The Leftovers TV Series: HBO

[SportsJunky]

That was the best episode of the three in my opinion. The mom character is so great now that she can speak. Tommy is going to be a pivotal character if he can do what he says he can now do. Also, that weirdness in the back of the van with meg...my wife and I were like, "well, that happened"... awkward silence...

[Cappy]

I really like this show and feel like more discussion is needed on here. It's a powerful show which blends the nuances and subtly of the subject matter to make a very compelling and powerful hour.

I wonder what you're guys' take is on the GR. Perhaps it is because I have never suffered the sudden loss of a family member or witnessed a tragic event, but I find myself leaning towards the general public in thinking they are wack jobs. Obviously I know there is more to it but I really felt like the reasons for joining, staying, and returning are over my head.

Is it that members feel like the world is just ignoring the loss of their loved ones? Is it the sudden realization that life is ultimately meaningless, or perhaps an unsolveable mystery? Is it just strictly grief?

Would be interesting to have your guys' input. I felt like the finale would be the end of it; show the characters the absurdity of the organization, but it appears the GR continue to recruit and pull members back in.

[Daradon]

Episode three was by far the most interesting. I suspect now that we've seen all different POV's things will start to tie up and move quickly. Still pretty dark though. I was getting happy towards the halfway part of the episode with the people being helped from the GR, then all the **** goes of the rails, culminating with the woman crashing her car into the semi with her family inside. Yikes!

Also, If I was raped by Liv Tyler, I'd probably think I had super powers too.

[Daradon]

Originally Posted by Cappy

I really like this show and feel like more discussion is needed on here. It's a powerful show which blends the nuances and subtly of the subject matter to make a very compelling and powerful hour.

I wonder what you're guys' take is on the GR. Perhaps it is because I have never suffered the sudden loss of a family member or witnessed a tragic event, but I find myself leaning towards the general public in thinking they are wack jobs. Obviously I know there is more to it but I really felt like the reasons for joining, staying, and returning are over my head.

Is it that members feel like the world is just ignoring the loss of their loved ones? Is it the sudden realization that life is ultimately meaningless, or perhaps an unsolveable mystery? Is it just strictly grief?

Would be interesting to have your guys' input. I felt like the finale would be the end of it; show the characters the absurdity of the organization, but it appears the GR continue to recruit and pull members back in.

Well, I think it's more than just losing a loved one. I think 4% of the world population vanished? With no clue or trace. That would weigh on the mind for sure. I think the last two questions you ask are closer to the feelings or the truth. That life MAY be ultimately meaningless, or unsolveable. It's a truth we all have to face one way or another at certain points in our lives. It's just thrown in everyone's face at once in this world. There was a bit of that in the first season. People having to find meaning again. Make meaning in their lives. That's really what life is. Everyone has to make their own meaning. And sometimes, you get it taken from you. Or it changes. Does that mean it's meaningless? I guess, it's as meaningful, or meaningless as you choose to make it. Especially the further you get away from religion, or dogmas that try to TELL you what 'the meaning' is. Some people have a real problem with that, even in the real world. The GR, while supposedly being above it all, is really just a dogma, a cultish one at that, that TELLS people the meaning, so they don't have to make one for themselves.

It was also mentioned in the last episode, I forget by who, that the GR 'thinks they have already died'. And their actions do kinda convey them moving around like ghosts or spirits. A silent reminder of the tragedy and the new truth of the world. The 'real world' is an illusion, and everyone is just a spirit convincing themselves they exist. That would be their feelings anyway. To me, it just seems they are lost, searching for meaning where there isn't any. I suppose if I lived in that world, I'd be desperately looking for an answer too. There'd be fear that it might happen again for one, and a driving need to know what caused it. But I also think I'd be one of those people that would be able to move on for the larger part, and probably think those in the GR, while not completely insane, are probably just unable to cope. I'd have a bit of sympathy, but not a ton when they got up to their shenanigans. There are some people in the world making an honest go at making things better or repairing their lives, and the GR just seems to make it tougher. Purposefully.

[Cappy]

Great insight, Daradon!

I agree with the meaningless aspect to it. The "hole" that needs filling, and the way they portrayed the mothers reaction in the last episode to her family's actions in the car suggest that she was not able to return back to normal.

It's such a crazy concept to explore which is why i like the emotional angles the show portrays. If I remember correctly, it was 2% of the world's population, or 140 million. A large sum, but definitely not cataclysmic; but I agree the way in which they disappeared and the mystery makes it all the more damaging. We can comprehend death, but can we comprehend this?

I agree with you that I would most likely be able to slide back into normalcy, but who knows?

[Daradon]

Thanks.

Yeah, I really like that about the show too. Though, with all the heavy topics it explores, sometimes it's a bit too bleak. I think it could really benefit with a touch more humour. I think I wrote this earlier in the thread, but taking the example of the Red Wedding in GoT, part of what made it so terrifying and shocking, was that they used a lot of humour in the first part of the episode to disarm you. So adding some humour in this series, would not only speed up some slow parts, but actually might add to the impact of the heavy parts. Probably give a little more relate-ability to the characters too, so you'd feel for them even more if something bad happened to them.

[Finger Cookin]

Even for The Leftovers, this latest episode was pretty grim and depressing.

[TheAlpineOracle]

This season really isn't moving along at all. I feel like we are going to get the end of the season and really nothing will have been revealed.

[Jbo]

This is the best show that no one is watching.

Seriously, the last 3-4 episodes have been incredible and the show is only getting better. Really hope it gets a renewal, but I'm not hopeful.

Its has transcended from a decent premise that had an uneven first season, to something really special.

[getbak]

Well, that was weird.




I would have also said Ukraine as the Final Jeopardy response.

[Finger Cookin]

I was thinking the same thing about Ukraine.

So...uhhh...any idea what the hell we just saw in this last episode?

[TheAlpineOracle]

The last episode may seal the deal for me. The show was always out there, but that was just ridiculous.

[Iceman57]

I love this show. It's by far my favorite show on TV right now.

I loved season 1 but now feel that the second season has been even better!

[Hockey]

After everyone had been talking the last couple episodes on Twitter I decided to give it a shot. I've gotten through 7 episodes in a few days and have enjoyed it. I did find it hard to watch the scene where that one lady on GR was getting rocks thrown at her head though.

[To Be Quite Honest]

Yeah, when this show get recorded it's my first or second pick, depending on TWD.

There just isn't a show out there that matches the depressing emotion and succeeds at telling an interesting story with such characters that are so broken. However, it's that they don't quit which is inspiring on the human level.

Spoiler!

Mind you there are a few characters that quit.

[SportsJunky]

Last night's episode was a welcome one after the Fire Walk With Me stuff from last week.

Meg is equal parts sexy and scary. Whatever she has planned with those girls on the bus, it is going to be a doozy.

[getbak]

My favourite comment about last night's episode:

EricP ‏@EricEricItisme

@sepinwall I'm going to pretend that Meg is the same person that Liv Tyler played in that Aerosmith video.

[Cappy]

Last episode was epic. Just a great way of shooting this series back into "reality".

[Finger Cookin]

So I guess if the theme of this season is that people try to assign meaning, patterns, and order to life when it's really just a chaotic mess without rhyme or reason, I shouldn't think too much about what happened this season.

[corporatejay]

I know the show is on thin ice because, notwithstanding serious critical acclaim, its ratings are quite poor.

Besides that, it was creatively wonderful. Second best show on TV after Fargo, and the only reason is because Fargo is just more fun and Leftovers is sometimes depressing.