When you've got a setup of three siblings who have various troubles in their adult lives, there's a lot of potential to be cliche or trite, but from the get-go, Transparent shows it's got more up it's sleeves than predictable situations. The interactions between everyone are actually pretty humorous, which si a great way to get me interested in the varying plights of the members of the cast. Our main three siblings are Josh (Jay Duplass), Ali (Gaby Hoffman) and Sarah (Amy Landeccker), who are all nicely established in the episode, though I do wish Josh had a little more depth to him, since his personality of "sleazy music guy" is a bit "been-there-done-that".
This episode seems to be primarily setting up future episodes, but it actually seems to work out nicely since the characters and situations in this specific episode are plenty engaging. Plus, the topic of what is going on with the father of the three siblings makes for a nice mystery that becomes the crux of the episode. Unbeknownst to the trio, their father Mort (Jeffrey Tambor) is transgender, a development the show handles in excellent fashion.
Sharp writing in this episode has a hand in that, but what really helps sell the character is Tambors performance. A scene at a support group where he discusses his recent emotional trip to a grocery store is a particular highlight of Tambors terrific role. This extremely effective moment is played in a single medium shot that just helps the scene feel more emotionally potent the longer it goes on, thanks to just how well Tambor delivers every word. Transparent has tons of great elements to it, but at this point in the show, it's Tambor that is easily the best part of a great program.
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