Just watched the Six Feet Under series finale tonight with Ian. So, if you’re a fan and haven’t watched it yet or plan to watch the whole series someday soon, STOP NOW!!

And for the rest of you.

Wow. Holy shit. The episode in itself was great, but not jaw-dropping. It kept pace with this excellent last season. Overall the show had a dip in the middle but was a strong exploration of life, death, family, and how the bonds of love are tested while we try to figure ourselves out.

But the ending. That was absolutely amazing. I’ve never seen anything so powerful, and I doubt any television series will ever end as intensely. Someone on another blog said it succinctly: the experience was cathartic. The show, being about a funeral home, is about death. Carrying us through to the deaths of all the characters, whether the deaths were real or imagined (in Claire’s head, have to admit I didn’t think of that at first), brought closure, and made you feel like you knew these characters so intimately.

Ultimately, the show re-emphasized for me the intensity of death. I know no better word. It stands looming, unmoving, unknown, incomprehensible. I can’t say the show brought me to the point of accepting death, but it helped to strengthen in me the belief that it’s all about the life we have now. The one life we’re given. To live it. To love others. And to give to those who come after us, to help them be ready to live their lives.

Six Feet Under, R.I.P.