Californication: The Unforgiven
Hank Moody has gone through a very traumatizing event. After watching his ex-lover Carrie commit suicide and trying to take him with her, he's been feeling more guilt than ever and has gotten depressed. No one seems to lift his spirits up, not even Karen...
This was a great premiere to the sixth season. The stakes feel higher than last season, and Hank wrestling with his guilt is always very fascinating to watch. David Duchovny's subtle depiction of a man down in the gutter is expertly done, with Hank talking slower than usual, and telling jokes without the same snidey cheekiness, but rather with a somber tone behind them. His guilt is sad most particularly because Carrie's suicide is not completely his fault and he still blames himself for it. But the classic alcoholic is still there, with him getting fed up by a cocky rock star and having a fist fight with him. Charlie attempting to cheer him up was also endearing. I ****ing love that bald crazyman. Even though his head is not screwed on right most of the time, he's still a caring friend with good intentions. Karen was also her sweet self. Once again the only one I don't care much about is Becca, who remains my least favorite character out of the main players. It doesn't help that Madeleine Martin's acting is still exactly as montone after all these years. I will say however, she doesn't get on my nerves the same way she used to. She's snarky as always yes, but not as badly as before.
My favorite parts were the flashbacks, just for finally revealing how Hank and Karen actually met each other. I found those parts pretty cute, and you can see how Karen fell for such a weird, but quirky and likeable guy. It is sad however at the same time, since even though Hank and Karen have found each other again in the present, he's for sure gonna screw it up again. For Christ's sake, Hank is checking in at rehab. We know he will continue struggling and jeopardize their relationship further. But for now at least, there is some small hope Hank is willing to change, for both himself and his family.
The humor was good. There were some funny lines sprinkled throughout, and you can never go wrong with the classic Moody wit. Even tired and washed-up, he remains funny.
Out of the premieres I've seen though, this is probably the weakest so far. Why is that? Because even though it delivers on a lot of its promise, it doesn't pack as much of a punch as when Hank bafflingly enough performs oral sex by
accident on a woman, him having to deal with the media circus surrounding his sex scandal, or even his meeting with the insane rapper/wannabe actor Samurai Apocalypse and starting a high-risk relationship. The position Hank finds himself in is still dramatic, but nothing "big" really happens. Even his meeting with Atticus Fetch is not really that funny, mostly because Atticus kept talking like a parrot and you waited for him to shut the hell up. The season 5 premiere and season 6 premiere's problems also switch places. JFK to LAX was really funny, but it wasn't as serious as it should've been, while season 6's premiere is more serious, but the comedy is not as strong.
In the end, there are plenty of good things to make this episode worthwhile, and while it doesn't really start with a bang, Hank Moody still stands out as a character where it's tough to watch all the mistakes he makes, but you can't help but love him anyway.
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