Kevin Can F**k Himself: Live Free or Die
July 6, 2021 10:14 PM - Season 1, Episode 4 - Subscribe
A detective questions Patty about the pharmacy bust. Allison and Patty go on a road trip, while Kevin comes up with a new money making scheme in the basement of the McRoberts home. After multiple setbacks, Allison admits the truth about her plan to Patty.
I can't wait to see where it's going... but this one was a challenge to get through. The multicamera crew were such a bunch of hapless boobs and the story really only marginally related to the road trip. I'm glad Patty has fully joined Allison's gritty drama; I'm looking forward to (a) seeing a different Patty when she rejoins the sitcom, (b) seeing whether the others make the shift.
I'm almost expecting that the sitcom bits might end up being pure fantasy/ distorted-reality in Allison's head and she ends up being institutionalized.
I also don't think this is likely, but the mere possibility is a little depressing. And now I'm looking at the show poster on the Fanfare page and I can't help but see a pink knit straitjacket.
posted by supercres at 10:09 AM on July 7, 2021
I'm almost expecting that the sitcom bits might end up being pure fantasy/ distorted-reality in Allison's head and she ends up being institutionalized.
I also don't think this is likely, but the mere possibility is a little depressing. And now I'm looking at the show poster on the Fanfare page and I can't help but see a pink knit straitjacket.
posted by supercres at 10:09 AM on July 7, 2021
This one was excruciating for me and I had to fast forward through a lot of it: it hit so many of my squicks like fear of discovery, HUGE second-hand embarrassment, women in peril... I just could not watch a lot of it. But when I could stop FFing, I managed to catch that incredible gut-punch of a story Allison told to Patty about what Kevin did to torpedo her job, and nailed Patty on her cruelty pile-on. That was amazing. It does make me wonder why Allison is so desperate to have her friendship when Patty's never been anything but terrible to her, and really puts her loneliness in stark relief when you realize this is the person Allison wants to be friends with.
I would really really really hope we're not going down the road to a female protagonist waking up to her own agency and dreams for a better future being institutionalized as her punishment. I know the state of American TV is still a misogynistic shitshow, but even just having that as a possibly is turning my stomach and wish that hadn't been brought up.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 11:11 AM on July 7, 2021
I would really really really hope we're not going down the road to a female protagonist waking up to her own agency and dreams for a better future being institutionalized as her punishment. I know the state of American TV is still a misogynistic shitshow, but even just having that as a possibly is turning my stomach and wish that hadn't been brought up.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 11:11 AM on July 7, 2021
... seeing a different Patty
... nailed Patty on her cruelty pile-on
The Patty character became much more interesting than I had expected from the first couple of episodes.
She feels to me like "one of the boys" - a bit of a Stockholm syndrome situation where she's friends with the boobs because they were her only experience/ option growing up and sticks with them out of momentum and lack of other options.
Upon Allison's awakening/ breaking, Patty is being dragged/ letting herself be dragged into opening her eyes to the situation.
Allison really is extremely lonely and isolated, she definitely was not originally open to being friendly with Patty - but once Patty is away from the boobs I think that Allison realizes Patty is largely unhappy with her own life as well.
Sam (the cafe owner/ former childhood crush-hookup) is a big wildcard.
posted by porpoise at 12:48 PM on July 7, 2021
... nailed Patty on her cruelty pile-on
The Patty character became much more interesting than I had expected from the first couple of episodes.
She feels to me like "one of the boys" - a bit of a Stockholm syndrome situation where she's friends with the boobs because they were her only experience/ option growing up and sticks with them out of momentum and lack of other options.
Upon Allison's awakening/ breaking, Patty is being dragged/ letting herself be dragged into opening her eyes to the situation.
Allison really is extremely lonely and isolated, she definitely was not originally open to being friendly with Patty - but once Patty is away from the boobs I think that Allison realizes Patty is largely unhappy with her own life as well.
Sam (the cafe owner/ former childhood crush-hookup) is a big wildcard.
posted by porpoise at 12:48 PM on July 7, 2021
the story really only marginally related to the road trip
One of the things I am loving about the show so far is that the sitcom storylines DO relate to the main story. In the last episode (chili friend breakup; drug bust) both portions of the story were about small actions set in motion that go out of control. Allison provoked the chili fight by pointing out that Kevin doesn't give his friend credit, momentarily enjoying the fight between the friends and then paying the consequences. Patty wanted to help out her clients but it gets out of control; Allison wants revenge on the small-time dealer but this hurts her ultimate plan.
In this episode the storylines both revolved around Kevin controlling, "forgetting" and retaliating - in sitcomland, he almost burns the house down, keeps "forgetting" that Allison wants the car and traps strangers in his house while something's burning upstairs. In the real story, Kevin reports his car as stolen (he doesn't report his wife as missing! He's vindictive and cruel, and doesn't care about her well-being at all) and Allison relates what he did when she had a paralegal job, to get her fired.
I REALLY want to see Kevin in the main storyline, to see if he acts differently/his cruelty is more overt. I wonder if they will choose to do that, or if he only exists in the charmed sitcomland.
posted by rogerroger at 4:31 PM on July 13, 2021 [2 favorites]
One of the things I am loving about the show so far is that the sitcom storylines DO relate to the main story. In the last episode (chili friend breakup; drug bust) both portions of the story were about small actions set in motion that go out of control. Allison provoked the chili fight by pointing out that Kevin doesn't give his friend credit, momentarily enjoying the fight between the friends and then paying the consequences. Patty wanted to help out her clients but it gets out of control; Allison wants revenge on the small-time dealer but this hurts her ultimate plan.
In this episode the storylines both revolved around Kevin controlling, "forgetting" and retaliating - in sitcomland, he almost burns the house down, keeps "forgetting" that Allison wants the car and traps strangers in his house while something's burning upstairs. In the real story, Kevin reports his car as stolen (he doesn't report his wife as missing! He's vindictive and cruel, and doesn't care about her well-being at all) and Allison relates what he did when she had a paralegal job, to get her fired.
I REALLY want to see Kevin in the main storyline, to see if he acts differently/his cruelty is more overt. I wonder if they will choose to do that, or if he only exists in the charmed sitcomland.
posted by rogerroger at 4:31 PM on July 13, 2021 [2 favorites]
Yeah I really want to see Kevin in the non-sitcom storyline.
posted by cooker girl at 6:32 AM on July 14, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by cooker girl at 6:32 AM on July 14, 2021 [1 favorite]
The sitcom storyline felt like way much screen-time this episode. I'm curious if that's just perception or reality--last episode's sitcom storyline worked beautifully with the broader story, I didn't feel this one reinforced any themes, or interweave into the narrative in any particularly clever way. Anyway, Allison and Patty's story was great, love where they're going with it.
I think we'll see the "real" dad and "real" neighbor (forget his name) before we see the "real" Kevin--that seems like season finale territory.
posted by skewed at 6:08 PM on July 19, 2021
I think we'll see the "real" dad and "real" neighbor (forget his name) before we see the "real" Kevin--that seems like season finale territory.
posted by skewed at 6:08 PM on July 19, 2021
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In this ep, it feels like Allison has passed the point of no return on her head first dive down the "waaay over her head" rabbit hole - although its not necessarily her fault (Patty assaulting the trucker).
I have no idea where this show is going (aside from what happens next ep) but there's enough meat for me to keep going. The sitcom bits, despite being very trying, do drive the rest of the story.
Feels almost like a Schrodinger situation and I can't really evaluate this until a resolution (or lack of one). I'm almost expecting that the sitcom bits might end up being pure fantasy/ distorted-reality in Allison's head and she ends up being institutionalized. But I don't think that's where the story is headed.
Annie Murphy and Mary Hollis Inboden are really getting into form portraying their characters.
posted by porpoise at 10:29 PM on July 6, 2021