Episode 3.6, Continued: Kelvin and Keefe fight, BJ and Stephen fight, and nobody likes hologram Aimee-Leigh
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The Second Reconciliation Attempt: Keefe enters with a rocking chair carved with Kelvin's name on a tree. This is way too much for a "let's stay friends" gift: he is attempting a reconciliation. You're the one who left, dude. You could just ask to get back together.
He is not wearing a sexy outfit; actually he is sweaty and rather disheveled, as if he rushed over the moment he finished the chair.
Why a rocking chair for an athletic 34-year old? "This is true love: we'll be together forever." I am reminded of Robert Browning's famous lines from "Rabbi ben Ezra": "Grow old with me -- the best is yet to be."
Keefe expected Kelvin to be alone to accept his gesture. Nope, Taryn is there.
Kelvin looks nervous and decidedly guilty, as if he has been caught cheating; he pulls Keefe into a bro-hug, asks inane questions ("Is that chair made of wood?"), and stammers "We were just...um...we..." until Taryn takes over and explains that they are just working together.
Platonic pal advocates, pay attention: Taryn wouldn't think it necessary to inform Kelvin's buddy that he has nothing to worry about, they are not having an affair. Either she has inferred that they are lovers, or one of the guys told her.
Keefe turns on the jealousy, and asks if Taryn has replaced him. As assistant youth minister, of course. But he means as a romantic partner.
Angry at the implication, maybe feeling guilty because he was planning to start a relationship, Kelvin plays along: he asks Taryn to give them a moment alone, touching her affectionately on the back to usher her out, exactly as you would ask your girlfriend to give you a moment to talk to your ex.
Keefe continues to lash out, demanding to know if Kelvin and Taryn have had a "physical connection." Romantic but not sexual partner advocates, pay attention:Kelvin and Keefe must have had a sexual relationship, or Keefe wouldn't think to ask about sex with his "replicant."
Kelvin goes on the defensive, denying that he has anything going on with Taryn, but quite accurately pointing out that "You left me." They have broken up; he has every right to see other people.
He tries to touch Keefe's shoulder, and upon being rebuffed, pulls back from the romantic partner term "left" to the good buddy "ditched": "You ditched me. If you had said yes to Immigrant Outreach, we could still be dudebros." Keefe rolls his eyes; even after the break-up, Kelvin can't say what they were.
He continues: "What was I supposed to do? Just sit around, be lonely? Wait for you to deliver some stupid rocking chair?" He would be going to work regardless, so "sit around, be lonely" returns to the romantic relationship. He's telling Keefe that it's too late; he's moved on, he is in fact with Taryn now.
The reconciliation attempt failed, Keefe starts to cry. He says "I will not disrupt what you and Taryn are building together," referring to the heterosexual trajectory of marriage and family. Kelvin grimaces in disgust at the thought of becoming Taryn's husband.
Keefe runs out, doing a cartwheel on the way to demonstrate the hotness he's missing. Kelvin kicks the chair and screams.
We fade out to a close-up of the Kelvin tree.
More Humiliation: At home, BJ is working out. He reads on Judy's laptop that Stephen is asking for another hookup -- after everything that's happened! His wife and kids are gone -- he's alone in the house, if she wants to stop by. Pretending to be Judy, BJ responds "Coming."
The Aimee-Leigh Hologram: Later that day, the family -- except the partners, all in the midst of marital riffs -- gathers in one of the Gemstone theaters for Jesse and Baby Billy to unveil the hologram Aimee-Leigh.
They hate the hologram: disrespecting the memory of their loved one, turning her into a carnival sideshow or a Sith Dark Lord. Eli starts to cry. Judy and Kelvin rush up and destroy the hologram machine, and then quit their jobs as co-ministers. Now it's Jesse by himself.
The nude fight: BJ goes to Stephen's house, sneaks inside, and finds him in the bedroom, masturbating. If he thinks Judy is coming over for a hookup, why isn't he waiting? BJ attacks. They fight for three full minutes of screen time, through the house and out into the yard, with Stephen completely nude throughout. Stephen beats BJ into near-unconsciousness, but BJ triumphs. Fans wondered if there were consequences -- an arrest for aggravated assault? But Stephen's story has ended; he is not mentioned again.
BJ goes home, all banged up, and tells Judy: "I hope you like me now." Amber, BJ, and Keefe could all be asking that of their partners as we fade out. The end.
The full review, with nude photos and explicit sexual discussions, is on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends
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