A Most Powerful Adversary
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Episode 7
- "Where Is My Mind?"
by Pixies - "Solitude"
by Duke Ellington
| "A Most Powerful Adversary" | |
|---|---|
| The Leftovers episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 7 |
| Directed by | Mimi Leder |
| Written by | |
| Featured music |
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| Cinematography by | Todd McMullen |
| Editing by | David Eisenberg |
| Production code | 4X6057 |
| Original air date | November 15, 2015 |
| Running time | 57 minutes |
| Guest appearance | |
| |
"A Most Powerful Adversary" is the seventh episode of the second season of the American supernatural drama television series The Leftovers, based on the novel of the same name by Tom Perrotta. It is the seventeenth overall episode of the series and was written by series creator Damon Lindelof and co-producer Patrick Somerville, and directed by executive producer Mimi Leder. It was first broadcast on HBO in the United States on November 15, 2015.
In the episode, Kevin's hallucinations of Patti disrupt his life, causing Nora to flee her house with Lily and Mary. He seeks Virgil's help, realizing they previously met.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.610 million household viewers and gained a 0.3 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received critical acclaim, with critics expressing surprise with the ending, feeling that it could change the course of the series.
Kevin (Justin Theroux) wakes up handcuffed to his bed, discovering that Nora (Carrie Coon) and Lily are not in the house. As Jill (Margaret Qualley) finds him, they find a note from Nora. Despite Kevin's plea not to read it, Jill does it, with the letter stating that she took Lily and Mary and left, telling him not to call her. She angrily storms out, while Patti (Ann Dowd) taunts Kevin for losing his family.
As he wanders through the city to find a locksmith, Kevin asks Patti what she wants from him, to which she says that she has no idea. Suddenly, Michael (Jovan Adepo) joins Kevin in his truck, revealing that they met before and is aware of Patti's appearances. Michael claims that Kevin visited Virgil (Steven Williams) on the night he arrived in Miracle, something he cannot remember. He takes him to Virgil, who explains that Patti is his adversary and Kevin must fight her to get rid of her. However, the only way that Kevin can fight her is in the realm of the undead, which he can only go by dying. Kevin tried to do it by tying a cinder block to his ankle and drowning in the lake, but the earthquake draining the lake prevented his death. A confused Kevin leaves him, shocked at the discovery.
Kevin is called to the entrance to Miracle, where Laurie (Amy Brenneman) has arrived. Laurie believes that Tom is in town, although Kevin claims he has not seen him in over a year. Realizing that he left her, he erratically questions what did she do to cause him to leave her, causing her to leave in shame. He visits John (Kevin Carroll) for help in removing the handcuffs, who agrees to help him with a cutter if he gives his fingerprints to compare it to the ones found in the girls' car. However, the cutters are missing, preventing Kevin from getting the cuffs off.
After being confronted by Jill for driving Nora away, Kevin visits Laurie at her motel room. He opens up to her, explaining that he sees Patti in his mind. Laurie notes that Patti does not appear when she is with Kevin, suggesting that Kevin may struggle to differentiate reality. He convinces her to stay with him at their house, despite Jill's disapproval. Kevin is called again by Nora, asking him to stop calling and revealing she left a note revealing that the key was under his pillow, which was blocked from his vision by Patti. Kevin makes Nora promise that she could return if he stops seeing Patti.
Kevin drives to Virgil's home trailer, just as Michael was leaving. Virgil gives Kevin a poison, telling him he will inject him with epinephrine within 5 minutes of his "death" to revive him. Despite Patti protesting, Kevin drinks the poison and collapses to the floor, dead. Virgil then takes the syringe of epinephrine and disposes of it. He then places a revolver in his mouth and pulls the trigger, killing himself. Michael enters the trailer and amidst shock and sadness, pulls Kevin's body out of the trailer.
Production
Development
In November 2015, the episode's title was revealed as "A Most Powerful Adversary" and it was announced that series creator Damon Lindelof and co-producer Patrick Somerville had written the episode while executive producer Mimi Leder had directed it. This was Lindelof's sixteenth writing credit, Somerville's second writing credit, and Leder's sixth directing credit.[1]
Writing
Justin Theroux was not informed in advance of his character's death, as he reads the scripts in the order they arrive, without a clue of what will happen next. The script wanted to affirm his character's fate, which was described as "Kevin is dead — really, really dead."[2] Damon Lindelof described the future of the character, "You will see Kevin, or parts of Kevin, possibly memories of Kevin, Kevin's jogging pants, Maybe another character named Kevin, an adolescent game entitled 'Seven Minutes in Kevin,' and/or, but not necessarily literally, the ACTUAL Kevin, again. And soon."[3]
