WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Kevin Can F**K Himself Season 1, Episode 1, “Living The Dream,” and Episode 2, “New Tricks,” now available on AMC.
One of the major things that immediately stands out in AMC’s Kevin Can F**k Himself is how mentally fractured Allison (Annie Murphy) is as she endures a neglectful, loveless and frustrating marriage with her husband, Kevin. It’s caused her to view the world in two states: one where she’s with him and his beer-guzzling friends in a multi-cam sitcom, complete with a laugh track from a studio audience, and the other as a dramatic, bleak world where she’s breaking down. But as we see more of her deconstruction in these two realities, it becomes clear Kevin Can F**k Himself does alternate realities much better than the show touted for this trope: WandaVision.
WandaVision has serviced the Marvel Cinematic Universe, proving sinister threads are being woven post-Avengers: Endgame, especially in the magical realm. Still, it always felt like it was one wish or thought away from being fixed as it was so fake. The stakes just never felt high enough, not even when Agatha was revealed to be the puppet master, manipulating the Scarlet Witch’s strings.
Simply put, at any time, Wanda could have regained control with a sense of clarity and rebuilt the world as it should have been. Not to mention she had help from Monica, Darcy, Jimmy Woo and Vision to discern her sitcom reality didn’t fit.
But with Kevin Can F**k Himself‘s Allison, she’s all alone. The way she makes real-life feel so dynamic without having powers resonates a lot more with audiences. Her sitcom is kooky like WandaVision. However, while Wanda’s enjoying her laughs, Allison is clearly suffering and masking it with humor. She also doesn’t have help. The next-door neighbor, Patty, is one of the guys who only appears in her grim world, further embedding Allison in regret and self-pity. In that sense, she’s got villains on both sides who punch her down, making her a true underdog as opposed to a powerhouse MCU hero.
As such, when Allison’s sitcom is gone, the switch to reality hits harder. She uses her sitcom as a defense mechanism and shield. However, she cannont escape, unlike the Scarlet Witch, who has romance and a budding love story as a crutch.
In short, Allison’s plight has more emotional weight than Wanda, who can warp her life outside the sitcom to give her Viz, kids and Pietro. This results in Kevin Can F**k Himself having more impact and relatability than magical conjurings and fantasy. Allison’s duality has a lot more chaos and leaves viewers thinking she may eventually lose at her game.
Created by Valerie Armstrong, Kevin Can F**K Himself stars Annie Murphy, Mary Hollis Inboden and Eric Petersen. The series airs Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on AMC.
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