Laurie’s resolve is put to the test in the wake of a brutal hate crime. After his latest initiatives to maintain the peace in Mapleton fall short, Kevin turns down an outside offer to rid the town of its problems. Matt brings his pulpit to the street. Meg takes on a new role.
The Bible: In the car with Kevin, Matt quotes from the non-canonical Christian text the Gospel of Thomas, Saying 13. Matt reads Psalm 121 when he prays for Gladys at the compound.
The beer Kevin purchases, Heisenbrau Lite, is likely a reference to Walter White’s alias Heisenberg on Breaking Bad.
Literary techniques[]
Up until now, it's assumed we'd bear little sympathy when seeing members of the G.R. being killed, since they act as terrible human beings with the other people. However in the moment that we see Gladys being stoned, our minds are changed due to the terrible violence of the scene, and we start to feel sorry for her.
Echoing this on-screen, Kevin also feels sorry for Gladys, while the rest of the population and even the government really don't care. This helps to underline his role as the audience's proxy in the narrative, given that he is the main character and we see most of the episodes through his eyes.
Also Jill and Laurie show a little compassion for Gladys, underlining the fact that the Garvey family has some sort of moral stature, unlike most of Mapleton.
The people who kill Gladys are dressed in black, in contrast to the typical G.R. white clothing.
As is hinted in this episode and then confirmed by Patti in Cairo, the people who kill Gladys are, in fact, other members of the G.R.
While Patti brings Laurie to the motel, the radio plays a song called "What a Fool Believes".
Like Patti underlines, the moment she gives Laurie (and Gladys, a year before) the chance to talk, she remains mute anyway.
In the shots in which Kevin talks to the mysterious bald man, there is a very bright light all around.
Patti says to Laurie that she can't have doubts, because "doubt is like fire, it burns you until you become ash". Glayds' body is burned.
In this episode fire is referenced two other times, first when Jill holds his hand above an open flame in class, and later when Matt quotes it in the car with Kevin. Also, we have seen Matt's house in flame (Two Boats and a Helicopter) and Kevin's dream in which his foot is on fire (Penguin One, Us Zero). Fire will continue to be a recurring theme throughout the series, and is central to the climaxes in both the Season 1 and 2 finales.
When Matt quotes the Gospel of Thomas to Kevin, the traffic light nearly seems to block itself as red until Matt has finished his story, underlining the relevance of the dialogue.
Trivia[]
When Kevin puts the beer on the roof of his car, two penguin toys are seen in the window of a store behind him (perhaps indicating that the score is now “Penguin 2,” as Kevin goes to take out his anger on Faisal just as the children in Anthony’s office take their aggression out on the inflatable penguin).
The clipboard held by the ATFEC employee in the final scene lists, among other cults, a group called “Apollo’s Army.”
Book to Show[]
The mantra “LET US SMOKE,” seen on a sign in Patti’s office, comes from the G.R.’s Christmas Day slideshow in the book, as do the sayings “WE WON’T LET THEM FORGET,” seen when Kevin distributes the whistles, and “IT WON’T BE LONG NOW,” seen behind Laurie when Matt tries to hold a prayer session.
In the book, the G.R. Watchers rotate partners every shift, whereas on the show, Gladys and Sabrina appear to have been paired regularly in “Two Boats and a Helicopter” and this episode.
Gladys paints over the display on a Mapleton Gazette dispenser. In the book, the local newspaper is called the Mapleton Messenger.
While Gladys is an original character invented for the show, the plot function of her death roughly approximates that of the deaths of G.R. members Jason Falzone and Julian Adams in the book. Both Falzone and Adams are murdered by single gunshots to the head, a much more humane (and less biblical) death than Gladys’ stoning.
In the book, the circumstances of Falzone’s corpse being discovered (near the Monument to the Departed in Greenway Park) are never elaborated upon. Adams is found by Jill, near a dumpster behind a Walgreens. Notably, in the book, both Falzone and Adams's partners disappear from the G.R. complex following the killings, whereas in the show Sabrina sticks around and presumably gives a statement to the police.
The awkwardness of Kevin seeing Aimee in skimpy morning wear is a recurring scenario in the book.
The show’s G.R. are much more cooperative with the police than in the novel. In the book, the G.R. refuse “on principle” to cooperate with the police or any government agency after the first murder, with Patti as spokeswoman finally agreeing to respond (unhelpfully) in writing to a series of questions. ln contrast, on the show, Patti reports the murder to Kevin, and all the members of the search party give statements.
The reactions of the dog owner (“Don’t investigate too hard”) and the people at the town hall meeting are emblematic of the townspeople’s reactions in the book, where everyone—including Falzone’s parents—feels that the victims got what they deserved.
The dog owner's reference to the G.R. making an offer on his house may refer to the "Neighborhood Settlement Project" in the book, wherein the G.R. buy suburban houses as part of their "long-term expansion plans." His suggestion that the G.R. is running out of room also comes from the book, when Patti mentions overcrowding due to a flood of recruits.
Patti giving Laurie a “day off” is an invention of the show, but it is somewhat reminiscent of Patti sending Laurie and Meg to live at Outpost 17, a house where they live a comparatively lavish lifestyle to their time in the main G.R. complex, as a sort of reward before they are asked to make a great commitment.
Laurie has maintained a true vow of silence on the show. In the novel, in contrast, Laurie speaks regularly during Meg’s training, during the Unburdening period at night, when she is permitted to discuss Meg’s feelings and concerns with her. She also speaks in answer to direct questions from Patti (Patti is seemingly allowed to speak openly in the book, for reasons that are never explained).
Patti’s speech that what they do is “very, very hard” is reminiscent of Meg saying, “It’s hard!” to Patti in the book.
The pre-Departure relationship between Laurie and Patti is an invention of the show, as is Patti’s backstory with Neil. In the book, Patti is much less engaged with the day-to-day of the G.R. members’ lives, and only appears twice in the novel, when she summons Laurie and Meg to her office by appointment.
The war in Yemen is once again referenced (after prior references in the Pilot and “B.J. and the A.C.”). This fictional conflict comes from the book, wherein Mark Henning, the soldier Tom and Christine encounter, is scheduled to be deployed there.
Kevin tells Jill that he and Laurie are getting a divorce, roughly two months after Laurie first dropped off the divorce papers. In the book, he holds off signing the divorce papers for two months despite knowing the marriage is over, because he wants to spare Jill the news, particularly after the trauma of her finding Julian Adams’ corpse.
In the book, Meg is already silent (aside from the nighttime Unburdening period) the week after she arrives, whereas on the show she does not take the vow of silence until about four months after her arrival. In the book, the G.R. has a formal Graduation Day for Meg, on January 15, whereas on the show it seems to be up to the trainee’s discretion if and when she will fully commit.
Music[]
"Kiss on My List" by Daryl Hall & John Oates (Patti drives Laurie to the hotel)
"What a Fool Believes" by the Doobie Brothers (Patti drops bag at Neil's)
"Afterimage 1" by Max Richter (Kevin considers Agent Kilaney's proposal)
"Warrior" by Terry Divine-King & Winston Francis (Kevin in the supermarket)
"Dona Nobis Pacem 2" by Max Richter (ATFEC burns Gladys's body)
"Dona Nobis Pacem 1" by Max Richter (end credits)
Goofs[]
The clipboard with the Heroes’ Day assignments is still hanging in the G.R. house despite Heroes’ Day having been fourth months earlier.
