Is It Too Soon to Talk About Transparent Season Three?

Thanks to social media, we know the Transparent crew has started work season three (Amy Landecker posted a picture from a table read), which begs speculation about what the Pfefferman clan will encounter in December.

From the beginning the Pfefferman children — Sarah, Josh, and Ali — were imperfect, narcissistic, and generally clueless about how their actions affect other people.

Yet their foibles are incredibly human: when haven’t you said something at the wrong time, hurt your friends, parents, or lovers’ feelings, or generally been self-absorbed? (Okay, people probably won’t admit to the last one, but it happens. I’ve done it.)

The first season of Jill Soloway’s show saw the Pfefferman children reacting to the announcement that their father, Mort (Jeffrey Tambor) came out as transgender, identifies as a woman, and is now Maura. The show created a divergent path and an odd parallel between Maura and her children. As Maura discovers her newfound identity, her children are faced with the idea that their old identities — their childhood — are in some part false.

This causes Sarah (Amy Landecker) to uproot her marriage to Len to get back together with her college girlfriend, Tammy; Josh (Jay Duplass), who desperately wants a stable relationship and a family, proposes to his age-inappropriate musician girlfriend when he finds out she’s pregnant and when that goes wrong, he finds a new connection with Rabbi Raquel (Kathryn Hahn); Ali (Gaby Hoffman) takes a lot of drugs and has failed sexual encounters with her trainer and trans graduate student Dale, only to find out her best friend Syd (Carrie Brownstein) has feelings for her.

In the second season all of those relationships fall apart. Sarah is living with and getting ready to marry Tammy, only to call off the wedding mid-reception. Josh and Raquel are pregnant on top of trying to integrate Colton, Josh’s son with Rita, his childhood babysitter, into their new family unit. After Colton returns to the Midwest with his foster parents and Raquel has a miscarriage, she leaves Josh. Ali, who tries things with Syd, has a change of heart when she feels sexually attracted to professor/poet Leslie (Cherry Jones).

In a sense, all three Pfefferman children are starting anew in season three. Here’s what would be nice to see from them when the show returns.

Sarah and Raquel

Sarah spent most of the second season trying to come to terms with who she was outside of a relationship. It wasn’t going particularly well for her, but left us with the possibility that she and Raquel might strike up a support system or friendship. HERE FOR THIS.

There are so many directions this could go. First, Sarah really does need a friend. She doesn’t relate to the other moms at her children’s school, but even if she did, she should have a life outside of her kids and her relationship baggage. So not only does a Raquel and Sarah friendship keep the amazing Kathryn Hahn on the show, but it gives Sarah a friend.

Rabbi Raquel is/was an awesome love interest for Josh, but we don’t really know that much about her as an individual. A budding friendship with Sarah could let us learn more about Raquel as Raquel, not RaquelandJosh. Their friendship could also create great tension between the Pfefferman siblings when Josh finds out that Sarah has befriended the rabbi.

Josh having a Come to Jesus Moment

At the end of season two, for the first time, Josh was really dealing with Maura’s transition, mourning the loss of his father with Buzz, his mom’s new boyfriend.

After Raquel left him, Josh threw himself into his work at the end of season two. He busied himself with setting up tour details for Fussypuss, the band he is managing, and had a scary road rage incident while doing so.

When season three picks up, hopefully it features Josh’s return from touring with the band, only to realize his life is still a mess. His relationship with Raquel was cut off so abruptly that it’s hard to imagine he won’t try to win her back. (And Kathryn Hahn has hinted that Josh and Raquel will never be out of each other’s lives.) But I think in order for him to get to that place, he’s probably going to experience some destructive behavior in season three, perhaps falling into his old Josh ways of sleeping around, before realizing what he really wants.

And he probably needs a lot of therapy.

Ali Finding Her Passion

Ali was faced with a very adult choice in season two. Although involved with Leslie as both a romantic entanglement and an advisor, at the end of the season, Leslie gave her an ultimatum, saying she doesn’t date her students, so if Ali chose to attend Leslie’s graduate program, they would be working together as professionals and not lovers.

In the past, it seems Ali has always chosen the sexual or romantic explorations over the more serious adult option. Even in her relationship with Syd, Ali was interested in having a more open relationship, while Syd was looking for a commitment.

It was hinted at the end of season three that Ali had made her choice. She was going to work with Leslie as a mentor, rather than a lover.

Even though Ali may struggle with her feelings for Leslie while working with her in an academic capacity, with her newfound interest in school and her plan to pursue graduate studies, let’s hope Ali’s commitment to her studies helps her find her stride in season three. Her passion for learning appeared last season when she was researching inherited trauma and her Jewish history, but as most graduate students will tell you, grad school isn’t easy, and it would be realistic to see Ali struggling a bit, facing some adversity, and probably downright doubting herself before finding success.

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But nothing is ever simple for the Pfefferman clan: their neuroses and family drama get in the way, but at least they have each other. One thing missing in season two was seeing the bond between the siblings. Soloway gave a glimpse of their bond again at the end of the season, when all three take a dip in the family pool and have an underwater tea party. It would be nice to see the Pfefferman trio spend more time together next season, so we can remember what is so great about them as a unit.