Loveday Writing

Later when they are alone, Em calls Greg out on his efforts to prevent Chloe from crying over Hannibal’s death and points out that he has never been able to deal with death or talk about it. Meanwhile after Greg tells Chloe that Hannibal has gone to “turtle Heaven”, she then asks Sophie if she believes in Heaven. Sophie tells her that Heaven probably isn’t real, which confuses her even further.

Later when Em is preparing a burial spot for Hannibal in the backyard, Em asks Greg to tell her what she’d like for her funeral, which leads to him finding out that Em wants to be cremated and not buried with him, like he thought. Meanwhile Audrey shows up, in head-to-toe mourning gear, apparently having heard the news, with a bottle of wine. Chloe asks Audrey about Hannibal going to Heaven, which leads to Audrey telling her that different religions have different ideas about the afterlife. This leads to Audrey suggesting to Chloe that she have a Viking-style funeral for Hannibal.

Later, Greg invites Father Michael (Ian Smith) from their local Church which they sporadically attend ostensibly for the funeral, but also to get Em on board with his funeral plans for the both of them. This backfires as Father Michael doesn’t agree with Greg’s views and even prays for the Viking-style funeral. This leads to Greg leaving the room and sulking in Brad’s tent, where Em goes out and tells him that he made a difficult day for Chloe all about him.

Later as Em is trying to pick an outfit to wear to the funeral, Greg walks in and admits he didn’t mean to make the day about him, but he and Em not being on the same page about family traditions, such as funerals and burials, freaked him out. Em tells him she believes that he is afraid of being separated from those he loves the most.

The episode ends with the family, Audrey and Father Michael gathering by the river with homemade Viking crowns and swords for Hannibal’s funeral. Chloe gives a heartfelt speech and fires a flaming arrow into the air, which perfectly lands on Hannibal’s boat, despite Chloe’s clear sadness as she remembers Hannibal just before she fires. The end credits scene shows Hannibal humping one of Em’s slippers.

Overall, I felt this episode was a bit of a filler as it doesn’t focus on Em’s ghostwriting or Pete’s rivalry with Luna story arcs, rather it focuses on one relatable aspect of parenting – dealing with the death of a child’s pet. While it did at times border on silly, such as Father Michael’s behaviour during lunch and Audrey’s over-the-top but funny explanations of the different concepts of the afterlife, it did have realistic and heartfelt moments, especially with Greg and Chloe. I also enjoyed the writers’ choice to revisit Audrey and Chloe’s unique friendship, which was established in the previous season. I’d like to see more scenes of them together.

Stray Observations:

-Apparently Hannibal liked to hump Em’s Mother’s Day slippers.

-Brad, Terry, Marlo and Luna are absent in this episode.

-Apparently the Butler family are Catholic.

-Apparently Audrey had a Zoom meeting with Peter Fitzsimmons before she arrived at the Butler house.

-Apparently Audrey’s funeral plans include her body being taken on a horse-drawn carriage ride through the city with cherubs (male underwear models with wings attached).

-Apparently Father Michael randomly ran into Marcia Hines when he visited The Vatican, but not the Pope.

Best one liners and interactions:

• “We all miss Hannibal and the way he slowly moved around the house…except when he was humping your slippers, he really found a second gear didn’t he?” (Greg to Em)
• “I’m starting to think Em might be short for Emo!” (Greg to Em)
• “I don’t care who starts the fire, so long as they do and I’m in it.” (Em to Greg on her desire to be cremated when she dies and simultaneously making a Billy Joel reference after Greg incorrectly guesses that she wants Billy Joel songs played at her funeral)
• “Have you seen a 6’ 8’’ man in a red bandana weeping? It’s unbecoming!” (Audrey to Chloe on her Zoom meeting with Peter Fitzsimmons)
• “Then there’s Judaism which believes the Messiah will arrive and we’ll rise again at once!” “Like a big party?” “With an open bar I hope.” (Audrey-Chloe on the concept of Heaven)
• “Further back you have the Ancient Egyptians who were all about ripping your heart out and weighing it, while a dog-headed God judges you…or was that last New Years’ Eve on Zoe Foster-Blake’s yacht?” (Audrey to Chloe)
• “Since when did Medieval re-enactments become a stage of grief?” (Greg to Em on the Viking-style funeral for Hannibal)
• “You may read from The Good Book, Father, but I think it’s time you wrote a GREAT BOOK!” (Audrey to Father Michael on her suggestion that he write an autobiography)