’s episode! We learned tonight that Hugh Dancy’s Lee is not going to be Cathy’s new love interest. She hated him last week, but this week she allows him to accompany her to the pawn shop to sell some jewelry while Paul’s still out of work. They get held up afterwards and inadvertently foil the robber by laughing in his face after he asks Cathy, “You wanna die?” To decompress, they head to Lee’s sublet to drink some nice wine (he owned a wine shop in New Orleans). Lee waxes on about Buddhism and marathon running (let’s be honest, who could be more tediously self-righteous than a Buddhist marathon-running cancer victim?)
They talk about the way they want to die. He’d prefer to go with no strings attached, whereas Cathy would rather exit noisily and joyfully, with a band and chocolate fountain and everyone who ever knew her, including the “mean deaf girl” from Girl Scouts. It’s interesting that Cathy now wants such an elaborate send-off, considering how last season she wanted to slip away without anyone really knowing. Overall, she doesn’t want to die alone. Lee touches Cathy’s face and she springs up, apologizing for leading him on. Joke’s on her: he’s gay and he was just admiring her beautiful complexion, as gay guys are wont to do.
So what will Lee be to Cathy, then? I still hope there will be more to his character than Guy Who Shows Her How to Be Zen and Whatnot.
Sean continues to creep away, slowly, from being a caricature. I was anticipating his possible arrest at the playlot when he approached some parents, asking them to try his new grubby homemade baby sling, but fortunately he escaped unscathed. He was able to demonstrate his ability to be a responsible role model after Adam gets into some trouble with a hooker. After inviting a call girl over, Adam discovers he’s low on funds, so he appeals to Sean for help. Sean settles the situation via barter after yelling at everyone a little bit. We all learned a little something tonight. Sean can be an adult. Hookers cost more than you’d think and apparently their pimps accept vases as money. Adam has adult tastes but still the most teenagery facial expressions we’ve seen on TV in a long time. Dominatrix costumes are hard to walk in.
As Adam and Sean rocket towards maturity (or something like it) and Cathy apparently moves towards enlightenment, the job situation has changed a lot for Paul since last week. After having lost his job last week, this week he lightheartedly tries to reassure Cathy that he’s got everything under control. A meeting with a friend only leads towards freelance work, however. The episode ends with Cathy meeting Paul at Best Buy, I mean, Max Buy, only to find out he’s taken a job there, a situation she finds “awesome.”
So what are we looking forward to for next week? One of my issues with the show is the pacing of the story lines. It’s likely that by the end of the season Sean will be a father and Cathy will have reached a new level of dealing with her cancer, but what leaves us hanging week to week? (Aside from “When will Parker Posey show up?”)
—“Are you nuts?” “No, not anymore.”
—It was funny that Cathy observed that Lee “lives like a monk” when I think a lot of people would pay a lot to live so monkishly.
—“What do you think ‘dom’ meant?” “I don’t know, Dominican.”
—“I have to go. Not because you're gay.”