(birds chirping)
(sighs softly)
It would have been nice if you let me know
you were coming by for a visit.
Yeah, but I'm not visiting.
I just needed my black dress for Dean's wake.
That's all.
You haven't worn that dress since your father's shiva.
Don't worry, Mom. I'll wear it when you die, too.
(chuckles) Samantha,
you should know I've been going to Family and Friends meetings.
You have?
I have.
They're boring
-but informative. -(chuckles softly)
And now I know what to do when it comes to you.
I get it.
Mom, you don't "get it" after a couple of meetings,
-but... -I'm a fast learner.
I read The Connections in two days, remember?
-Uh-huh. -So who's this Dean person? You never mentioned him.
Honestly, I don't really know him.
But when someone dies in the program,
the community shows up as a form of support.
So much easier to support someone after they're dead,
isn't it?
♪ ♪
Samantha, will you please get up?
I don't want to ask you again.
What time is it?
It's almost 11:00.
I have been running around like a lunatic
trying to get ready for your father's shiva.
(groans) It's not my father's shiva-- it's yours.
He specifically said he did not want us to do anything
and not make it a big deal.
We're not. We're honoring his memory.
Will you please get up and help me?
In less than two hours, I'm gonna have a houseful of people,
including your awful Aunt Alice,
and everything needs to go smoothly.
-I like Aunt Alice. -She checks
the glassware for water spots in other people's houses,
which speaks to a dark soul.
-Okay. -Samantha.
-What? -For today,
can we all just at least pretend
we're one big happy...
family?
I guess.
Thank you.
(softly): What?
("Blood One" by Bikini Kill playing)
♪ Hey ♪
♪ ♪
♪ I, I ♪
-♪ Don't owe you nothing ♪ -(sniffles, exhales)
-♪ "Nada, nunca" is "nothing, never" ♪ -(groans)
♪ I don't fit into your dumb words ♪
♪ Language is memory ♪
♪ Pushing down on my head ♪
♪ Bloody memory, I'm marching on ♪
(overlapping shouting)
♪ Want to get close tonight. ♪
(scoffs softly) Good for you, Dean.
(quiet chatter)
-Hi. -Hey.
How you been?
I've been okay.
Um... listen, I feel like I owe you an apology.
You know, for the whole party thing.
-Don't worry about it. -No.
I was wrong.
You were just trying to be nice.
And, uh, sometimes I misread situations.
Yeah, well, that's what we do, isn't it?
Yeah.
It's kind of crazy that Dean is gone, right?
Talked to him a couple weeks ago after he fully spilled
-an entire Yoo-hoo on me. -Oh, man.
Last summer, he spilled a whole cold cappuccino
right down the front of my pants.
-Oh, my God. Yeah. -Epic spiller.
You want to stick together
so we don't seem like a couple weirdos?
-Yeah. I can make that work. -Okay.
♪ ♪
Wow. Looks like something out of a magazine.
Thank you.
That wasn't a compliment.
Hey, maybe you should slow down with that.
Why? If anything, I want all this to speed up.
Wait, where's the crab dip?
Your mom told me not to put it out.
What? Mom.
Why didn't you put out the crab dip?
We cannot serve shellfish at a shiva.
It's not kosher.
Who cares? It was Dad's favorite.
Saman-- How would I explain that to Rabbi Gurian?
Uh, who cares? We don't believe in God.
But he does.
-Hey. -Mm.
This is all really... sweet.
(snorts) For who? Yo-Yo Ma?
If my dad were here, he would call bullshit
on this whole thing.
I mean, seriously,
it is all style and no substance.
Hey, listen, you're gonna get through this,
-okay? -Okay,
the last thing I need from you right now is a pep talk.
Listen, I'm just trying to help you, Sam.
CAROL: Brit, dear, could you give me a hand?
Just go play house with my mother, okay?
(quietly): Yeah.
♪ ♪
Oh, my God. Apparently, he went to Yale.
Impressive for a guy that didn't own a single T-shirt
that wasn't stained.
And look at that.
It's like he's on a boat in Santorini with...
-Yeah, that's Snoop Dogg. -That's Snoop Dogg.
What?
Hey, you two.
-Oh, hey. -(sighs) So sad.
I just can't believe it.
Dean was such a sweetheart.
Did I ever tell you guys how we met?
-Did he spill something on you? -Oh.
Never mind then.
(speaking indistinctly)
I'm gonna go say hello to his parents.
I'll catch up with you guys later.
I don't know.
Maybe we should say something to them, too.
Like what?
I don't know. "I'm sorry"?
Yeah, but it doesn't mean anything.
Of course it does. What's wrong with you?
(scoffs)
(speaking indistinctly)
Uh, you know, if it-- if it means that much to you,
you should go for it.
-Okay. You want to come with? -Yeah. No. I'm good.
You know what, I think I'll just head out, actually.
-I'll talk to you later. -Uh... (sighs)
(exhales)
Hey. Hey.
Samantha.
The hell was that all about?
Look, I get it-- Dean is dead and that's sad.
But what is the point of us just standing around
and wallowing in it? It's so morbid.
It's not supposed to be a party.
Why not?
In my opinion, the best way to honor Dean
would be to shake this bummer day off and go celebrate him.
You have something in mind?
Uh, I do, as a matter of fact.
("Déso" by Fantasydub playing)
Jake & Jake's?
Seriously?
It was Dean's favorite place.
How do you know that?
Because it's everyone's favorite place.
Says so in the commercials.
(singing in French)
(doorbell rings)
(sighs)
(exhales) Alice.
Carol.
How are you?
(sighs)
I thought I was prepared for this. (cries)
But I'm not.
I only had one brother, and...
-now he's gone. -(sighs)
-It's not fair. -No.
Nothing about this is fair.
How are you doing?
(sighs) I don't know.
-Yeah. -To be honest,
everything is-is just a blur.
-Oh, well, the house looks beautiful. -And...
-Does it? -Mm.
-Aunt Alice. Oh. -Samantha. (chuckles)
-Wow. -Hi!
-(inhales sharply) -Oh.
Come with me. I want to introduce you
-to everyone. Yeah, yeah. -Oh, okay.
(Alice chuckles)
Everyone, everyone!
This is my Aunt Alice.
She's the coolest person, definitely, in this room.
-Oh. (chuckles) -She is a big-shot editor at Smith-Walker.
-And... -Well, not exactly. I'm a publisher.
-That's right. Oh, my God, who cares? They're both so cool. -Yeah. Yeah. (chuckles)
She got me to move to New York.
-I did. -She got me to keep writing.
I mean, seriously, if you're ever wondering
who has the greatest aunt in the whole world,
it's this bitch right here,
let me tell you. It's me.
(chuckling)
-I'm so lucky. Oh, my God. -What are you drinking?
Wine. Come on. Let's go have some wine.
-Maybe some club soda, if you have... -Come on.
Mom, stop standing there like a freak. Come on.
I have an idea. I think we should toast to Dean.
It's the least we can do after we ditched his wake, right?
Yeah. No, for sure. Yeah, I support that.
Okay. (inhales sharply) Um...
To Dean,
the worst Uno player I've ever met.
Is that true?
I don't know. I just made something up. You go.
Oh. (chuckles) Um...
To Dean, who was terrified of birds.
Mm. To Dean
and his weird extra rib.
(chuckles) To Dean, uh,
who could raise one eyebrow like The Rock.
Oh, I loved that about him.
-Mm. -To Dean,
-the inventor of the Jet Ski. -(chuckles)
-(chuckles softly) -Uh, what about air hockey?
You're right. That's better.
No, there's air hockey here. You want to play?
Oh. I don't know.
Do you want to get humiliated?
Did you forget that I'm amazing at air hockey?
No, I didn't forget. But...
like Dean once told me,
never back down from a challenge.
His greatest fault.
He gave terrible advice.
Come on.
(quiet chatter)
How's the, uh... how's the hotel?
Oh, the Malden Inn?
It's fine. It's fine.
Did you know it's right next to a 24-hour auto parts store?
Oh.
-I didn't. -No, it's fine. It's fine.
-(exhales) -You just might
want to file that away for next time.
-Noted. -(chuckles)
Oh, he was such an incredible musician.
Yeah.
An actual prodigy.
Oh, of course you knew that. (chuckles)
Yeah, I-I put it in the attic when he got sick.
But it just-- It felt wrong.
And...
I really want Samantha to have it.
Can you imagine what it would have been like
if he had made principal cellist for the Phil?
Oh.
He was so close.
(sighs)
It must have been really devastating for him.
Oh, hey.
Hey, I didn't mean to say...
David loved being a father.
Oh, I know. I know.
Of course. I'm just saying that...
once you got pregnant,
things got a little bit more complicated.
That's all.
(chuckles softly)
Hey. Do you think we should get some more chairs in here?
It looks like people are looking for somewhere to sit down.
(sighs softly)
This is definitely the weirdest way I've ever mourned
a casual acquaintance.
Dean would have wanted it this way.
Maybe.
Life's kind of like air hockey,
-don't you think? -Uh-oh.
Might have a hard time hanging out with you after I hear this.
(chuckles): I don't know.
We spend our days getting whacked around,
and then, one day, we just disappear down some black hole.
Dude, that is some deep shit.
(clacking)
I win again!
Ha! Ha-ha-ha-ha.
Hold on.
You ever think about what happens when we die?
Well, I'm not a medically trained professional,
but I'm pretty sure you generally stop breathing.
Well, our pastor was talking about Miss Evans,
this woman in our congregation.
And he was there when she died, and he said that
there was a calmness that went over the room,
like a presence.
Sorry, can we go back a second?
Your, uh... your pastor?
Oh, yeah, I have been going back to church with my family.
-Huh. -I don't know,
church kind of filled in a missing piece for me.
I feel like somebody threw me a life vest.
But you still didn't answer my question.
Do I have to?
Can't we just go play Skee-Ball,
and you can spend a shit-ton of money
trying to win me a stuffed animal?
That's exactly what would happen 'cause I suck at those games.
You suck at all games.
I'll win one for you.
You really don't want to talk about this, do you?
Who wants to talk about death?
Death comes to all of us.
It's something that we must accept.
To live is to die.
Well, that's literally my suicide note.
-(door opens) -Oh, my God.
(door closes)
Mm. Joel.
-Hey, Sam. -Hi.
-I'm so sorry about your dad. -Thank you.
Can I get you anything? You want something to drink?
Yeah, yeah, sure. I'll have a beer.
-Okay, good. -Just not an IPA.
Tastes like a mouthful of pennies.
Mm. I like that taste.
(laughing) Do you remember when we were hanging out
with that guy Allen,
and you kept calling his girlfriend Phoebe?
It was something close to Phoebe, was it not?
Absolutely not. It was Emma.
-It was Emma? -I told you that, like,
a hundred times that night.
Is that why she was so mean to me?
SAMANTHA: Yes! Brit. Hi.
Would you please open another bottle of wine?
Sure.
Sorry, I just can't find the bottle opener.
Wow, is that actually how you look for things?
That was the saddest excuse for...
Oh, no!
What is this, on ice skates? Shit!
-Oh! -I'll go get more.
It's just rolls. No one's gonna eat these.
-Samantha, hi. -Hi.
Can you keep your voice down a little bit?
The rabbi can hear you.
-Sorry. -Okay.
W-Wait. Aunt Alice, have you met Joel?
-No. -Oh, oh, meet Joel. -Hi.
We used to date back in high school.
-Hi. -He's the best guy.
-I'm Alice. -The best guy.
And my dad always said that. He said you were the best guy.
JOEL: Well, I don't know.
-I never heard him say that. -It's true.
Oh, my gosh, wait. Did I tell you about
his laser disc movie collection that I found?
-No. -It's incredible.
And there is something in it
that I think you're gonna want to see.
Is it Dirty Dancing?
Obviously it's Dirty Dancing.
-Come on. -Oh, my God. Careful...
Okay, you undersold this 'cause you told me
he had one copy of Dirty Dancing.
He has two, and one of them is still in the shrink-wrap.
-(Samantha laughs) -Are you kidding me?
Take it.
-What? No, I couldn't do that. -Come on.
I want you to have it.
That's very sweet.
Joel, can I tell you something?
-Yeah. -Come here.
My dad, he was right about you.
-Uh... -You are the best guy.
(Samantha chuckles)
And listen, I...
I know that I messed everything up.
And I hurt you.
But I didn't...
I didn't mean to.
I-I know that.
I missed you, Joel.
♪ ♪
I missed you, too.
(groans, sniffles)
(crying softly)
Mom?
(sniffles)
We can't leave that buffet table
unattended, Samantha, because the Blums eat rugelach
like they've never seen food before.
Alice, what are you doing?
I'm taking this with me.
CAROL: No, Alice, please.
ALICE: After the spectacle that I just saw here today,
I don't think she deserves to have this.
This cello is all I have left of my brother.
And I'm not leaving it in this house
-for one more second. -Alice...
it belongs to Samantha. Please.
I doubt she'll even notice.
(snorts) I notice a lot of things, Aunt Alice.
I'm very observant.
I noticed today you've been
very hard on my mother.
And I noticed that the whole time my dad was sick,
which was for months and months,
she was there every single second.
And when he didn't sleep, neither did she.
Another thing that comes to mind
is that you only visited him once
that whole time he was in the hospital.
Why was that?
Give this cello back to me right now, Sam.
I would rather smash this thing to bits
than let you leave here with it.
Carol, can you control your daughter
even for one second?
No, I can't.
You break my heart.
Both of you.
-(Carol stammers) -SAMANTHA: Bye!
(exhales sharply) It is actually really heavy.
Put the cello down.
Yeah, I'm doing it. Ugh.
Brit?
Hey.
-Are you okay? -Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
I'm okay, I'm okay. I just, um...
Am I supposed to just watch her do this to herself?
I don't know why I keep trying.
But she's my best friend, and I love her.
I get it.
It's-it's an impossible situation.
I mean, she gives you these, these little glimpses
-of the person she used to be. -Exactly.
-Like flashes of the old Sam. -Yeah, right?
And that person is, like, so amazing and sweet,
and you just, you want her back so badly.
So you go for it.
But it's not real.
You know, it's like a bad joke. (scoffs)
And you just feel like such a jerk.
You're not a jerk.
Do you want to go get coffee and talk a little?
Yeah, sure. Yeah, that'd be nice.
Okay.
♪ ♪
Okay, I think you should take custody of this little guy.
Seriously? You don't want Clank?
-You named him Clank? -Ratchet and Clank.
Does he go on your back?
-Yeah. -Sweet. That's cool.
What are you doing for the rest of the day?
I don't know.
You want to go back to yours, if you're free?
And do what?
Wait. You want to hook up right now?
I mean, yeah.
Today was really fun, you know?
Hanging out with you made me realize
how much I've missed you. (chuckles)
Cut the shit.
Are you, like, white-knuckling it or something?
'Cause something's wrong.
Geez, relax, okay?
It was a simple yes or no question.
I'm sorry it didn't reach the existential heights
of "life is like air hockey."
You're a real piece of work, you know that?
Forget I said anything.
-I thought you'd be into it. -This isn't about me.
It's about you and what you need.
Because you've just been avoiding
what this entire day is supposed to be about.
Fine. What do you want to talk about?
Dean's blood alcohol content when he clipped that pole?
Or how he hung on at the hospital
before he went into cardiac arrest?
Is that what you want to talk about?
Yeah, maybe I do.
-Uh-huh. -Maybe it'll make me feel
scared as hell, 'cause deep down I know
that could be me someday, or you.
So thanks for the invitation, but I'm gonna pass.
Mm, your father could eat a whole bowl of that by himself.
-It's so good. -Yeah.
I wonder what the rabbi would think about
me going to town on this right now.
Screw the rabbi. The crab cost me 50 bucks.
-Hell yeah, Mom. -So enjoy.
Thank you. It's delicious.
(laughs)
Mm.
(crying)
Oh, honey...
I know.
-(Samantha sobbing) -I know, I know, I know.
I know.
It's all right.
I'm just... (sniffles)
I'm just gonna go to sleep, okay?
-I'm really tired. -Okay, honey.
Okay.
Good night, Mom.
Oh!
-CAROL: Oh, no, no, no! -No, no, I didn't mean it.
CAROL: Oh, no, no, no, no, no!
-I just... -Oh, God, why?
Oh...
Why?
Why do you have to be like this?
Why?!
Why do you ruin...
everything?
Yeah, I was wondering when things would
go back to normal around here.
♪ ♪
(exhales)
(doorbell rings)
Hi.
Sorry, I know it's really late.
I should have called first,
but I was just in the neighborhood,
and I thought I could, you know, come see the house.
Oh, uh, sure. Yeah.
-Come in. -Cool.
Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org