This week's episode continues the show's evolution into something totally different from what's come before on television. Most shows like to keep a fairly fixed cast and have the characters interact within that set social pool. On shows like Buffy and Six Feet Under, there was generally only one or two friends outside the main circle, if any, and they interacted with the core group every week. However, here we have the continuing evolution of a community, with new characters being organically added to the world every week as the story demands. This episode isn't really about narrative at all. Stuff happens, but it's more about the mood — just spending time with the characters — and that's a joy to do.
It's hard to single out what the major plot threads of this episode were. Probably the central thing was Butchie trying to stop Shaun from turning into a next generation version of himself. At the beginning of the series, Butchie was very much still a child, looking out solely for his own interests. He took John in only so that he could use him; his only concern was getting enough money to get high. However, over the course of the series, he's become more aware of the world beyond himself, and this episode is the culmination of that. When he walks back and sees Shaun smoking, he sees the kid that he was. Even though Butchie himself was cracking on Dwayne moments earlier, he's mad at Shaun for not giving the man any respect.
In both this and the last episode, we've seen Butchie pushed into the role of diplomat. He jokes that he's not the U.N., but lately all he's been doing is negotiating meetings, trying to make things better for the people around him. Tina's arrival, his mother's subsequent crisis and his father's absence have forced Butchie to step up and become the man of the family. In the end, he and Shaun come to an agreement and enter the water together. Butchie says he's going to surf like he used to, on the board that Kai retrieves for him from storage. He is trying to reclaim the potential that he sacrificed so many years ago.
Throughout the series, I've posited that John's purpose on the show is to help the Yosts get things together and reclaim the glory they've lost. John set that in motion for Butchie, and now Butchie is doing things for himself, returning to the right path. With one student a success, John's main focus now seems to be Cissy.
Article comments
1 - Bandito Rob
I agree with you. Best show on TV, best work HBO has done since Sopranos season 1.