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“Transparent” recap (2.1): Trouble in Paradise

Jewish weddings are very theatrical, so a few moments into the first episode of the highly-anticipated second season, there are already buckets of honesty pouring out of Transparent. For those just tuning in, catching up or rejoining us for a whole new season of recapping, this is a magical, fucked up, extraordinary, beautiful show about a family learning and living.

“Go back to the boat, Captain!” Shelly shouts, beaming with that Jewish matriarchy glint in her eyes. Everyone is gathered behind a photographer to document the soon-to-be wedded bliss of their eldest daughter Sarah and her hot burning flame Tammy. No one will stand still. The kids are whining. Maura attempts to connect with the photographer: “Chin up, or down?” In a word, it’s total pandemonium. But it’s also family.

The Pfeffermans aren’t “fussy” people; they just kvetch a lot. It’s hot outside, they’re all dressed in white, and this photog is making dumb jokes, Ali acknowledges. It’s a pure moment where literally no one is heard, yet struggles to be heard. How familiar.

Tammy’s family is like day and night next to the Pfeffermans. They float up to their places with ease as the photographer captures a smiley, attentive, on-point dynasty of a family. “Love wins!” they shout as their photo is snapped. Hey, look! There’s Tig Notaro-also known as Tammy’s previous and second wife Barb. Way to be a champ, Barb.

Someone else who’s winning is Josh, who decides to confide in Ali. Rabbi Raquel is pregnant, but it’s early so no one else can know yet. True to form, Ali immediately tells Sarah. As a self-identifying Ali, I can say that I’ve been in a similar boat. Sarah is completely disenchanted with this conversation, peeved that Ali has brought gossip into her wedding prep station-and is now making it all about her. The actual nagging sensation Sarah is feeling, though, is her own inability to relax. Something is beginning to take shape, and it’s not Sarah’s mahogany hued makeup.

Maura chats up Davina outside by the seated guests. Their conversation is filled with adoration-Maura milling over the word “familiar” and likening it to “family,” rolling her Ls and whispering to Davina that she especially is like family to her. But the moment is cut short by a sudden wave of dread as Maura realizes her sister Byrna (Jenny O’Hare) is in the crowd. Maura explains to Davina that her sister hated her, even when they were kids-and that Byrna caught her dressing up in her clothes. She’s anti-Maura and totally closed-minded, so Maura can’t believe Sarah invited her here.

Ali tries to settle the guests into their seats-noticing an imbalance between the Pfefferman and Cashman sides. Tammy’s family turnout is noticeably larger, so Ali entices everyone to be fluid. “There’s no bride and groom-there’s a bride side and a bride side, sit anywhere!”

The ceremony begins. As the guests rise and Sarah takes her Moppa’s hand, she asks about why Grandma Rose isn’t in attendance. People in wheel chairs can go places, she professes. She recalls a person in a wheel chair on an It’s A Small World ride. “If you love people, you can take them places,” she says. But suddenly Sarah’s in a K-Hole where the guests appear to be cackling, Tammy’s vows are disgustingly intimate (including the words “make love to you”-gag), and by the time they’re breaking the glass, the growing fragility of their relationship is just as transparent, and cracked. Her hallucinations are like acid trips; a lucid nightmare. Sarah tells Mom about Josh and the Rabbi, which catapults the dominos-everyone knows about the baby now. The crowd fills the room and joyfully dances.

Suddenly the stage is set for one of the biggest highlights of the night. The guests glide toward the dance floor, spooling around each other and holding hands, lazily enchanted by the singer’s beckoning voice. It’s the Horah, a folk dance performed to the music, “Hava Nagila.” There’s circular dancing and a little footwork, and as the music grows louder, the dancing and singing intensifies with it. The brides are to be hoisted up into chairs during the Horah to honor their wedding, but Sarah is nowhere to be found. A tall man begins dancing in the middle of the floor, and we are darted back in time to Berlin, 1933-everyone dressed in costume at a genderless party bursting with laughter, dancing and sexual freedom-a sea of golden yellows and reds.

But then we’re shot back through time to the present, where everything is stark black and white-the expensive wedding attire and the black tile bathroom walls. Sarah feels trapped and panicky. She says she hates Tammy and doesn’t want to be married while Ali tries to soothe her. She can’t even pee.

When Josh arrives with Raquel, the Rabbi explains that she hasn’t delivered the marriage license to City Hall yet. “What is a wedding then?” Ali asks the Rabbi. It’s a very expensive play; it’s ritual and entertainment. Sarah is so relieved to hear this that she breaks into her tiny Sarah voice: “I’m not married,” she repeats over and over like she’s on a sugar high.

Though they’re able to coax Sarah into heading back into the party, she’s in a zombie-like state when Tammy whisks her off the dance floor. Back at the hotel, long after the flowers have been cleared off the table and Maura’s sister gives her shit and refers to her as “Mort,” Sarah tells Tammy, “I can’t.”

At the same time, Shelly tells Maura that she hopes she feels beautiful. Side by the side, these vignettes of each pair suggests endings and beginnings, many times over. And then there’s Josh and Raquel, with what feels like a beginning (a baby) now jinxed by everyone knowing.

“Please don’t do that to me-betray me and then tell me it’s a gift,” Raquel says to Josh in maybe the best line of the entire episode. Josh tells Raquel she’s worth loving. He apologizes and bows to her with affection. Josh is showing great signs of growth-this relationship is powerful for his own self-love. He can be the great dad he wasn’t convinced he couldn’t be before.

Then there’s Ali. She seems to have the largest hotel room, a suite on the corner with a big balcony. She’s alone, but she appears in deep thought. Hari Nef appears in the background in her 1933 garb. How mysterious and dreamy. If you love people, you can take them places. But first you must love yourself, and then you can take yourself anywhere.

What’d you think of the Season 2 premiere of Transparent? Sound off below in the comments and tweet me @the_hoff. Stay tuned each week for new recaps and watch the new episode now with Amazon Prime.

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