What I’m Watching: Transparent

Transparent: Season 4, Episode 7 “Babar the Borrible” (B+)

Things got very tense very quickly, and the fact that Lila’s mom lived within a settlement was not something Ali was able to process and accept. It seems that the rest of the family is just interested in exploring Israel, and Ali has come with her own liberal perspective that is dictating every part of her experience. She had a good moment of connection with Maura when her Moppa asked her if she thought she was trans, and Ali most of all doesn’t want to deal with definitions. That made the questions she asked Lyfe all the more peculiar since they invited binary answers. Lyfe’s repeated questions of consent represented an ideal way of living that Ali hasn’t been able to find anywhere else, let alone in Israel. Sarah and Len had a brief moment of pause when they realized Lila’s mother wasn’t much older than them, and publicizing their threesome relationship wasn’t nearly as awkward as it could have been, though things did get very uncomfortable between Len and Josh for a minute there. I enjoyed Shelly’s efforts to tell the story of Hagar which missed just a few details, and Lila’s mom’s reaction to her and Bryna asking for Fresca was pretty priceless. Moshe doesn’t seem to know what to do with himself when it comes to this newfound family, but at least he’s still trying to show them a bit of his country and his culture with a visit to the Beaudoin tents that no one seems to find particularly exciting.