Nate (Peter Krause) and Lisa (Lili Taylor), on their venture into denial-fueled zombie marriage, have provided some great snapshots of a walking-dead relationship throughout the season. Once Lisa disappeared, I started to hope that the dark underbelly of her personality had emerged and that the whole story line was more than just a twist of fate. Even when Nate found out she was dead, the way he was tossing back tequila shots and recalling her saying "You want to get rid of me," I hoped that he had actually killed her, revealing a new side to the character I find the least interesting on the show. It was cheap and weak of me, I know, to hope for something flashy and fantastical and predestined when, in fact, there are occurrences in life that are impossible to categorize or imbue with deeper meaning.

Sadly, Nate seems to peek into the void every other episode, somehow assigned the unenviable role of resident nihilist. Ultimately, he's the show's Christ figure; the more he's compulsively attached to doing the right thing above all else, the more his mind-over-matter faith will be tested. Until he develops the kind of flexible, organic faith that can accommodate hatred and evil and disappointment, personified both in his dead father and in the steady stream of corpses that flow through his door, he'll continue to be crushed by one seemingly meaningless tragedy after another. Sort of makes you glad you're not quite as morally upright as he is, huh?

David (Michael C. Hall) and Keith (Mathew St. Patrick) present one of the best story lines of all, simply because the show's writers have resisted the temptation to step away from a relationship that demonstrates all of the intricacies of the struggle for long-term intimacy. In contrast to Nate and Lisa, who attempted to content themselves with a flat picture of happiness, David and Keith dig into each other's needs and desires, confronting whether or not they can make it through life together on an almost daily basis. Viewers might ask: "Things are so difficult for them. Doesn't that mean they're wrong for each other?" or "Why do they argue, when they're obviously in love and meant to be together?" Ultimately, though, they're faced with familiar challenges that become absurd mostly because looking more closely at the wrinkles does little to iron them out.

As with so many couples, David and Keith's inability to accept each other's flaws are consistently in keeping with their inability to accept their own flaws. As David's weaknesses come to light, he condemns Keith, and vice versa. Instead of confronting themselves outside the relationship, they're drawn into semantic battles, so familiar to any couple, and so ultimately futile. This futility is hinted at in one of the show's final scenes, when David accuses Keith of nitpicking. "I was not nitpicking, I was teasing!" Keith responds. "That's my style. You're picking on my style!" After a pause, the two look at each other and laugh, and their ability to do so is the real reason they're still together.

The characters of "Six Feet Under" struggle with the weight of their decisions, but like most of us, sometimes they can't see the forest for the trees. The beauty of the show lies in those glimpses of grace, the moments when each character can see clearly, step back and take in the big picture. When David and Keith laugh at themselves while Ruth and George dance in the background and Arthur, unable to witness any of it, retreats to his room to eat his cake alone, we're reminded of the risks and rewards of leaning into life without fear. Watching this show with the simplistic mind-set of a fan tuning in to "All My Children" -- Will Lisa show up alive? Will Nate and Brenda ever get back together? -- does its creators a grave disservice. There's a wisdom guiding this show that we may have never encountered on television before -- and might not encounter again -- paired with an intensity and an evanescent melancholy that can render even the simplest scenes heartbreakingly real.

"Six Feet Under" is a TV drama with the richness and depth of a good novel. The challenge it presents mirrors the challenge its characters face in confronting their own mortality: Instead of wondering how it all ends, why not let go, abandon yourself to its whims and enjoy wherever it takes you?

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