The Celebrants

Having moved to Washington, DC, soon after Alec’s death, Marielle meets Max in the National Portrait Gallery. Pregnant with Craig’s baby, she and Max get married soon after but start to grow apart about a year after Marielle’s daughter, Mia, is born. They stay married while Max has numerous affairs, then he asks for a divorce when Mia is almost 17. While Marielle is hesitant because the group has drifted apart, and because she feels that both coming up with and being the first to invoke the pact appears desperate, Marielle eventually decides to ask the others to attend her funeral.

They all congregate at Sur la Vie, catching up and haltingly deciding what form the funeral will take. They bicker; then when Naomi brings a selection of games including a Ouija board, Marielle suggests that they ask Alec for guidance. The board spells S-G-O, which they interpret as Alec’s way of abbreviating “let’s go,” then M-I-A. Naomi leads Marielle in a “Zazen” meditation after they discuss their disbelief in an afterlife. While Naomi and Marielle are attempting to meditate, Craig interrupts to announce that he’s being doing some math and asks if there’s something the group doesn’t know about Mia.