Summary: Kevin Sr. is in Australia trying to learn aboriginal songs to stop an apocalyptic flood that he believes is coming on the 14th. He goes to visit Christopher Sunday who has the final song he needs but he accidentally kills him and is left abandoned in the wilderness. He makes it to the house of Grace, who finds him unconscious. Grace admits to Kevin Sr. that she killed a police chief named Kevin because she found a page of Kevin's book which was in Kevin Sr.'s hand. She thinks she is crazy but Kevin Sr. tells her she just had the wrong Kevin.
The Good: This was another bold and ambitious episode from a show which is becoming known for taking risks. And like all the other risks that The Leftovers has taken, this one paid off in spades, providing yet another amazing episode. This episode reminded me of the Matt episodes from season 1 and 2 where we see a character try to accomplish something but get screwed over consistently. This episode did the same thing to Kevin Sr. but with a bit of a notable change: the addition of a lot of humour. Several scenes which were played out in this episode were packed with humour to provide laughs as we watch terrible things happen to Kevin Sr. Kevin Sr. was also great in this episode. Scott Glenn was great as well and brought a good desperation to the role. Though Kevin Sr.'s quest seems ridiculous to us, what is important is that he believes in its importance and is dedicated to his faith. In this way he is no different from Matt following signs which makes him likeable even if we are very unsure if his mission will actually succeed. And like with Matt, we feel sympathies when Kevin Sr. is treated terribly by the world and is left in a brutal situation all alone in Australia. Things like the snake, the man throwing Kevin Sr. out of the ambulance and the destruction of the tapes elicit our sympathy for Kevin Sr. on his journey. Speaking of the tapes, I think they did a great job of humanizing Kevin Sr. on his mission. Even though the tape was essential for his mission, it still held a special spot in his heart because it was a reminder of his family. And so the loss of the tape was essentially Kevin Sr. losing everything dear to him, making it a much more poignant moment. I like the contrast between Kevin Sr.'s mission and the opening scene of the season. I knew that there would be some parallels throughout the season and we have some already. I wonder if Kevin Sr. will end up facing the same disappointment as the woman from the season opening scene after the 14th. Or well technically in Australia the 15th. Lastly, I really loved the final scenes with Grace at her ranch. It was comical seeing Kevin Sr. pass out over and over again, and it was also nice to get answers quickly about the mysterious final scene in the previous episode. It's nice to see answers being dished out as quickly as the questions in this season and it leads to a lot of satisfaction in the long run. But the best thing about the final stretch in this episode was definitely grace telling her story to Kevin Sr. (see: Best Moment). The scene was a wonderful monologue which managed to top another great monologue in this episode which was Kevin Sr. telling his story to Christopher Sunday. The Bad: Nothing as such. However I do feel that some people won't be happy to spend an entire episode with a side character like Kevin Sr. with only a handful of episodes left this season. The Unknown: A bunch of questions again. I wonder how many will be answered next episode this time? Will there be an actual flood? Or is Kevin Sr. actually crazy? Is there something genuine that Kevin Sr. has to do or is he just a confused man looking for a purpose? It seems that the God's Tongue drug actually connected Kevin Sr. to the afterlife. What else does it do? How is it created? What was with the man who killed himself? What did he mean when he asked that question about killing a baby to cure cancer? he said he wasn't taken. Could he have been referring to the machine that Nora was looking into in the last episode? Why are the people near Grace's house building a boat? They seemed confused by the idea of a flood. Best Moment: Grace telling her story to Kevin Sr. was devastating and emotional. It's impressive that after three seasons The Leftovers can still provide totally new departure stories that really affect us. This time we get to hear the heartfelt story that Grace lost her kids after the departure because she didn't even think to look for them and then she ultimately killed an innocent man by thinking that he would come back. It's a sad look at how assumptions can completely change lives. Character of the Episode: Kevin Sr. of course. Conclusion: Another excellent episode of The Leftovers. Though this one may be more polarizing as it's a bottle episode focused on a side character, it still provided the same emotions that the show has excelled in providing and I loved it. This season is doing a great job so far and it has earned my faith that the show will end on a high note. If anything, the emotional scenes have only gotten better since last season. Score: 78
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
February 2024
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