Right Here, Right Now VI
As we come towards the end of the series, Caitlin (Jordan Kristine Seamón) and Fraser (Jack Dylan Glazer) are as close as ever. He talks to her about Jonathan (Tom Mercier) and spending time with him. However, Caitlin is less than amused and distracted by her upcoming trip with her dad Richard (Scott Mescudi). She’s grounded and stuck going out of town with her dad. He doesn’t like Fraser, his two moms or really anything about life on base since they all arrived. But for right now, he’s trying to reconnect with his daughter. He takes her hunting, thinking he can bridge the gap. I so much appreciate what he’s trying to do, except he’s going about it completely wrong. If you want to fix things with your daughter, stop putting Fraser down and take her to do something she wants to do. Yeah, she doesn’t mind shooting but I doubt this trip was her idea. I mean, c’mon. How about you get to know what she’s feeling and maybe talk to her? Actually, ask her about what is going on for her and what she might want for herself? Sarah (Chloe Sevigny) is pushing that for her.
Yet, incidentally, as much as she cares about Cait’s choices, she’s far more nonchalant about her son’s. Especially since he’s hanging out with Jonathan, who is 30 years old. Maggie (Alice Braga) is slightly concerned, as she should be. I mean, Fraser is what, 14? 15? He’s a child and he’s hanging out with a man that is twice his age (at least) and being pretty dang flirty. The interaction with Sarah and Maggie broke my heart a little bit because Maggie has said in the past how she feels Sarah interacts with her. And in the brilliance of Guadagnino, when Sarah wraps her arms around Maggie she ends up embracing her own arms, hardly even touching her wife. We end the episode with Fraser making a bold photography choice, Trump’s election, and Sarah getting some devastating news.
Right Here, Right Now VII
We find out quickly that my hunch was right a couple of episodes ago, and Craig (Corey Knight) is killed by an IED blast. The bomb-detecting robot missed it and during an evacuation of civilians, it detonated. I’m not gonna lie, I cried a lot this episode. Because I’m a sympathetic crier anyway and the world is currently a dumpster fire and why, oh why, does it always have to be the glue? It’s always the moral compass that we lose. But I suppose, there’s no better way to find who you want to be and which way you want to go than without a compass.
The loss brings immense conflict to the base. Sarah is under fire for sending the men without their 90-day prep. The last 90 days before deployment are meant to serve as an emotional and psychological ramp-up to deployment. It serves to get the nerves on edge and focused but also enjoying the last of home for a while. Richard is not happy she cut the 90 to send them and drunkenly lashes out at the memorial. Jenny (Faith Alabi) is mourning the loss of her son’s best friend, a boy she fed many times and was always polite to her. Maggie is a tad unfeeling in this scene, but I think she probably feels similarly to Fraser. “He was a soldier.” Did he want to die? No, but it is a part of the job hazard. He knew full well what could happen when he deployed and even when he signed up to be a soldier. Jenny still doesn’t see Maggie as a mother and their flame blows out.
Meanwhile, the kids, sans an unwanted Fraser whose mother is being blamed for Craig’s death, head back to the fancy house to rage. Drugs, alcohol, and feelings don’t mix. Everyone is trying to find some kind of comfort. Sam (Benjamin L. Taylor II) admits to Cait he never loved anyone else, with Britney (Francesca Scorsese, pictured) listening in. Fraser, seeking his own comfort, heads over to Jonathan’s and interrupts him in undress with his paramour. Previously having partied together, it doesn’t take long for things to escalate and I started to panic, much like Fraser. How old is this kid, again? Like 14? He goes home and consoles himself in alcohol, but saves the day with his moms later when Caitlin calls for help. Danny (Spence Moore II) is having a bad trip, hearing Craig’s voice and trying to drown it out, questioning if Craig is alive or dead. Oh god, I cannot even imagine how bad of a trip that would be. Everyone returns home, Cait and Fraser falling asleep on Skype together. Sarah wants Maggie to end things, and sounds like this has happened before. I wonder if Sarah knows she’s kind of self-absorbed and doesn’t really care much if her wife takes occasional lovers. It’s possible I’m not getting the read on the relationship right, everything seems complicated in this family. What’s not complicated is Richard smuggling fuel and supposedly starting the fight after the festival….though that isn’t the perspective we saw. Maggie wants Richard transferred and we have to wonder what that will mean for Fraser and Cait as the season comes to a close.
