The Grim Reaper Kitty. Retrospective: The Big C — Hereafter – “Quality of Death”

Season 4, Episode 3

Air Date: Monday, May 13, 2013, 10PM E/P on Showtime

Rating: ★★★★★

“Dead woman driving.” – Cathy

It’s been another two months from where we left off in “You Can’t Take It With You,” and Cathy (Laura Linney) isn’t faring very well. Both Adam (Gabriel Basso) and Paul (Oliver Platt) are rotating shifts to make sure she takes her pain medication but Cathy decides enough is enough and checks into a hospice facility.

Cathy likes to “sass” no matter if you’re a police officer or not.

The decision to get hospice care is to unburden her family from having to take care of her but the car ride to the hospice center becomes an emotional one filled with anger, a dose of reality, and, oddly enough, “sassing” a police officer. And we can’t forget the domino of water works. First Adam begins to sniffle, and then Andrea (Gabourey Sidibe), followed by Sean (John Hickey). While there is humor in this scene, it’s only there to diffuse the intensity of the situation – Cathy isn’t getting better and going to the hospice is the final stage before she succumbs to her illness. I commend Cathy for making this choice but I think she could have explained it better to Adam prior to them leaving. He seems to think she’s giving up and that’s not the case. I feel for Adam. He surprises me a lot throughout “Quality of Death.” From his heartwarming gesture for his mom to the beating he gives his father, who seems to have checked out since Cathy checked in at the hospice, Adam proves how much he’s grown. Then again, he doesn’t have much choice in the matter, does he? While I don’t condone hitting your parents, I am glad Adam stepped up and voiced his opinion about how irresponsible Paul is.

Speaking of Paul, he initially appears a bit stoic and unmoved, but that changes when Cathy gets behind the wheel. What? Why would anyone let a woman who couldn’t remember who you are drive a car? What if she forgets how to drive, not to mention her compromised vision? She’s reduced to squinting to see the middle divider and has a lead foot as she cruises 90mph in a 50mph highway. I love Andrea’s reaction when they’re pulled over: “Well, I need to do what I have to do, I’m black.”

Cathy uses humor in serious situations as a way of coping with the harsh reality of her life. She makes light of this situation by goading the officer:

Officer (Lee Aaron Rosen): “This is for the speeding and this one’s for the sass. See you in court in a month for the sass. Have fun.”

Cathy: “Hey, guess what? I’m driving myself to hospice, so good luck collecting on that one.”

Cathy’s therapist (guest star Kathy Najimy) makes house calls, or rather hospice calls, to her patient, yet we still don’t know her name. Is she real or a figment of Cathy’s vivid, mets (short for metastases) induced imagination? If you recall, Cathy did imagine Angel (Michael Ray Escamilla) and his fishing boat in Puerto Rico so it’s not off the wall to think Cathy is conjuring up her therapist, right?

Nan tries to ‘help’ Cathy get to the other side because she smells sauerkraut…it’s a bittersweet end to this darkly comical chase.

Cathy and her hospice roommate Nan (guest star Dana Ivey) discuss a morbid topic, which is kind of fitting to their current situation—death. With a fluffy white cat named Bethany, aka “Deathany,” roaming around, it’s hard not to wonder if she’ll softly meander in and plant herself at someone’s bedside since she can apparently smell death.

Cathy: “I wonder what death smells like.”

Nan: “I bet death smells like sauerkraut.”

I found it odd these two newbie roomies would make a pact so soon. If one of them smells sauerkraut, they would take the other one out…as in out of this world. But when Nan smells the kraut, Cathy isn’t ready to go. Although the chase scene with Cathy, limping on her walker, being pursued by Nan, shuffling behind her with her oxygen tank, is quite humorous, what happens in the end is bittersweet. Even with Sean kidnapping (cat-napping?) Bethany and changing her name to “Sparkles,” the feline finds its way back to the hospice. I know pets can find their way home, but this takes the cake.

Cathy surprises Andrea by replacing the size 2 model and working the runway herself. It is her ‘death’ dress after all.

Andrea designs a dress perfect for an Egyptian goddess’ funeral, only in this instance, she’s designed it with Cathy in mind. What a surprise Andrea gets when someone other than her size 2 model sashays down the runway. It is a lovely moment as Cathy struts/limps down the catwalk at the fashion show. You want to cheer for her, and it makes you even sadder knowing this wonderful and honest series will be ending.

Memorable line:

Cathy about the SPAM Museum: “If I were Spam, I’d be mighty angry that people were using my name to sell penis enlargement pills on the Internet.”

***

Cathy also gets a visit from Dr. Sherman (guest star Alan Alda). If her therapist can make house calls, so can her doctor. We haven’t heard from him in a while because he’s going through his own battle with colon cancer. But his visit brings forth a new question – can Cathy see ghosts now that she’s so close to death herself?

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Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.