An Open Book (Six Feet Under)

In its original American broadcast, "An Open Book" was seen by an estimated 4.64 million household viewers with a household rating of 3.2. This means that it was seen by 3.2% of the nation's estimated households, and was watched by 3.25 million households.^[2] This was a 19% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 5.68 million household viewers with a household rating of 3.5.^[3]

"An Open Book" received critical acclaim. John Teti of The A.V. Club wrote, "It's not a reversion to an earlier time; it's a reversal. Now, Claire is the one taking Ruth out. So Claire matches Ruth's move, and they take an awkward step forward."^[4]

Entertainment Weekly gave the episode an "A" grade, and wrote, "Bates brings a deliciously warped sense of humor and visual style to Ball's titillating script; bonus points for wittily incorporating clips from Oz (which Bates has also directed) and Gilmore Girls."^[5] Mark Zimmer of Digitally Obsessed gave the episode a 4.5 out of 5 rating, writing "The cruelty is palpable and hilarious as we watch Margaret dissect Nate verbally. The stiff-of-the-week is a porn star, electrocuted in the tub, and David deals with religious issues and revelations."^[6]

TV Tome gave the episode a 9 out of 10 rating and wrote "This episode is far the most revealing of the bunch. It's hard to character comes up trumps. You think it's David for many of the positive reasons i mentioned earlier on in this review but then there's Ruth and Claire who manage to avoid the cheesy melodrama that other series fall prey to, but then there's Brenda - whose revelations regarding still has me in shock."^[7] Billie Doux of Doux Reviews gave the episode perfect 4 out of 4 stars and wrote "Ruth and Claire are definitely more in the normal range: antagonistic, but they actually do love each other and sometimes find ways to relate. Unlike Brenda and Margaret Chenowith, who told Nate that Brenda was a master manipulator and liked to take center stage. What an incredibly cruel thing to tell your daughter's boyfriend. Even if it was true."^[8] Television Without Pity gave the episode an "A–" grade.^[9]

In 2016, Ross Bonaime of Paste ranked it 22nd out of all 63 Six Feet Under episodes and wrote, "“An Open Book” shows Ball having fun with the notion of expectations. For example, David comes out to Nate — a moment that is awkward, yet goes better than either of them could have imagined. By the end however, David has taken it back, hiding himself, even though he's clearly been accepted. Meanwhile in a brilliant parody that takes on the relationship between Rory and Lorelei on Gilmore Girls, Ruth desperately attempts that type of bond between her and Claire. When the two share an evening with a mother and daughter eerily similar to what Ruth thinks she wants, she turns on it, deciding instead to create a relationship with Claire that might not be idyllic, but plays on the strengths of their originality and humor. Of course, this all comes in the episode where Nate meets Brenda's psychiatrist parents, bipolar brother Billy and learns of the siblings' troubled childhood. Ball writes them into this great episode as a family that can always be relied upon to never be what you expect."^[10]

• "An Open Book" at HBO
• "An Open Book" at IMDb