I have yet to really see where this series is going. Granted, I get that, in the grand scheme of things, 4 episodes in isn’t very far for a mystery-box show. However, we’re getting close to the halfway point on season 1, and it feels like much of the show is still just laying groundwork while hinting at larger questions and mixing in some pronounced symbolism.
It’s the holidays, and Kevin is determined to end his year by baiting the G.R. into a confrontation with the police. But while he works on maneuvering the cult members where he needs them to be, the town is more concerned with the disappearance of the baby Jesus from the nativity scene. Outside of town, Wayne’s disciple Tom is struggling with his mission from his leader and feels his companion is keeping secrets from him.
The whole thing with the missing baby Jesus and the quasi-divine(?) nudging that Kevin gets to track it down reminds me of Lost at some of its most self-serious, continuing the overt symbolism and vague supernatural feeling of the pigeons in the last episode. All of that is a bit eye-rolling, although Kevin’s journey from “it’s a stupid doll, just replace it” to grumblingly going on a mini-quest to recover it is enjoyable for me. I have yet to really warm to Kevin, who’s just constantly all over the map, despite a capable performance from Justin Theroux. But this storyline, silly as it is, might be the most I’ve liked him so far.
Over on the G.R. side, there are some really good scenes this week with Amy Brenneman’s Laurie, and as much as I don’t like Kevin’s finagling to try and catch the G.R. in an arrestable offense, some of what they get up to here is suitably creepy and messed up. Meanwhile, the stuff with Tom and Christine introduces an element of potential prophecy, yet another cult community (if nothing else, this show is making me realize just how many weird new religions must have sprung out of the post-Snap MCU,) and a new mysterious wrinkle to cap off the episode.
But like I said, I still don’t have a lot of sense as to where things are going. Instead of following a generally-forward progression, it feels like the show is fanning out in multiple directions, each branch getting a little thinner as it goes. Again, I get that other shows of this oeuvre take their time setting this up, but most other shows I’ve watched of that nature were on the network track of 20-to-24-episode seasons. This is an HBO show, with a season weighing in at a lean 10 episodes, and with that structure, this needs to feel tighter. Not that there can’t be flourishes or diversions, but I should get a sense of the story building. Watchman is probably the closest series I can compare it to for what a season of this length should ideally look like, and to be fair to The Leftovers, maybe things will be a lot clearer in retrospect. So far, though, I’m not really seeing the patterns emerge.
After last week’s Christopher Eccleston-apalooza, we rolled way back on Matt this time around. He’s only in one very short scene, albeit appearing at a critical moment.
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