Frontline Season 40 Episode 5 Death Is Our Business/Love, Life & the Virus

As the COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged the world over the past year, Frontline has covered its impact with a series of episodes examining the virus from every angle. In "Death Is Our Business/Love, Life & the Virus," the docuseries goes further by examining what happens when the pandemic intersects with longstanding issues of inequality and injustice.

The "Death Is Our Business" half of the episode takes place in New Orleans, where the city's long-established funeral home industry was rocked by the pandemic's devastating toll on the Black community. As we meet funeral directors who have been working for decades, we also hear from families who have lost loved ones to COVID-19. The funeral homes try to keep up with the demand for their services while reckoning with the emotional impact of so much loss.

At the same time, we see how the pandemic has also affected family members who take on the grim task of burying their own loved ones. One woman we meet lost her father and was unable to hold a traditional funeral. She takes us through the process of burying him herself and recounts how she, like many others in her position, feels like she's doing the work of the funeral home.

As with other Frontline episodes about the pandemic, the racial disparities in how it has impacted communities are a central focus of "Death Is Our Business." In New Orleans, the Black population has been hit especially hard, and the city's history of segregation and inequality only exacerbate the trauma.

The shift to "Love, Life & the Virus" takes us to the Marshall Islands, which were subjected to decades of U.S. nuclear testing and now face the added threat of the pandemic. Here, we meet a young couple, Alson Kelen and Rachel Linibw, who run a grassroots organization created to combat the Marshall Islands' obesity epidemic. The pandemic forces them to pivot their focus, as they collect and distribute food to vulnerable residents.

Throughout the episode, we follow Alson and Rachel as they adapt to the changing circumstances and work to keep themselves and their community safe. As with the first half of the episode, the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on marginalized communities is a major theme.

"Death Is Our Business/Love, Life & the Virus" offers a powerful look at the human toll of the pandemic, as well as the ways in which existing inequalities can worsen the impact of a global crisis. By focusing on individual stories and the unique challenges faced by different communities, Frontline continues to highlight the complexity of the pandemic and the urgent need for systemic change.