We look back Season 3; plus season 1 and 2 recaps.
Nate survives the operation to correct his brain malady (AVM) and has moved on from Brenda (or so we think), marrying Lisa. Together, they are raising their adorable daughter, Maya, and at first, Nate seems to be happy with the situation. But cracks begin to show, especially after Lisa decides to quit her job to become a full-time mom, which forces them to move back into the Fisher household. Nate feels the walls closing in on him.
Ruth, however, has now passionately embraced grandmotherhood, welcoming Nate and family with open arms. At least having them around keeps her loneliness somewhat at bay. She finds a new friend, Bettina (Kathy Bates), a brash, open-minded woman who shows Ruth a few ways to enjoy life. She even develops a flirtation with Arthur (Rainn Wilson), a very strange intern at Fisher & Diaz. But for Ruth, the right companion is just out of reach.
The rest of Fisher & Diaz have their own problems to deal with. Frederico is adjusting well to being a full-time partner at the funeral home but is having troubles at home. His wife, Vanessa, sinks into a deep depression and tries to cure it with a bevy of drugs. David and Keith struggle through their on-again, off-again relationship, with Keith’s rage issues driving David to the edge. And Claire starts art school, is influenced by an eccentric teacher Olivier (Peter Macdissi) and falls for a sexually ambivalent art student Russell.
Brenda resurfaces as well. Going through a 12-step rehabilitation program for her sex addiction, she contacts Nate and apologizes for the way things turned out between them. After her father dies, Brenda also gets closer to her family, especially brother Billy, who is now out of the mental hospital. Unfortunately, Billy takes his affection for his sister a little too far, sending Brenda running again.
At the season end, Ruth finds who she think is the right man for her–retiree George Sibley and impulsively marries him after only knowing him three weeks. Her family is sufficiently dubious but Ruth figures, why wait? Keith begs David not to leave him and they vow to try to make it work. Again. Claire discovers Russell slept with Olivier and is thoroughly repulsed by both men–but not before finding out she is pregnant. With Brenda at her side, Claire ends up getting an abortion. And for Nate, seeing Brenda again brings up all kinds of feelings, which doesn’t go unnoticed by Lisa. The married couple comes to the brink of breaking up but decide to stick it out. Then things take a turn for the worse–Lisa goes missing on a road trip to visit her sister and is eventually found dead. A completely distraught and self-destructive Nate ends up on Brenda’s doorstep.
For Seasons 1 and 2, click the links at top left
