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Everyone's Waiting

I fully understand that not everybody finds the subject matter of Six Feet Under appealing. Who really wants to watch a drama about a family who owns a funeral home when you can watch The Bachelor instead? Well, I really loved the first two seasons of Six Feet Under because it was a show about making the most of life in the shadow of death. As a very moving show, I loved watching the series up to a certain point.

Once again, I choose to not evoke the superficial tag of "jump the shark," but I slowly lost interest in the show once Nate became more and more of a person I hated. What if Luke Skywalker abruptly turned to the Dark Side after Obi-Wan Kenobi died in A New Hope? I wouldn't buy into it, and I didn't buy into it when Nate turned to the Dark Side on the show.

So in my viewing experience with the show, there's a stopping point with Nate's near-death experience in the opening scene of the third season. I have not had any great desire to watch the rest of the show, but I always wanted to see the series finale. And sometimes, the mood is right to just sit down and watch the finale.

Well, let's just say that some really tragic news came my way a few days ago. A friend who opened up his home to me on holidays when I could not leave town because of work has not much time left to live. Coupled with losing a friend to suicide and another to cancer just this year, I thought it was time to deal with the grief by watching probably one of the best shows about dealing with grief. And I'm so glad I watched the series finale.

Everything I heard about the finale was true: the sense of finality coupled with the powerful Sia track, "Breathe Me," made for a powerful experience. My eyes felt like they were going to come out, but that was fine with me. I felt better after I watched the episode, and I have a little bit of curiosity to see some of the episodes/seasons I missed.

As much as I try to stay positive, there are times that life steers you away from it. For as much crap as there is on television, I'm thankful that a show like Six Feet Under exists. We can always find something to complain about in life, but I'd prefer to focus more on the things that make life worthwhile. I have the show to partially thank for that attitude.

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