Matt presents Kevin with The Book of Kevin on the Leftovers
Photo Credit: HBO
Tonight’s brief thoughts on the final season premiere of The
Leftovers are brought to you in part by time travel lots and lots of time
travel…
“It’s just a matter of time before one of these fuckers
bites your face off.”
-Meg
Of course the third season of The Leftovers opens randomly
in the 19th century. Of course it involves a misplaced religious
connection, involving a small village family destroyed by belief in something
that is never coming. Of course Max Richter’s “The Departure” theme kicks in
right at the perfect moment climaxing the scene’s strange, sort of inexplicable
emotional arc to perfection. No other show would begin its final season on such
an obliquely strange tableau and have it connect so marvellously into what comes
next, but of course the Leftovers is not just some other show.
The opening scene of “The Book of Kevin” sets the tone for a
beautifully quiet premiere episode about the broken promises of belief. Like
the 19th century believer in the opening sequence everyone in
present day Jordan Texas is searching for something that either isn’t real, or
is not entirely as it seems. John and Laurie make money by conning people into
believing that John can read palms, the strange dog man from back in Mapleton
believes that dogs are taking over the planet, and Matt is now not only
predicting miracles to come, but is beginning to rewrite the bible in Kevin’s
name. None of these things are “real” but they are something to latch onto.
Belief is powerful, and hard to let go of especially in times of need.
Belief seems to be, in essence, what is both keeping the
town of Miracle/Jordan Texas operating, but it is also the thing that is
tearing it apart. This breakdown is of course not quick and sudden, but it’s a
rather slow and arduous process. “The Book of Kevin” teases, and subsequently backs
off on, numerous potential “blow-ups” throughout the episode (including one
that essentially amounted to Lindelof and crew saying, “it’s just a prank bro”),
instead focusing on the gradual tear away of the shaky foundation in which each
character bases their current “happy” situation upon. Kevin’s sanity, despite
for the most part being in the best shape of the entire series, is still somewhat
questionable (you know considering how he essentially low budget flatlines in
his bedroom). Nora’s happiness is in question and her full emotional recovery is
still uncertain. The whole town of itself Jordan is set on two lies, that the
guilty Remnant were all tragically killed by a gas leak instead of taken out by
a targeted drone strike, and that something is indeed coming in the days ahead,
something miraculous even. These things don’t blow up quickly they unravel slowly,
as seen throughout “The Book of Kevin” tension is bubbling under the surface
ready at any point to come and gradually ruin everything.
That brings us to Kevin himself who is our POV of this
episode and the subject of future religious scripture. Kevin’s sanity, as
mentioned earlier, is absolutely in peak form. He is no longer the complete
disaster he was in season two, having for the most part escaped his daemons by
pushing Patti down the well in “International Assassin.” Subsequently though Kevin now being propped
up to being something that he cannot fulfill, a Mosiah and a leader of the
people in Jordan. Matt’s “scripture” may all be true in a literal, sure Kevin
seemed to have survived not only being shot right in the chest, but also
drinking a strange old man’s “poison” (we will most likely never know what that
mysterious substance that brought Kevin to “the afterlife” really was), but it
represents nothing of what Kevin actually is capable of being. It’s a set up
for yet another failure. It’s yet another latching on to something that, like
the detrimental disappointment of the scene set two centuries ago, can only end
in pain. Worst of all is that Kevin looks like he is letting it slide. We never
see him expressly burn the book at the end of the episode implying that he
himself is going to let this lie of himself go free into the world, despite
seeming to have a good grasp on his limitations, implying that somehow this
could to continue to destructive ends.
Which finally brings us to the very strange final scene of the
episode. Lindelof has not backed off from presenting random scenes with little
context throughout season 2 (cavepeople anyone) but never like this before. The
final moments of “The Book of Kevin” not only act as a random scene to drive
home a thematic point, but instead provides an overarching mystery to uncover.
The scene involves a dove collector, later reviled as an aged Nora under a
different identity, being quizzed by a nun about whether or not the name Kevin
means anything to her. Old Nora’s reaction tells the rest of the story, it’s a
look that implies that the name means a lot to her, even if she outwardly
states otherwise. It’s a scene that implies that tough times are to come for
Nora and Kevin, and that everything that exists in the present moment is indeed
not entirely as it seems. The rocky foundations that begin to crumble in “The
Book of Kevin” seem to be on a path towards becoming much far worse by the end
of this show. It’s probably going to be a long and painful ride. All I know for
sure is that given how great this show has been so far, I cannot wait to see
where Lindelof and company take us.
Some other musings:
- The song choices on this show are incredible. Huge props to musical supervisor Liza Richardson for finding the perfect song for every little piece of “The Book of Kevin.”
- It’s curious to see the “father-son” dynamic between Kevin and Tommy blossom throughout their tenure working together. It’s one of the sweeter parts of “The Book of Kevin” and watching both handle the “revenge of dog man” well as a team was a great moment for both characters. Too bad this is The Leftovers and given how tortured the last Garvey family police duo turned out, I have a feeling this does not end particularly well.
- RIP Meg, who despite being a little annoying in season one, really was one hell of a great villain in season two.
- Yes I 100% wrote in all caps “BUT IT’S JUST A PRANK BRO” in my notes when it turned out that the protest group had not actually poisoned the “baptism water.” Don't judge me.
That’s it for now folks I'm so excited to have this show
back, even just for seven more episodes.
That’s just me though. What did everyone else think?
No comments:
Post a Comment