Tiny Beautiful Things – Season 1 Episode 6 “Broken Things” Recap & Review

Broken Things

Episode 6 of Tiny Beautiful Things is the first chapter in the series where we have no flashbacks into Clare’s past, and we start off with a very awkward moment. Clare’s vibrator goes bust as she tries to get some action under the covers. Smoke starts coming out of it, injuring her nether parts. She decides to put ice on it as Rae prepares to go to school.

Danny is having his own sweet little time with himself (watching porn set in a Home Depot) but the sexual fantasies he watches on video are broadcasted in the house via Bluetooth speakers.

Rae quickly leaves in shame and Clare confronts Danny, shaming him for not doing “it” with her. Before leaving for work, Clare tries to empty the bin to hide the vibrator, but it suddenly starts going off and Danny notices. He proudly takes it out and says they’re equal.

Shan welcomes Clare back to work in her own deadbeat, enthusiastic style. She has another moment of embarrassment as Shan catches her watching the porn that Danny was watching. It confuses her but she does not confront Danny about it.

Montana stalks Rae in silence in her luxurious Lexus, inviting her in. Her boyfriend, Fish, has broken up with her. Montana invites Rae for smoking marijuana with her in the park and she agrees. Sitting outside Mel’s office, Clare imagines the lady who writes to her on Dear Sugar, and her secretly feminine husband, whom she caught wearing her panties one day.

Danny and Clare begin their session but it does not go well, as Danny brings up his unresolved issues about Lucas stealing their money and Mel has to stop the fight. She gives them the assignment to have sex but not at their house.

Rae confesses to Montana that she is not a virgin while the latter is anxious about her own virginity and the fact that the schoolboys do not perceive her as “the sexiest.” Rae gets a message from Clare about coming home late as Montana propositions Rae with “hanging out” at her house. She accepts and they head there together. Both are a little hesitant but before beginning, Montana asks Rae to keep their thing a secret.

Danny and Clare discover that the cheapest hotel would cost them 200 bucks. Clare confesses that she has been feeling distant from Danny because of the issue with Lucas. Danny reciprocates, feeling aloof. The tone brightens when they joke about their fantasies before Clare suddenly proposes to go to the local Home Depot and “bang things out.” Danny seems excited but when they reach the parking lot, both of them have cold feet and instead go to eat someplace else.

When Danny hears about Clare’s sex fantasy, he sees her brokenness over her childhood issues. Clare clearly has issues with her father and does not believe that they can be resolved. Danny laments his lost career and praises Clare for stepping up and taking a steady job when he couldn’t. Clare comforts him by saying they are still the same people they were before. She takes him into the bathroom and sparks fly.

Rae and Montana are making out when the bell rings. Rae answers and it is an old man, presumably Clare’s father. He gives her a cheque for $15,000 and says “family looks out for family,” before leaving. Lucas’ debt has been satisfied but it jolts Rae, who comes inside and asks Montana to leave for insulting Clare. Rae has a renewed sense of what family really means, as this might indicate nicer times between the mother and daughter.

Just as it seemed things were getting better all around, Danny and Clare take a cab that would potentially change their lives. The cabbie is none other than Zach, with whom Clare almost hooked up when Danny went down on her in episode 1. Danny has a suspicious and disappointed reaction to the tension between Clare and Zach, suggesting to the lady in the letter to accept her husband for who he is, as her opinion about him will not change him as a person.

The Episode Review

Episode 6 did not have any flashbacks of Clare’s life and that was an emotional reprieve. We were reminded less of Clare’s brokenness and more of her present-day dynamics with her family. Tensions between them seem to be reducing with the realization that family has to look after each other. But fate just will not let go of Clare’s misery as her path with Zach collided again.

It could potentially damage the marriage and Rae’s newfound respect for her. But nothing is certain for now. Without being placed in the cage of the past, “Broken Things” offered a hearty insight into a fractured and dysfunctional modern family struggling from all angles. The underlying unresolved issues and anger were alleviated to some degree. There is also the issue of Clare’s father though, who made a cameo appearance in this episode.