S01.E07: Solace For Tired Feet

[Constantinople]

i thought his lack of interest in finding out from aimee what really happened the night his hand got injured could be taken either way.  either "something so messed up happened that i can't even deal with it right now...back to finding crazy ol' dad" or "clearly i blacked out and my hand got bit, what else is there to know?  gotta lay off those pills."  i think the sexual awkwardness between kevin and aimee will come to a head at some point, but i'm hoping this wasn't it.   hopefully, the show wouldn't be launching some lovely affair with Nora at the same time leading us down a road of statutory rape. bleh.  you wouldn't do that to us, would you, show? bleh. but i have a teeny tiny bad feeling.

 

 

Aimee -- she is one of my least favorite characters, I find her toxic with her too-adult fixation on sex.  It may be just the features of the actor or maybe it is superb acting, but her eyes seem to be smirking all the time.  I do feel the conversations between her and Kevin to have sexual overtones, but at the same time I find it very hard to believe that his character (as we have been shown it) would allow anything to happen between him and an underage girl.

Has the show ever stated Aimee's age?

I ask because I just looked-up the age of consent in New York. It's 17. It's possible that Aimee's 17 or even 18.

[stillshimpy]

Well, this show does have a dark sense of humor that it occasionally displays, so I wouldn't put it past the series to have the Departure in Kevin's household be the woman he was boinking at the time.  I mean, I'm sorry, but that would be darkly hilarious.  "I'm having an extra-marital affair, in my home, in the bed I sleep in with my wife! Woo hoo chandelier-swinging, good time circus sex, I am a luc....WHAT THE HELL??? WHERE DID SHE GO?"   I mean, at first you wouldn't know it was a global event so from his perspective it would seem like some kind of divine retribution, specifically designed to mess with his head...and I'm not sure when that feeling would go away.  

 

However, I think that's pretty clearly not what happened, because there was a lack of flashbacks or nervousness about having sex with Nora.  

 

As for whatever happened with Aimee, and it would seem something pretty clearly did what with her "You don't remember what happened last night, do you?" shtick, there is at least some evidence that it wasn't upsetting for her.  She acted completely normal (for her) around him, which also includes a complete lack of expectations even when she encountered him alone.  So she's not upset or angry and honestly, there are few women, let alone teen girls, who would just be that okay with "We had sex and apparently it rocked your world so much that it concussed you and caused amnesia??! What the hell?  You forgot?"   

 

Maybe they started something and in the midst of it he either called her his wife's name or Nora's name, which ticked her off, so she bit and there endth the encounter.  The next day with Jill there, she didn't expect him to acknowledge anything and was just relieved that he didn't kick her out and back home.  Then when they saw each other alone and he still didn't say anything, she knew he honestly didn't remember.  

 

That whole thing with the dog trapped in the mailbox was preposterous.  How would any animal larger than a beagle ever get in there, even if it were picked up and inserted?  Now that he has thrown out the pills and seems open to the idea that some of what is going on is "messages", maybe these things will start to make some sense for us.

 

I can be pretty hard on this show, but in that instance, of course it was preposterous and meant to be so as the thing that clued us in immediately that Kevin was dreaming.  Then also, it tied into what was going on with Tom, which I think is meant to indicate a bond with his son regardless of not being Tom's biological father. 

 

Also, the above about why it seems unlikely Aimee would just be that nonchalant about whatever happened if it included sex is sort of tied to the teen harem of one Holy Wayne.  Most teen girls would be pretty susceptible to the "You're special, you're the one.  You are everything, yes?"  act Holy Wayne laid down even if they knew that the other girls were there, they'd still think they were the Chosen One, bearing that world's version of a Messiah (or whatever) ....because they're young, impressionable and live in a world where friggin' Twilight was considered the epitome of a romantic story by a whole bunch of teen girls.  Complete loss of identity and worth for some broody, older dude with mystical powers? Check!  Willingness to believe that their love is eternal and fated and important to the survival of the entire Earth? Check!  

 

It's just evidence of Wayne, regardless of how real or not real his hugs may be, knowing how to play a fiddle and a con. 

[iMonrey]

You know where this episode really lost me? When Kevin started taking down his father in the diner, and suddenly they went all slo-mo with religious music blaring over the soundtrack. There was nothing about this scene that merited that kind of dramatic license. Hell, a seven episode old series has not yet earned that kind of melodrama yet. We do not know what kind of relationship Kevin had with his father prior to him being institutionalized, we do not know what made Kevin Sr. go crazy, we do not know what the hell he's talking about or what the significance is to the Nat Geo issue, we do not know why this sets Kevin Jr. off. Yet, they felt this scene was so important, so dramatic, it had to go into slo-mo with religious music. WTF?

 

That kind of encapsulates what's wrong with this show: it's all style and no substance. They've done nothing to earn any kind of over the top, "oh my God, this is happening between these two characters!" kind of visual punch they pulled out for this scene. Even the religious/hymnal music (?) has no context here. It's all flash and pop and "look at me!" There's no "there" there. And that's where they kind of tore my ticket for this show.

 

 

If you want to go all Lostian

 

No, I do not want to go all Lostian and start looking up specific Nat Geo issues to look for clues like some obsessive fan sure he's going to figure out what's going on. Fool me twice, Damon Lindelof, shame on me.

[ganesh]

No, I do not want to go all Lostian and start looking up specific Nat Geo issues to look for clues like some obsessive fan sure he's going to figure out what's going on.

 

I didn't do that for Lost either. There's a way to incorporate online content, but if you're using it in order for viewers to get what they're watching, that's not fair. 

 

Even the religious/hymnal music (?) has no context here.

 

I still have not yet understood why they clearly established that this isn't the rapture in E1, but yet we get this religious overtones in scenes like this and in the opening credits. But yet there's no exploration of what has happened to religion on the show at all. It's very inconsistent. 

[hardy har]

I don't know guys . . . I just really like this show. I actually think the "scurrying ants" description is pretty apt and I have a friend who quit watching who said it just "meandered along," but I just really like it so far. I think it helps that I don't care that we have no answers about anything yet. Plus, I think that acting is pretty amazing save for the actress who plays Christine. That being said, I can see why it frustrates the shit out of a lot of people :)

 

I still don't think Kevin has been sexing Aimee. He just doesn't strike me as a character who would fuck his daughter's best friend and, even though she can be annoying, Aimee doesn't strike me a someone who would fuck her best friend's dad.  When she referenced the night before/what he said when she bandaged his hand I my brain just didn't go to Rough Sex Alert. I immediately thought it has something to do with Kevin revealing something to Aimee about his possible hallucinations and/or Dog Shooting Guy. This was actually the first episode where I kind of felt a little bad for Aimee. Something went down with her home life that led her to live with the Garvey's and that sucks. That rang pretty true for me since I know several people who lived with or were essentially raised by their friend's families. So, the home she went to for some sense of stability is kind of fucked because her best friend is a goddamn mess and Kevin is blacking out and acting fucking weird.

 

I'm a little iffy in whatever the fuck Scott Glenn's character is alluding to, but I willing to see where that goes. Wayne's cult I can get behind (in terms of storyline) because those kind of weird little cults crop up all over the place anyway and I'm fine with how the GR are being portrayed as of now.

 

Nora continues to be the best.

[shapeshifter]

IIRC, based on size and location, the bite mark could've been self-inflicted. Are there medications that would tend to cause this kind of behavior?

[Michell3]

 

IIRC, based on size and location, the bite mark could've been self-inflicted. Are there medications that would tend to cause this kind of behavior?

I suppose any psychiatric drug could cause other psych problems as a side effect (for example trazadone can very rarely (<1%) cause psychosis), but somehow I don't think the show is leading us down this path.  However if he's mixing things up and icing the cake with alcohol, who knows what he might do? (I only used trazadone as a random example; I have no idea what HotCop is taking).

Edited August 14, 2014 by Michell3

[Blakeston]

Well, this show does have a dark sense of humor that it occasionally displays, so I wouldn't put it past the series to have the Departure in Kevin's household be the woman he was boinking at the time.  I mean, I'm sorry, but that would be darkly hilarious.  "I'm having an extra-marital affair, in my home, in the bed I sleep in with my wife! Woo hoo chandelier-swinging, good time circus sex, I am a luc....WHAT THE HELL??? WHERE DID SHE GO?"   I mean, at first you wouldn't know it was a global event so from his perspective it would seem like some kind of divine retribution, specifically designed to mess with his head...and I'm not sure when that feeling would go away.  

 

However, I think that's pretty clearly not what happened, because there was a lack of flashbacks or nervousness about having sex with Nora.  

 

I'd say it's still up in the air. Even if Kevin's mistress disappeared in the middle of sex, I wouldn't expect him to be visibly worried that the same thing would happen to Nora.

 

And I wouldn't necessarily expect a flashback during the Nora scene, either. This is not a show that likes to give us the information we need upfront.

 

I could see there being an upcoming scene where Kevin bumps into the woman he was having sex with on October 14. But I can also imagine there being an upcoming revelation that his mistress disappeared.

Edited August 15, 2014 by Blakeston

[ganesh]

This is not a show that likes to give us the information we need upfront.

 

If this is not the veritable definition of understatement, I don't know what is.

[Mei]

Well, we do know that Kevin cheated on her. That could do it, combined with the event, and other life stress. 

 

Wasn't she a therapist, formerly? That could do it. Imagine all the pain she witnessed and the added responsibility to provide care and healing full-time. Add to that a life where she may have already been teetering due to her own experience of 10/14, Kevin's cheating, FIL's psychotic break, and who knows what other things...

[ganesh]

She's not a therapist, canonically. The scene where Patti was talking to her was interpreted by a lot of people that Laurie was her therapist pre 10/14. And she very well could have been.

 

That wasn't my take, and my word isn't final of course, but the show hasn't shown/said flat out that she was. 

 

It's certainly a reasonable motivation for Laurie to join the GR though.

 

But since Laurie is in the GR and they don't communicate at all, we'll never know. I mean, I don't know how else we could find out. 

[shapeshifter]

But since Laurie is in the GR and they don't communicate at all, we'll never know. I mean, I don't know how else we could find out.

Well, they could "spell it out for us" with their trusty paper and Sharpies.

Why does that feel like I just typed a bad pun?

[BetyBee]

Leftovers is so inconsistent.  It seems like every other episode is good and then is followed by one that is either puzzling or horrifying.  Solace for Tired Feet was puzzling to me - more questions than answers. Just when I thought Kevin Jr. wasn't crazy, now it appears that he is well on the way. His story line reminds me of the TV series Awake, where the main character was living two parallel lives.  He has this positive and real relationship with Norah and then these crazy blackouts. I'm almost sorry to learn that it's been renewed. I would kind of prefer that they wind it up and put it out of its misery. Instead, I think we're going to have endless Lost-type mysteries and dropped story lines. 

 

It's also really hard to watch all these vicious dogs. I love dogs and hate seeing them portrayed as menacing.

[ganesh]

Well, they could "spell it out for us" with their trusty paper and Sharpies.

 

Yeah, that's what I meant. It's like the GR has taken this massive vow where they won't communicate with anyone. Except they do all the time and they're fucking local leader actually arbitrarily decides it's ok to talk. 

 

I mean, come on, you serve divorce papers and refuse to communicate why. Sure. I'm surprised the chief didn't sue the GR over it. Actually, I'm not. 

[seamusk]

Yeah, that's what I meant. It's like the GR has taken this massive vow where they won't communicate with anyone. Except they do all the time and they're fucking local leader actually arbitrarily decides it's ok to talk. 

 

I mean, come on, you serve divorce papers and refuse to communicate why. Sure. I'm surprised the chief didn't sue the GR over it. Actually, I'm not. 

I don't get the issue here. They took a vow not to speak. That's not the same as a vow not to communicate. They clearly try to communicate all the time by doing such things as handing out brochures.  And they use their vow of silence strategically when not wanting to answer certain questions.  I don't see how that's an inconsistency. A view of silence can be an effective way to prove a point without cutting off all communications.

[ganesh]

Yes, that's my point. It's like "ohh they don't don't talk". But they communicate no problem at will and *they actually even talk*, except when they don't want to. It's simply a cheat by TPTB to not provide any context. Laurie could have easily had a nonverbal discussion directly with the chief about the divorce. Wayne is a cult. The GR is a plot device. 

 

Here's a simple example: Laurie writes on a pad, "You cheated on me. I want a divorce." Instead, Liv Tyler reads out this flowery letter that doesn't say anything. By 7 episodes, even with a talky Liv Tyler, we have no idea why Laurie joined the GR. 

[seamusk]

Here's a simple example: Laurie writes on a pad, "You cheated on me. I want a divorce." Instead, Liv Tyler reads out this flowery letter that doesn't say anything. By 7 episodes, even with a talky Liv Tyler, we have no idea why Laurie joined the GR. 

Fair enough.  It was weird that she couldn't just hand him the letter.  At the same time, I just felt in that scene that she wanted it read to him. She just wanted him to sit and listen, which I can sort of get.  Still, while that's plausible, it's not clear what the exacting rules are for the GR.  And perhaps they aren't exacting.  And perhaps that's because it's primarily as a plot device. I don't mind that it is though I guess.  

[Blakeston]

I don't see how that's an inconsistency. A view of silence can be an effective way to prove a point without cutting off all communications.

 

It hasn't in this case, because they haven't managed to communicate the point of their movement at all.

 

And they use their vow of silence strategically when not wanting to answer certain questions.  I don't see how that's an inconsistency. A view of silence can be an effective way to prove a point without cutting off all communications.

 

How does it work strategically? When you answer some questions via pen and paper - and then you refuse to answer the questions you don't like - you're still dodging those questions.

 

I agree that a vow of silence can be an effective way to make a statement. It can show the world, I care so much about this belief that I'm going to make a major sacrifice, that will inconvenience me greatly.

 

But in this case, it doesn't look like they've bothered to let the world know what that belief is.

[seamusk]

It hasn't in this case, because they haven't managed to communicate the point of their movement at all.

We may not fully get it, but based on their recruitment I would say they've communicated it quite well.  Also, Kevin has acknowledged as much at times in his attempts at conversations with patty. He's frustrated by it and them, but he seems to get it.

 

 

 

How does it work strategically? When you answer some questions via pen and paper - and then you refuse to answer the questions you don't like - you're still dodging those questions.

 

That's exactly how it's strategic.  They have an excuse to not disclose things when they choose not to disclose them. It's a built in strategy to dodge questions if they choose.

[ganesh]

That's inherently flawed. It should be strategic for the show universe but more deft writing would be able to tip the viewers off as well. If we don't know why *anyone* is in the GR then it's a failure of storytelling. No one on the show necessarily has to know, but I don't think TPTBs actually know either.

 

Patti not communicating to the chief when she was arrested at the school is strategic because she was a smokescreen for the mass B&E. The chief sitting directly across from a talking Liv Tyler, newly arrived to the pledge house and not asking, as the police chief, "I'm concerned about your safety here with these people, why are you here?" is flat out stupid. 

 

Any scene strictly from the pov of the GR: Liv Tyler, when she was still talking with Laurie alone in several scenes, Patti talking at the diner with Laurie. By definition of what a tv show is, the viewers need to be tipped off to something. This is either poor writing or a deliberate choice to be obtuse. When Laurie and Gladys were going through photos to identify new recruits, again, the non communication isn't strategic to anything.

 

The lack of communication by the GR isn't strategic, it's a plot device. We should have a general idea or be able to speculate within reason why Laurie, Patti, and Liv Tyler are there at the least. I mean watching the show and interpreting what we see as to why they're here. It seems likely that Liv Tyler is there because she didn't want to get married. That's fine. But why?

 

If not outright stating the mission of the GR, we should know why these people found something about the GR that compelled them to join. Just because she didn't want to get married isn't a reason to join. It's been 7 hours of show, of which the GR has been featured a lot. That's more than enough time to communicate to the viewers something. 

 

You have to bring the viewer into the show universe at the right times. They just aren't doing that. It seems to be the state of Kevin/Laurie's marriage is critical to her decision to join the GR and get a divorce. Nothing. When did the son leave to join the cult? Did that have an effect on her choice? Nothing. 

Edited August 15, 2014 by ganesh

[shapeshifter]

Somewhere on this board I quoted and/or linked a remark from someone involved with the show that one of the GR's goals is to annoy people. It seems Patti's capricious use of silence and writing is driven by the need to annoy. I'm not so sure about Laurie, but she might be too. The problem is that the GR are also annoying some of the audience (like you, @ganesh , right?) and not just annoying the fictional folks inhabiting the show. That might need to be fixed if the show is going to have more than 2 seasons. IDK, maybe Kevin will finally get ticked off enough by them to call in the guys who offered to "take care of the problem." Was that the Feds?

When did the son leave to join the cult? Did that have an effect on her choice? Nothing.

Well, we did see him chatting up some of the girls in his first seen of the series. I would guess a teenage boy would join a cult with a large proportion of teenage girls for the usual reasons. Edited August 15, 2014 by shapeshifter

[ganesh]

It might. But that would mean he wasn't getting any in Mapleton. I find that hard to believe. He doesn't strike me as a loner type if he was able to flirt with hot asian teens. It still doesn't identify when he left v Laurie's decision to leave. Yet again, they deliberate are not providing any pre-10/14 context. Even if this show is intended as a character study, what are they studying? We don't know much about anyone except Nora. 

[seamusk]

By definition of what a tv show is, the viewers need to be tipped off to something. This is either poor writing or a deliberate choice to be obtuse. When Laurie and Gladys were going through photos to identify new recruits, again, the non communication isn't strategic to anything.

 

By definition of what a tv show is, the viewers don't need to be tipped off on anything until it's ready to be revealed.  The Killing would be nonsensical if the killer was revealed in episode 1 for example.  How that reveal is done implicates quality and that is all.  I understand that your argument has been in part about the quality of the writing.  I haven't argued that point per se, though I don't entirely agree with it.  

 

Separate point, but as I noted above, they have taken a vow of silence, not a vow of non-communication.  Totally different things. The notion that it is a plot device is an opinion, a legitimate one, but I don't get what the issue is there.  Stories have plot devices.  It's a useful technique when applied appropriately. Plot devices can be extremely useful in exploring characters and the psychology of situations by forcing different perspectives.

[ganesh]

There have been of shows where the killer is revealed to the audience and the show is built around whether the main character(s) can catch him or her. Or, the viewers follow the main characters and try to discover who the killer is along with them. 

 

I get that the GR isn't going to tell the chief why they're doing what they're doing. But, there have been plenty of scenes with only GRs. TPTBs could used those scenes to show that this is a fully fleshed out entity with an overall driving motivation. No character has really let on why they joined. Is there a rule against that? How would we know? Liv Tyler: Laurie, why are you here? Laurie: Why we're here is up to us and it's none of your business. Ok, done. np

 

They haven't really established how they choose recruits. I mean, I saw the scene of them choosing. They showed a picture of Liv Tyler and said, "she's pretty." So they recruit hot chicks then, ok. They couldn't have said, "abusive boyfriend?" "Drug problem" "Drunk"

 

TPTBs are being all "oooh, look they don't talk, they only write. They're so mysterious and you don't know anything about them. You're so interested in that because it's so cool. They smoke because they don't care." No, you slapped together a couple of concepts and are providing no basis for anything. They're using the fact that they only write as an excuse to not convey any useful information to the viewers because you can't scribble out a whole bunch of dialogue and have the viewers read 5 or 6 lines. So, it's a plot device because these cutesy rules allow TPTBs to not clue us in to anything. 

 

If they want us to figure out on our own what kind of people are there, then they haven't provided much to go on. If they don't want us to know, why the hell should we care about what the GR does? What is there to reveal? What if they reveal that the GR knows why everyone disappeared? So what? There's been no indication that they're privy to special knowledge so far. 

 

In contrast, we know the chief's dad is hearing voices. It's a reveal if he tells someone who they are. Or if they show someone like in a mirror talking to him so we are clued in as to who they are. Then we can decide if he's hallucinating or if those people are real. Because he has been shown to have gone crazy in E1 and was talking to the voices when the chief visited him. That's a legit reveal.

 

They basically bet a three with only an ace of the trump suit and they're hoping someone has the jack. 

[Blakeston]

We may not fully get it, but based on their recruitment I would say they've communicated it quite well.  Also, Kevin has acknowledged as much at times in his attempts at conversations with patty. He's frustrated by it and them, but he seems to get it.

 

That's exactly how it's strategic.  They have an excuse to not disclose things when they choose not to disclose them. It's a built in strategy to dodge questions if they choose.

 

How is it an excuse? If you have the option of answering a question in writing, and you choose not to do it, you're dodging the question. How is "I don't speak" an excuse for why you won't write something down, when it's clear that you're open to writing things down?

 

As for Kevin, I've never had the impression that he (or anyone else outside the GR) is clued in to what they believe.

 

Well, we did see him chatting up some of the girls in his first seen of the series. I would guess a teenage boy would join a cult with a large proportion of teenage girls for the usual reasons.

 

I think the knowledge that the girls "belong" to the cult leader, and are thus completely off limits sexually, would make life in the compound seem a lot less appealing.

 

The impression given in the first episode, when Tom was singing Wayne's praises to the congressman, was that Tom truly believed that Wayne took away his pain.

[ganesh]

As for Kevin, I've never had the impression that he (or anyone else outside the GR) is clued in to what they believe.

 

I think when he brought them the whistles he said, "whatever it is the fuck you people do." So I don't think he knows anything either. 

 

For all the bitching I do about the lack of world building here, TPTBs need to take a class from the people over at Outlander. Two episodes in and I have a better grasp on that world then here after 7 hours. They're even talking in a foreign language ffs and it's still clear what's going on. So you can still "not talk" and communicate effectively to the audience. 

Edited August 17, 2014 by ganesh

[Sofie Fatale]

I'm in it for the ride. I'm willing to watch and see this world come together because IMO It's so damn intriguing.