The Coolest, Most Memorable Mothers And Daughters On TV

Photo: HBO

Ruth and Claire

Both of these women must have spent all their time just being completely exhausted. Ruth was a repressed widow, trying to start her life over, and Claire was a creative free spirit, reconciling who she thinks she should be and who she really is. There were constant philosophical and existential conflict, but in their defense, that’s kind of Six Feet Under’s schtick.

Both women grapple with their past, but do so in such opposing ways, it’s often hard for them to reach any sort of understanding. Ironically, both women can be surly and morose in their own way, and their individual pursuits for clarity aren’t really all that different from each other.

Living in a funeral home, being surrounded by death and grief, can take it’s toll on a person, and it seems like everyone in the Fisher family was constantly struggling to reach some big emotional epiphany.  Claire and Ruth, however, travelled parallel journeys through the course of the show.

Both women entered into ill-fated relationships over and over again, yet they resisted connecting with each other because their personalities were so different. Finally, after so much pain and distance, Claire and Ruth came around to each other. I wish it wasn’t the case, but so many mother-daughter relationships mimic this push-pull, and seeing it play out with these ladies only validates that.