Californication Review: All Roads Lead Back Home
![](https://tv-fanatic-res.cloudinary.com/iu/cs_srgb,d_tv-fanatic-placeholder-square.png,f_auto,fl_strip_profile.lossy,q_auto:420/v1390592486/user/c-f-ohara)
With their literary pilgrim off finding her voice, Hank and Karen were left alone to find out if there is anything else keeping them together on the Californication Season 6 finale.
Hank wasn't the only one struggling with matters of the heart in "I'll Lay My Monster Down." A despondent Atticus was also missing the love of his life, but lacking any sort of real plan to win her back.
Hank projects an image of indifference very well, but thanks to his dreams, we know his subconscious is fraught with concern and consternation. It was great to see Lou Ashby again, even if he was only a projection of Hank's internal conflict. Lou tending bar summed up what he called the eternal dilemma and certainly the biggest issue Hank has faced over the years.
Home sweet home versus the wild call of the world outside your door.
For C.W. Runkle, the call of the wild no longer rings in his ears, as he and Marcy decided to give marriage a go for a second time. Little Stu in his ear muffs was a riot at the rock concert wedding.
I thought Hank really was asking Karen to marry her before it was revealed to be in his head, but I also was anticipating Karen to say no, had it been real. Hank asking her to spend the rest of her life with a fool like him, while sweet, is nothing we have not heard before. Hank and Karen have indeed been on a midlife crisis carnival ride the last few years, but like a roller coaster, the twists and turns are all the same no matter how many times you ride it. So it seemed like Hank and Karen are doomed to repeat the same cycle over and over again.
I was actually hoping Season 6 was going to end with Hank staying out on the road with Atticus and Faith. Faith really cared about him. Little things like when she joked about having packed a bunch of black tee shirts and jeans for Hank to wear on the road showed you how she just got who he was. Hank and Faith could have built something. There was no hiding from each other, no secrets, no deception. What is going to come of Hank running back to Karen? Maybe some great make up sex, but then what?
Like Lou Ashby said, eventually we all have to get out of bed and when we do, we are still the same person we were before. All the problems you had are still there the moment your bare feet hit the floor. Sex doesn't solve anything, it's just a nice distraction. Hank doesn't have to give up on Karen, but he has never really let her go. Becca has been a big reason for that. With her out on the road now, maybe the two parents can finally take some real space apart to search their feelings.
I'll be back next season to see if they do, but to keep fans happy and or to give them an ending to the story they deserve, Hank and Karen need to jump off the rails and find some new twists and turns.