Yet episode five began to suggest a new, tenuous equilibrium in the Holden-Talbot household. Ted Jr. made his sheepish but sincere effort to patch things up with Tawny, who for several episodes had played the spurned wife, increasingly confused and isolated from the world around her. Amantha picked herself up by the bootstraps, so to speak, and began to undertake a personal quest for balance after a downward spiral of anger and resentment that had been playing out over several episodes. Tawny is pregnant, Amantha and Jon Stern have finally made their relationship public. The pieces begin to fall once again into place. But all is not forgotten. When he abruptly arrives to the party after leaving the family waiting for several hours, bearing a well-intentioned but poorly thought out give for his mother, what plays out is an appropriate metaphor for the Holden-Talbot dilemma. The family eats and carries on in animated conversation, happily filling their previous roles within the family dynamic when suddenly a jarring horn blast cuts through the serenity. Daniel stumbles awkwardly into the house with Lezlie in tow and meets disappointed grimaces and awkward silence. After sharing parting wisdom with Lezlie, who exhorts Daniel to find his place within the family, Daniel unveils his gift in a masterfully directed scene of discomfort and disconnection that is drawn out to the very limit of unease before Ted Sr. finally steps in to re-establish harmony. What’s clear both in this scene and the ensuing family time is that despite his entente with Tawny, Ted Jr. is more vindictive than ever. It’s a detail that wasn’t lost on the director, who takes his time to study the subtle glares and nuanced expressions of the family even as all seems to be peaceful on the surface. Meanwhile, Daniel continues his complex internal process of reintegration into family and society, and the psychedelic closing sequence of his mushroom trip on the banks of the infamous river suggests that he may also have to come terms with what really happened on that fateful night nineteen years ago. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all news updates related to the world of geek. And Google+, if that’s your thing.
