This week’s Kevin Can F**k Himself, titled “Live Free or Die” cemented how I feel about Kevin. Cuz I disliked him before. He’s been rude, dismissive, and crushes Allison at whatever she wants or needs. And he does it in a way that we’ve become used to watching on TV, like it’s acceptable because he’s “the lead.” Well, Kevin isn’t the lead in this. He might be the lead in his mind, but he’s not the center of the world. And him thinking that he is the center of the world pisses me off to no end. Now, well I’m down for Allison killing him.
At first I couldn’t understand why Kevin Can F**k Himself would make me suffer through so much Kevin. Until this point, he’s only been seen during moments where Allison is directly involved. And I’ve perfectly fine not seeing his story because we’ve seen it happen over and over on TV before. Plus Allison is more interesting, layered, and complex. It took Allison confessing what her intentions were when it comes to her darling husband for me to understand that this show, this episode, wants me to hate Kevin.
And I do. I hate Kevin with a fiery passion that makes me cheer on Allison with every step she takes forward to gain control of her life. Of course, if this happened in real life, I’d advocate for divorce. But it’s a show, a little bit of fantasy, meant to kill characters like Kevin and all the shows that have perpetuated men like him into a positions of power where the story is told from their perspective. No more of that bullshit. It’s Allison’s time to shine and I really enjoyed how “Live Free or Die” made me invest in her while explaining why she wants to kill him.
Now, I do feel weird spending all that time talking about Kevin to then talk about Allison when she is clearly the lead. But I needed to get my hate out to celebrate how much I like Allison. There is this light that shines from within in her that no one can stamp out. Not even Kevin. And I see it more and more with every episode that passes of Kevin Can F**k Himself. Allison is realizing with each step that she’ been asleep behind the wheel of her own life and that someone else is driving. Watching her take control feels invigorating, even as she spirals and crashes into new things along her journey.
This light within Allison isn’t dimmed by Patty, who Allison spends most of the episode with. And until “Live Free or Die” I’ve disliked Patty, how she’s been acting like one of the boys, while ignoring the real pain that Allison has been in. This episode changed that and saw Patty coming face to face with Allison’s unshakable need to escape the bits of her life that Kevin has taken a hold of and made his own while taking away her control. And it sparked an unlikely friendship between Allison and Patty that I have no idea what direction it’s going to go in.
And that right there is what’s keeping me watching this show. Yes, half of it is Allison’s everything. But the other half is that I am constantly surprised by Kevin Can F**k Himself. I’m surprised at the things it takes head on, the lead, and the way that this story is unfolding and spiraling into madness. And maybe by the end of it all, we won’t recognize who these people are and Allison will find a way to free herself that doesn’t involve killing Kevin because fuck killing him and then getting sent to jail for it. He’s not worth that and I can’t wait til she divorces his ass and lives for herself.
Kevin Can F**k Himself airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.
