The series is set in Los Angeles, and depicts the lives of the Fisher family, who run a funeral home, along with their friends and lovers.
While accompanying Ruth (Frances Conroy) to church, David (Michael C. Hall) is offered the position of deacon, which his father had before his death.
However, they arrive early and Nate is introduced to her parents, Bernard (Robert Foxworth) and Margaret (Joanna Cassidy).
Nate is quickly introduced to their psychiatry background, and discovers that Brenda has kept some unnerving details about her, such as her parents writing a book inspired by her.
While arranging Viveca's funeral, David discovers from Nate and Federico (Freddy Rodriguez) about her porn background.
"[5] Mark Zimmer of Digitally Obsessed gave the episode a 4.5 out of 5 rating, writing "The cruelty is palpable and hilarious as we watch Margaret dissect Nate verbally.
You think it's David for many of the positive reasons i mentioned earlier on in this review but then there's Ruth and Claire who manage to avoid the cheesy melodrama that other series fall prey to, but then there's Brenda - whose revelations regarding still has me in shock.
[9] In 2016, Ross Bonaime of Paste ranked it 22nd out of all 63 Six Feet Under episodes and wrote, "“An Open Book” shows Ball having fun with the notion of expectations.
Meanwhile in a brilliant parody that takes on the relationship between Rory and Lorelei on Gilmore Girls, Ruth desperately attempts that type of bond between her and Claire.
When the two share an evening with a mother and daughter eerily similar to what Ruth thinks she wants, she turns on it, deciding instead to create a relationship with Claire that might not be idyllic, but plays on the strengths of their originality and humor.
Of course, this all comes in the episode where Nate meets Brenda's psychiatrist parents, bipolar brother Billy and learns of the siblings' troubled childhood.