For a year, Kirsten (Matilda Lawler) and Jeevan (Himesh Patel) have only had each other. A flu pandemic has wiped out most of humanity, and these two strangers—an eight-year-old child actor who’s been separated from her parents, and the drifting writer who found her before it was too late—have survived together, first in a Chicago high-rise with Jeevan’s brother, Frank (Nabhaan Rizwan), and then after Frank’s death, out in the snowy wilderness. There is great love between them and great pain, an intensity of emotions that can shift the mood from moment to moment.
This is the way of Station Eleven, HBO Max’s epic limited series that serves as a grand tapestry of humanity in a postapocalyptic landscape. Its pandemic-era resonance has remained undeniable since its January finale, clearly sticking around long enough to earn notice from the Television Academy, which bestowed the series with seven Emmy nominations. Among those recognized were lead actor Patel, and showrunner Patrick Somerville for writing.
The penultimate episode, “Dr. Chaudhary,” marks the height of their particular collaboration. And this moment of the show—which finds Kirsten and Jeevan winding up for a heated argument after he has callously tossed her beloved book, Station Eleven, out into the woods—represents the show at its most emotionally true and devastating. (Watch the scene below.) The big scene of the episode is peppered with odd details, like a VHS copy of Pretty in Pink playing as a lead-up to the characters’ heartbroken cries. It also leads to something pivotal—Jeevan leaves in a huff, only to be attacked by a wolf. Later, he is rescued by people who will take him away from the only person he knows and loves in this new world, but also give him an unexpected second chance.
“That’s what the show is all about,” Patel says over a Zoom conversation alongside Somerville. “It’s about these people finding themselves in a dark situation.”
The Details
Patrick Somerville: This cabin that we found, we could only scout in the fall. We didn’t know what it was going to be like in the dead of winter. It happened to be buried in snow, but the truth is, it was perfect. The grips hung this amazing gel on the walls to create that ice feeling and the art department created giant icicles hanging down, and Steve Cosens, our DP, lit only naturally inside of that place. When it comes to this argument, it’s a new feeling. It’s orange and dark and flickery. It never looks like this in the show again as it does at night in the cabin with the fire going. And the costumes are unlike any other costumes in any other episode, which made it special.
Himesh Patel: The costume was a tipping point for me because obviously Jeevan has to get dressed quickly and walk out the door at the end there. We’d already shot the outside bit, so it had to match what we cut to. I’m in the middle of this hugely emotionally important moment and then I have to put this jacket on. It was a coat within a coat.
Somerville: It had to be the Doctor Eleven coat from episode seven, so [Jeevan’s rescuers] could mistake him as a doctor down the road. But it was Himesh’s idea, actually, to have the coat lying on the couch a few moments earlier when he says, “I’m a doctor,” and he kind of glances up and sees the coat. Himesh, I remember you coming to me being like, “Why am I saying I’m a doctor?” I gave a long-winded writery answer, and Himesh was like, “Can we just have the coat lying on the couch, please? I need something to play with.”
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