The Leftovers

[Bridgeburner]

I have no idea what happened. Maybe I'll have to re-watch and pay more attention.

 

[calsnowskier]

I have no idea what happened. Maybe I'll have to re-watch and pay more attention.

During the finale or during the whole show?

 

[Bridgeburner]

During the finale or during the whole show?

Finale. Maybe the last couple episodes. I'm just really not sure what happened.

 

[calsnowskier]

Finale. Maybe the last couple episodes. I'm just really not sure what happened.

The event was a break in some kind if dimensional wall (or something like that) and our world git split in two. 2-3% of the worlds population was placed in "Earth 2" and the rest stayed (in a sense, in "reality", everyone "stayed").

Nora, using the technology being sold by the group she was investigating, was able to get to the other earth. She saw her husband and kids and realized they had moved forward (he married someone else) and she decided to cone back. She found the scientist who invented the machine and he built one on that side and she came back. She did not want to deal with Kevin or anything else from her old life, so she stayed in Australia and built the small, modest life she had.

Years later, Kevin was able to track her down and we see him find her.

 

[Omar 382]

The Leftovers S1: 4/5 stars
The Leftovers S2: 4.5/5 stars
The Leftovers S3: 4/5 stars

The Leftovers (Series): 4.5/5 stars

Remember, my rating of an entire series is not some average of all of the show's season ratings. That would be stupid, IMO. A series' final rating should take into consideration how successfully the show was able to weave together plots, themes, motifs, etc. from each season into one final, finished product- the series as a whole. An individual season cannot always do this, nor does it necessarily need to. Maybe I'm splitting hairs to some people, but it makes sense to me.

I will post my series review in a PDF later when I finish it. For now, I will just say I really, really enjoyed "The Leftovers" and it now slots in third all time on my list of TV series that I have seen every episode of and are finished series, i.e. BCS or GOT could not qualify.

 

[Omar 382]

I am shocked they actually (kinda) explained what actually happened. The last 10 minutes of the finale may have actually saved the whole show for me.

They still never explained why Kevin was "immortal".

Do you want an explanation on what makes Superman such a pussy near Kryptonite, or how Jesus rose from the dead (which coincidentally the show answered itself: He didn't)?

I get the natural reaction to want an answer to everything after you've invested more than 28 hours of your time into a show and its characters. But "Breaking Bad" or "The Sopranos" "The Leftovers" is not. The entire series' premise was intertwined with mysticism, the supernatural, and the generally unexplainable. And, I won't spoil a major part of my review, but that's not even to comment on the central theme throughout the show: belief, and how our lives are affected by our beliefs.

You said the last 10 minutes of the show may have saved the whole series for you. Not an opinion I hold, but fair enough; I've always been the first to champion the idea that cinema's inherent enjoyment is completely subjective from person to person (my 18 year old friend with Down Syndrome is obsessed with getting me to watch "Descendants 2," an ABC TV-movie that he is convinced is the greatest piece of art to ever be conceived. I wonder what he'd think of "The Leftovers").

What problems did you have with the series, what rating out of your 10 stars would you give it, and where would you rank it among TV series that are finished that you've seen every episode of?

 

[seahawksfan234]

I liked the show a lot. Thought the premise was really interesting to begin with.

 

[seahawksfan234]

Was only skimming some of these posts, so what the hell was going on with Kevin? Had he lost his mind? Was he immortal? Was Nora telling the truth about what happened? She could've made it up in attempt to give Kevin some sort of solace.

I enjoyed the show a lot but was disappointed by the finale because I felt like it had left a lot of questions unanswered. I felt really unsatisfied by the ending.

 

[Omar 382]

Was only skimming some of these posts, so what the hell was going on with Kevin? Had he lost his mind? Was he immortal? Was Nora telling the truth about what happened? She could've made it up in attempt to give Kevin some sort of solace.

I enjoyed the show a lot but was disappointed by the finale because I felt like it had left a lot of questions unanswered. I felt really unsatisfied by the ending.

These are legitimate questions, but if you fully read post 25; that is probably the best answer you will get.

The only thing that is pretty much objectively answered regarding your questions is that he hadn't lost his mind. Everything that was *shown* in the series finale did indeed happen.

Note that it's never actually shown on screen Nora going to the other dimension. That's for you to decide.

 

[seahawksfan234]

These are legitimate questions, but if you fully read post 25; that is probably the best answer you will get.

The only thing that is pretty much objectively answered regarding your questions is that he hadn't lost his mind. Everything that was *shown* in the series finale did indeed happen.

Note that it's never actually shown on screen Nora going to the other dimension. That's for you to decide.

Just gave it a read. Good post.

 

[calsnowskier]

These are legitimate questions, but if you fully read post 25; that is probably the best answer you will get.

The only thing that is pretty much objectively answered regarding your questions is that he hadn't lost his mind. Everything that was *shown* in the series finale did indeed happen.

Note that it's never actually shown on screen Nora going to the other dimension. That's for you to decide.

You never see her there, but you do see her disappear from "here", don't you (now that I think about it, I honestly don't remember)? IF it is "fact" that she disappeared, and it is also "fact" that she exists in the future, working the scam with the nun, than it isn't a huge leap to believe her story, at least to a degree. She went SOMEWHERE.

As for Kevin's trips to the afterlife, I think you also can trust that, to an extent. He never actually saw anyone who was taken. I don't think any of it was literal, though. But I think that is consistant with many interpretations of an afterlife.

 

[calsnowskier]

As for where this ranks on my all-time list...

I don't know, I don't really think of it in those terms. But let me try to list a few that I liked better...

Lost (actually very similar)
Shield
MASH
Cheers
ST:TNG
BoB (I won't defend its inclusion, I accept if you don't count it)
Sopranos

Just to name a few. I enjoyed Leftovers, but it just didn't leave that much of an impression on me.

 

[Sparhawk]

Just binge watched.
Pretty good.
I felt the show peaked in Season 2.

Justin Theroux reminds me of Hugh Jackman, minus the singing voice.
Carrie Coons and Amy Brennaman were excellent.
I thought the kids were going to be more involved in Season 3, but they pretty much take a back seat.
Liv Tyler was great as a kind of villain.
Ann Dowd as Patti kind of did the heavy lifting in a majority of the scenes she was in.

I liked the mystical aspect and they kind of kept it ambiguous.
The show got absurd at times, but it worked.
For the International Assassin and subsequent trips over, I kind of wish they went a little more campy/absurd with more symbolism.

Would recommend.