A detour episode, following a character who’s always been positioned on the show as an important figure, albeit with limited screentime. The story leans hard into the religious angles that have been growing this season (not that the show hasn’t always had a religious/spiritual bent, but they’ve really been cranking it up here.)
While the folks back in Miracle are gearing up for the seventh anniversary of the departures, we check in with what Kevin Garvey, Sr. has been up to. “Our” Kevin’s dad, erstwhile police chief and self-declared prophet, has appointed himself on a mission. He believes that a flood will devastate the Earth when the anniversary arrives, and the only way to stop it is for him to sing a song he’s compiled piece by piece from spiritual leaders across the world. The final piece of his song is held by one Christopher Sunday, and he travels across Australia in search of the indigenous holy man.
I’ve liked other intense character-centric episodes, as well as tangent episodes from the main plot, but this one isn’t a favorite. I’ve never been a huge fan of Kevin, Sr. anyway (I’m on record as being kind of over “is it mental illness or prophetic visions?” storylines, so getting a full episode of him isn’t really what I’m looking for at this stage. It doesn’t help that, in this story, he’s apparently gained such a reputation for intruding on indigenous rituals/ceremonies that word is spreading around the Outback not to be his tour guide. That’s not a scenario in which I’m exactly planning to root for the guy – in other words, the episode title aligns pretty well with my impression of the main plot.
One piece of note is the appearance of Lindsay Duncan as a woman Kevin, Sr. meets on his travels. I’ve seen Duncan in a bunch of stuff, including Christopher and His Kind and the O’Connor/Miller version of Mansfield Park, but I’ll always remember her best as the steely Capt. Adelaide Brooke from Doctor Who’s “The Waters of Mars.” Fun to see her pop up here sporting an Australian accent!
Just a couple scenes for Christopher Eccleston/Matt today. Matt is one of the few people back in the States who knows where Kevin, Sr. is, one of the only people he keeps in touch with. Matt has been offering him some financial support, which pretty much tracks – 1) Matt is a generous person who’s usually prepared to help, and 2) he’s been exploring some pretty out-there religious ideas himself, so who is he to deny Kevin, Sr. his prophet quest?
The episode appears to span a decent stretch of time, so we get a glimpse of Matt at two different points, in two very different states of mind. In an episode that’s extremely focused on Kevin, Sr., I appreciate getting just a brief hint about something deeper going on in Matt’s life.
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