‘The Leftovers’ episode 5 review: Changing the Guilty Remnant; white shirt rage
On tonight’s episode of “The Leftovers,” Kevin officially started to really lose it … and it was not too difficult to understand why.
The basic premise of this entire episode was about an investigation into the death of a Guilty Remnant, but also the reminder that nobody in the town even cared about the Guilty Remnant. They did not try to change the rules in order to keep them safe, and they basically showed countless times that they would have no problem seeing them gone.
This is the cause of Kevin’s pain. He still loves Laurie, and as messed-up a man as he may be, he doesn’t want to see terrible things happen to people. The Remnant may not be many things, but they are not vicious killers. To make matters worse for him, he couldn’t get the bureau to see eye-to-eye with him, and even his home security system was on the fritz. Eventually, all of this rage (plus the realization that he and Laurie were not going to make this work) led to him having a random meltdown at the dry cleaner’s over white shirts that were missing. This felt at first over-the-top, but we completely get it. This was the one way for his to channel his rage when he had no other means to do so.
This whole episode furthered showed us the real path of being in the Remnant, but also the philosophy of those in the town who are near them. They don’t want help or advisement from any outside source, even one claiming to help them. Matt has suddenly taken it upon himself right now to be their savior and to help them mourn, but a whistle from Laurie kept him from being heard.
Through the entire episode, the only thing we could think about was the end of a life who many felt was already over back when that fateful day occurred. This was emotional and once again well-acted, and we have no clue where this is going or what the show is trying to tell us. However, at the moment we’re fine with not knowing. Despite the constant sense of depression with this show, this may be the finest episode of “The Leftovers” yet by a wide margin. Grade: A-.
What did you think about this episode? Let us know with a comment.