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'The Leftovers' Recap: What the F*ck Just Happened?

By Dustin Rowles | The Leftovers | November 15, 2015 |

By Dustin Rowles | The Leftovers | November 15, 2015 |


Dear Damon Lindelof —

What the fuck, dude?

WHAT THE FUCK?

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Seriously, what the fuck?

Here’s me, five seconds after the episode ended:

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That was one Red-Wedding insane. Beyond fucked up.

So, what’s going on here? Is Kevin dead? There aren’t any note cards on a yarn-wall that can answer that question. We don’t know, but we can speculate.

Here’s what we do know: Kevin had a psychotic break. As his ex-wife Laurie explained, Patti Levin isn’t real, but Kevin is trying so hard to cope with his guilt and grief that he’s contrived Patti as a way to avoid dealing with his pain. Given a few minutes to think about it, that all actually seems to check out — there’s nothing that Patti has said to Kevin that can’t be explained. It’s all in Kevin’s subconsciousness.

However, Patti is so real to Kevin that either he couldn’t accept that she was a figment of his imagination, or Kevin is so distraught and so messed up in the head that he actually wanted to kill himself.

In either respect, he took the poison that Virgil gave him; Virgil — who was supposed to give him adrenaline and bring him back to life — shot himself in the mouth instead, and right now, Kevin is dead. The question is, will Michael somehow resurrect him? Lindelof did make a choice to show Michael returning in the episode, rather than fade to black while Kevin was lying on the floor alone.

That either could suggest that Michael is going to save him, or it could be a Lindelof fake-out to make us believe that Michael will save him, but that Kevin is actually going to die. It is absolutely not out of the question. There’s only three episodes left this season. The Leftovers hasn’t been picked up for a third season. The series could end after season two, and if that’s the case, it would be a interesting way to wrap up the series: With its nominal lead dead.

On the other hand, John Murphy hasn’t dealt with the fact that Kevin’s handprint was on Evie’s car. Then again, this is Lindelof and The Leftovers, and that’s exactly the kind of plot strand he’d leave hanging, forcing John Murphy (and Erika) to confront Nora about her boyfriend’s possible abduction and leaving them (and us) in an even bigger state of confusion.

Honestly, I have no idea. None. A coma for Kevin seems the best choice: It would force Laurie, Jill, and Nora to interact without Kevin around, and John and Erika would be forced to deal with the confusion surrounding their daughter’s disappearance without being able to get answers from Kevin. However, Kevin could still return and offer answers (or he could haunt Jill in season three).

There are some other big questions we have to deal with, as well. For instance, why did Virgil blow his brains out? Is he a pedophile, as Kevin hinted at? Is he still hearing the voice in his head? What was he dealing with? What were he and Michael talking about when Kevin arrived? Why did Virgil want to murder Kevin?

Also, where the hell is Tom? Did he go back to the Guilty Remnant? We haven’t seen much of Liv Tyler’s Meg Abbott this season. That would make sense.

Also, where did Nora go?

What a mindfuck. What an insane, and insanely great episode of television.

Update: Here’s a statement from Damon Lindelof to Alan Sepinwall:

“You will see Kevin, or parts of Kevin, possibly memories of Kevin, Kevin’s jogging pants, Maybe another character named Kevin, an adolescent game entitled ‘Seven Minutes in Kevin,’ and/or, but not necessarily literally, the ACTUAL Kevin, again. And soon. #GlennLives”


See also: An Open Letter to Damon Lindelof