“Gladys” was a thoroughly unpleasant hour of television. It opens with a brutal killing (coupled with a dog’s execution), and ends with our protagonist drunkenly weeping into his pillow. That being the case, it’s hard to recommend “Gladys,” or even The Leftovers as a whole, to any but the most masochistic of viewers. This is not an indictment. From the very first episode, this show has proven to be bleak and confrontational; it aims to hold a mirror up to human nature, and more often than not, the reflection is damned unpleasant.
“Gladys” begins with the murder of the titular member of the Guilty Remnant (played by Marceline Hugot, who played the similarly mute Kathy Geiss on 30 Rock). She’s abducted outside of a gas station, duct taped to a tree, and pelted with rocks. Dean even shows up in the midst of things to knock off a stray dog, just to add to the kitchen-sink misery. However you feel about the Guilty Remnant, Gladys’ death is a fucked up thing to watch.
The GR are absolutely the villains of this show. In a way, they brougth this upon Gladys, although that doesn’t excuse the killers’ actions. Even Meg asks of Patti, “What did we expect?” The GR will stalk people through town, show up to protests, break into houses, and paint everything white, from churches to newspaper boxes. When Kevin asks Meg if his wife is all right, Meg coldly responds, “She’s not your wife anymore.” They are, in their own quiet way, despicable. Matt Jamison also reminds everyone of the reality of the departure, but he does so with more altruistic intentions.
For all the ill will that The Leftovers has engendered towards the GR, tonight’s episode went a long way towards humanizing Patti, the intransigent woman at their helm. First she agrees with Kevin that it’s best if they stay off the street for a little while, then she takes Laure upstate to a diner and offers her the chance to speak, much like she did with Gladys. Ann Dowd really shines in these scenes, showing the warmth and compassion that she was once capable of, before the departure hardened her. Laurie never speaks, and later in the episode, when Matt shows up at the GR’s doorstep to perform an impromptu memorial for Gladys, Laurie storms out of the house, blowing a whistle in his face.
Kevin isn’t having a much better day. The town refuses his idea for a curfew, his shirts keep disappearing, and the ATF agent who takes possession of Gladys’ body won’t return his calls. Kevin is a hell of a character; I hesitate to say I like him, because more often than not Justin Theroux goes out of his way to make Kevin unlikable. His storyline climaxes tonight with him drunkenly barging into the dry cleaners and demanding that they find his shirts, for God’s sake. This is after he flashes his badge at a checkout clerk so he can buy beer while already drunk.
So you can see why “Gladys” is a tough hour of TV, right? This is both a pro and a con for The Leftovers. On one hand, there aren’t any other shows like this on the air right now (indeed, this upholds the misanthropy sorely missing from Under the Dome); on the other, it’s hard to tell anyone to give the show a chance. It is undeniably powerful and uncompromising, and it asks a lot of the viewer. Luckily for us, it gives a lot back.
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