If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.
Synopsis: Laurie Garvey, a former therapist, must become one again as she heads to Australia to help Nora and Kevin along their paths. (HBO)
Writers: Patrick Somerville and Carly Wray
Director: Carl Franklin
Rating: TV-MA
Running Time: 58mins
Laurie (a.k.a. Amy Brenneman) has not been used nearly as much of the rest of the cast since Season 1 so this episode helped to rectify this and was all the better for it. In the first season, we all know that Laurie was part of the Guilty Remnant but how did it come to be? The episode started with a flashback sequence involving Laurie that helped to explain this. In the sequence, she is talking to one of her patients who is talking to her about the son she lost during the departure. She gets overcome with emotion and becomes flustered when she has no answers about what her patient should do about her son. Having enough, she decides to commit suicide but then changes her mind and joins the Guilty Remnant who were waiting outside her office.
This led to another different opening song about suicide where its themes were relevant to the episode. As mentioned, this was a Laurie-centric episode and it follows her during two time periods, first when she visits Grace’s ranch and the other was during her time with Nora and Matt. After the last episode, Laurie, Matt, John, and Michael had gone their separate ways.
When Laurie arrived at Grace’s ranch, she inexplicably had a black eye and John and Michael were already there. They had been looking for Kevin at the airport and when he wasn’t there, they called Kevin and he led them to Grace’s. She gave Kevin Sr. Matt’s charred book and he told her how he got there and what their plan which was to drown Kevin so he would go to the other world and learn the song that Kevin Sr. needed to sing to stop the flood that was coming tomorrow, the infamous seventh anniversary. They also had a few requests of their own for Kevin. John believed Evie was in this other world so he wanted to know that she was loved. When Grace’s children were found, their shoes were missing so she wanted to know where there shoes were. Laurie thought it was crazy but these were crazy times. They asked Kevin and he went off on horseback beforehand to think about it.
Laurie then helped Grace with dinner and not too long after they sat down for dinner, Kevin Sr. made a last supper analogy including those who were there and those who weren’t, including naming Laurie Thomas but she struck back by calling Kevin Sr. Judas. Soon after, everyone was starting to fall asleep because Laurie drugged their food with the same dog painkillers that Kevin Sr. took a few episodes ago. She did this so she can have some time alone with Kevin who had just arrived.
The two had a great scene where she explained where she was and what had happened to Nora. She wasn’t there to talk him out of it but rather to say goodbye. They shared a cigarette using the special lighter and laughed together while reminiscing about old times. She shared that she was pregnant around the time of the departure and that the fetus disappeared during her ultrasound. She didn’t tell him because she figured that he didn’t want another kid and the fact that it disappeared made it easier for her. Kevin wasn’t scared about what was about to happen to him. She hoped that he would come back like he has but she couldn’t stay. Things got emotional as she left and before she did, she let him keep her lighter.
Before she went to Grace’s ranch, she was spending time with Nora and Matt as she helped her find the two scientists who tried to con her into meeting her departed family from a few episodes ago. They were on a stakeout outside their house, hoping that they would lead them to their machine. Laurie thought it was a suicide machine but Nora thought otherwise, claiming that if she wanted to commit suicide, she’d go scuba diving. Nora wanted Laurie to do a psychic reading on her so she can talk to her children but Laurie couldn’t do it because the departed weren’t dead.
The reason for Laurie’s black eye was that Nora hit her accidentally while they were fighting for Laurie’s lighter that Nora didn’t want to give back to her since Laurie had quit smoking. The lighter had significance to her when Jill had given it to her in Season 1 and she had kept it ever since. They followed the scientists to the ocean where they appeared to be setting up their contraption. Nora remembered one of the last times that she and Matt were truly happy and it was suddenly taken away. She got emotional, perhaps comparing it to her current situation. Laurie consoled her and Matt gave her his book. Before Laurie left, Nora wanted her to tell them that she went through with it and Matt decided to stay with Nora.
The episode ended with Laurie going on a boat ride so she can go scuba diving, supposedly after her earlier conversation with Nora. Before she did, she got interrupted by a phone call from Jill where she got emotional while talking to her. She didn’t tell her what was going on with Kevin and Nora or that she was in Australia herself and then said goodbye to her and Tommy for maybe the last time then she went in the water.
Overall, this was an excellent episode, featuring great music and amazing performances all around elevated by the amazing writing. The best had to be Amy Brenneman hands down. It got very emotional as through Laurie, we watched all the characters come to terms with their lives with the seventh anniversary coming tomorrow. I can’t wait to see what will happen and it is episodes like this that make me especially sad that this show is coming to an end.
Score: 10/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.