Certified (S03E06)

“It’s now or never, miss.” In the most emotionally demanding episode of the entire series, this introductory lesson in existentialism (and nihilism) very accurately conveys the feeling of coming to terms with the fact that some things cannot be changed, as well as the fading of faith in change (biblical references include a notional last supper and a discussion about Judas). The characters basically just talk about loss, death and suicide (i.e. the only really serious philosophical problem, according to existentialists). They can laugh at a shared memory (there is a lot of reminiscing about what happened in the previous episodes), but there is no deeper connection between them, which we realise most painfully through Laurie, who, as a trained therapist, is much more sensitive to both her own alienation and that of the others. Thanks to the inventive structure of the narrative, which runs in parallel in two alternating timelines, we see how she processes not only the losses that we already know about, but also one that the storyline has not yet revealed to us, which retrospectively adds credibility to her actions. Add to this the impressive acting performances (which can fully “reverberate” thanks to the long shots) and you get a crushing, grief-inducing experience that, at least in my case, still resonates many hours after the uncompromising conclusion. (05/23/2017)