The Foot (Six Feet Under)
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Episode 3
| "The Foot" | |
|---|---|
| Six Feet Under episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 3 |
| Directed by | John Patterson |
| Written by | Bruce Eric Kaplan |
| Cinematography by | Bruce Douglas Johnson |
| Editing by | Michael Ruscio |
| Original release date | June 17, 2001 |
| Running time | 53 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"The Foot" is the third episode of the first season of the American drama television series Six Feet Under. The episode was written by supervising producer Bruce Eric Kaplan, and directed by John Patterson. It originally aired on HBO on June 17, 2001.
The series is set in Los Angeles, and depicts the lives of the Fisher family, who run a funeral home, along with their friends and lovers. It explores the conflicts that arise after the family's patriarch, Nathaniel, dies in a car accident. In the episode, the Fishers face a rival funeral service, which plans to buy a property right next to them. Meanwhile, Claire discovers that Gabe exposed their sexual encounters to the school.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 4.16 million household viewers and gained Nielsen household rating of 2.8. The episode received positive reviews from critics, who praised it for its humor and ending.
At a bread company, a man named Thomas Romano (John Capodice) introduces a young boy to his new job, which consists of cleaning a dough mixer. As Romano enters the mixer to show him, the assistant gets distracted by a bug in his hand. He accidentally turns on the mixer, causing Romano to be killed after being cut into pieces.
Nate (Peter Krause) believes that the family must sell Fisher & Sons to a large chain, Kroehner International, as a representative, Matthew Gilardi (Gary Hershberger) is interested in their business. However, David Fisher (Michael C. Hall) and Ruth (Frances Conroy) oppose, while Nate is also haunted by the presence of Nathaniel (Richard Jenkins). Nate also wants to leave for Seattle with Brenda (Rachel Griffiths), but is still hesitant on abandoning the family business. Fed up with the constant fights between her children, Ruth decides to spend the day with her friend, Amelia (Caroline Aaron), on a horse track. Despite having fun, Ruth ends up losing $25,000 on a race.
At school, Claire (Lauren Ambrose) is mocked by her classmates after Gabe (Eric Balfour) confides to a friend that she sucked his toe, to the point that her car is graffitied. Humiliated, she confronts Gabe, who also finds the jokes around her amusing. After consideration, Nate and David decide to turn down Kroehner, but their refusal has serious consequences when the large corporation plans to open a cheap cremation house just across the street. This, coupled with their recent debts, suggest Fisher & Sons could face bankruptcy. Nate then decides to get more involved in the services, including recovering the chopped pieces of Romano's body. However, Nate, David and Federico (Freddy Rodriguez) realize that Romano's foot is missing and nowhere to be found in the morgue.
Eventually, it is discovered that Claire took the foot and placed it in Gabe's locker as revenge. This gets the police involved, but Keith (Mathew St. Patrick) interferes to prevent Claire from facing charges. He later helps her in locating the foot at a park, but they are unable to find it. With the funeral service approaching, Federico uses a bone of meat to replace Romano's missing foot. That night, Claire tells the family that they will not have to deal with the Kroehner house in front of them; the house has been caught on fire, to their shock. The following day, a woman takes her dog for a walk and is shocked when the dog retrieves Romano's missing foot.
Production
Development
The episode was written by supervising producer Bruce Eric Kaplan, and directed by John Patterson. This was Kaplan's first writing credit, and Patterson's first directing credit.[1]