What I’m Watching: Transparent

Transparent: Season 1, Episode 6 “The Wilderness” (B+)

We got our first real glimpse in this episode of how this family functions when they’re at their most normal, and, expectedly, it’s not all that much different from their usual states. There was a whole lot of Judaism thrown into this episode in a casual manner as the family got together for a Shabbat dinner, which got very memorably interrupted by an unfriendly visit from Len, who was not happy to see Maura sitting in full female garb with his children present and forced to deal with the idea of their grandfather now being a woman. Maura dealt with it pretty well, and at least Sarah and Tammy seem to be on the same page about how they want to approach it, which is good. Ali and Syd had a great time auditing a gender studies course biased heavily in one direction, and it’s nice to see that this show can be self-analytical while still trying to glean some important wisdom about the idea of gender fluidity. The flashbacks to Mort’s time spent with Bradley Whitford’s Mark are fittingly brief and pretty worthwhile, and I’m both curious and nervous to see if obstacles like a family event conflict were the only reasons Mort stayed in the closet for so many years. It’s refreshing to see Josh embark on what seems like it will be a healthy relationship with Rabbi Raquel, and let’s hope that she doesn’t get thrown off by his family once she gets to know them better.