The Humans

Brigid Blake, 26, and her boyfriend, Richard Saad, 38, are hosting Brigid’s family at their new duplex apartment in Chinatown, New York City, for Thanksgiving. Upstairs are their front door, a large room with a window and staircase, and the only bathroom in the apartment. Downstairs are two windowless rooms and a small kitchen alley. A folding table has six places, each with a paper plate, set for the guests.

Erik Blake, 60, stands upstairs with a wheelchair, waiting for his wife, Deirdre Blake, 61, to finish helping his 79-year-old mother, Momo Blake, in the bathroom. Momo is in the advanced stages of dementia and needs constant support. Erik hears an ominous thud from the apartment upstairs, and when Brigid enters the apartment with her older sister, Aimee Blake, 34, he asks if there is construction happening. Brigid tells him that it is merely their elderly Chinese neighbor and that she and Richard don’t want to disturb her.

Deirdre and Momo exit the bathroom, and Richard calls up the stairs from the kitchen. Brigid tells him to stay and watch the oven while she stays and greets Momo. Momo does not answer Brigid, instead speaking nonsensically. Erik and Deirdre explain that Momo has good and bad days now and that this is one of her worse ones. 

Brigid starts showing her family around the sparsely furnished upstairs room, pointing out a couch that Richard’s parents gifted them. Erik is astounded that they would give such a nice couch away, and Brigid responds by saying that she isn’t in Scranton anymore—an insult to the lives that Erik and Deirdre lead in their Pennsylvanian hometown.

When another thud sounds from upstairs, Erik asks if Brigid ever complains. Deirdre explains that Erik is in a bad mood, having been struggling to sleep. She teases him, knowing that he won’t tell them what is bothering him. When Aimee goes to the bathroom, Brigid asks Deirdre how her sister is doing. Aimee and her long-term girlfriend, Carol, recently broke up, and Deirdre tells Brigid that Aimee is struggling. Deirdre suggests that maybe if Aimee and Carol were married, they could have worked through their issues, and that this is something Brigid should consider before moving in with Richard. Brigid brushes this off.

Brigid tells Erik that Richard struggles to sleep as well and constantly tries to analyze his dreams. Erik does not believe in finding meaning in his dreams and begins looking around, making comments about what needs to be fixed around the apartment. Brigid pleads with her family to appreciate her new space rather than finding issues. Her parents look out the window at the dirty interior courtyard and suggest that Brigid would have better options in Scranton, which Brigid quickly refuses.

Aimee joins them, and Deirdre gives both her daughters a wrapped gift. They open them to find a framed picture of them as kids on vacation at the Wildwood boardwalk. They joke about it and ask why Deirdre and Erik don’t go back. Deirdre tells them that Erik hates traveling, which Erik denies. Brigid suggests that he hates traveling to New York, but Erik refutes this, saying that he actually hates that Brigid moved to a neighborhood at risk of flooding—and one right near where the September 11th terrorist attacks happened. Brigid argues that she can afford this apartment because of these events, especially since Erik will not help her financially.

Erik rails against Brigid and Aimee’s decisions to live in cities, especially since Momo fought so hard to escape a poverty-stricken life in New York City. Richard breaks the tension when he comes up the stairs with champagne and plastic cups, proposing a toast upstairs before moving downstairs to do the same. Deirdre appreciates this good Irish tradition. Erik sneaks away to the bathroom for a moment to himself, but when he reemerges, he bursts into song. The rest of the Blakes soon join in as they sing to toast, but they are disappointed when Momo does not join in as she usually does.

Erik and Deirdre praise Brigid’s singing and ask if she has any upcoming gigs. She tells them she doesn’t, as all her time is spent bartending. After another thud from upstairs, Brigid suggests that they move downstairs. Brigid, Aimee, and Deirdre stay upstairs with Momo, as they need to take her out of the apartment and take the elevator down to the basement level. Meanwhile, Richard and Erik sit at the table downstairs with some beer and chat. Richard asks how Erik and Deirdre’s lake-house plans are coming along, and Erik explains that it is slow. Construction will not start until the town puts sewers in.

Erik talks about his career at the local Catholic school but downplays his role, saying that he got the job so that his daughters could have free tuition. When the conversation returns to the lake house, Erik advises Richard to save his money since life is too expensive. Richard, who overheard the conversation upstairs about Erik not sleeping well, asks about his dreams. He explains to Richard that he often has weird dreams that make it hard to sleep.

Brigid and Deirdre stay upstairs to use the bathroom while Aimee brings Momo down on the elevator. When they are all together on the first floor, Richard asks Aimee how her job at the law firm is. Her parents laud her career, but Aimee delivers the news that she was recently informed that she is no longer on partner track. She explains that this is the firm’s way of telling her to look for another job. Aimee has ulcerative colitis and had to take time off the year before to deal with it. She believes that this is the reason why the firm is moving on from her. She brushes off her parents’ offer for financial help after she tells them that her condition is flaring up again.

Erik proposes that they do their downstairs toast, and the Blakes come together to lift their cups. Erik tells them all how happy he is to be with them, saying that family is the most important thing in life and that everything else will fade. Afterward, Aimee asks Deirdre how she is, and she tells them about how she dislikes her job. She explains to Richard that she has been with the same company for decades, but her salary does not reflect her experience and loyalty. Instead, she has to work for two young men who have degrees and make a lot more than her.

Deirdre goes on to tell her daughters and Richard that she cares for other elderly and ailing family members in Scranton and is becoming more involved in her church. She volunteers with Bhutanese refugees, who have nothing. The sisters tease her, but she insists that it is important work. Aimee excuses herself for the bathroom, a flare-up occurring, and waves off any help. Meanwhile, Deirdre gives Brigid another two gifts. The first is a peppermint pig, part of a Blake family tradition. Later in the evening, they will take turns smashing it and sharing what they are thankful for. The other gift is a small statue of the Virgin Mary.

Brigid is not enthused with this gift, but Deirdre asks her to at least put it in a drawer. She knows that her daughter does not believe in the Catholic faith like she does but feels better knowing Brigid has it. When Brigid asks Erik how he is sleeping, Deirdre pokes fun at him and talks about a movie she made him watch. In the movie, a housewife cheats on her husband and contracts HIV. Deirdre is a little drunk and thinks she is being funny, but Brigid gets annoyed. Richard chides her, saying not to treat Deirdre poorly.

Richard and Brigid step into the kitchen to argue, and while they do, Deirdre tells Erik not to wait until after dinner to tell their daughters what he needs to say. When they return, Brigid goes upstairs to check on Aimee, and Deirdre asks Richard to get an Ensure shake from the kitchen for Momo. When he brings it back, they ask him about his graduate degree in social work. He tells them that he has one year left.