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Transparent Season 4 Review

The fourth season of Transparent is the weakest one so far. It has a very interesting main storyline, but it also is very slow and somewhat sappy when you think about it.

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“You have no idea what it’s like to be me“

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Because this show is never episodic and one season can be watched as one long movie, especially in the case of this particular season, I am not going to comment upon each episode but I’ll rather go through characters.

Let’s talk about Maura first. She is somewhat subdued during this season, but still she gets her two stories. One is her sexual reawakening as she realizes that she is a heterosexual woman now and starts dating a man. That was very well done and in a subtle, wonderful manner. And of course the greater emphasis is on her relationship with her father.

Now, I do realize that it was only human and mature of her to forgive her father but I still do not agree with that decision. He basically abandoned his kids and now when they arrived to Israel and met him, he behaves nicely and organizes a travel expedition throughout Israel for his family. But still he doesn’t even try to have any conversation with his children and thus he is a bad person in my opinion and the one who never should be forgiven.

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But still, that led to more compassion from Maura which I actually really liked. She has constantly been incredibly selfish and narcissistic but now she has finally become a more selfless, caring person as evidenced by her relationship with Shelly, Ali and especially Davina whom she brings to her house to live together after she loses her own. That was wonderful to witness and I loved Davina’s story here and her flashbacks are revealing and powerful. Most of the flashbacks are very strong in this season, but most of Maura’s felt like half-fillers.

But enough about Maura. Let’s talk now about Ali who is very interesting in her arc. She basically comes out as non-binary in this season which is very fascinating especially because it is well explored in her Israeli surroundings and because she has always been somewhat of a tomboy so that was instantly believable to me. She is pretty much restrained and confined in this season as she is apart from the rest of the family for the majority of the season and that works as it brought a lot of necessary growth for her character.

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As for Josh, his quest for accepting his abuse by Rita is overly extended by now, but at least he finally accepted what happened to him and came to closure with Rita herself. His problems with his mother are much more interesting and so well explored and finally the two come to an understanding near the end when she reveals that she has also been abused. Shelly is phenomenal in this season and that particular sequence is striking in how it was filmed and especially heartbreaking.

Sarah continues to find herself and search for wilder sex adventures than the previous ones. In this season, she and Len enter into a menage de trois with young and sexy girl named Lila. I really disliked the twist in the end as it is incredibly sappy and stupid thus prolonging this relationship much longer instead of concluding it which is something that the series is infamous for doing. However, I still really liked their relationship as it was sexy, provocative and especially emotional and complex for Len and Sarah who have some terrific conversations here.

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The overall season is very well filmed and I liked their trip to Israel, but I still found most of it slow and an overly extended build up for the resolution that never quite came or at least wasn’t nearly as powerful as promised. Also, their entangled family history and some other developments reminded me too much of soap operas. The acting is still top-notch though with the particular highlights here being Gaby Hoffmann and Judith Light who both killed it in their complex roles.

In the end, I liked this fourth season even though it has its problems such as pacing and sappiness. The character growth is strong for most of the characters and I loved their interactions and dramas. The acting continues to be the most outstanding aspect of the entire show.

Worst Episodes: Standing Order and Babar the Borrible.

Best Episodes: Cool Guy and House Call.

My Rating – 3.9