Gladys
The Leftovers | Season 1 | Episode 5

Gladys

TV-MA | 55 MIN

Written by Damon Lindelof & Tom Perrotta

Directed by Mimi Leder

Gladys faces Patti Levin in her office and nods her head slightly. She continues her day with her partner, painting, smoking, and withstanding Mapleton's abuse. During a gas station bathroom break, Gladys is abducted and taken to the woods. Taped to a tree, she begs for mercy while hooded figures stone her to death.

Patti bangs on a pot to wake the Guilty Remnant: Gladys' mattress is empty. Meg convinces Patti she wants to help and joins the other Watchers as they search the woods. Kevin's mystery man, hunting dogs in the woods, runs into Laurie and pushes her aside to aim at dogs. Following his gaze, she sees Gladys' bloody body.

Kevin Garvey wakes up abruptly and shuts off a news story about a cult raid in Florida. Realizing there is a gap in his closet where his white shirts should be, he checks with Jill about their whereabouts. Still in bed, Jill grunts a "no," while Aimee comes out of her room dressed in a nightie. She offers to make coffee. As Kevin fumbles with the new alarm system, Patti arrives to ask for help.

"We want them to remember something they want to forget." - Meg Abbott

Laurie, Meg and the other Watchers return to the cul-de-sac. Meg, unfazed by the morning's events, takes a draw on one of Laurie's cigarettes and remarks that something was bound to happen. Only half-listening, Laurie faints.

Kevin goes to the crime scene and scolds his men for trampling all over it. He exchanges words with Det. Vitello, who resents Kevin's command. The chief tells Patti the G.R. members need to stay off the street and is surprised when she agrees. He's further startled to find his mystery friend being detained as a witness and learns his name is Dean.

Kevin goes to the high school to let his daughter know about the attack, but Jill misunderstands Kevin's arrival and starts to cry in class. Feeling foolish, Jill regrets her tears: "She wouldn't have cried for me."

In the exam room, the doctor tells Laurie it was likely a panic attack she experienced. He gives her some sample pills, and advises her to see a psychiatrist if she needs more. Patti picks up Laurie but won't explain where they're going, choosing to turn up the radio instead.

Kevin tangles with Vitello when he realizes his subordinate called in the crime to ATFEC (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives and Cults). Although Vitello was following federal guidelines, Kevin - backed by Mayor Lucy Warburton - tells Vitello it wasn't his call to make. The mayor directs Kevin to undo Vitello's

screw up and agrees to a curfew; Kevin will need to present it to the town board as a formality. Before settling in for an overnight stakeout in the cul-de-sac, the chief leaves a message for ATFEC agent Sean Kilaney explaining Vitello's call was premature.

"This is a non-smoking room."

Patti and Laurie check into rooms at a motel. Encouraged to rest, Laurie runs a bath and catches sight of herself in a mirror. When she wakes, Laurie finds non-white clothing and a note from Patti to meet. In the restaurant nearby, Patti, also dressed in civilian clothes, gives Laurie permission to speak. After eight months of silence, Laurie is unable to do so and Patti places her order for her.

Over breakfast, Kevin deflects questions from Aimee and Jill about the attack. He leaves another message for Agent Kilaney while waiting at line at the dry cleaners,. Without a receipt from Kevin, the cleaner only pretends to look for the shirts, angering the chief. His mood picks up when he sees Nora Durst waiting on line.

Reminded that Rev. Jamison recently lost his church to the Remnant, Kevin interrogates him about his whereabouts. The reverend willingly cooperates but throws Kevin when he asks to see Gladys; she was a familiar face to him. "I'd like to pray for her," he says, but the chief says no. At the town board meeting, Kevin's curfew request has become a public forum. The residents are openly hostile to the idea, especially Dean, who floats the idea that the Remnant could have done this to themselves. The board unanimously rejects the curfew.

"Any questions? I'll take them in writing." - Kevin Garvey

Kevin goes to the Remnant house to offer another solution - a bucket of whistles so they can sound the alarm. The idea is received with complete indifference. He tries to ask Meg about Laurie but she stonewalls him: "She's not your wife anymore."

Patti tells Laurie she brought Gladys to the very same restaurant a year ago, after the death of Gladys' son in Yemen. Aware that Gladys was wavering, Patti gave her a chance to speak too. Looking Laurie in the eye, Patti warns her she can't have any doubts: "Doubt is but fire and fire will burn you up." When the waitress checks on them, Patti asks for an empty doggy bag with the bill. Alluding to advice Laurie gave her "the day before everything changed," she writes "Neil" on the bag and asks to be excused. Later, Patti drops the bag on a doorstep while Laurie waits in the car.

Kevin picks up Rev. Jamison and agrees to let him speak over Gladys' body. In the car, Matt recites a parable and reminds the chief it can be easier to stay silent than to speak the truth. Matt assures Kevin he means the G.R. no harm: "What I want is to bring them back to life." The men search for Gladys' corpse at the morgue and find out that it was shipped to Virginia at the request of Sean Kilaney. Kevin calls the agent in a rage and leaves voicemail demanding the body back.

"Just say the word and everything will go back to normal." - Agent Sean Kilaney

Kevin returns home and inadvertently triggers the alarm, nearly missing a call from Agent Kilaney. The ATFEC agent, busy dealing with the situation in Florida, informs Kevin he can't return a body already in the system. Changing tack, Kilaney offers to definitively take care of Kevin's problem. Stunned, Kevin refuses.

Already unsteady, the chief goes to the market to pick up beer. Spotting the dry cleaner still in his shop, Kevin threatens his way in and demands that the cleaner locate his shirts. The terrified cleaner begins pulling white shirts from the carousel. "Our mistake," he tells Kevin.

Meg, now in white, greets Laurie and Patti upon the return. "I'm ready now," she scribbles. Outside, Matt Jamison and his growing congregation hold a candlelight vigil. The reverend proffers an invitation - "Join us" - and is pleased to see Laurie rushing towards him. Instead, Laurie blows violently on a whistle, rendering Jamison silent.

Kevin returns home and tearily tells Jill that he and Laurie are getting a divorce. "It's not your fault," his daughter says. Alone, Kevin sobs into a pillow.

ATFEC agents unload a truck filled with corpses and begin sorting them. The ones without family - including Gladys - are incinerated.

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