Monday, April 17, 2017

Review: ‘The Leftovers’ 3.1 – ‘The Book of Kevin’

I come to The Leftovers after finishing up the 7th season of one of the most inconsistent shows on television today (The Walking Dead). The exact opposite of The Leftovers, which has had two phenomenal seasons. Of course, you can’t forget to mention that during its short run, the show had one of the best episodes of television to date with season 2’s International Assassin.

What I’m trying to get at is that there aren’t many things harder for a television show than to try and match the quality of a second season which was better than the first. While at the same time trying to bring a satisfying conclusion to one of the most open ended premises for a show ever. Luckily, I trust the show-runners and The Book of Kevin didn’t disappoint.

I know a large chunk, if not the majority of this season will take place in Australia. It was smart to have at least the first episode pick up in the same place. Albeit three years after a DOMESTIC DRONE STRIKE. I couldn’t believe that strike, but they pulled it off realistically and it was treated with the right amount of conspiracy that would be needed to pull off something so crazy within the United States. It also served as a sign that we are moving forward, to hopefully bigger things. The past, and many of our old antagonists are literally rubble.

What I really liked about this episode is the through line of the “confirmation bias”. From the fantastic opening flashback, to the return of Dean, and even John’s psychic scam. We as humans want to believe the lies we tell ourselves that make us feel better. We are attracted to others that allow us and encourage us to indulge in those delusions. But when we go too far into our own biases we lose sight of reality and can lose what is really important in life. We see this when Matt’s wife explains why she is leaving him as well as the flashback cold open. Then again, it wouldn’t be all for nothing if the delusions are true… right?

 

Quick Thoughts:

  • I liked the flashbacks to International Assassins it gives that episode even more importance than it already had. It wasn’t just a vision to Kevin.
  • “He thinks the New Testament is getting a little too old.”
  • Gotta love Kevin back in uniform.
  • That ending!!!!!!!!

The post Review: ‘The Leftovers’ 3.1 – ‘The Book of Kevin’ appeared first on ScreeningClub | Insight Into the Media You Love.


by Christopher Moore
This post first appeared on http://screeningclub.com/2017/04/18/review-the-leftovers-3-1-the-book-of-kevin/ on ScreeningClub.com.

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