S02.E08: Allison's House

[seacliffsal]

I found it interesting how we could see the changing views others had of Kevin in this final episode.  People could be initially drawn to him (as we saw when Allison first met him) and how slowly they begin to realize that his "humor" was always at someone else's expense and his "goofiness/helplessness" was a manipulative technique.  Molly went through these stages in one episode (from girlfriend to ghosting) while the other people in Kevin's life took longer to realize and leave.

The detail that really hit me during Kevin's non-sitcom scene was his hair.  I know it sounds unimportant, but going from the stylized pompador (sp) to the matted mess really symbolized the difference between the two personas.

[attica]

Multi-cam (i.e. sitcom) Kevin made me want to kill him in ep 1. I haaaaate that kind of personality. It amazes me that anybody finds it attractive, and yet lots of people do. Single-cam Kevin revealed the monster I considered him to be.

I understand, story-wise, why Allison came back to Worcester, but gosh, I wish she'd have stayed away and found happiness. Which can be found in places other than the one you've lived in your whole life!

I also am mystified that she didn't restyle herself as Trudy! Who needs to be Gertrude?! (Okay, that's just a nit I needed to pick. Don't mind me!)

Giving a shoutout to the tremendous work done by Mary Hollis Inboden as Patty. That's a tough role to play, the sidekick with so much repression and guilt and failing to live up to family expectations (however unreasonable they may be), and MHI developed the character beautifully over two seasons. Patty needs a hug!

Edited October 12, 2022 by attica

[attica]

Loved Tammy's moto jacket, too. That bears mentioning.

[KerleyQ]

On 10/12/2022 at 12:06 PM, attica said:

Giving a shoutout to the tremendous work done by Mary Hollis Inboden as Patty. That's a tough role to play, the sidekick with so much repression and guilt and failing to live up to family expectations (however unreasonable they may be), and MHI developed the character beautifully over two seasons. Patty needs a hug!

In a lot of ways, I felt like the finale was almost more about her finding her way than Allison (or anyone else). 

[seacliffsal]

I kind of think that killing Kevin in the fire was the cheap way out.  They did not have to deal with any fall out of Allison leaving him or of her attempt (initially) of trying to kill him.  Oh well.

[DrSpaceman73]

26 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

I kind of think that killing Kevin in the fire was the cheap way out.  They did not have to deal with any fall out of Allison leaving him or of her attempt (initially) of trying to kill him.  Oh well.

I think with the decision not to go another season that was the best we were going to get

[TV Anonymous]

Did Kevin die at all? If Kevin did not die, that could be the biggest 'fuck you' Kevin gave Allison. Allison asked for a divorce, Kevin burned their marital home down, so Allison did not get anything from the divorce. Insurance would not pay as it was deliberate.

[mytmo]

I only wish that they showed a smoking Kevin corpse being carried out on the couch clutching the empty whiskey bottle.

[DrSpaceman73]

On 10/25/2022 at 9:49 AM, TV Anonymous said:

Did Kevin die at all? If Kevin did not die, that could be the biggest 'fuck you' Kevin gave Allison. Allison asked for a divorce, Kevin burned their marital home down, so Allison did not get anything from the divorce. Insurance would not pay as it was deliberate.

I think he died but whether he did or not the point was they were all done with him, even his supposed long time best friend. If he lives he has no one around with him. 

[azharpk]

It's so funny to see Eric Petersen in non-Kevin mode. No Worcester accent, of course, but also he's obviously smart, funny, arty, a theatre kid. click here: KatMovie

[DB in CMH]

That just... sucked. Incredibly anti climatic and unsatisfying. 

They had about 4 episodes of material this season stretched over 8. I haven't said this about a slow in a looong time, but I regret wasting my time on it.

[Harvey]

I just saw clips of this online and wow what a waste of a show this was. Utter nonsense and in the end turned out to be pointless as well, she was not even really abused.

[chaifan]

I'm really late to the party here.  I found the show on AMC last year, but stopped watching after the 1st season because it was getting a bit dark for me and I was in a fluff mood.  But it just dropped on Netflix, so I picked up where I left off.

First, having only seen Annie Murphy in Schitt's Creek, this was an amazing change for her.  It's what drew me to the show in the first place.  Second, I loved the premise of the show, it really was a brilliant idea for something new and great commentary on the trope of schlub husband/hot wife. 

Random thoughts...

Was Kevin physically abusive to Allison?  My take on this is no, at least from the most literal sense of the word.  He was physically imposing, threatening, had a violet temper, and definitely emotionally abusive.  I think Allison was in a "well, he doesn't hit you, does he?" abusive relationship.  It allows friends/family to justify the non-physical abuse (he can't be that bad...) and keeps the victim self-blaming and constantly walking on eggshells so that the abuse doesn't escalate to physical.  I think this was a deliberate choice for the writers, and it fits Allison's behavior in both sitcom and the real world.

The queerbating debate.  My opinion is no, there was no queerbating.  To me, queerbating is when you take 2 straight characters and keep putting them in contrived "will they /won't they" situations, or when you take a gay character, have them fall for a straight character, but make the straight character act in ways that would lead them on, lead the viewers to believe it might be possible for them to get together.  But here, there was nothing ever indicating that Allison was sexually attracted to Patty.  They were simply friends, but Patty had some level of interest in Allison sexually.  Allison never reciprocated it, I'm not sure she ever even noticed it.  Simply having a gay character interested in a straight one isn't queerbating, at least not to me. 

Allison's return:  I think there are several factors.  One, she proved to herself that she can survive - financially and emotionally - without Kevin.  She realized what she did by faking her own death was inherently wrong, and maybe not sustainable in the long run.  She missed Patty and some of the people in her "old" life.  And, Tammy's appearance.  We saw her trying to better herself - reading Ulysses, though she seemed to be struggling. 

Loose threads:  I have to assume Allison's swim team history was going to factor in somehow to the original plot line.  It was mentioned far too often for it to not be central to some part of her disappearance.  I know they had to wrap up the show in a hurry, but I think it would have been interesting if she got a job as a swim coach or instructor in her new life.  

Someone mentioned earlier about Allison getting insurance from the house fire.  I'm pretty sure they rented.  Early in season 1 she had a dream of buying a new house, but Kevin spent the downpayment.  If they owned the current house, there would have been mention of using that sale money for the downpayment.  As for life insurance, I'll fanwank that Kevin was delusional enough to buy a large policy on himself (ego), and stupid enough to not change it after Allison's "death", so she gets a big payout that helps set her up.

Overall, I liked the show, I'm glad I returned to watch season 2, I wish it hadn't been cancelled, but I think they did a really good job of wrapping it up with little notice.