Analysis
Reading Six Feet Under: TV to Die For by Akass et al. compared the episode to Werner Erhard's est and The Forum, as did the Pittsburgh City Paper. Akass cites the episode while analyzing the phenomenon of self-improvement, and notes that: "Repairing her shingles often leaves Ruth in shackles". She writes that: "..the series performs the logic of self-help, both its silly and seductive sides". However, she also points out that Ruth's rant at the end of her seminar is cathartic for Ruth, and she ends her analysis of the episode by asking: "So, what do we make of our times when all this supposed nonsense actually works?"
Kummings cites the episode in his A Companion to Walt Whitman, while analyzing the effect of a poem by Walt Whitman on a grieving family. Walt Whitman had been character Michael John Piper's favorite poet. Kummings notes "The facial expression of the bereaved wife indicates that she is pleased and consoled by these lines". Kummings also makes mention of the psychic theme that runs throughout the episode, noting: "Indeed psychic connection with the dead is an ongoing motif here, since both funeral director brothers communicate with their father during the episode". The episode is also analyzed in Marriner's Finding the Open Road: A Guide to Self-construction Rather Than Mass Production.
Read more about this topic: The Plan (Six Feet Under)
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