WORK IN PROGRESSKEVIN CAN F**K HIMSELF

a little while ago now (maybe like two weeks ago?) i finished watching KEVIN CAN F**K HIMSELF (or as i prefer to call it, KEVIN CAN FUCK HIMSELF but the censoring of the title is an intentional thing) and, if you couldn't tell implicitly by me writing this, it was very very good, or certainly i enjoyed it a lot. the show opens by appearing to be like a classic sitcom featuring an incompotent but seemingly beloved husband as the main character (in this case Kevin), and is shot with that standard multi-camera, laugh track formula. BUT THEN!!! Allison, Kevin's wife, leaves the room that Kevin is in and the entire theming of the show changes. the lighting is darker and it's shot like a drama show, and really that's what the show truly is. but the combining of these two genres and paralleling them against eachother is such a fascinating thing even just inherently, and i think it's executed very well in the show. from this initial moment, the driving force of the plot is very clearly established: Allison wants to kill Kevin.

SPOILER WARNING FROM THIS POINT ONWARDS

so that i don't have to explain myself throughout, here's a very basic summary of some of the most important characters:

Allison- the protagonist of the show. wants to be free of Kevin's abuse no matter what it takes; she's willing to do many illegal things even to just get to the point of being able to kill him. she makes a lot of mistakes, but i think most viewers will sympathise with her to at least some extent.
Patty- Neil's brother and, gradually, Allison's closest friend. she owns a hair salon as well as (somewhat accidentally) becoming Woucester's drug connection! many people on the internet think that Allison and Patty are gay for eachother and i mean, yeah i can see it at points, but no matter how you see it their relationship is crucial to the plot.
Kevin- Allison's husband, the stereotypical sitcom manchild husband. through his character the serious flaws of this character archetype is examined- behaviour that would seem comedic and light-hearted in the context of a sitcom is genuinely abusive and at times terrifying when seen through Allison's perspective. he is intentionally modelled after real sitcom characters, in particular Kevin from Kevin Can Wait starring Kevin Jones, which from all i've heard is not the greatest show.
Neil- Patty's brother and Kevin's best friend (or certainly for season 1 of the show). he's involved in all of Kevin's schemes but is very much an underdog and made fun of a lot- again fitting into a stereotypical sitcom role. he has a more important individual plotline in season 2.
Pete- Kevin's father who features almost (if not entirely?) exclusively in the sitcom sections of the show. he's one of2 the less notably complex main characters, but certainly raises interesting questions about the impacts of how Kevin was raised on his adult behaviours, and also establishes a subversive(?) power dynamic between father and son, where Kevin is the one to make all the decisions. like with Neil, he fills a standard sitcom role.
Sam- Allison's friend from high school who has recently opened a diner in the area! he is one of the many characters in the show to cheat on his spouse, specifically he and Allison have mutual feelings for eachother (and hoo boy do they feel all the possible feelings about eachother).
Tammy- a detective investigating all the drug crime going on in the area. she ends up dating Patty during season 1 and into the majority of season 2. there's quite a bit of debate about her character- some people like her a lot, and others think she's just as controlling and abusive as Kevin. personally i would go for a middle ground.

to be honest the main reason i wanted to make a blog post about this show is because of the last moment of season 1 of the show. sure, season 2's finale is largely very good and a very victorious moment for Allison, but season 1 stuck out to me personally much more. after being in the drama style for a while, we go back to the sitcom style so that Neil can stumble out of a cupboard, having just overheard Allison discussing her plans to kill Kevin. Allison and Neil share a bit of sitcom banter, but their arguing results in Neil strangling Allison and legitimately threatening Allison's life. AND THEN. Patty appears and smashes a bottle over Neil's head, as the lighting changes, and there's this haunting synth tune that plays and oh my god that moment. the switch from sitcom to drama as such an abrupt and violent thing, really forcing Neil into the "real" world which is a key thing for season 2, and ohhh my god the music. trying to transcribe the opening bar of it it seems like it's just based in d major (it's roughly D A C# D C# A i think?? but i might be wrong) but the melody combined with the instrument choice of the synthesiser is so very well done and i feel like i haven't seen anyone in any online spaces talk about it. it's such a well executed moment i genuinely think i had a literal jaw-drop moment in response to it.