On a network like HBO, there are several shows that have no bad episodes — but some installments are so game-changing, they set themselves apart, even sandwiched between heavy hitters. This is what happened with a chapter of television that released 10 years ago today. It altered the course of its series forever, and its impact was obvious from the moment it aired.
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It’s not just that this episode cemented itself as the very best of the show’s offerings (though that’s certainly true). It also changed the story significantly, pushing the boundaries of what viewers believed possible. It marked a huge shift tonally, taking the show in a more fantastical direction than ever before. That kind of jump can be jarring when handled poorly. Fortunately, The Leftovers nailed it in “International Assassin,” delivering a perfect chapter of television that set up even wilder things to come.
The Leftovers’ “International Assassin” First Aired 10 Years Ago Today
It may not get the attention that shows like Game of Thrones and Succession demand, but The Leftovers is easily one of HBO’s best series of all time. Every installment of Tom Perrotta and Damon Lindelof’s series knocked it out of the park. However, the best of them aired exactly 10 years ago today: “International Assassin.” Debuting on November 22, 2015, “International Assassin” picked up on the heels of Kevin Garvey’s (Justin Theroux) death in the previous chapter.
Haunted by Patti Levin (Ann Dowd), Kevin desperately sought a way to get rid of her. This brought him to Virgil (Steven Williams), who had him drink poison, insisting he could revive him with epinephrine later on. It was a risky decision on Kevin’s part, but it resulted in one of The Leftovers‘ weirdest episodes ever. “International Assassin” opened with Kevin waking up in a bathtub in the afterlife. There, he discovered an alternate reality — one where he was an assassin tasked with killing Patti, a high-level political figure running for president (well, allegedly, at least).
This entire setup was deliciously bizarre, and it was made more tense by the original reality, where Virgil never injected Kevin with the epinephrine and took his own life instead. This made the ending of The Leftovers Season 3, Episode 8 a real head-scratcher, as Kevin returned from the afterlife anyway. The HBO show had introduced many mysteries prior to this point, but Kevin’s resurrection in “International Assassin” changed everything.
How “International Assassin” Changed Everything for the HBO Series
“International Assassin” was a gripping addition to The Leftovers for its odd premise alone. However, it also marked a shift that made it one of the most important points of the series. The Leftovers kicked off with 2% of the world’s population vanishing into thin air, so the show always featured hints of the supernatural. And Kevin had even defied death. In The Leftovers Season 2, Episode 2, he woke up drenched in a dried-up lake with a cinderblock tied to his leg. He should have drowned there, and perhaps he did, but something extraordinary prevented that from happening.
Like the Sudden Departure, this development raised more questions than it answered, teasing the supernatural but failing to pull back the curtain. It was unclear whether Kevin had truly died, and external circumstances could have contributed to what occurred with the lake, however unlikely. Accompanying Kevin to the afterlife in “International Assassin” was the first time viewers got a proper peek behind that curtain. It offered evidence of there being “more,” even if we never got an explanation for it.
Although you could argue that the events of “International Assassin” happened inside Kevin’s mind, that theory doesn’t quite hold up. Coming back to life after killing Patti would be an awfully big coincidence, and writing it off as such would undermine what came later. This installment was a turning point of sorts, opening the door for more fantastical events to occur. Kevin came back to life again after, also with no further explanation. He also returned to the afterlife and destroyed it in Season 3. And although The Leftovers‘ ending can be interpreted as being in Nora’s (Carrie Coon) head, it was purposely left ambiguous. After Kevin’s trip to the afterlife, the series leaned deeper into the fantasy category, making just about anything — including Nora’s story — a genuine possibility.
A Decade Later, “International Assassin” Is Still The Leftovers’ Best Episode
A decade later, “International Assassin” is still the best installment of The Leftovers, and it remains one of the strongest episodes of television HBO has ever aired. Its strange nature and lack of concrete answers is precisely what makes it great. The latter fits with The Leftovers being a series about faith, driving home the reality that its mysteries don’t need solving. However, between its opening sequence and all the instances of Kevin being resurrected, there’s definitely a supernatural layer. “International Assassin” is pivotal to exploring that, allowing later chapters to really play up that element of the HBO show.
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Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
