What I’m Watching: The Big C

The Big C: Season 4, Episode 2 “You Can’t Take It With You” (B+)

This episode was good but extremely unsettling, due to Cathy’s excessive efforts to convince Paul that he should start looking for a new life partner while she’s still alive. Using a cane because she can’t feel her leg anymore is a blow, but it’s one that Cathy managed to power through, and signing Paul up for the dating website for those who have lost their loved ones was an aggressive response that demanded that everyone in her life start to think of her as already gone. The fact that Paul’s date actually went well was a major blow to Cathy, who I don’t think had processed what it would feel like to see them together, and it made the episode’s final moment, in which Cathy didn’t recognize Paul, all the more heartbreaking. I suspect the next and last two episodes are going to be especially tragic. I love that Sean, who grew a winter beard for insulation, wanted to give away his kidneys on Craigslist, and that he almost got denied when he tried to donate them because of his mental state, only to rally with a stirring speech dedicated to his one and only sister. Lydia offering to help Adam cheat if he took her virginity was unexpected, and I like how their success turned their business deal into something that appears to be much more genuine and passionate. Andrea getting her spirit crushed by Isaac Mizrahi was unfortunate, but it’s good that he found a way to motivate her again and to show that he’s not a terrible person bent on destroying the eccentric and talented artist.