Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Misfits Season Four, Episode Five

Finn has a photo of his mother with several men.  Fin is in conversation with and man and says his mother had sex with someone photo and is in search of his father.  The man does confirm that he did indeed sleep with Mary and says that he is sorry that he wasn't there for Finn and then tells Finn that everyone used to call his mother anal Mary.  The man then backtracks and says that he not Finn's father because he had anal sex with Mary.  Finn grabs the photo back and puts an x through his face.  Great more slut shaming.

The Misfits are hard at work and Jess asks Finn if he believes he can have a relationship with some guy he has never met before.  Finn replies that this is a journey of self discovery and asks for a little bit of support. Greg shows up and calls Rudy to his office. "We are going to do some grief counseling. I guarantee there will be some tears and they won't be mine." Greg says. Greg is so creepy he makes me nostalgic for Sean. In the office, Greg asks Rudy why he thinks that Curtis blew his brains out. When Rudy tells him that he is intense, Greg replies, "you want intense. I'll give you the intense of me skull fucking your living brain." Greg then starts asking if Rudy is suffering from overwhelming feelings of loss and despair.

Jess is walking when she runs into Alex and they pause and say hello. When he does not follow up with an explanation for his behaviour, Jess turns to leave. Alex then pipes up and says that he is sorry for lying to her. When Jess says that she wants to punch him in the face, Alex tells her to go ahead if that is what it's going to take for her to feel better.  Jess takes him up on the offer and punches him.  Alex grabs his nose in pain and Jess apologises. Alex then asks Jess if she wants to go out with him.

Finn has knocks on a door and says that he is looking for Don Wilson when a young woman answers.  Finn holds out a picture and asks if the man in the photo is Don.  When the girl asks what this is all about, Finn replies, "I think he's my dad too." Inside the flat, Finn looks at pictures and the girl tells him that her father is sick. Finn then enters Don's room and Don invites him to sit.  Don admits that he remembers that night and so Finn asks if he slept with Mary. Don admits that he did and so of course Finn asks if it was normal.  When Don says that it was on a washing machine, Finn asks if it was vaginal. Don replies, "you have obviously heard about the whole anal Mary thing. I always hated people calling her that. I just don't think that people should have judged her and so to answer your question, yes it was normal sex."  Finn surmises that this probably makes Don his father.  Finn asks if Don has any fatherly advice and Don says do not get cancer.  Don starts to cough up bloody mucus.

Finn is in the kitchen with his sister Grace and asks if Don is going to get better and learns that the cancer is terminal.  Finn then asks about Grace's mother and learns that she died a few years ago in a car accident.  Finn asks about other siblings and Grace says that she has none.  Finn says that he wants to help and asks what he can do.  When Finn leaves, Grace goes into Don's room and he has died, so she puts her hand on his chest, and uses her power to bring him back.  When Don awakes, he tells Grace, "you can't keep me alive for ever."

Finn is back at the community center and he tells Rudy about Don's condition.  Rudy of course wants to know if Don has a car but Finn says that as Don was coughing himself to death, he didn't feel it was appropriate to take a tally of all of his worldly possessions. They are interrupted by Greg, who wants to know what they are talking about.  Rudy takes the opportunity to slip away and Greg tells Finn that that he was fucking ecstatic when his father died because he was a judgmental prick. Greg then says he had a little jig on his grave and proceeds to show Finn this.  He then tells Finn to think about this, when he is out there scraping off graffiti and cleaning up dog shit.

Outside, the Misfits are power washing a wall that is covered with graffiti and Finn tells Jess about his sister and points out that Grace is not on her own now because she has him.  Rudy pulls Finn aside and tells him that it is brilliant to use Don's cancer to get into Jess' knickers. Finn denies that this is what he is doing. Rudy says that he has rubbed off on Finn and now he has all grown up.

Back at Don's flat, he is still coughing when Finn calls Grace and asks if it is okay for him to visit. Grace does not answer right away but finally says yes.  When Finn hangs up the phone, Jess comes around the corner.  Finn tells Jess that he is going to go and see Don and Grace and how good it feels to be helping someone.  Finn then asks Jess to go out for a drink after but she says that she is meeting Alex. So much for his denial of using Don's death to get closer to Jess. Finn says that Jess should kick him in the balls, so that he can get a date, but Jess tells him to have fun with his sister and walks away.

Finn is with Don, who says that it must be hard for him to see him like this. Don then says that he has to discuss something with Finn before Grace gets back and asks if Finn knows about the storm and weird powers.  Don says he knows that they just met but there is no one else he can talk to. Don admits that Grace has power and she is using it to keep him alive.  Don says that he has been letting Grace do this because she had no one else, but now Grace has a brother. Don asks Finn to persuade Grace to let him die and asks him to take her out because he has ordered a nurse to look after him. Grace enters the room, and Don says that everything is okay and they are getting to know each other When Grace leaves the room, Don says, "Finn she has to let me go, I want to die."  Finn goes to see Grace and asks her to go for a drink but she says that she has to look after for Don.  Finn tells her that Don has booked a nurse because he thought that they should get to know each other and that they should have one drink, or maybe ten. Finn suggests that they are going to have so much fun.

Grace and Finn leave together and they struggle to find anything to talk about. Finn is about to tell Grace about Don, when he sees Alex and crouches down.  Finn asks Grace if Alex looks a little bit gay to her.  Finn says that Alex has a date with Jess and he wants to find out if Alex is gay, so that he can destroy his relationship with Jess before it even starts. When Grace asks about Jess, Finn says that she is just a mate.  The two of them sneak into a parking garage and Finn uses his phone to spy on Alex, who is being handed a folder by someone.  Finn says, "I think he's paying for sex." When Finn's phone goes off, they duck down and hide, but Alex is walking in their direction.  Finn uses his power to make a can fall to the ground and Alex walks away.  Grace is ecstatic to learn that Finn has a power.

Finn takes Grace to the bar and makes a comment about how Alex didn't waste anytime sticking his cock up some guy before seeing Jess.  He quickly rushes through introductions causing Jess to ask what is going on. Finn says that he has no idea and tries to make small talk but Jess again asks why he is being so weird.  When Finn lets it slip that he knows Jess from community service, Grace says that Finn told her that he was studying engineering.  Jess leaves to go to the bathroom and Finn follows and tells Jess that Alex is gay and that he is pretty sure that Alex is paying men for sex. Jess tells Finn to "fuck off."  Finn holds out his phone and says, "watch the video and tell me if you still think Alex form the bar isn't gay."  Jess walks out of the stall and tells Finn that he is really possessive. Finn replies, "at least I am not gay. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it unless you are pretending that you're not gay, so you can trick girls into having sex with you." Jess asks why anyone would do that and leaves, telling Finn that his phone is down the toilet but not to worry because she didn't flush.  Finn calls out, "he's gay and you know it."


When Finn leaves the bathroom, Alex hands him a beer.  Finn asks what Alex has been up to this evening and when Alex says nothing, Jess suggests that they go back to Alex's place. Alex starts to stammer and says that he thought that she wanted to go out.  Jess responds that she really wants to go back to his place.  Alex says okay and the two of them leave. Grace tells Finn that Jess is probably going back to Alex's flat to fuck his brains out.  The two sit and Grace asks Finn if he really likes Jess. Finn replies that he liked Jess since the first day of community service and that though Jess acts tough, she really isn't. Finn is convinced that he can make Jess happy. Grace says that it's nice to think about something other than their dad.  Finn tells Grace that there is something he needs to talk to her about, but before he can bring up Don's situation, Rudy shows up and introduces himself. Rudy is not impressed when Grace admits that Finn has not told her anything about him.  Grace goes to get more drinks and Rudy comments that Grace is nice and smells of strawberries and cream.  Finn immediately tells Rudy that he is  forbidden from even talking to her.  Finn actually begs Rudy not to fuck his sister but Rudy says that he is genetically programmed to fuck people's sisters. When they look over, Grace is talking to a man. When Grace starts to kiss the man, Rudy asks Finn if he is going to just sit there and let some neanderthal treat his sister like a piece of meat. Finn points out that Grace is enjoying herself and so Finn asks if Grace will still be enjoying herself when Finn is taking her down to the AIDS clinic. Finn asks if he should go over there and if this is what brothers do.  Finn taps the guy on the shoulder and asks what his intentions are towards his sister. Grace bluntly asks what Finn is doing and he replies, "I'm sorry, but I don't want you to get AIDS."  He looks over his shoulder at Rudy who gives him the go ahead.  The man then shoves Finn, which causes Grace to shove him and say, "hey, that's my brother you little shit."  The man gets to his feet and knocks Finn unconscious.

At Alex's flat, he is cooking something for Jess to eat and she is staring at him with a stunned expression.  He seems more into cooking, than he is to talking to her.  Jess excuses herself to go the the bathroom but ends up in his bedroom instead.  She starts to go through his clothing and Alex shows up and asks if she always snoops in guys bedrooms.  Jess says that she is not snooping and asks Alex if he is gay.  Alex points out that they have already had this conversation but Jess says that Finn showed her a video of him and a guy in an underground garage.  Alex is not impressed and asks if she has Finn following him. He then asks what's on the video and Jess admits that it is just him talking to some guy.  Jess says that she didn't want to believe it but in his flat, there are photos of him with his arm around a guy, now he is cooking, and his clothes are color coordinated.  Jess says she just wants to know and if he tells her that he is not gay then fine.  Alex simply steps forward and kisses Jess and asks if that answers her question.

Rudy is passed out and so Finn uses the opportunity to draw on his face with black marker.  Grace says that she has to go home but that this is the best night she has ever had. Finn tells her no problem and then again says he needs to talk to her about Don.  Finn says that Don told him what she is doing but Grace passes out before they can have a conversation. 

Jess is leaving and Alex asks her if it is weird that they didn't have sex. Alex replies that he would like to take things slowly because he has messed up things before and does not want to mess this up. Jess agrees that this is fine and so Alex kisses her and promises to call.  When Jess leaves, Alex pulls out the information that he was given in the garage and they are pictures of a man.

In the morning, Finn awakes to discover that Grace is gone and is upset because he didn't get a chance to talk to her about their father.  Grace has returned to the flat and the nurse says that Don does not have much time left and that she has made him as comfortable and she can.  Grace tells the nurse that she can go and that they don't need her because she can handle it.  As Finn shows up, the nurse is leaving and she tells him that he should go in because Don does not have long.  Finn enters the room, just as Grace is about to use her power and he stops her and says that she has to let Don go. Finn tells Grace that she has him now and that they can hang out and do sibling shit.  Grace says that it is not the same and that she cannot let Don die.  Finn says that Don is in pain but Grace reminds Finn that she doesn't even know him. Finn says that this is not what he wanted when he found his dad and even admits that he was trying to use Grace to get in Jess' knickers, but then adds that he likes Grace and has never had a sister. Finn says that as her big brother, he is responsible for her. Grace uses a bottle to hit Finn over the head and tries to save her father but Finn gets up and pulls her off again.  This time, Grace uses a lamp to choke Finn and he tells her that she can't kill him because he is her half brother.  Grace pulls away and says that she thought with time that she could make Don better and cries, "Why can't I make him better? All I can do is keep him alive."  Finn suggests that this is Don's time and Grace says that she doesn't want to be on her own and that she did this for herself.

Don calls out to Grace and asks Finn if he talked to her.  Grace tells Don that she didn't want to lose him and says that she is sorry. Don tells Grace that being her father was the best thing that ever happened to him and asks her to sit with him.  Finn says that he should leave and Don holds out his hand and asks him to stay.  Finn sits on the bed and takes Don's hand and he says that it's okay. Don dies holding onto the hands of both of his children.

At the community center, Finn and Jess are getting dressed. Jess tells Finn that Alex is not gay and Finn replies, "I'm sure he'll make someone a lovely husband or should I say civil partner." Jess explains that Alex was buying some gear in the garage and Finn respond that this makes Alex a drug addict and quite a catch.  Finn then tells Jess that he doesn't care what Alex was doing and that Don died.  Rudy shows up and pushes Finn into the locker and uses his leverage to draw on Finn's face. Jess calls out for Rudy to stop and when he doesn't, Jess says that Finn's father died. Rudy stops and says that he is sorry.  Rudy says that he is sure that the marker will wash off before the funeral.  Rudy then asks about Grace and Finn turns the tables and now has Rudy against the locker.  Finn tells Rudy that Grace is off limits and that if Rudy goes anywhere near her that he will kick the shit out of him.  Rudy says that if Finn really feels that strongly about it that he will give Grace a pass.

Alex is now stalking the man from the photo.  He walks up behind him grabs him and says, "show me your cock and I'll let you go."  The man starts to undo his pants.

I remember when I used to watch Misfits and laugh, then of course be horrified that I laughed. This is no longer the case.  I am absolutely disgusted with the amount of homophobia which has been interjected in these recent episodes.  Of course, Finn says that there is nothing wrong with being gay but then asserts that Alex is using Jess as a beard.  Then there is also the issue of the ridiculous stereotypes that  Jess uses to once again question Alex's sexuality.  Since when exactly is cooking a gay thing?  As far as I know, all people have to eat to survive.  Then of course we have the only actual gay character - Greg, continuing to be creepy as fuck. Clearly, Greg is confused about Curtis choosing to kill himself and rather than expressing that he has to become threatening and verbally violent.

I suspect that Grace will be a permanent addition to the show to deal with the gender imbalance of this season.  I am not all pleased that Finn was positioned to protect the purity of the family vagina.  At first it was somewhat redeemed by Grace questioning Finn's decision to intervene when was kissing a man at the bar but it was most certainly affirmed by Finn establishing his role as her big brother and through the threatening of Rudy.  Why does Finn have the right to police the Grace's sexual decisions because they have a blood connection?  In terms of gender, Misfits did redeem itself somewhat with the redemption of anal Mary through the comments of Don.  I am however bothered that a woman having anal sex was seen as a negative.  If Mary is to be shamed for this, why not the men who participated? It's not as though she had anal sex by herself. Furthermore, Mary has existed on the show only to be shamed and she has not actually appeared on the Misfits.

Finally, I really liked Don's storyline.  The right to die is constantly under debate.  I liked that it was pointed out that this right is being denied out of a sense of selfishness and denies the agency of the person who is sick and suffering in pain.  This storyline was extremely well done and more than I expected from Misfits to be honest.  It really asked the question of who benefits through continued intervention when there is no hope of a cure and only endless pain.