What I’m Watching: Transparent

Transparent: Season 1, Episode 4 “Moppa” (B+)

It was fitting that Ali was high as a kite when her father broke the news to her that he is now a woman, and at least her reaction was highly accepting and warm. She didn’t seem nearly as thrilled about the news once she came down from her high, but fortunately Sarah was firmly in her corner, to the point that she furiously defended him in the department store bathroom when a narrow-minded mother made Maura feel like an outcast. That scene was contrasted greatly by Mort’s first big moment of affirmation from twenty years earlier with Bradley Whitford’s Mark in the hotel room and then followed up by her very isolating experience in the condo complex where the other tenants – and the manager – refused to keep the noise down and didn’t even hear her complaints. Sarah truly does seem like a stalker, though Tammy’s attitude is alos problematic since she refuses to acknowledge the gravity and permanence of the affair they’re having. Josh is doing plenty of bad things too, sleeping with Ali’s friend Syd and asking her not to spill the beans. Additionally, he has quite the odd relationship with his former babysitter with whom he had a very controversial romance when he was young, which apparently still continues to a degree in their adult lives. I’m thrilled to report that, in the time since I screened episode three of this show, it has been renewed by Amazon for a second season due sometime next year. It’s great to know that it will be back!