‘Transparent’ Recap (Episode 206): Lost Ways

The Pfeffermans are in a constant state of crisis. But what’s so special about Transparent is that this is presented to the audience as basic fact, because, let’s be honest, most people are in a constant state of crisis. Decision making is hard, stressors pile on top of each other, and there’s no way to make sure anything you’re doing is actually the right thing. Patience, of course, is not the virtue of choice for this clan, and they’re constantly tested and forced into examining what makes them happiest. The events in the sixth episode, “Bulnerable,” prove no exception.

Josh is still feeling sore from Colton’s departure — and from the news that Maura and Shelly hid Colton from him when he was a kid. He goes over to Sarah’s place (well, technically the kids’ house in Los Feliz) where Shelly has organized her grandchildren to help her with her campaign for condo board president. It’s there that he snaps at her, demanding the truth about Colton. “I put Colton out of my mind,” she says, blaming her poor memory. “I put him out of my world. To protect you, Josh.” She feels, of course, attacked by both Josh and Sarah, who cautiously stands by her brother. Shelly, always taking it to the emotional extreme, demands recognition that she is a good mother. “Other people throw babies in dumpsters,” she shouts back. “They raise kids in dumpsters. I raised you pretty good!” No one bothers to suggest that there’s definitely somewhere in between “hiding your son’s child from him” and “physical abuse” on the Shitty Parenting Scale.

It’s not the only terrible thing that happens to Josh in this episode; this season as a whole is really putting the poor guy through the wringer. Back at the Palisades house, he notices that Raquel has a rash all over her body. They rush to the doctor’s office, and the nurse thinks it’s just an allergic reaction. But then she has a concerned face when she gives Raquel a sonogram, and the worst has happened: she’s had a miscarriage.

Raquel quickly springs into action, saying that they can easily try again as the chances of getting pregnant within six months of a previous pregnancy is high. Josh, though, wants to slow down. He’s still grieving the loss of Colton, now has to deal with Raquel losing the baby. “We can take this moment to breathe for just a second,” he says, saying they can “do this right” — meaning, get formally engaged, get married, and try another time. Raquel seems worried — I mean, she always seems worried about Josh’s motives and his commitment. It doesn’t help that Josh then heads off to an industry party to schmooze with his former boss Barry and convince him to start a new label with him. When he comes back, buzzed and likely high from the party, he discovers that Raquel is gone. She has left Grandma Rose’s ring in the middle of the bed.

Ali, meanwhile, is freaking out about her application to UCLA, and she goes over to Leslie Mackinaw’s house to get some feedback on her ideas. Leslie is a powerful, confusing presence. She seems to be the only person who can put Ali ill at ease, especially when Ali walks into find Leslie watching some pretty explicit lesbian fetish porn (she’s pulling clips for a talk). Leslie also shares Ali’s disdain for boundaries, it seems, and the two hop into the hot tub together and get high. Ali rambles about her ideas for her essay, but Leslie rejects her thoughts about feminist theory related to the Holocaust; instead, she says, a personal essay is the way to go. The two seem to have a flirty connection, but when Ali reveals that she came out, oh, a month ago, Leslie backs off. “You really fucking come out late in your family,” she growls.

Having just moved out of Shelly’s house, Maura has taken her things over to Davina’s. But Davina’s big house is suddenly more packed now that her boyfriend, Sal, has gotten out of prison. Davina is over the moon to have her man back, and Maura watches the pair with eager interest — and starts to ask questions of Sal. He admits that he’s always been “trans-amorous,” and that it took him a long time to accept that part of himself. Maura then openly says how much she loves women — “from their head to their vagina.” Maura is ready to get back out there, and she’s slowly working up her nerve and confidence to find someone who makes her as happy as Sal makes Davina.

Sarah’s also on the prowl, and she goes over to Dr. Steve for weed, take-out, and boning. She’s assertive in what she wants — which is, a real-life production of her disciplinarian fantasy. Dr. Steve is probably not the best candidate (he’s a little too goofy to take the whole game seriously), but he’ll do. That is, until their date is interrupted by a phone call from Shelly, who’s at home with the kids. Sarah rushes home and finds a despondent Shelly upset because Ella “bullied” her. “I don’t need another person in my life making me feel like a complete failure,” she says to Sarah, who wonders aloud why she offered to babysit when she doesn’t like it in the first place.

Shelly, constantly concerned with appearances, says that all of her friends babysit their grandkids, which leaves Sarah frustrated with the fact that her own mother seems to be pretty blasé about her children. And that’s when Shelly woefully tells her daughter that Maura has left her. “I’m alone again,” she says, slowly lowering her head into Sarah’s lap. Suddenly three of the Pfefferman women are single again.

Tyler Coates is a writer living in New York City. You can follow him on Twitter at @tylercoates.

Photos courtesy Amazon Prime Video