Last night's episode completely lost me. I know this show is out there, but that episode just left more questions than answers. Not sure how they are going to end this so quickly. I fear we are going to get no resolution, as you suggest above, the disappearance will just be left unexplained with everyone just moving on.
I'm not sure if this is what you meant by "lost me", but I always end up understanding way more about an episode after reading Alan Sepinall's recaps. Here's his recap for last night.
Spoiler!
Quote:
None of it makes much sense, but it’s not supposed to, and Kevin is constantly noting the absurdity of it all. Whether he’s actually traveled beyond the veil of death or has retreated inside his own fragile mind while his body tries to heal the latest injury he’s inflicted upon it, the world he finds himself in is one shaped by his own thoughts and personality, down to the way all the other people he once knew in life now swear exactly like he does.
....
these trips have never really been about saving the world. They’ve been about saving Kevin Garvey. And this was in many ways his most desperate — and thus most powerful — assassination mission yet, because the problem is wholly internal this time: Kevin no longer knows what he wants to do, or be, and he has just destroyed things with the woman he has realized he both dearly loves and is terrified by. Having Patti’s voice in his head was either a paranormal problem over which he had no control, or (if Laurie was right about it being a psychotic break) something that still felt like a paranormal episode to him. And the karaoke trip was just the result of a misunderstanding with John over Kevin’s role in Evie’s disappearance, even if the song seemed to convince him — temporarily, it turned out — that he wanted to be alive and with his family and friends. Here, though, his suicidal depression is so profound and inescapable that he goes into the water, repeatedly, half out of the hope that he may not come up. (It’s another thing he and his ex-wife have in common.) Michael can see that this is what’s motivating him, even if he’s too shy and polite to say it aloud, and Prime Minister Christopher Sunday also seems to know that he didn’t come to this place for the song, the shoes, or any other reason.
And who is there to save Kevin from his own misery and confusion? Why, it’s the bane of his existence, Patti Levin, there to return the very difficult favor he did by drowning her in a well in “International Assassin.” Once again, Patti — even this afterlife caricature of her — seems initially monstrous, as she tries to manipulate President Kevin into launching a nuclear missile strike that will bring about the end of their world. And once again, Patti’s motivations prove to be more complex and less evil than that. Yes, she is destroying this world, but she’s doing it for Kevin, who needs to stop having it as his escape hatch for every time things are difficult for him back in his own. He confessed to Laurie in “Certified” that he felt more alive as an assassin — or, here, as Commander-in-Chief — than he has in a long time as a small-town police chief. His romantic relationships have never quite worked out, he’s never been entirely committed to parenthood (Nora giving up custody of Lily was a relief to him) as anything but a way to ignore his other problems, and the post-Departure world makes no sense to him. Wouldn’t it just be easier to disappear into Kevin Harvey’s tailored suits once and for all? It could be, but Patti — with some assists from God(*) — won’t let him do it. She not only nukes this world so Kevin can’t come back, but forces him to read aloud from a romance novel he’s written (at least one of the afterlife Kevins has written it, anyway) that forces him to confront his own cowardice and self-destructive behavior with Nora, and to realize that continually running away from his life has only made everything worse for him and the people he only truly realizes he cares about when they’re out of reach. They haven’t Departed — nor has he, since Assassin Land, if it exists outside Kevin’s head, is about more traditional concepts of life and death — but he can somehow only truly see them when they’ve faded out like one of those pictures in the opening credits
I can handle the whole not getting answers to the departures, but I don't think we are going to get any answers on Kevin Garvey either. Why can't he die? Why can he keep coming back? A lot of time invested into this god angle to basically end it next week without resolution.
Let's hold out before we judge the show on the Kevin questions. I have a hard time believing they leave that one totally not mentioned.
Questions answered, with a little mystery as well(do you believe her story, do you care?).
Everything that we thought was important about this show really wasn't.
Carrie Coon needs to clear out space in her home for a big trophy shelf.
It's funny that after watching the show all this time, I never actually stopped to think about the departure from the point of view of those that left that left. To them 98% of of the world departed. That is if you believe Nora's story as real. ("They have the resources, just not enough pilots")
I'll have to chew on this one for a bit. In the spirit of the show, it ended perfectly.
I didn't think that was a good ending at all. Pretty disappointing as the show was top notch for three seasons. Zero resolution on Kevin. Are we supposed to believe Kevi's episodes were because of a heart problem?
My wife looked at me and said. "We waited three years for that?".
I didn't think that was a good ending at all. Pretty disappointing as the show was top notch for three seasons. Zero resolution on Kevin. Are we supposed to believe Kevi's episodes were because of a heart problem?
My wife looked at me and said. "We waited three years for that?".
Kevin never dying was because of the heart issue. His episodes were where his mind went when he was out.
If it's revealed that Kevin is some kind of God or chosen one, would that have made the ending better? I don't see how they make that ending without it being extremely lame.
For such a crazy show at times, they went pretty straight forward with the finale and I thought it worked brilliantly.
I didn't think that was a good ending at all. Pretty disappointing as the show was top notch for three seasons. Zero resolution on Kevin. Are we supposed to believe Kevi's episodes were because of a heart problem?
My wife looked at me and said. "We waited three years for that?".
I certainly didn't think we would see a resolution to where the people went. This show wasn't necessarily about them, it was about the people who stayed (the leftovers) and how they dealt with the grief/guilt etc.
I thought it was a wonderful ending (and i missed the heart thing); but essentially it's up to you to decide what they were: they could be real, they could be psychotic episodes, near death experiences, heart problems - who knows.
Maybe Kevin was lying about the pacemaker? we never do see it. Maybe they were all dead (Nora, Kevin Lori)..
But really,The entire theme of the last episode was about telling the truth or lying. The entire series came down to what was real and what we want to believe.
Some don't like endings that open it up to your own conclusions. For The Leftovers, there was no other way they could have ended it.
Had to think on it a few days, but loved it
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I just burned through this show after reading a couple of quick articles on line describing the finale as 'the perfect ending'.
After being burned by LOST many years ago, I've since refused to get sucked into a series unless it was completely finished and I had confirmation that it wasn't a waste of time. Yes, I've been holding a LOST grudge for this long
Well, I feel like I've been duped again.
I really enjoyed the journey and thought the acting was top notch. But, once again, the finale was a joke and a let down.
I don't need to be spoon fed explanations for every little detail ... but I can't forgive a show for being weird just for the sake of being weird. If you are going insert major plot points, then you'd better damn well at least address those plot points later.
Lindelof is a joke. He consistently writes himself into a corner while trying to create engaging arcs and twists. When he can't resolve or explain later, he just moves on ... never addressing the subject again and just hoping the viewer forgets about it.
TL;DR - Enjoyable journey. Top notch acting. Left me largely unfulfilled.
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Ok. Perhaps not MAJOR. I guess the major plot point was the Departure ...which they satisfactorily resolved IMO.
Things that come to mind that were 'weird just for the sake of being weird':
- the deer he kept encountering at the beginning of the series - no purpose?
- his dog shooting buddy with no traceable identity - why make his identity 'untraceable'?
- and the dogs. They all just decided to go vicious?
- Holy Wayne - just another wacko cult leader? Then why make it so that he was able to predict the time of his own death?
- What was the significance of that particular edition of National Geographic?
- Jarden - how was the bird able survive buried for 3 days if the place wasn't truly magical?
- How does Kevin survive being poisoned and buried for 8 hours? His 'heart' condition? That's crap
- How does Kevin survive being shot point blank in the chest? His 'heart' condition? That's crap
- How was Kevin able to encounter the 'GOD' guy so many times previously if they explained away his character as just being a local Melbourne celebrity oddball?
Again, none of these are a big deal when viewed individually. I just hate that fact that he throws so many 'mysteries' at you (that should have implications), then he just ignores them and hopes you will forget.
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I like to quote myself - scotty2hotty