The Leftovers Review: The Book of Kevin (Season 3 Episode 1)

On The Leftovers Season 3 Episode 1, “The Book of Kevin,” we catch up with the Garveys, Dursts, Jamisons, and Murphys after a long and hard wait, and boy, is it unnerving as ever.

Since we’ve waited about a year and a half for this show to return, I want to open by saying what this bizarre and beautiful show means to me.

And as I start to write this review, I realize that I can’t even begin to put that into words.

The fact that hardly anyone watches this show is as mystifying as it is weirdly satisfying. It’s like a rare, secret gem that only a few of us are fortunate enough to appreciate and know, and that somehow makes it all the more special.

“This is the best show on TV right now” might have evolved into a meaningless statement given that a number of current shows have a legitimate claim to it, yet, still, critics say that about The Leftovers.

But maybe it’s not so important to quantify a show like this in that way. To me, The Leftovers was never something to be measured up against other TV shows because it’s just so different from anything I’ve ever seen.

I don’t even know what to make of it most of the time, this show that wrangles with themes of faith, existential despair, depression, alienation, and inexplicable loss. But it still speaks to me on the most basic, human level.

It’s breathtaking in the way that it addresses the elephant in the room, the way it hones in on the ugly parts of coping with grief and living in a cruel world, and the way it maintains its hopefulness in the face of nihilism.

So, here we begin to say goodbye to a show that is both earnest and absurd, that captures the strangeness and unpredictability of life, and that moves me to my core. The final act of one glorious piece of art.

The opening sequence of “The Book of Kevin” is set in a small village in the 1800s, and tells the story of a woman who loses her family because of her unwavering faith.

It’s a strong representation of a theme that our main characters are familiar with, but perhaps more directly, it relates to Evie, who, in the aftermath of the season 2 finale, gets blown to bits alongside Meg and dozens of other Guilty Remnants by an assailing missile, for a movement that cost her her family, and now her life.

Three years later, we see where everyone else is in their lives following the bombing.

Kevin is now chief-of-police in Jarden and seemingly Patti-free. Nora is back with the DSD and has lost Lily, though we’re not sure how yet. Tommy stuck around and is a cop working alongside his father.

Laurie also stuck around, is now married to John Murphy, and together they con people as a way of helping them work out their grief (which just seems perfect for them). Jill is away for college. Matt is head of the church with Michael helping him. And, Mary is awake and doing well, as is her son.

For a second it seems like they’re good, that these characters are successfully getting by in this “miraculous” town, all things considering.

It’s a nice picture, and I really enjoy seeing this extended family of “fucked up people” —  as Jill appropriately calls them — together, especially given how much time apart the Garveys have spent in the last couple of seasons.

Laurie and Tommy were the seekers in the family and had gone off on their separate ways. And now, it’s really lovely that they’ve both found their way back to Jill and Kevin, even in a non-traditional sense in Kevin and Laurie’s case, who have a cool relationship of their own as functioning exes and now neighbors and friends.

It’s nice to see Tommy not only reunited with Kevin, but working under him in the force, maybe not unlike how Kevin worked under his own father in the past. Even though we had only seen Tom and Kevin together in flashbacks before, we always got the sense that these two shared a strong father-son relationship, and I really love seeing that in the present day.

And while everyone seems to be good, reality tells a different story.

Kevin, though he swears to Laurie that he’s doing better, has adopted some form of coping mechanism where he deprives himself of oxygen by taping a plastic bag to his head.

Just like in previous seasons, Kevin still has suicidal tendencies, which is especially telling when he jumps into the possibly poisoned lake to confirm that it’s actually safe. Thankfully the alarming act doesn’t go unnoticed or unchallenged by Tommy.

There are other intriguing mysteries surfacing in the narrative, including the seventh anniversary of the Sudden Departure approaching in 14 days. There are murmurs that the anniversary will bring the end of the world, or at the very least, something terrible will happen.

Dean, who was Kevin’s “hunting buddy” in Season 1, comes to visit Kevin and warn him that canines are taking human form and will attack on the anniversary. After an unsettled Kevin assures him that it’s all in his head (a phrase Kevin has heard himself no doubt), Dean freaks and attempts to kill him before Tommy blows his brains out.

Just when Kevin was settling into a somewhat comfortable life, a figure from the past comes to muck it all up.

Also, Matt, who has always been a little off kilter, has reached a new level of strange. Kevin learns from Mary that she is leaving Matt, and that he’s also writing a gospel on Kevin’s life because he escapes death repeatedly.

It’s a funny idea that may even be reasonable if you think about all the supernatural events Kevin has overcome, but it disturbs Kevin. Right before he’s about to burn the leather-bound manuscript, he sees a foreboding reminder written in the sky: 13 days to go.

Finally, the last scene is a jump to the future, as we see an aged Nora in what looks like Australia’s countryside, who stiffens at the sound of Kevin’s name before declaring the name has no meaning to her.

The Leftovers is a show where I can’t predict what happens and I don’t bother with theories. It’s a show where I let go of complete control and let the writers and actors take me where they want to take me, usually much to my amazement.

Other final thoughts: 

• I’ve always felt like Nora and Kevin, while clearly in love, are not right for each other. It seems to me that they need to be together more than they actually want to be together. Now that Jill is away, and Lily is inexplicably gone, the two of them need each other more than ever, but as the final shot indicated, this relationship is destined to implode.
• As a Garvey purist, I loved hearing Kevin tell the story of how he met Laurie and Tommy. It was sweet.
• The return of Dean was a welcome surprise. Kevin and Dean’s history of shooting dogs was one of those odd plots like I liked, mostly because it was one of the beginnings of Kevin questioning reality and his sanity, long before Patti infiltrated his mind.
• What is the story behind Nora’s cast?
• Tommy on his birthday wish:”Or, I can give it away. Anyone need anything?” To which, Nora responds “It’s your wish, honey.” The look exchange is kind of painful, given that Lily is gone and these two characters share that connection.
• “I’m not fucking Jesus.” Naturally, this line by Kevin made me flinch.
• Seriously, if you are not watching this show, please, please do. At least give it a try. There are only 20 other episodes, and I can’t stress enough how sublime this show is.

What did you think of this episode of The Leftovers? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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The Leftovers airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.

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