Tag Archives: The leftovers

The Leftovers – Axis Mundi – Review: “Welcome To Miracle”

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Leftovers“Everybody’s wonderin’ what and where
They all came from
Everybody’s worryin’ ’bout where they’re gonna go
When the whole thing’s done
But no one knows for certain and so it’s all the same to me
I think I’ll just let the mystery be”

The Leftovers, one of my all-time favorite shows, premiered last year and the long awaited second season this past Sunday on HBO after a longer than usual hiatus. Created by Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta, and based on Perrotta’s novel of the same name, The Leftovers tells the story of a global event, in which many people disappeared, called the “Sudden Departure”. On the day of the “Sudden Departure” 140 million people, 2% of the world’s population, inexplicably disappeared. The story then jumps ahead three years and focuses on the Garvey family and their acquaintances living in the fictional small town of Mapleton, New York. While we may never know what happened to the town of Mapleton and it’s citizens after the final moments of the season one finale, I am happy with how the writers brought our favorite characters into a new setting and a new town.

The new location of the story is Jarden, Texas, a small town much like Mapleton. However, unlike any other town, Jarden experienced zero ‘departures’. Thinking this is some sort miracle, people of the world come in droves, likening this town to a gateway to Heaven or a chosen sanctuary for those who remained or as the title of the episode implies, an axis mundi or center of the world. As a fan of TV series LOST, I always likened the island to an ‘axis mundi’. It, like the town of Jarden, act as sort of a bridge between Heaven and Earth. Well, I should say that after one episode the citizens of the world think Jarden is the bridge between Heaven and Earth, hence the title of the episode. This is one of the reason’s that Jarden has been renamed “Miracle” by the locals as well as people all over the world, it is a magnet for people/tourists that think it can keep them safe. And one person who desperately wants to be kept safe is Nora. Fans of season one can understand why Nora would want to come to this little town.

The Leftovers new family to focus the story on is the Murphy’s, whose matriarch, Erika Murphy, is played by the lovely and talented Regina King. Her husband, John Murphy, has a suspicious background, which I am sure will clash with Kevin’s ideals sometime this season. This is even more certain when we see the Garvey family, with new baby Lily in tow, move in right next door. The Murphys have two teenage children, Michael, who has already caught the eye of Jill, and Evie, who was sort of the focus of the premiere.

The Murphys are somewhat like the Garveys and we can already see the parallels (and opposites) being drawn between the two families. John is in civil service, just like Kevin, and like his opposite is an ex-con, who went for attempted murder. The attempted murder part of John’s story is another similarity he and Kevin share – remember, Kevin almost killed Patti last season.

John, so far, is the driving part of the story. He is a Jarden fireman and seems like the type of man who takes charge and doesn’t let things get to him. Unless, of course, Isaac tells him that something bad is going to happen. The literal meaning of the name Isaac is ‘He laughs/will laugh’. Isaac definitely had the last laugh as his prophecy came true. What I loved about Isaac’s prophecy to John was how much it got to John. John thinking the Apple Pie was poisoned was funny to watch fold back in on him. He tried to pawn it off onto the Garvey’s, but then Evie has an epileptic seizure and drops the birthday cake. This forces Kevin to get the Pie and bring it back to John. In the end, however, Isaac was right and ‘something bad’ did happen to John – Where did Evie disappear too?

The message I took from the first episode this season is that “life goes on”. From the cavewoman picking up the baby from the deceased mother to the relentless grasshopper John just couldn’t get to and take care of, the message was that life will find a way. Perhaps, as we learned in season one, that people disappear and leave us, season two will be about life and rebirth?

Just as season one had many mysteries for us to try and decipher, season two, through one episode, has already provided us with enough to keep us speculating until we get some more clues or some answers. Sunday’s episode was filled with questions such as why the town places glass enclosures around oddly shaped cracks in the ground, or why there was a wizard living on top of a pillar (and why he wanted a letter sent to Australia) to why that woman was wearing her wedding dress as she watered her lawn, to how that bird survived being buried alive inside that box or what was the gift Evie gave her dad before she went off with her friends. Oh, and the biggest mystery of the entire episode, where did Evie and her friends disappear to?

These questions, and the search for the clues to their answers, is what I love about The Leftovers. Season one may not have provided us with the ultimate answer to ‘where did the departured disappear to?’, but the journey to get to the end was fun, exciting and most importantly engaging. I am sure anyone who enjoyed the first season will love the second season premiere. The mystery that is set up for this season is intriguing and I’m looking forward to each and every episode. Welcome to Miracle.

Music from the Episode

– “Let The Mystery Be” – Iris DeMent
Title Card

– “La Traviata: Prelude to Act 1” – Bonn Classical Philharmonic and Herbert Beissel
‘Cavewoman’ gives birth

– “Don’t Worry” – Justine Skye
Evie and her friends swim in the pond

– “Rockin’ In the Same Old Boat” – Bobby “Blue” Bland
When the Garveys + Nora pull up in front of their new house

– “Let Tomorrow Be” – Fern Jones
End Credits

Thoughts and Discussion

– The ‘cavewoman’ from the beginning of the episode, that picks up the baby from the deceased mother, resembles the story of Nora picking up Lily at the end of last season.

– I love the connection between the beginning of the episode, Evie and her friends, swimming in the pond, and the end, Evie and her friends disappearing in the same pond.

– What was Dr. Goodheart gathering the water of the pond for? Does the water in Jarden hold some sort of special power? Why is there criminal prosecution for anyone who takes the water?

– Did you notice…some of the books the family stacked on John were ‘Mandela’, ‘Lenin’ and ‘Road To Terror’. The ‘Road to Terror’ deals with the hidden secrets of Communism and the dark inhumanity of the purge process.
Another book is also stacked there titled ‘The Stranger’ by Albert Camus. Tom is seen reading this book in the first episode of season one. The key sentence of the book is “I laid my heart open to the benign indifference of the universe”.

– The score by Max Richter and the song selection was outstanding.

– Who is Mr. David Burton and why is the wizard-looking man sending a letter to him in Australia?

– To all of the LOST fans watching – the second bus coming into town was numbered 108.

– What was with the cracks in the ground enclosed in fiberglass? The one Michael rode his bike by was numbered ‘7’. So, we know there is at least seven of them. Also, when Michael was riding his bike, he rode past a woman wearing a wedding dress watering a lawn, what was that about? My guess is that the citizens of Jarden somehow combine what they did on the day of the Sudden Departure to bring themselves luck. Maybe? Anyways, I think it has to do with luck.

– Did you notice…Isaac shares his name with the antagonistic “seer” in Stephen King’s ‘Children of the Corn’ as well as the Australian healer from LOST.

– What was in the gift that Evie gave her dad before she disappeared? She said it was the best gift he will ever get. I loved the foreshadowing also when she says, “Don’t open it until I’m gone”.

– What was the noise John heard inside the Garvey house when he was giving Nora the Apple Pie and inviting them to the Birthday Party? Was it related to Kevin telling John he ‘fell’ in the following scene?

– Did you notice…The high school team is called the ‘Bridgemen’ (a play on ‘axis mundi’ which is the ‘bridge’ between Heaven and Earth). A sign on the bleachers reads “Bridge the Gap”. The school song’s last line is “That God had spared our town”.

– What were the numbers John and his firemen friends calling off before they went to Isaac’s home? My guess is that they all knew where they were going and the numbers represented the amount of damage they were going to inflict.

– How did that bird survive that Erika dug up out of the ground during her run?

– Did you notice…John was watching the Perfect Strangers just like Kevin’s dad was last season in the mental hospital. I thought it was funny when they showed the Perfect Strangers start fake his own departure and skipped town.

– What was with the Jarden Police tasering that woman for not having a bracelet on? They mean business if you are an outsider.

– What was with the man cutting the animal’s throat in the middle of that restaurant?

– Who brought John the Apple Pie?

– What is the connection between the quakes the cavewoman heard before the cave collapsed and the quakes in the present day, specifically the one just prior to the disappearance of Evie.

– Did you notice…when the Garvey’s arrive Kevin does not have a a band-aid on his forehead when he says hi to John from the walkway. What happened to Kevin? How did he get hurt?

– Did you notice…at the end of the episode, John and his son, Michael, are standing at the edge of the empty pond. It appears as though there is a ‘scar’ on the ground as if now the town of Miracle is scarred because something bad has happened. Is it just a coincidence that the Garvey’s show up in the Murphy’s life and within a few hours something like this happens?

– Why did Evie and her friends disappear? I realize this is not what the show is about and an answer we may never get, but it’s still fun to speculate. Was it because she took water from the pond and it’s forbidden? Did Dr. Goodheart disappear as well?

Some say once gone you’re gone forever
And some say you’re gonna come back
Some say you rest in the arms of the Savior
If in sinful ways you lack
Some say that they’re comin’ back in a garden
Bunch of carrots and little sweet peas
I think I’ll just let the mystery be”
– “Let The Mystery Be” – Iris DeMent

The Leftovers – “The Garveys At Their Best” – Review

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Leftovers“Once upon a lonely
The sky was black and stormy
I was on my way to King Marie
This day of disaster
My heart was beating faster
I ran all the way to King Marie”
– “The Girl From King Marie” – Jody Reynolds

The departured were all regretted at one point. Laurie regretted…oops, let me start my Review at the beginning, much like that incredible episode did on Sunday night. All the way at the beginning. Then I can explain that first sentence and continue my thought. It’s a good theory, I think, and I will need all of your help to see if it is somewhat true or close.

The Leftovers aired their penultimate episode, The episode immediately before the finale, on Sunday night and it was exactly what we have been wanting and waiting for since the pilot. In a series that predicates itself on the events of October 14th, all we wanted to know was what happen on October 13th or, more precisely, what happened immediately prior to the moment of departurism (note: departurism is a word I just invented…I can do that…I think…but we all know what it means). The seconds, minutes, and hours before the Sudden Departure. And we got it in a brilliant flashback that Damon Lindelof has become a master at portraying.

So, let’s start at the beginning. A theory I had stated before is that the dogs are symbols of the Guilty Remnant. The episode this past Sunday has given us a load of answers to our burning questions and provided some twists and turns in the process. One twist is that the dogs are not the Guilty Remnant…hear me out. I think the dogs represent Laurie. Kevin is represented by the deer. I’ll give some interesting supporting evidence throughout my Review so keep an eye out for it and we can discuss in the comments below. More on this later.

We see Kevin right away in his beautiful home, with his beautiful family, as we are transported back in time three years (4 years?), just days before the SD. Much like there was a scar, or flaw, on the island of The Lord of The Flies, there is also a crack, or scar or flaw, in the foundation of the Garvey home (remember: Kevin sees above the painting the crack in the wall like a lightning bolt). The writers do a wonderful job at setting up our characters lives prior to the universal ‘tic-toc’ leading up to the SD. We see Nora Durst and her happy family at a time when she is ignorant to the fact that her husband is cheating on her. We also learn that Patti was a patient of Laurie’s long before Laurie had taken the white.

Not everyone was happy. That is not what the writers were trying to show us. People were not happy, then out of nowhere the SD occurs and people spiral into despair. Kevin was lying to his wife. Nora wanted out of the “juice-box” cycle of life. Patti was kicked out of her home by her ex-husband. We finally learn why Patti puts some crap in a bag and wrote “Neil” on it and left it on his porch. Laurie, her psychologist, told her to get rid of her bad emotions from her relationship by doing this.

One of the big revelations of life before the SD is that of Jill. Jill was, uncharacteristically so, very happy. Very very happy. I did not see a scene without her smiling ear to ear or singing. she loved her dad and thought her mom was the greatest. We know Jill as the melancholy school girl who is sad and angry at the world for destroying her family.

Getting back to my theory that Kevin is represented by the deer and Laurie by the dogs. When Kevin Sr. is telling his officers about the deer in town, he instructs them to put it down because it is dangerous and unstable. Kevin wants to save it, bring it back to the woods, and let it go. Much like he did with Patti. He took her to the woods, and let her go. Kevin is just trying to save himself from becoming unstable and from going crazy. At the surprise party, Kevin tells Laurie the deer is just ‘confused’ much like he has been for the entire series thus far. To top it off, Nora’s daughter tells her that “maybe the deer is just looking for it’s family?”. Kevin’s dream sequence a few episodes ago also alludes to this theory. Kevin hears rumbling from a nearby mailbox. Remember this is where Kevin hides his cigarettes from Laurie. When he gets closer, after seeing a deceased Laurie in the back of a truck, a dog pops out and barks viciously at him. Which brings me to Laurie being represented by the dogs. Laurie is the one that wanted to get a puppy and we see her coddling one with, none other than, Gladys (who seemed happy, but we know she lost someone in the SD). Laurie tells Kevin (finally happy they found the deer) “It’s trapped, better go save it”. Notice how Kevin was happy about the deer and upset about the prospect of the dog. Kevin, as the deer (he even sees his reflection in its eye), is trying to not get chewed up and eaten by the dogs as we saw in the first episode of the season.

And finally, what I noticed about the people who were departured; the common thread amongst them. I noticed that they were all regretted by one of The Leftovers. Kevin regretted having the affair. Nora regretted her family, if only for an instant. Sam (the baby that departured in the pilot) was regretted by his mother who threw her hands up to Laurie in the car. I wonder if we will be able to point to this in the future as we learn of more people who lost someone on the SD.

This was definitely my favorite episode of the season. The writing was perfect and the flashback was orchestrated very well. It was great getting a lot of answers to our questions and seeing the SD before it happened and how it affected our main cast. The Leftovers, week to week, is a bleak look into the lives of the citizens of Mapleton and this past Sunday we were given a break form the morose souls and shattered bits of humanity. It was nice, even if it was for only a little bit of time, to see our characters in a different light and somewhat happy frame of mind. But, of course, this is Mapleton, and no one stays happy for long.

Thoughts and Discussion

– The music in the episode:
“Shotgun” – Junior Walker & The All-Stars
“Punching In a Dream” – The Naked and Famous
“Young Blood” – The Naked and Famous
“Without You” – Usher
“November” – Max Richter – This is actually the piano music you hear in nearly every episode when things are becoming clear or at the end of an episode when revelations occur.

– Did you notice…The Sudden Departure occurred at 2:23:48 PM. ’23’, ‘4’, and ‘8’ are LOST numbers. Other LOST references include the numbers 4, 8, and 42 on Laurie’s prenatal monitor in the doctor’s office.

– Did you notice…Jill’s Science Fair experiment dealt with Entropy.

– Did you notice…Laurie’s calendar quote reads – “The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground”. It is a small insight into life I believe. Nobody feels the world around them; they create their own world as they go. Maybe? What do you think this means?

– I like the little foreboding nods to the eventual SD. Like when Kevin Sr. stated “You have no greater purpose”, or Nora saying, “For the next four weeks, I have no family”. Kevin also saying to Tom, “Sometimes, you have to pretend”.

– Did you notice…Last week Patti told Kevin that Laurie counseled her. Now we know she meant it literally.

– Patti predicted the day of the SD. I suppose it could be chalked up to “A broken clock is right twice a day” type of thing, but still.

– Does everyone remember The Pattersons? The deer goes into their house where Kevin goes upstairs to corner it. These are the people that Nora interviewed for their SD check a few episodes back when they lost their boy with Down-Syndrome that we saw in this flashback episode counting coins and directing Kevin to the location of the deer.

– The deer could also represent feelings of being trapped. It affected certain peoples lives on the show. Just like the deer wanted to be free so did Kevin. The woman who hits the deer took a different route. The deer affected the woman Nora’s husband was having an affair with. And the old couple taking care of the boy with Down-Syndrome who tells Kevin that leaving the house “is not going to happen”. Kevin felt extra trapped which was foreshadowed by the dear having the balloon of “It’s a Girl” covered in blood on it. I love the symbolism in this series (The metronome on the floor of the school that Kevin stares at was perfectly placed).

– “A man says to the Universe…Sir, I exist” This was a great speech by Kevin and appropriate. The Universe responds, “The fact has not created in me a sense of obligation”.

– My favorite part of the episode was when the car full of women pulls up to Kevin sitting on the curb. They ask, “Are you ready?”. Did they think he was part of the Guilty Remnant? They could not have formed yet formally, but what if they knew beforehand? Kevin WAS wearing white. Maybe they thought he was a member? Maybe they were from wherever Dean came from or whoever speaks to Kevin Sr.? The situation could not have become any more mysterious as the manhole cover rattles and explodes in a fury of fire and heat. Did Kevin even think about this moment when he learned of the SD event all over the world?

The Leftovers – “Cairo” – Review

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Leftovers“Hush little baby, don’t you cry,
You know your mother was born to die
All my trials, Lord, soon be over
Too late my brothers, too late”
– “All My Trials” – Odetta

Last Sunday, The Leftovers, aired its eighth episode of the season, ‘Cairo’. Now that the powers-that-be over at HBO have given it a season 2 green light, I watch the show with a different mindset, thinking about how the characters actions now will affect their future beyond the tenth episode finale. ‘Cairo’ had some very good acting and some memorable scenes as well (that last scene was typical for this show and had my jaw on the floor). I must have watched the final five minutes a dozen times. I wonder how Kevin will react going forward?

We did learn a few things in Sunday’s episode that I thought were over and done with. For example, I actually thought that Kevin got his shirts from the dry cleaner a few episodes back, now we know he hung them out to dry in a forest in one of his crazed, late-night stupors. This means that Kevin did not need to go nuts on that dry-cleaner. Kevin is suffering from sporadic amnesiac moments where he loses bits of time here and there, but the big revelation, I thought, was what Patti revealed about Dean. In a moment of comedic relief, Patti exclaims that she is adept at researching people and how easily you can find just about anything about anyone, but has failed to find one thing about the ‘dog-killer’. “He is a ghost”, she says to Kevin, making Dean’s presence a lot more bewildering. Is he a guardian angel? Is he something else supernatural? I love the mystery surrounding this character and his relation to Kevin and can’t wait to get more scenes involving the two.

Jill’s downhill trajectory was a concern going into this episode and she hasn’t wavered in the slightest. Her friendship with Aimee seemed, oddly enough, to be the only anchor keeping her moored to the land of sanity (if Mapleton could be considered that). Jill wants to be ‘ok’, but she doesn’t believe that an ‘ok’ life is attainable after the SD. She constantly prods Nora at dinner to see if she still carries a gun with her wherever she goes. One of the twins said it best when he said that if they find the gun in Nora’s home, then it means having a life that is normal, free from the clutches the SD imposed, is unattainable. Ironically, they find Nora’s handgun in a toy box named “Trouble”. I like Jill’s scenes as they give us a glimpse into a life of a troubled teen post SD. I constantly find myself saying out loud “No, don’t do it” a lot whenever I see Jill about to do something ridiculous and/or dangerous. …like none of you say things out loud while watching TV…no?…just me?…oh. I honestly thought at the end it was Aimee that Megan was opening the door to, and after seeing who it really was I immediately said, “No, Why did you do it!” I can’t wait to see where that story goes from here.

Megan and Laurie was another interesting story this past Sunday. I love how the we get more depth to each character little by little, each episode. It’s really interesting to see how the smallest bit of history we learn makes such a big impact. Learning about Megan’s mother’s passing the day before October 14th explains a lot about her choices throughout the season. The Rev doesn’t miss an opportunity to put this kind of information into one of his fliers either. One thing I thought was very interesting was the look that Megan gave Laurie right after Laurie slapped her and got up. Megan had a small smirk on her face that makes me think there is a lot more to her that we have yet to learn. Almost like her relationship with Laurie is mirroring Dean’s strange relationship with Kevin. Could there be similarities between Megan and Dean? Maybe they truly are guardian angels and are watching their work grow and make progress. Maybe I am reading too much into that smile? Either way, I think there is more to it than what we have seen so far.

The episode began with Patti laying out clothes on the floor of the church. She laid them out as if picking out outfits for someone to wear the next day for school, complete with shoes and some accessories. It is not until near the end of the episode that we understand what is going on. Laurie meets some delivery men at the church dropping off a trailer full of large bags that the GR Members bring into the room where the clothes are on the ground. We can piece together what is going on through the various cryptic messages we see and here throughout the episode. I imagine those bags are either filled with “Loved One” models of the departured or actual bodies. As creepy as I think the GR and its member are, actual bodies wouldn’t keep for very long at all…unless the GR wants to truly make their mark on Mapleton. Whichever way they choose, I think they are going to dress them in the clothes they had on before they departed and display them in some fashion. I think this is what is meant by the message on the whiteboard at the GR office – “We Won’t Let Them Forget”. This is why the GR exists, right? According to Patti they strip themselves of all colorful diversions – which is why they wear all white. They get rid of all ties to the living world – love and hatred – which explains why they leave their families (this also explains the “There Is No Family” mantra Patti was spewing a few episodes back to Kevin) and also why they don’t speak. We learn from Patti that her fellow members want their lives, and also deaths apparently, to have meaning and purpose. This, in the final scenes, is what we learn in more detail through Patti’s conversation with Kevin.

The final scene between Kevin and Patti is one of the best of this season. Their final conversation brought to light so many answers to questions that have been looming since episode one. Patti’s last words to Kevin, especially her recitation of the W.B. Yeats’ poem, spoke volumes. She said this enough times, “You must understand”, almost as much to Kevin as she was to us, the audience. She wanted Kevin to ‘understand’ why she matters – why Laurie matters – and essentially, why The Guilty Remnant matters. The poem that Patti recites is the second stanza of, ‘Michael Robartes Bids His Beloved Be At Peace, by W.B. Yeats. The poem illustrates a farewell to love and also life. Did Patti know she was going to die, whether at the hands of Kevin or herself? Either way, she will be missed.

This was one of my favorite episodes of The Leftovers so far. Ann Dowd’s ‘Patti’ will surely be missed. I would love to know what everyone thought about the episode and the incredible use of symbolism and imagery throughout. Only one more episode until the finale!

Thoughts and Discussion

– The music from this episode:

“I’ve Got Dreams To Remember” – Otis Redding
“I Been Buked” – Alvin Ailey

– Did you notice…The title of Sunday’s episode, ‘Cairo’, is also the word we hear uttered into Kevin’s walkie talkie in his dream sequence from episode seven’s ‘Solace For Tired Feet’. Also, ‘Cairo’, was in the title of an article in the National Geographic Kevin Sr. gave Kevin Jr. in the same episode.

– Did you notice…Laurie sat in Patti’s desk chair near the end of the episode as if the creators were showing us that she is the new ‘Patti’, the new leader of the Guilty Remnant. It looked like she settled in there nicely too. Did she know that Patti was not coming back somehow?

– I think it’s time we all start to discuss theories for the show and the final two episodes. Could this past episode have been a dream sequence by Kevin? The song that plays while when we go back and forth between Patti in the church laying out clothes and Kevin setting the table for his dinner with Nora and his family is Otis Redding’s, ‘I’ve Got Dreams To Remember’. Hmmmm? What do you all think? I thought that was pretty interesting.

– Also, I’m glad Kevin found his shirts…hanging up like spectral beings floating in the wind. Incidentally, Cairo, NY is about 5 hours from Mapleton. Did Kevin drive all that way while having one of his ‘amnesiac episodes’ to put his shirts there? And wouldn’t he have noticed that the shirts he frightened the dry cleaner into giving him a few episodes back didn’t have the Mapleton Police insignia on the sleeves?

– And lastly…I found it strange that Patti could not find any info about Dean and, as a result, refers to him as a ghost. Dean then corrects her by referring to himself as a ‘guardian angel’. Is he really a guardian angel along with Megan being Laurie’s? Help me out here everyone, we have some theories to disprove, lol.

– I read the whole poem that Patti recites and you can see ideas relating to the end of times and the apocalypse. The line Patti says, “And hiding their tossing manes and their tumultuous feet”, refers to a section in an earlier part of the poem about four different horses…The Four Horseman Of The Apocalypse, perhaps.

– With Patti gone, will we ever find out who ‘Neil’ is and if that was his house she left a paper bag of her own feces at? Is that Patti’s, “Dear One”? Or is her “Dear One” someone else? (“Dear One” is a phrase, or term of endearment, from the other show I currently Review – The Strain)

– What exactly did Patti mean that Laurie would be ready soon? Is there going to be some big ‘Jonestown’ Mass Suicide event on the horizon with the Guilty Remnant?

Thank you for checking out my Review! Only two more days until the penultimate episode! Please comment below so we can discuss this episode and your ideas for what might happen in the final two! Have a great weekend everyone!

The Leftovers – Solace For Tired Feet – Review

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Leftovers

After last week’s amazing episode of The Leftovers, where we learned more about Nora Durst and her daily life, the writers slow things down a little and it makes me wonder where they are going with the first season. There are only 2 episodes remaining until the first season finale and I am still not sure what the finish line is for the characters. Don’t get me wrong, every episode, in my opinion, has been great and I can’t get enough of this show. However, by this point in a season, shouldn’t we at least know what the end game is going to resemble? The good thing is that there were some revelations that cleared some things up, giving us answers to some questions we had. In this show,of course, with more answers there always seems to be twice as many questions springing up.

The best thing we learn from this episode is that Holy Wayne is two-timing the mothers of his unborn children (sorry, I can’t bring myself to typing ‘baby mamas’…oops). He seemed very out of sorts when he was speaking with Tom and I was a little confused as to where all of that came from. I suppose it is still nice to see that he cares for them and wants to make sure they have money to survive, but what does he actually think will transpire from all this? I would love to know everyone’s thoughts about Holy Wayne and his potential clan of children (I’m certain these were not the only two girls that are pregnant by him). And is the Asian thing a personal preference or is it necessary from a prophetic standpoint with him? I ‘m sure we will get more answers regarding him and his children soon as the season draws to a close and Christine having already given birth…by herself…in a bathtub…yikes.

I read an article that Damon Lindelof and his team of writers took time to come up with different scenarios for what people would do in a real life SD and apparently one was the scene with Jill and her gang of friends locking themselves in a refrigerator to honor some myth they heard about. I thought that scene was one of the best of the episode and was exactly what teenagers would do in a post SD world. Jill’s rebelliousness is growing more dangerous with each episode and I’m wondering how far she will go. Possibly joining a cult would be my guess. What do you all think Jill is headed towards?

Kevin’s scenes are, by far, the best and strangest in any episode. It’s difficult to tell what is real and what isn’t with him. The dream sequence this episode showed what could be foreshadowing with Laurie in the truck bed wrapped in plastic and bloody. There were quite a few GR members in the back of the truck actually and I wonder if something will happen where the towns people will take it upon themselves to eradicate Mapleton of their nuisance in white clothes.

The highlight of the episode was Kevin and his search for his father, who escaped from his facility. The writers continue to blur the line with certain scenes. Some have religious undertones while other serendipitous events could be viewed as happenstance. Take for example Kevin Sr. being in the right place at the right time to save his granddaughter, Jill. Are we to believe he just happened to be running through that part of the woods at the same moment Jill needed rescuing or is it possibly divine intervention? I am extremely looking forward to who “they” are that Kevin Sr. kept referring to when speaking with Kevin Jr. in the diner and why they have a subscription to National Geographic. If he had an iPad digital subscription he wouldn’t have had to go to Gabota to find a back issue either…jk. He says “they” were very specific and he needed to give Kevin Jr. the issue from May 1972. I looked up the issue and it is very interesting. Christine, in her slumber, mutters at one point in the episode about “There’s spiders under water” and one of the articles from 1972 is titled, “The Spider That Lives Underwater”. The next episode of The Leftovers is titled, “Cairo”, and another one of the articles is, “Cairo, Troubled Capital Of The Arab World”. It is all very cryptic and makes me look forward even more to the next episode to find any connection.

Thoughts and Discussion

– The songs in the episode are:
“The Love You Save” – Joe Tex
“Miserere Mei Deus” – by Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine & Gaël De Kerret

– I hope we find out what Holy Wayne’s girls mean when they say, “He’s the bridge”, very soon.

– The National Geographic story line is very intriguing, especially as it suggests that Kevin Sr. can commune with people that are not there. I wonder if the fact that the camera showed his reflection in the window for a moment menas he is in fact crazy and only speaking to himself. I would love to know what you all thought.

I hope you all enjoyed the episode! Please comment below to tell me what you thought and where you think the story is going.

The Leftovers – “Gladys” – Review

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Leftovers“But what a fool believes he sees
No wise man has the power to reason away
What seems to be
Is always better than nothing
And nothing at all keeps sending him…”
– “What A Fool Believes” – The Doobie Brothers

I apologize that this Review of Sunday’s episode of The Leftovers is a little late, but I wanted that first scene to marinate in everyone’s mind for a little before you commented below. I watch a lot of TV, which I’m sure quite a few of you know already, and there have been few scenes that have elicited the kind of reaction I had when I saw Gladys in those cringe-worthy first minutes. It was brutal to say the least and I have been anticipating what all of you thought about that scene and the episode as a whole.

I believe what happened to Gladys will reverberate throughout the remaining episodes of the season. It definitely added to the theory that the GR is being set-up as the series first ‘big-bad’. After watching the episode, I immediately tried to draw conclusions to who killed her and why? A few scenes stuck out to me as odd and if we piece them together I think we can come up with a plausible explanation of what is going on in Mapleton. Mind you, none of what transpired in this episode was in the book, so I don’t already know the answer to this; we are all in the same boat. In fact, the TV series now appears nothing like the book, except for the basic characters.

The first scene that I recalled was the first few seconds of the episode. Gladys and Patti sit across from each other and between them is Patti’s desk. They sat in silence, of course, staring at each other before exchanging a terse nod, as if they knew what would transpire and they had a prearranged agreement about something. I found this a little odd, but it makes me initially think that the GR and Gladys were in on the barbarous stoning that resulted in Gladys’s death. The GR would have much to gain from Gladys becoming a martyr of sorts. The second scene(s) that somewhat supports this theory is Patti taking Laurie to her ‘day off’ breakfast at Denny’s [1]. I think she was doing this to recruit Laurie to be the next martyr or possibly choose someone else for the spiritual position.

Something else I was thinking about is the mysterious character named Dean, who shoots stray dogs and has a perpetual supply of chewing tobacco in his mouth. If you noticed when Gladys was snatched up by the convenience store there were dogs barking in the distance. Since I associate everything relating to dogs to Dean, I think he was in on it along with that man walking his two dogs that came up to Kevin’s car and startled him awake. I know, I know, that is specious reasoning, but you all think Dean had something to with it too, right? He just happened to be in the woods at the time they were looking for Gladys – He is always chewing tobacco (much like the other GR Members always smoking) – and he is trying to become friends with the towns Chief of Police whose wife is a member of the GR.

There are so many cults popping up all over that the ATF changed it’s name to “Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives and Cults” – The ATFEC. And apparently they get raided to bring about their end according to Agent Kilaney (get it? ‘kill any’– no?…is that a stretch?…ok). So far, we have these cults: Holy Wayne, The Guilty Remnant, The Barefoot People (remember this is what Tom and Christine are pretending to be with the targets on their foreheads), Heaven’s Converts (this is the cult that was on the TV getting raided when Kevin woke up in the beginning of the episode – the compound was in Noma, FL where Agent Kilaney was), and Tomorrow’s Family. I suppose this is to blur the lines between religious and cult beliefs in our society. People will believe what they want to believe and everyone has their own agenda for believing. In a moment that expresses his belief system perfectly Reverend Matt says to Kevin, “Killing these people is pointless, they don’t care because they are already dead. What I want is to bring them back to life.”

At one point the Rev tells Kevin a story about Thomas the Disciple and Jesus. The meaning behind it is that it is easier to stay silent, then it is to speak truth. This is a comment on the GR and Gladys and their relationship with the town of Mapleton and it’s citizens. I imagine we will find out by the end of the season if it is easier to stay silent or speak truth. When taking in to account the whole episode, the message that comes across is ‘doubt’ and how it relates to ones religious beliefs. Doubt is a necessary element to any religion so faith has something to be compared to and springboard off. Patti says to Laurie, “Doubt is fire, and fire is going to burn you up until you are but ash.” Gladys, unfortunately, had doubts.

[1] – I don’t think it was actually Denny’s, but I thought it was funny, so I wrote ‘Denny’s’.

Thoughts and Discussion

– There was pretty good song selections in the episode. Here they are for those of you want to know:
“Kiss On My List” – Hall & Oates
“What A Fool Believes” – The Doobie Brothers
“Warrior” – Terry Divine-King & Winston Francis
“The Twins (Prague)” – Max Richter

– My other idea for the Tagline to this Review was “Officer Mustard Stain”.

– Did you notice…Gladys had 13 rocks thrown at her. The number 13 has a mostly negative connotation and is referenced quite a bit in religions.

– LOST Numbers – Gladys was supposed to be in morgue drawer 4. Officer Mustard Stain had 8 white dress shirts at the dry cleaners. The numbers in the time in Patti’s car both times add up to 16. Laurie woke up at ‘2:3”8’ and it has been 8 months since she spoke.

– Did Patti put feces in the bag she wrote ‘Neil’ on and leave it on someones porch?

– In case any one was wondering Gladys is a latin name that means ‘Sword’. I have no idea what that means so if anyone has any ideas I would love to hear them.

– Did anyone else think that Dean (the dog shooting guy) looked like the man processing bodies at the ATFEC center at the end?

– Nora’s statement to Kevin at the dry cleaners is a comment on the SD and makes light of it – “They’ll turn up pnce you stop looking for them.” Which they did. This is now the second episode in a row and third so far where something just “vanished”.

– Did you notice…Jill’s room has a lot of interesting things on the walls. One thing I thought was interesting and worth mentioning was the poster for “Murder By Death”. It is the name of a band and also a movie. The movie is a comedy that revolves around a murder mystery whodunit.

Thank you for reading my Review! Please comment below so we can discuss the episode further. I would love to know what everyone thought about that cold open and the episode in general. It’s hard to believe this episode marked the halfway point for the season – only five episodes left! Have a great weekend everyone!

The Leftovers – “B.J. and the A.C.” – Review & Recap

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Leftovers“Cause I’m not the one
No I’m not the one
You wanted it all
But I’ll give you none
Cause, I’m not the one”
– “I’m Not The One” – The Black Keys

I am sure there are a lot of people who take everyday matters for granted such as work, family and religion to name a few. Sunday night’s episode of The Leftovers hinted a little at that last one, filled with symbolism about what believing and having faith means and how it affects people in different ways. It was another great chapter in this equally amazing series. The show is not for everyone, I understand, and I believe quite a few people will find it artistic and dramatic enough for their tastes. I love seeing in the comments, after I post an advanced preview or a review, how fans initially didn’t care for the series and then came to love it, discovering little nuances that made all the difference. That is the genius with the creative team behind The Leftovers, whether it is the writing, editing or directing.

Last week we were treated to a whole hour of the Reverend and what he has been going through post Sudden Departure. B.J. and the A.C. gave us the whole cast again and what they have been up to. The town of Mapleton is gearing up for the big Holiday Dance fundraiser for the new library. After that interesting cold open, which I will get to later, we see Kevin pulling a fast one on Patti, the leader of the Guilty Remnant. The GR is quickly becoming the object of our animosity and Kevin brought Patti in to his office to, secretly, make sure her and her clan will make an appearance much like they did at the parade in episode one. He sees them as a nuisance and wants to arrest them all for trespassing, but being The Leftovers I imagined something else entirely was going to happen during the dance. Kevin definitely doesn’t hide his hatred towards Patti and the GR, especially when he casually offers her Drano to drink.

“There is no family”, reads the sign that Patti draws for the chief, reflecting much of what this episode is about. This brings me to the difficult time I had deciphering the cryptic episode title and, during a revealing moment watching with a friend, I think I figured it out. B.J. and the A.C. possibly has many meanings when interpreted by different people and yes, I am using that as a cop-out in case I am wrong with my meaning. The “B.J.”, I figured, means “Baby Jesus” and the “A.C.” took some time, but I came to the conclusion that, based on the theme of the episode, represents “Abandoned Children”. “Baby Jesus and the Abandoned Children” is the perfect title for this episode. Abandonment issues play a central role not only in this episode but the series as a whole. The fundamental element of the Sudden Departure was the majority of the remaining population feeling abandoned by their families and friends and left behind by their God.

Kevin spends the majority of the episode reluctantly locating the “Baby Jesus” figure that was stolen from the Nativity Scene. In one of the best cold open scenes, we see baby dolls being created from scratch in a factory. We view every step that is taken to produce the dolls from which one will be used to represent Mapleton’s Baby Jesus. The imagery used was perfect in how it symbolized Mapleton’s current religious outlook. The solution the mayor gave Kevin was appropriate as well, “Go buy a new doll and say you found it in a ditch or a Dumpster”, giving measurements as if the Baby Jesus were as interchangeable as that. The scenes spoke volumes and is one of the reasons why this series is so impressive.

Tom and Christine’s story line is one that I enjoy seeing every week as I find it so interesting. I wonder if Christine or Tom are falling for each other and you can see hints of it in this episode. They are in a cafeteria when a half naked man approaches them while shouting at Christine to “get out of his dreams” and that he knows what’s inside of her. His dream is that of Christine, walking over the dead who are all in white. Not necessarily a dream sequence that I have come to love from The Leftovers, but dreams do play an important role in this series and that, I suppose, counts as one. The crazy man roughs Christine up a little until Tom intervenes, having to take her to the hospital as a result for a checkup on the baby. Tom begins to lose faith in his whole journey due to the fact that Wayne has not called yet to instruct them what to do. He definitely feels ‘abandoned’ by his former mentor and father figure, Holy Wayne. For those of you confused about what happened next I will explain. If you do not want to be spoiled (like I haven’t spoiled the episode already for you, sorry) then stop reading. The call was a recorded message asking if he wants to join the Barefoot People. We have not been introduced to them until now. They wear no shoes and color a target on their foreheads so they become invisible, so the “creator” can find you easier. They do this so they can remain inconspicuous to the authorities looking for anyone associated with the Holy Wayne Movement. We learn quite a bit about Tom and Christine as well as our other favorite characters in this episode. (Spoilers ahead) Tom is apparently not Kevin’s natural child, revealing to the officer in the hospital that he was ‘abandoned’ by his real father.

At the Holiday Dance, Kevin greets everyone with the news that he located the Baby Jesus, which turned out to be stolen by his daughter, but returned by the twins. It seemed fitting that virtually no one cared, given the current religious tone of the series and episode. Mapleton has definitely lost faith and it shows. They feel ‘abandoned’ by their God. They feel ‘abandoned’ by their family. This is the source of constant adjective I see used to describe The Leftovers, bleak. “Baby Jesus and the Abandoned Children” speaks to the whole of the series as much as it does this particular chapter. Jill Garvey feels abandoned by her parents, especially her mom. Why else give a gift asking, “Don’t Forget Me”. No one wants to be forgotten or abandoned, let alone a child by her mother. Tom feels so abandoned after the SD that he jumps from one group to another looking and hoping to find a home. Maybe he is so protective of Christine and her baby because he doesn’t want it to suffer the same fate of feeling the way he does, knowing that Wayne is probably long gone and not coming back.

Kevin’s initial plan to apprehend the GR backfired. His reference of the situation with them as a ‘briar patch’ seemed apt by episode’s end. A briar patch is a term used to describe a theoretical quandary or impasse. It is An intellectual or philosophical issue abounding with seemingly unresolvable problems, which, at this point, is exactly what the Guilty Remnant is to Kevin. He wants to catch them, but they seem to be a step ahead solidifying themselves as the villain of the season. They knew Kevin was trying to catch them during the dance so they planned to execute a plan of their own. While the police resources were being utilized in one area they decided to break into people’s homes and steal their photos of the Departured, leaving the frames. To what end, I have no idea, but I imagine it is because they think people have forgotten about the SD and what happened. When people come back from the fundraiser they will see their loved ones gone, in a sense. People will come and feel ‘abandoned’, again. I assume this what the GR hopes to accomplish. They don’t steal anything of monetary value, however, they just go house to house and rob people of what they treasure most…family. And remember what Patti wrote to Kevin at the beginning of the episode…”There is no family”.

This episode, B.J. and the A.C., is filled with thought provoking scenes and excellent acting. After last week’s episode we are asked again, “What does it mean to believe?”. What does it mean to have faith? Were all these people of Mapleton abandoned by their God or was something else at play? Kevin, who is definitely losing his grip with everything around him, barely believes anymore proclaiming to Nora in the hallway at the dance, “It’s not real”, referring to the Baby Jesus doll in his hand. I know he was just saying it about a doll, but I think he meant a lot more. It would explain his action of tossing it out the truck window as if it means nothing to him or anyone anymore. And, hey, he can always just go to the store and buy another one, right?

Thoughts and Discussion

– This episode had some great music throughout. Besides the one I referenced above, here are the rest for those that want to know:

“Joy To The World” – Christmas Carol — Right before Tom & Christine’s encounter with the crazy half-naked man
“I Don’t Want No Bloodstains” – Smokey Hogg — Kevin brings the doll back to the Nativity Scene
“All These Lights” – The Grouch and Eligh — The Twins get pulled over by Kevin
“I Must See Jesus For Myself” – Lin Greenwood — Closing Credits

– I wondered how the Rev would be dealing with matters in his own life after the events of last week and thought it was really cool how he was the one who “saved” the town and brought his “spare” Baby Jesus to replace the one that was stolen. Apparently his faith has not wavered even after everything that transpired.

– To play off of the ‘abandonment’ topic again, I thought it was fitting that Kevin’s car stopped working (probably also symbolic of this broken world and town) after he used the Lord’s name in vain and, therefore, had to use the truck he was given from the man who shot the dogs in previous episodes.

– Did you notice…The doll company is called “Aforda”. As if it is not a slight already that the Baby Jesus is being replaced by a generic doll, the name of the company alludes to something that is of a cheap and poorly made origin.

– Did anyone else think the operator from the recorded message when Kevin was calling Tom sounded very annoyed? Lol.

– Did you notice…The Guilty Remnant member that came up to Tom outside the hospital had a wound on her forehead. Apparently Mapleton is not the only place where they get attacked.

– Did you notice…We finally get a closer look at the “Loved Ones” company we have been seeing and hearing ads about. The company creates life-like bodies that people who lost someone in the SD can purchase for burial. That’s uber creepy. Also, did you notice the logo for the company? It is a stick figure drawing of a family with the “mom” floating up. I thought that was clever.

– Does that sheriff in the very beginning of the title sequence remind anyone of Rick Grimes from The Walking Dead?…no?…ok, forget it…

– Did you notice…The cold open ended with the Baby Jesus there one scene and gone by the end, mirroring the Sudden Departure. Also, probably mirroring how some people felt about their God abandoning them during the Sudden Departure.

– Did anyone else think of the scene in Game of Thrones, where Lord Edmure fails three times to set the funeral boat ablaze with a flaming arrow, when Jill was about to do the same thing with the Baby Jesus?

– What does everyone else think about Kevin’s car abruptly not working and Tom’s phone ringing at the appropriate time? Is it something supernatural?

The Leftovers – Two Boats and A Helicopter – Review

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Leftovers“Take me to church
I’ll worship like a dog at the shrine of your light
I’ll tell you my sins so you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good God, let me give you my life

No masters or kings when the ritual begins
There is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin
In the madness and soil of that sad earthly scene
Only then I am human
Only then I am clean
Amen. Amen. Amen”
– Take Me To Church – Hozier

Spoilers for Episode 3 of The Leftovers Below

I struggled with writing this Review. It took me some time to understand how the title, Two Boats and a Helicopter, related to the story being told in this chapter of The Leftovers. I was stumped for a little bit. I usually spend some time analyzing what message writers are trying to get across to the audience and it most often does not take that long. I suppose the reason this episode took a bit longer is because it is religious in context and maybe there is no definitive way to explain the meaning because it will have different meanings to everyone who watches. For those of you who do not know the origin of the episode title let me explain. It is a very old joke that when told brings to mind theories of faith, blind faith, miracles and hope. I believe there is a lot of wisdom in jokes. In fact, while watching this episode I was reminded of a joke I heard Woody Allen tell in the movie Anything Else. It must have been over 6 or 7 years ago, but I always thought about it when giving advice to someone about doing things for themselves and not rely on outside assistance, even from their faith. Here is the joke:

“There’s an old joke
about a prize fighter in the ring.
He’s getting his brains beat out.
And his mother’s in the audience,
and she’s watching him getting beaten up.
There’s a priest next to her
and she says, ‘Father, pray for him.’
And the priest says, ‘I will,
but if he could punch, it would help.'”
– Woody Allen – Anything Else

This episode of The Leftovers deals primarily with the trials and tribulations of Reverend Matt Jamison. I have to say that this was one of my favorite hours of television. I think the story was put together so creatively and the dream sequences in The Leftovers keep getting better and better. I would imagine that anyone not a fan of this series, or ‘on the fence’ since the pilot, is a fan now after watching this episode.

Until now, Reverend Matt Jamison was a minor character. He was largely in the background and we only saw him for a few moments; once at the parade when he was handing out fliers, hugging Nora when she was being followed by Aimee and Jill, and a few other times. The cold open involves the Rev in front of his small congregation due to its dwindling attendance as a result of the Sudden Departure and followers waning faith. You would think after witnessing the SD that people would have a renewed interest in faith and religion, wanting to be on top of the list if it were to repeat itself. That’s what I think anyways. There’s a lot of aspects of civilization I imagine happening as a result of experiencing a Sudden Departure, but maybe the creators will delve into that area as the season or series progresses. He finishes telling the story of when he was a little boy with cancer when a man enters and kicks and punches Matt. The man did this because the Rev hands out fliers alerting people to the malevolent actions of some of the Departured, one-by-one.

The reverend does this because he believes the people that ‘left’ must be exposed for who they truly were and what they truly did, because if you can’t separate the innocent from the guilty, everything that has happened to them, all of their suffering, is meaningless. Most people believe that the Departured were ‘chosen’ for the Rapture by God. If that is true, then they must have been good people and everyone not taken is bad. The reverend hopes to alert the community that there was no method to who was taken or why. He creates fliers of each individual announcing their atrocities while alive.

This episode is my favorite for many reasons. One is the fact that it elicited so many intense, edge-of-my-seat, scenes and moments. The first 30 minutes were all set-up and the final 30 was like soaring downhill of a roller coaster ride. When the Rev was at the Roulette table I was actively cheering him on, wanting him to win and catch a break. He may do some dumb things (like the fliers), but deep-down he a very good person. He baptized Craig’s baby “on the house”. He donates clothing to the Guilty Remnant. He pays his wife’s caretaker when he has nothing left for himself.

Reverend Matt’s impetus was his vision of the painting in his wife’s bedroom. The painting is the left panel of the Jabach Alterpiece by Albrecht Dürer in 1503 or 1504. It depicts the prophet Job sitting, with a desperate expression on his face, after Satan has defied him to keep his allegiance to God even in the most tremendous afflictions [1]. If you notice in the painting, his properties are on fire (much like the in the dream sequence) in the upper left. His wife is pouring water over him while a small devil flees in the background. Reverend Matt is very similar to Job. Job was beset with horrendous disasters that took away everything he holds dear; his family, health, and prosperity. This mirrors the Rev’s life in many ways. The Reverend kept waiting for the two boats and the helicopter, knowing that God will reward him. He kept his faith through all of his adversity.

The episode’s title is “Two Boats and A Helicopter” and is a reference to a very old joke. It mirrors what Reverend Matt has been dealing with throughout the episode. Is he holding out for hope? Is God testing his faith like the Rev mentioned to Nora? He had opportunities to avoid being robbed and subsequently smashing that man’s head on the ground. He also didn’t have to help the Guilty Remnant member that was struck by a rock thrown by the same person that incapacitated him by the same device.

Here is the joke for those who have never heard it:

There’s a huge flood and a man climbs onto his roof as the waters rise around him. A boat shows up and the guy says, “Climb in, I’ll get you out of here.” The man replies, “No, I’m waiting for God to save me!” The boat moves on. Soon the waters are half way up the roof and another boat comes by. “Get in,” The guys says, “I’ll get you out of here.” The man replies, “No, I’m waiting for God to save me!” So the boat moves on. Now the waters are really raging and the man has to climb on top of his chimney to stay above them. A helicopter flies up and they throw down a ladder. “Grab the ladder and we’ll get you out of here,” they yell. “No,” replies the man, “I am waiting for God to save me!” The helicopter flies away and the man clings desperately to his chimney as the waters rise. Soon he is overcome by the flood and drowns. When the man arrives in heaven and sees God, he is very upset. “Lord,” he says, “I trusted you to save me? Why didn’t you deliver me from the flood?” “What do you mean?” God replies, “I sent you two boats and a helicopter!”

There are, of course, many versions, but that is the basic telling. The Rev is the man turning down the boats and the helicopter. God is testing him by giving him many outlets for his situation. He needs $135,000 to keep his church from being sold. He only has a day and in that day goes to great lengths to accomplish what he set out to do. However, there are obstacles in his path that he must continually overcome. Are the obstacles a metaphor for the tests God puts in front of him? I would love to hear all of your thoughts regarding this. Is it God that put the pigeons in front of the Rev? The first pigeon showed up on the front steps of the church, then two showed up on the roulette table he used to win all that money. Was that God delivering a boat or helicopter to the Rev? Three pigeons sat on a traffic light that blinked red, which the Rev took to mean that God wants him to bet on that color. Is the whole episode a tale about how miracles can come from anywhere? That God may be watching over all of us and helping us on our path? Is the ending supposed to mean that even though God helps us along the way we still must be able to fight? That is what I believe the episode is about in all its complex glory. The writers are trying to tell us that God may be watching over all of us, but that doesn’t mean we are helpless. We must exercise our free will to be able to continue the fight. You must do more than just believe. It may not end the way the Rev wanted, but at least he gave it everything he got. And who’s to say that it won’t pay off in the end?

Thoughts and Discussion

– Did you notice…The cork board in the Rev’s office has fliers of some of the Departured and newspaper clippings I imagine are for future fliers. One article reads, “U.S. exports toxic waste to third world countries.”

– The lyrics at the very top are from the song that plays at the very end of the episode when the Reverend views all that he has worked to preserve being transformed by the new owners, the Guilty Remnant. The music selection so far in The Leftovers has been excellent. The writers have picked the best tunes and lyrics appropriate for the scenes they overlay or the episodes they represent.

– The other song in the episode is Captain and Tennille’s “Love Will Keep Us Together”. I thought the placement of the song was funny as it was right after the Rev smashing the man’s face form the casino into the ground for stealing his winnings. Also of note for all you LOSTies, this song was in the LOST episode, “Some Like It Hoth”.

– I thought it was interesting that during the dream sequence a young Nora repeats the phrase, “Why isn’t anybody doing anything?” and the Rev’s wife says, “Why do you persist?”. Again mirroring his quest to follow the path to his ultimate goal.

– Nora mentioned Matt’s issue with a certain judge. I assume this is the judge whose flier Matt created is framed and on the wall in his office. It is also the flier that Kevin’s father wrapped the money in that Matt found under the grill. It basically states that the judge collected illegal bribes, but we are still uncertain about the connection to the Rev. We are also uncertain as to why the Rev took down the street signs with the judge’s name on it. Hopefully we will find out in future episodes what it all means. Something to make note of.

– Did you notice…There were many LOST Number references in this episode. I don’t like to compare anything to LOST, but thought it was ok to put in this section of the Review. The judge paid $42,000 for a cigarette boat. The Rev’s first winnings gave him a total of $40,000, his second $80,000, and third $160,000. The roulette table the Rev is gambling at is located in Pit 4. The second number the Rev wins on is Red 23.

– Did you notice…The book on the nightstand in the Rev’s house is “Perforated Heart” by Eric Bogosian. It is about a man who discovers his old journals from when he was much younger and discovers how much he has changed over time and the pivotal moments of his life.

– In the church scene in the beginning of the episode behind the Rev is the word Epiphany. This word is used in the New Testament to mean several things, one of which is the Second Coming of Christ.

– Keith Gordon directed the episode and I think he did an incredible job especially with the dream sequence. Damon Lindelof & Jacqueline Hoyt wrote the episode.

Thank you for reading my Review! I hope you enjoyed it. Please comment below, I would love to hear all your thoughts on this awesome and amazing episode!

[1]-Wikipedia

The Leftovers – Pilot – Review

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Leftovers“Suddenly, I’m hit
Is this darkness of the dawn?
And your friends are gone
And your friends won’t come
So show me where you fit
So show me where you fit”
– Retrograde – James Blake

Possible Minor Spoilers for The Leftovers Below

The thing with a new series on HBO is that they have a lot to live up to. The family of TV series that they are joining are some of the most watched and talked about shows; they are the popular kids at the high school dance. Game of Thrones. The Sopranos. The Wire. VEEP (I know, VEEP doesn’t really fit here, but it’s soo funny). So, when a new show comes on the scene, it has a tough hill to climb. Sunday night, The Leftovers started their journey with the first of a ten episode freshman season.

The Leftovers is based on the book of the same name by Tom Perrotta, who also serves as one of Executive Producers along with Damon Lindelof of LOST fame. The pilot episode shows some of his influences with short, frantic flashback scenes spread throughout the 60 minutes. What I love most is the show remains faithful to the source material in most aspects. Sure, there are changes here and there, but, for the most part it has that same feel as when I read the book. One diversion is that Kevin, the patriarch of the Garvey family, is Chief of Police in Mapleton rather than the well-known and fun-loving Mayor in the book. There are a few other changes and I will mention them as the season progresses.

The Leftovers is about a small family, the Garvey’s, in a small town, Mapleton, NY, dealing with life three years after a tragic worldwide event that has been labelled the Sudden Departure (SD). The SD occurred on October 14th and 2%, or 140,000,000, of the world’s population vanishes into thin air without a trace or a reason. Some people think it is the Rapture brought about by God, while others are not so sure, but in any case it causes grief and despair among the populace, who don’t know how to carry on with their lives and struggle with the loss.

This is where the show begins – with a cold open of October 14th and a small view into the Sudden Departure. A woman at the Laundromat, casually carrying on a conversation on the phone with her newborn in tow. After strapping the baby in the backseat and getting behind the wheel she checks on the baby and, to her surprise, the baby is gone. If you pay close enough attention you will notice the crying baby gets quiet as it appears to be looking to the heavens the moment before the screen pans right and the baby vanishes. I thought this was a great part of that scene. The woman then jumps out of the car, frantic, yelling at the top of her lungs for her baby, Sam. Around her a little boy screams for his dad and a car, most likely driverless because he or she was one of the “departed”, smashes into another car. I thought this was a perfect way to portray the Sudden Departure. This along with snippets of the news talking about it throughout the episode gave the audience the background necessary to understand what happened.

After the cold open, the episode jumps three years into the future to a few days before the 3-year anniversary of the SD with the focus being the “Hero’s Day” Parade. The writers did a great job of showcasing each member of the Garvey family and some of the minor characters. We meet Kevin, who is Chief of Police. He struggles with keeping his family together and with the loss that has come from the SD. Then we meet Jill, Kevin’s daughter, who we learn by the end of the episode is not dealing so well with the loss of her mother. And we have Tom, Kevin’s son and Jill’s brother, who has left home to join the “Holy Wayne” movement. As the season gets going I will write about these characters a little more in depth, but for right now I just wanted to help everyone understand who everyone is and what they’re after.

Finally, and SPOILERS I might add so beware, is Laurie. At first we were meant to believe that she was one of the “departed”, but we learn that loss comes in many forms. The loss for the Garvey family is their wife and mother has left them to join the Guilty Remnant, a cult organization that smokes at every opportunity to proclaim their faith in God and conspicuously follows people around town to show that God is watching their every move. Creepy, right?

Other characters play an important role in the show as well and I will go over them more in depth as the season goes on and they have more prominent scenes. One character who will definitely become more important as the season progresses is Nora Durst (Carrie Coon). Nora is the woman who gave the speech at the Hero’s Day Celebration about losing her entire family. Holy Wayne, Lucy Warburton (The Mayor), and Christine (One of Holy Wayne’s wives that befriends Tom) are just a few.

The episode goes back and forth between all members of the Garvey family and the twist of Laurie being alive was a great addition. It was a great pilot and I am eager to see where Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta take the show. Peter Berg directed the pilot and did an amazing job, in my opinion. The way he shot the Sudden Departure in the beginning was stellar and having him attached to this series increases its chance of success and a long prosperous run. The HBO version will definitely have to create more stories past season one that go beyond the last pages of the book, but I’m glad they are sticking, for the most part, to the source material. I can’t stand when show versions of their literary analogue stray too far. If fans stick with this show for the ten episode first season, I think they will be happy with what they see, especially with Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta at the helm.

Thoughts and Discussion

– One thing I noticed immediately after watching the first time was the music selection. Here’s a list for those of you who would like to know the tracks besides the one I mentioned at the top from the quote.

Why Can’t He Be You – Patsy Cline (When we first meet Tom, Picking up Congressman Witten)
Let’s Stay Together – Al Green (When Meg and Gary are driving home from the restaurant)
Are You Satisfied – Reignwolf (The end of the Episode)

– Did you notice…Only humans went missing in the Sudden Departure? I was skeptical, at first, to think this was the Rapture, but then I realized no animals vanished. I’m not saying that because of this fact, it must be the Rapture, but it does help that argument.

– Did you notice…The Patsy Cline song that was playing when we first met Tom? This song actually has two meanings. One is it reminds me, and I’m sure a lot of LOST fans, about Kate Austen’s Flashbacks and her issues with her mother. And two, the song’s lyrics are a metaphor for Tom’s struggling relationship with his dad, Kevin.

– I really enjoyed the character that played the Mayor of Mapleton, Lucy Warburton (Amanda Warren). Her scenes were funny and added that little bit of comic-relief when needed in this bleak and dreary story.

– One thing that bothered me was Liv Tyler as Meg Solomon. Not the acting. I think Liv Tyler is a great actress. But, the way Meg slapped Laurie and was morose for all of her scenes, all of a sudden shows up at the Guilty Remnant to sign-up seemed out of place. I do like how they chose an actress to play Meg that looked like an older version of Jill, Laurie’s daughter. That will definitely make for better scenes between the two as we see how Laurie deals with her “loss” of her daughter.

– The premise for the show can be looked at in different ways. It’s either 2% of the population has vanished and gone somewhere, possibly resulting in the Rapture, or 98% of the population is now in purgatory on Earth. That is another way to look at it.

– Did you notice…The statue revealed during the “Day of Remembrance” after the parade could be a baby floating to heaven from its mother’s arms or falling with the mother appearing as unable to catch it.

– Did you notice…When Kevin was dreaming and driving in his car you can hear on the radio someone mention “Corinthians 15”? This Bible passage is about The Resurrection of Christ, The Resurrection of the Dead, and The Resurrection of Body. Readings from the text are given at Easter Sunday services and funerals – where mourners are assured of the “sure and certain expectation of the resurrection to a better life”.