Crazy Whitefella Thinking
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Episode 3
- "Personal Jesus" by Richard Cheese
- "King Bundawaal" by Slim Dusty
- "Blue Bonnet Blues" by Shirley Thoms
- "I Love a Rainy Night" by Eddie Rabbit
| "Crazy Whitefella Thinking" | |
|---|---|
| The Leftovers episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 3 |
| Directed by | Mimi Leder |
| Written by | |
| Featured music |
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| Cinematography by | John Grillo |
| Editing by | Michael Ruscio |
| Production code | T13.19803 |
| Original air date | April 30, 2017 |
| Running time | 58 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
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"Crazy Whitefella Thinking" is the third episode of the third season of the American supernatural drama television series The Leftovers, based on the novel of the same name by Tom Perrotta. It is the 23rd overall episode of the series and was written by series creator Damon Lindelof and executive producer Tom Spezialy, and directed by executive producer Mimi Leder. It was first broadcast on HBO in the United States on April 30, 2017.
In the episode, Kevin Sr.'s actions in Australia are revealed, believing that a flood is coming to end the world.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.846 million household viewers and gained a 0.4 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received extremely positive reviews from critics, who praised Scott Glenn's performance, character development, cinematography and themes.
In the Outback, Kevin Sr. (Scott Glenn) dances to a rite by a fire until local authorities (Lasarus Ratuere) arrest him, with Kevin Sr. claiming that he was preventing the Apocalypse. After being released, he drives to a stop, where he tries to find the location of a tribal leader named Christopher Sunday (David Gulpilil), as he knows a specific chant that he claims needs to perform.
Kevin Sr. calls Matt (Christopher Eccleston), who sent him an early copy of the gospel of Kevin. He is furious that Matt omitted him from the gospel, also warning him not to let Kevin anywhere near Australia. After retrieving information through illegal means, Kevin Sr. finally finds Sunday at his house, who lets him enter. He explains that the voices inside his head instructed him to go to Australia, where a drug trip caused to meet a chicken, who warned him that the apocalypse was coming through a flood on the seventh anniversary of the Departure. Kevin Sr. claims that he needs to learn chants from native tribes to prevent the flood, and Sunday is the only person who knows the last chant. Sunday claims his chant can "cause" rain, not "stop" it. Nevertheless, he offers to teach him if he can fix his leak. However, as authorities surround the area, Kevin Sr. accidentally falls off the roof and lands on Sunday.
Taken by an ambulance, Kevin Sr.'s behavior annoys the doctors, who leave him alone in the outback. As he wanders through the outback, he tries and fails to persuade a man from killing himself, with the man claiming "they didn't take me." During the night, a storm causes his tapes to be destroyed, frustrating him. With no food, he is forced to fight a snake to eat it, but is bitten instead. A weakened Kevin Sr. collapses in front of a cross. Kevin Sr. wakes up in the house of a woman named Grace Playford (Lindsay Duncan), who healed his wound, realizing that three weeks have passed since being bitten. He calls Matt to ask for Sunday's status, but is ignored when he reveals he threw the copy of the gospel that Matt sent. He sleeps until being awakened in the night, when Grace and a group of women drown an officer. He is shot with a tranquilizer, going to sleep again.
The next morning, Grace explains that the officer was named Kevin, and she killed him. She also reveals that her husband vanished during the Departure and assumed her children did as well, until she found their bones two years later. The cross on which Kevin Sr. collapsed was the place where she put their bones. When she found him, she also found the gospel, where Kevin was deemed a person who could visit the dead and calm them. So she tracked down the officer named Kevin and killed him so he could contact her children, and now laments that her belief is incorrect. Kevin Sr. consoles her, telling her she just got the wrong Kevin, revealing his connection to the real Kevin.
Production
Development
In March 2017, the episode's title was revealed as "Crazy Whitefella Thinking" and it was announced that series creator Damon Lindelof and executive producer Tom Spezialy had written the episode while executive producer Mimi Leder had directed it. This was Lindelof's 22nd writing credit, Spezialy's second writing credit, and Leder's ninth directing credit.[1]
