TV - The Leftovers Season 1, Episode 7
While Jill finds herself in a dangerous situation, and is fortuitously rescued by an unexpected hero, her Grandfather (who may, or may not, have been guided to heroism by his mysterious voices), her father Kevin begins to further cultivate his relationship with Nora.
But Kevin's father, Chief Garvey, Sr., complicates things for Kevin by absconding from the mental institution to which he was remanded for an unnamed violent offense. Also, he's a bit touched. But are those voices that he is hearing real? And if they are real, are they helpful or harmful? The narrative diverges in that direction to expound on Kevin Sr.'s plight much more in this episode. Scott Glenn is a treasure in his ability to seem in control while appearing completely insane.
Meanwhile, back on the ranch... actually, Tom is quite far removed from the ranch at this point. His frustration with Wayne's unreliability comes to a head when he discovers the truth about his and Christine's seemingly unique predicament.
One of my pet peeves with current trends in television shows is that the seasons are far too short. The Strain, Game of Thrones, and Halt and Catch Fire (very underrated) all have around ten or eleven episodes. Even The Walking Dead, which airs 13-16 episodes per season, does so with a huge break in between; this season Rick and Co don't appear between November 30th and February 8th of next year. That is more like two mini seasons than one full season. As an avid fan of many of these shows it becomes frustrating.
The Leftovers is no exception. The show has a highly complex plot that needs time and commitment to develop and unfold. Many of the episodes so far have been right on point in doing so. However, the current offering, Solace for Tired Feet, does not stand up to the previous episodes. That is not to say that the episode isn't chock full of great content, complete with the reveals that the series-makers are adept at; but that is my very point - there is too much in this episode. Much like when a student realizes that a project is due in a few weeks and they haven't devoted enough time to it, then they have to scramble to fit everything in to come up with a finished product, this weeks episode has an aura of forced expedition, instead of guided acceleration.
With so much going on in this episode I wanted to slow it down and just take in each story-line separately. But, again, there was not enough time. While fast-pacing can be an asset in a mystery I felt like it was a disservice to Solace for Tired Feet. This course of the over-all series meal was more like an ingredient-heavy soup - lots to chew on, but ultimately watered down.
Image - IMDb.
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