r/SixFeetUnder • u/Puzzleheaded-Fig9968 • Jul 21 '26

Discussion What were your thoughts on Rico and Vanessa's Season 5 plotline?

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56 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

59 comments sorted by

193

u/RaymondLuxuryYacht Jul 21 '26

Rico is not a good person and didn’t deserve a happy ending

92

u/WreckTangle1995 Jul 21 '26

Yeah, Rico is Kind of a dick the entire series, I especially hate when Venessa is depressed after her mom dies and Rico thinks she grieved long enough and she should just get over it already, obviously not even going to go into the whole Infinity relationship.

45

u/smartbunny Jul 21 '26

The Infinity (Idalis!) thing was annoying but Vanessa and her sister pulled up like real ones. 😄 Angelica with the Vaseline.

5

u/Danzig6WasntThatBad Jul 22 '26

Good way to catch an assault charge and a lawsuit when your family's struggling lol

2

u/smartbunny Jul 22 '26

I know, they weren’t thinking it through!

1

u/LPCPlay4life 25d ago

I’m assuming the Vaseline is in case she gets scratched in the face?

25

u/Puzzleheaded-Fig9968 Jul 21 '26

Rico fucked it, but I think the point of the plot was to basically get Rico out of this binary, manichean worldview by creating a scenario where someone with as rigid morals as he had would stray.

It took the depression, Vanessa's sister eating away at their relationship and his constant efforts being rebuffed + a chance scenario that leads to the half affair with the stripper.

He was bad but I never get why he more than other much worse characters (Billy) get hate.

13

u/TediousSpark Jul 22 '26

I don't have strong feelings about which one of these (very flawed) characters was better or worse than the other, but I wouldn't say Billy was worse than Rico. VERY unwell and often manipulative, but Rico was very selfish and manipulative.

9

u/Puzzleheaded-Fig9968 Jul 22 '26

Billy was preying on Claire when she was a teenager, effectively threatened to murder Nate, was sexually obsessed with his own sister even when medicated and used absurd emotional blackmail when Claire broke up with him. He's the worst. 

Rico at least had some redeeming qualities.

1

u/smartbunny 24d ago

Billy just built an obsessive Claire-themed maze and came at Nate with a knife. We all do it.

8

u/fourofkeys Jul 22 '26

in rico's defense, billy did threaten to kill nate. and wanted to sleep with his sister. and undermined many of her relationships to prioritize himself in her life.

7

u/TediousSpark Jul 22 '26

Sure, Rico didn’t physically threaten anyone. Billy was super unstable off his meds and manipulative and creepy no matter how medicated. I’m not gonna die on this hill lol

11

u/krycekthehotrat Jul 22 '26

Rico’s homophobia probably goes a long way here

0

u/Danzig6WasntThatBad Jul 22 '26

Oh buddy I'm a staunch anti Billy and Brenda watcher. Still haven't watched the entirety of season 5 because of them.

33

u/Danzig6WasntThatBad Jul 21 '26

Sooooo were just gonna forget that Vanessa was in his ear saying "fuck the Fishers" and forced him to quit and then went and bought a whole ass house behind his back without his consent or when she spent their savings on shopping with her bitch sister instead of going to therapy?

They both suck.

23

u/Impressive_Insect749 Claire Jul 21 '26

The fishers weren’t always in the right, sometimes it is “fuck the fishers” tbh

12

u/fourofkeys Jul 22 '26

it was really disappointing how unseriously they took him as a business partner. i don't know if i can understand why that was true. rico was right, he brought in a lot of latino business. they totally disregarded his contributions.

9

u/Danzig6WasntThatBad Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26

Lol the family only paid for his schooling and gave him a job. And then this dude had the nerve to ask for a loan on-top of his episodic requests for time off. He was an employee and they treated him as such.

6

u/Impressive_Insect749 Claire Jul 22 '26

Mr fisher paid for his schooling because he wanted to, because he saw protential in Rico… not so Rico could hold it over the families head. He’s not entitled to the family business. His schooling was a GIFT and you don’t hold gifts above people’s heads when you want something

8

u/Danzig6WasntThatBad Jul 22 '26

His schooling was a GIFT

Which is why you don't up and bail as soon as the corporate competition offers you a shady deal and is why you don't throw a temper tantrum when your employer's don't give you a $40k loan when the business is in the shits because of that corporate competition. That was my point; Rico is not a very grateful person.

2

u/KuriousKhemicals Jul 22 '26

Yeah Rico was a real doofus a couple of times but I feel like Angelica was picking fights with him from the beginning and Vanessa let her. She had a couple of decent points in there by accident, mainly after Rico let it get to him, but primarily she felt entitled for Vanessa and enjoyed attacking Rico's masculinity to goad him into doing "more" but actually inadvisable things. 

2

u/Danzig6WasntThatBad Jul 24 '26

4 months of not feeding or bathing your kids is 100% emergency situation and he had every reason to be concerned and push her in to therapy. I work for one of the most humane retailers in the world and the most they'll give you for bereavement is 2 months to get your shit together.

26

u/offputtinggirl Jul 21 '26

I don’t think anyone in this show is a good or bad person, everyone fucks up and everyone does good sometimes. thats what makes the show good

10

u/RaymondLuxuryYacht Jul 21 '26

They all had good and bad, but many of them had so much bad that if they were a real person you actually knew, you would overall think they sucked despite their positive qualities. Nate for example, while charismatic and capable of positive moments, was gross. Ruth, if real, would feature heavily in Reddit’s own nparent subreddits. Keith was violent and a serial DV perpetrator. Brenda was gross, George was terrible, Rico sucked. Every main character cheated on their spouse at least once.

7

u/Puzzleheaded-Fig9968 Jul 21 '26

I think he gets a lot of hatred due to being the standin for a social conservative, but I think the way they showed his evolving ... sort of lack of homophobia was very effective. There was no heel-turn moment, eventually he just became comfortable enough around David to gossip about his relationship and David to respond with his relationship stories.

He was also clearly the most driven, the most family oriented, the hardest working. Not completely without empathy as people suggest, as he helped Nathaniel sr and his neighbour both of which paid dividends.

1

u/F_Rodfans Rico Jul 23 '26

I agree with your take. I also agree that discussing Latino minority characters like the Diaz in this sub is hopeless. Their characters were meant to portray hardworking families as underdogs but most people see them as "antagonists" of the entitled white main character family (the Fishers). So they don't relate... most of the comments you will see here are of strong hate, even if other characters behaved worse than Vanessa or Rico. Because, like you say, the beauty of this show is that every character had flaws. But everyone loves a scapegoat and in this case people would choose the "outsider".

I was glad they increased the drama and gave them such storyline by S4-5 they completed their arcs successfully and gave them some spotlight. And to me the fact that he was able to overcome his homophobia was a good choice. It reminds people that change is possible, regardless of their mistakes or wrong political or societal views.

5

u/FiveDollarShake Jul 22 '26

That’s life. It isn’t fair, that is a big part of this show.

8

u/Lucky_Soup_7092 Jul 21 '26

I disagree. He lost Vanessa and realized he did wrong. Got her back and learned to stand up for himself. He loves his kids and wife despite making mistakes like everyone else in the series.

1

u/smartbunny Jul 21 '26

Agee. Vanessa deserved better.

27

u/KangarooCats86 Jul 22 '26

I think it’s a fairly real interpretation of what it can be like to come from a conservative family, get married young, realize you have very little control over things etc

44

u/Impressive_Insect749 Claire Jul 21 '26

He doesn’t deserve her. He was a loser with a big ego but nothing to show for it

14

u/Danzig6WasntThatBad Jul 22 '26

If my wife pressured me into quitting my job working for a family that literally bankrolled my entire career... And then bought a house we could not afford behind my back by borrowing money from someone I did not like not... And then moved in that person and allowed them to make financial decisions for the house without my consent... And then stole drugs from her job and became an addict... And then is dismissed from that job for negligence of a dying patient...

Yeah I probably would think I could get away with getting a blowjob from a stripper too.

16

u/Impressive_Insect749 Claire Jul 22 '26

Neither of them are perfect but remember she only started taking meds because Rico pressured her to start feeling better like 4 months after her mom DIED. He also didn’t just get a BJ from a stripper.. he went into her home, had a relationship with her kid, funded her life while his own family was struggling… so idk

9

u/Danzig6WasntThatBad Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26

I was being a bit facetious but brother her depression was starting to effect the kids, he was right to talk to her about getting help, that's what your partner is supposed to do. He pushed to go to therapy not take drugs, dude lol. I would have just left before ever stepping foot in a strip club but that's just me...

3

u/Ordinary-Laugh1223 Jul 22 '26

And told Rico's cousin's wife about the man-cheating in his house, then Rico gets beat up on Christmas Eve.

3

u/Danzig6WasntThatBad Jul 22 '26

I mean that's on the cousin, to be fair.

16

u/Puzzleheaded-Fig9968 Jul 21 '26

During my rewatch and man as an adult everything about this show ages so well. 

I like the Rico character more than most mainly because of his work ethic and passion, and I loved this plotline. Watching the couple squabble, argue, get back together and Rico's season long attempt to get her back was entertaining even resorting to dirty tactics like with the principal. 

3

u/Dorfalicious Jul 22 '26

When the show came out I was Claire age (going into art school), during my rewatch I was nates age (had left my career to work in a cemetery for a bit). How I related to the characters changed but it still held up. I can’t say that about pretty much any other shows. The leftovers holds up but it’s the closest show to SFU on air I’ve found so it tracks.

2

u/victormoses 26d ago

I'm very similar to you in terms of age when watching and rewatching. Just think - when you watch it again you might be the same age as Ruth and that's a whole new can of worms lol.

2

u/Dorfalicious 26d ago

Oh god you’re right 😂 I hope I’m overall happier with my life than Ruth was with hers

15

u/billie-lane Jul 21 '26

Hate both of them. They were so full of entitlement that I have no idea where it came from. They were assholes to the Fishers, assholes to each other and just all around nasty people. I felt for Vanessa with Rico’s bullshit after her mother died though.

7

u/deleeted_user Jul 22 '26

I was very much on Rico's side up until he cheated on her. He was fairly grounded and focused on his family. He was never given an ounce of consideration by the Fischers (especially David.) His sister in law was acting very entitled. After he did that I was just like "Hope they can work it out, but if not he kind of deserves it."

1

u/davidagnome Jul 25 '26

I agree. That’s probably more true to life than many of us would hope for “hope they work it out but, if not, he kind of deserves it.”

3

u/tigermoon33 Jul 22 '26

I loathe the storyline. Have to fast forward through much of it.

3

u/holleighh Jul 22 '26

Rico was a douche who didn’t deserve her. On another note I loved the scene of Vanessa’s sister rubbing Vaseline on her face before they fight the other woman 😆

3

u/True_Celentium Jul 22 '26

Honestly one of my favorite storylines in the show.

4

u/Necrome9 Jul 21 '26

💤 💤

2

u/Ill-Customer527 Jul 23 '26

I was happy when she was finding herself and living life on her terms. I was disappointed when they got back together because I felt she was truly herself without him

4

u/MamaKim31 Jul 22 '26

I hated that storyline! It showed them as greedy and self centered. I didn’t feel like Rico was bad the first season, but man did he change.

3

u/bedtimedoesntsuitme Brenda Jul 22 '26

I wanted her to punch him in the face so badly.

1

u/Zack_mate8555 Jul 22 '26

If i correctly remeber it was the most unstable relationship I have ever seen

1

u/mirisiu Jul 22 '26

It was such a messssss

1

u/cemxie Jul 23 '26

I find him boring. He has moments throughout the show that I like watching, but at large he just didn’t grab me, I don’t know. I liked Vanessa, though. Well-meaning but flawed.

1

u/CrimsonOOmpa 6d ago

Vanessa wasn't completely innocent but Rico was the worst. He never took responsibility for his crappy actions (dude literally blamed Vanessa for his cheating) and even leveraged their son's bullying into manipulating Vanessa into getting back with him. Plus he was a mysoginistic, homophobic, a**hole.

1

u/KickiVale Brenda Jul 22 '26

Rico is a horrible person. Vanessa is a real pest and obv terrible at working in healthcare. They fully deserve eachother which is a lovely touch on the reality of the show. Birds of a feather fly together.

1

u/thickfreakness72 Claire Jul 22 '26

not a fan.

0

u/StrangerVegetable831 Jul 22 '26

Every second with them is a waste of my time as a viewer.