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Queer As Folk recap: Season Four, Episode
Seven (original air date 30 May 2004)
THIS
WEEK'S QAF FAQ:
- Isn't
Deb great?
Yes, but Sharon Gless must be ready to strangle the writers.
-
Why does Brian have to suffer?
Because he's paying for his sins. What? You don't like
heavy-handed moralizing? Then why do you watch QAF?
-
Wasn't it weird to see Shanda Leer again?
Yes! I thought she was just a redshirt.
The
opening titles — Have I mentioned that I really
like the new theme song and the happy lovey images? I do.
I also think that Ben should not dance: all that beefiness
kind of interferes with grace.
A
clever thing — We see a big cell-like thing,
or what I later suppose is an X-ray (or some sort of image)
of Brian's testicle, and some of the wiggly microscope-y
images transform into a bird's-eye view of boys on the dance
floor, and then we get lots of crotch shots. It's kind of
cool, actually.
A
doctor's office — Brian's getting the bad
news: he needs a biopsy, and in order to do that they'll
have to remove his testicle. No! That's like Julie Andrews
losing her voice: it's extremely unfair and proves there
is no God.
The
doctor tells Brian he'll have his choice of "completely
natural" prosthetic balls. I'm not into balls, and
even I know that just wouldn't be good enough. The doctor
offers Brian a selection of prosthetic testicles; Brian
says, "Sometimes you feel like a nut; sometimes you
don't." Awww. Brian, I still love you, two balls or
one. The doctor also tells Brian that if he doesn't have
the surgery, he'll die.
Rehab
— A woman -- I'm sure she really is a redshirt
-- is praising Flake's counseling skills and his "integrity."
He looks uncomfortable. He should.
Deb's
house — Michael, Ben, Emmett, and Hunter are
waiting for Deb to come downstairs so they can go to Vic's
funeral. Hunter makes some sarcastic remarks and compares
Deb to Mary Tyrone. Deb finally arrives, looking regal and
broken, and making everyone else look like the amateur actors
they are.
Vic's
funeral — Almost everyone says a few words
about Vic. Michael's words are just painfully hokey, as
are Mel's (sorry, Mel), but Emmett praises Vic's cooking
skills in a very cute way. Hey, Jennifer is there: hi! I
know it might be wrong, but I'm in love with Justin's mom.
Michael
tries to get Deb to say something, but she thinks Vic has
heard enough from her. That makes me sniffle a little. As
everyone walks to their cars, Brian talks about how sad
it is when people get old and sick, rather than dying young
and beautiful. Yeah, that sucks: but don't go yet, Bri.
You've got a lot of beautiful left in you.
Deb's
house — The women are in the kitchen -- even
in gay-land, gender roles are firm when it really matters.
Lindsay asks Deb if she wants to take a pottery class with
her. I imagine a Ghost-like scene and it sorta
creeps me out.
Rodney
gives Deb a shoebox of Vic's things: photos, jewelry, and
a letter Vic wrote for Deb. She reads it in the laundry
room and finally seems to connect with her grief a little,
and announces that they're going to have a party.
Ted's
apartment — Blake and Ted -- whom I'm now
officially calling Flake and Dud -- are having Thai food
and smooching. I love Thai food! But stop smooching. But
they don't: Dud rambles on about mortality and they end
up having sex.
Ben
and Michael's apartment — Michael and Ben
come home to a happy Hunter (Carson McCullers would not
approve), who prefers a toke to a funeral. Good move. Ben
freaks out and starts blaming Michael for having pot in
the house. Michael finishes the joint, because he's not
a wigged-out high-and-mighty frog like Ben. Ben says they
can't tell Hunter not to use drugs and then do so themselves,
but Michael says, "Of course we can! That's what parenting's
all about." Right on!
Brian's
loft — Justin wants to have sex, and Brian
doesn't. That's right: Brian doesn't. Justin is
understandably baffled.
Deb's
house — Deb is trimming the tree. Emmett wonders
if he has somehow slept for a very, very long time, even
though he "only took one Xanax." But no, Deb is
preparing to have a Christmas party because that's what
Vic requested in his letter. Never mind that that's because
he wrote it around Christmastime, and then recovered and
lived to see many more Christmases.
Dud's
apartment — Flake and Dud are cuddling in
bed. Yawn. Flake tells Dud he can't see him anymore, and
of course Dud takes it very personally, even after Flake
explains. Let him go, Dud.
A
sidewalk — Hunter has a black eye; he got
in a fight at school. Ben wants to know what's going on
with him, but of course Hunter is just feeling doomed because
he's positive and Vic died and . . . must they always connect
the dots for us?
Deb's
house — Deb is still out of control with the
Xmas decorations. Emmett leaves because there are "only
310" shopping days left. Michael tries to help Deb,
but she yells at him and explains that she has to do this
by herself, because if she does it perfectly maybe things
will be better. You know what sucks? When good actors are
given terrible lines. Deb could have shown us all
of that: she didn't need to spell it out.
Brian's
loft — Lindsay has brought Gus over so he
can visit with his cool daddy. Brian is watching a James
Dean biography; Lindsay thinks Gus might be a bit young
for that, but Brian says "Well, you don't want him
watching Teletubbies, do you? They might make him gay."
He refers to himself as the "anti-Dad," and Lindsay
ruins everything by talking about that wonderful day when
he'll become an "anti-Grandpa."
Ben
and Michael's apartment — Michael is berating
Hunter. Ben spells things out for Michael: he says Hunter
is acting out, blah blah blah. Michael, why couldn't you
see that? We all could, and we're not even there. When Michael
says he didn't realize, Ben says "Why should you? You
don't have it." That's right, Ben: get on your high
HIV horse. And ride on out of town.
Babylon
— Ted, I mean Dud, finds his old "friends"
and asks for some Tina. They give him a vial and he leaves.
Wouldn't it be great if you could actually get some Tina
just by asking? And by that I mean Tina Fey or Tina Turner
or Tina on The L Word, not crystal meth.
Elsewhere
at the club, Justin tells Emmett about Brian's shocking
new aversion to sex. Emmett says "Gotta admit, it doesn't
sound like the Brian Kinney we all know and . . . feel ambivalent
about." Emmett also says it might just be a slump;
"it happens in the best of non-relationships."
So Justin decides to pick up a couple of guys.
Brian's
loft —Brian arrives to find the two guys Justin's
brought home from Babylon -- and they're naked and waiting,
of course. Brian turns around and walks out the door.
A
sidewalk — Hunter and Michael ride their bikes
and bicker. Michael finally tells Hunter he doesn't have
to go to Deb's non-Xmas party if he doesn't want to.
Dud's
apartment — Dud stares at the vial of Tina.
There's a knock on the door; it's Emmett! They reach an
uneasy peace and seem sort of sweet together as they talk
about stationery and guys with British accents. Emmett says
Flake must be a damn good counselor, but he knows in his
heart that's not true, and I know it in my heart and everywhere
else, especially my queasy stomach.
Brian's
loft — Michael and Brian share a joint.
Michael: "I suddenly feel a
preponderance of death."
Brian: "Isn't that a play by
Arthur Miller?"
Michael: "It's an unsettling
observation by Michael Novotny."
Bwah
ha ha! Congratulations, Michael: you get the one good line
of the episode.
Michael
talks about the fact that Hunter and Ben could die any minute;
Brian says that they won't necessarily be the first to go.
They share a few platitudes about death; Brian settles everything
by saying "The less you have to hold onto, the easier
it's going to be to let go." Michael gives him some
sweet kisses on the neck and says he's glad they'll always
have each other.
A
sidewalk outside the rehab place — Flake and
Dud agree not to pursue their bad timing any further, and
I breathe a sigh of relief. Dud shows Flake the Tina he
got at Babylon. Flake seems to want it, and not just because
he's Dud's sponsor. Dud opens the vial and lets the stuff
fly into the air, and then pieces of paper start to fall
from the sky. Oh: it's snowing, says Dud. I guess I was
wrong about the paper.
Kinnetik
— Brian is packing up his things. He tells
his assistant he's going to Ibiza. Justin shows up; Brian
tells him the news too, and when Justin mopes about it,
Brian screams at him: "We're not fucking married."
Justin is shocked and tries to make nice; Brian says "It's
not you" but won't say more. Justin tells him he loves
him and will be there when he gets back. Brian smashes up
his office a little. Sigh.
The
non-Xmas party for Vic — Shanda Leer is there;
everyone's trying to be happy. Deb makes a big show of putting
the angel on the top of the tree, because Vic used to always
do it. In a surprising, shocking, amazingly unpredictable
twist, the angel falls to the ground and breaks, and Deb
breaks down because it wasn't perfect the way it was supposed
to be. Deb, are you talking about the party or this episode?
Yeah, that's what I thought.
Surgery
— Brian goes under the knife.
NEXT WEEK ON QUEER AS FOLK: Deb
continues to grieve; Lindsay appreciates the male form;
Ben and Michael fight; Justin uncovers Brian's secret.
More
QAF recaps available here.
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