Kevin wakes up, half downed and naked in a bath. In what
looks like a hotel room. Kevin I even more confused than I am – and considerably
more traumatised. He finds a wardrobe with very different outfits in it with a
sign on it basically telling him to dress as who he is. He picks a basic suit
(notably not picking the cop uniform).
And someone brings him flowers in the name “Harvey” then
tries to kill him with a knife. Oh and Kevin has a wallet full of Euros (a LOT
of Euros). I think violent attack is a bit extreme for someone for not tipping.
Kevin wins of course.
He goes to the populated lobby and sees the concierge –
it’s Virgil. He pretends to know nothing but passes Kevin an illicit meeting
apparently with ominous people watching. Then there’s classical music and a
little girl drowning in a pool.
Ok, no giraffe, but it would hardly make this less
random. Kevin rescues her, daddy is not grateful.
He meets Virgil who a) advises him not to drink the water
and b) tells him that his suit makes him an international assassin, hence the
person trying to kill him. Also giraffe (no really, it would be no more out
of place here).
Virgil gives Kevin a job to kill Patti who is running for
president so he can then go home in a Godfather rip off scene. Why am I not drunk
watching this? There really should have been a warning on – you know how you
get age restrictions? Well this should have a minimum drink required
There’s also Guilty Remnant.
More randomness, a broken TV, weird music and another
fire alarm and lots of weird little (a man with balloons - "it's a boy balloons" for an awake Mary - forshadowing? A woman arguing in Spanish
about what looks like an organ donation).
Kevin ends up captured and interrogated by some
senatorial staff (made up
of Gladys, the dead Guilty Remnant because why not. Still no giraffe,
but at this stage a giraffe would make more sense.) but mainly asking about
why he smokes and pouring something unpleasant in his eyes. Smoking insight is
enough to get security clearance.
Then his dad, in Australia and on drugs then communicates
through fire and television screen and tells him to “get her to the well”.
Because why not? Rapidly losing interest in the madlibs here. Including guy who
searches Kevin and feels the need to comment on the doctoring of his cut hands.
Wayne the hugger also makes an appearance. Finally Patti
shows up and has some weird musings about assassins and a rather bizarre theory
about John Wilks Booth she throws in there for reasons (still no giraffe) – she
thinks that assassins secretly believe the messages of the people they kill.
And Patti’s message is destroying families. She talks about the survival
mechanism of loving, of being attached – because the Departure made it clear
you can lose anyone at any time
It’s the actual pitch of the Guilty Remnant.
Also everyone keeps offering Kevin water
Kevin gets the gun, kills Wayne, kills Gladys but, against Virgil’s instructions, hesitates and doesn’t kill Patti. She claims she’s a look-a-like. Kevin kills her anyway. But the dream doesn’t end. Looks like she was telling the truth insofar as anything is true here.
He consults with Virgil – who now is the clueless concierge
not just pretending to be one. He drank the water… Also Kevin’s cut has healed –
with his Wolverine like powers
He goes back to his room to find his door locked – and the
awful man is locked out by his little girl. The guy shares a drink with Kevin
while telling him that he’s dead and revealing that he’s Patti’s ex-husband
Neal via his sexual fetishes. And saying vile terrible things about the girl.
Kevin, reasonably, murders the man.
He then greets the little girl – Patti. He follows his
dad’s instructions and takes her to a well. The Well is in Jardin – Miracle –
and a site many people have used to “unburden” themselves of something they
want rid of.
There Kevin is attacked and dragged along with a noose
around his neck by a guy who is cryptic and offer shim a choice – cross the
bridge (and drown Patti) or jump. Jumping is his option for not killing a child.
Kevin protests it’s not real the man disagrees. Kevin chooses cross.
He carries Patti to the well and she sits on the lip, at
sunrise. She gives him the choice- pushing her in or dropping her in. Kevin
feels terribad guilty – especially as poor little girl Patti recites her
terrible self-worth of why she deserves it. All cut up – he pushes her into the
well as his knees buckle
He then hears Pattie, adult Patti, call for help. He
tries to crawl into the well and falls in. She also talks about her history on
Jeopardy – her attempt to earn enough money to leave Neal. Despite winning she
didn’t leave – and she confesses to being scared. Kevin holds her. Then drowns
her.
One cave in later and Kevin pulls himself to the surface –
in his own clothes and with Michael waiting for him.
This episode was… random and weird. Leftovers has always been random and weird. And this episode takes
it to 11
Though, despite my giraffe comments, I don’t think it’s random without purpose. I think there’s a definitely purpose – there’s a huge amount of symbolism and metaphor in every tiny little moment on this show – but in some ways there’s too much. But I don’t know if that itself may be part of the metaphor. Does it sometimes seem like we’re seeing something incomprehensible we’re struggling to understand? Yes – but that’s the Departure – something incomprehensible, but powerfully meaningful and effective, that the whole world is trying to understand and find meaning in.
The Departure, and the show itself, has pretty much
destroyed any sense of what is real. This could be a dream. It could be a
vision. It could be a product of Kevin’s damaged mind. It could be actual
supernatural powers. And because everyone’s viewpoint we’ve seen so far has, in
some way, been deeply flawed or from a person who may not be connecting all
that well with reality, that applies to every thing we see. What is magic? What
is hallucination? What has meaning, what is nonsense? What is real? What is the
product of a hurt and desperate mind?
Water, of course, raises again and again – not just this
episode. Water vanishing is what saved Kevin from drowning when Evie
disappeared. Michael tries to sell water. The water of Miracle is considered
precious and special and this episode I overwhelmed with water references (a
lesser man would have said “drowning” in it).
And we actually have a purpose of the Guilty Remnant that also makes sense – smoke to remember the world ended. Don’t form attachments because it’s all so uncertain now. Isn’t there some truth to that? What can you build – not just relationships but in general, in all things – what can you do when anyone and everyone could just vanish tomorrow and render it all pointless? No warning? No way of stopping it? No way of understanding it?
So is Leftovers on
of the deepest, most nuanced, most thought provoking shows –or is it an epic
game of madlibs by writers who have got their hands on some powerful stuff?
