Where do I even start. I just finished this show, and I could NOT wait to write this review. This show was recommended to me, and after sifting through the other reviews, I thought it must be pretty great. I finished the first episode and I thought it was OK, maybe it'll get better as it goes on. Yes, it's unique and tackles death in a different way, the story lines weren't anything spectacular to me. The only thing that seemed to increase as I went through season after season was my hate for pretty much all of these characters. Let's dive in.
Ruth Fisher: The matriarch of this dysfunctional family. From the fist episode I did not care for Ruth. With all her outbursts and emotional breakdowns, I found her character extremely unpleasant. The way she bounced from man to man, desperately searching for happiness because she was incapable of making her own was pathetic and sad. I could not for the life of me figure out how she had any friends throughout the series, I found her to be a terrible person.
Nate Fisher: The prodigal son. My first impression of Nate was that he was a free spirit, the black sheep of the family who had to venture out to find himself. No. Nate was just a terrible person. Ego maniac, narcissist. Nate was so angry all the time and resentful of his family. With what few flashbacks we saw, I couldn't see any reason for this. His parents didn't abuse him physically or sexually, they didn't neglect him. Yes, he grew up in a funeral home, but boo hoo. Where did he get off thinking he could ravage the lives of so many others, just because? The way he treated Brenda, and pretty much any other women he came into contact with was appalling. He is unfaithful, gets some other woman pregnant, and acts like it's everyone else's fault. He becomes angry with Lisa and claims she "trapped him into marriage", but it takes two. He states many times how unhappy he is with her, how much he wants out and how much he does not love her whatsoever. But when she passes away, he becomes a sullen shell of a person, like he has just lost his best friend. Make up your mind! Did you hate her, or what? Seriously. I almost stopped watching because of this story line. All his outbursts and how he treated his family when they were just trying to console him, because someone he didn't even love had died. Whatever. I have never been happier to see someone die before. But when Nate flat lined, I was elated. I wish it had been slower and more painful for him. I hope his character is burning. Oh, and for killing that beautiful blue bird? I wish someone would have done that to you. It was just living. You were a parasite.
Claire Fisher: This character seemed to be SO inconsistent. The first season she was misunderstood outcast, whatever. But as the show progressed, she never developed her own personality. I felt as though she was completely fake the entire time. She was however a completely spoiled brat. She felt entitled to the world yet worked for nothing. By the last season, I couldn't tell if she was on drugs the entire time, or if she had just fried her brain to the point of no return. Glassy eyed, irrationally screaming all the time. Yeah, no thanks. I couldn't and never will take her seriously as an "artist".
Nathaniel Fisher Sr.: Now, I didn't get much of a feel for him, but what I could gather was he was just unhappy in life. Yeah, he had all these secrets he kept from his family. Were they malicious? Nah. Harmless. He was just trying to break up the monotony of life. And if I had to go home to Ruth everyday, I would have had a secret life too.
David Fisher: Now I actually really loved David. He was the saving grace of the show. Without him, I would have stopped watching. He gave me hope, he was the only actual good, pure member of this family. Sure, he had some bumps in the road on the journey of coming out, but we all have those rocky periods when we are coming into our own. He was so genuine with his entire family, even when they treated him like garbage. He stuck by Keith because he loved him so much, even when Keith was a terrible human being. He comforted his extended family in crisis. He adopted two boys who had been thrown away by the world and the system and changed their lives, and loved them more than anything. He was the true black sheep of this family. He did not belong, and they did not deserve him. I'm so glad he was able to have a long life with Keith and that he was able to know true love. He deserved it.
Rico (honorable mention): Rico wasn't a bad character, but the Fisher's definitely rubbed off on him. What he became throughout the seasons was really hard to watch.
All in all, I would not recommend this show honestly. I don't see where people come to the conclusion that this "is the best show ever made", but I am entitled to my own opinion just as they are. The entire last season felt like one big fantasy of one of the characters. I kept waiting for them to get back to reality, but it never happened. I'm glad they all died. Eventually.
Ruth Fisher: The matriarch of this dysfunctional family. From the fist episode I did not care for Ruth. With all her outbursts and emotional breakdowns, I found her character extremely unpleasant. The way she bounced from man to man, desperately searching for happiness because she was incapable of making her own was pathetic and sad. I could not for the life of me figure out how she had any friends throughout the series, I found her to be a terrible person.
Nate Fisher: The prodigal son. My first impression of Nate was that he was a free spirit, the black sheep of the family who had to venture out to find himself. No. Nate was just a terrible person. Ego maniac, narcissist. Nate was so angry all the time and resentful of his family. With what few flashbacks we saw, I couldn't see any reason for this. His parents didn't abuse him physically or sexually, they didn't neglect him. Yes, he grew up in a funeral home, but boo hoo. Where did he get off thinking he could ravage the lives of so many others, just because? The way he treated Brenda, and pretty much any other women he came into contact with was appalling. He is unfaithful, gets some other woman pregnant, and acts like it's everyone else's fault. He becomes angry with Lisa and claims she "trapped him into marriage", but it takes two. He states many times how unhappy he is with her, how much he wants out and how much he does not love her whatsoever. But when she passes away, he becomes a sullen shell of a person, like he has just lost his best friend. Make up your mind! Did you hate her, or what? Seriously. I almost stopped watching because of this story line. All his outbursts and how he treated his family when they were just trying to console him, because someone he didn't even love had died. Whatever. I have never been happier to see someone die before. But when Nate flat lined, I was elated. I wish it had been slower and more painful for him. I hope his character is burning. Oh, and for killing that beautiful blue bird? I wish someone would have done that to you. It was just living. You were a parasite.
Claire Fisher: This character seemed to be SO inconsistent. The first season she was misunderstood outcast, whatever. But as the show progressed, she never developed her own personality. I felt as though she was completely fake the entire time. She was however a completely spoiled brat. She felt entitled to the world yet worked for nothing. By the last season, I couldn't tell if she was on drugs the entire time, or if she had just fried her brain to the point of no return. Glassy eyed, irrationally screaming all the time. Yeah, no thanks. I couldn't and never will take her seriously as an "artist".
Nathaniel Fisher Sr.: Now, I didn't get much of a feel for him, but what I could gather was he was just unhappy in life. Yeah, he had all these secrets he kept from his family. Were they malicious? Nah. Harmless. He was just trying to break up the monotony of life. And if I had to go home to Ruth everyday, I would have had a secret life too.
David Fisher: Now I actually really loved David. He was the saving grace of the show. Without him, I would have stopped watching. He gave me hope, he was the only actual good, pure member of this family. Sure, he had some bumps in the road on the journey of coming out, but we all have those rocky periods when we are coming into our own. He was so genuine with his entire family, even when they treated him like garbage. He stuck by Keith because he loved him so much, even when Keith was a terrible human being. He comforted his extended family in crisis. He adopted two boys who had been thrown away by the world and the system and changed their lives, and loved them more than anything. He was the true black sheep of this family. He did not belong, and they did not deserve him. I'm so glad he was able to have a long life with Keith and that he was able to know true love. He deserved it.
Rico (honorable mention): Rico wasn't a bad character, but the Fisher's definitely rubbed off on him. What he became throughout the seasons was really hard to watch.
All in all, I would not recommend this show honestly. I don't see where people come to the conclusion that this "is the best show ever made", but I am entitled to my own opinion just as they are. The entire last season felt like one big fantasy of one of the characters. I kept waiting for them to get back to reality, but it never happened. I'm glad they all died. Eventually.