9.04.2014

The Leftovers Season Finale

In what has become a pretty popular cliffhanger technique in serial drama of late, The Leftovers flashed back to fill in the stories of what happened to the story's protagonists on the day of the departure. It was an instructive episode, and all the more interesting just to see the members of The Guilty Remnant in their ordinary lives.

It's a heart-breaking episode, because of its painful honesty. We see the harried mother whose wailing baby abruptly disappears, knowing full well that all she would ever want is to hear the child's cries again. We see the Garveys in all of their disfunctional splendor--each emotionally ragged and clutching at straws to find some semblance of happiness. We see Nora's final interaction with her children. She harshly criticizes her kids for spilling juice on her phone, just before the event snatches them away. A very nice touch is the close-up on the pattering drops of juice. 

It happened just that quickly.

The episode wets our appetite for season two, but it also illustrates the perfect insanity of family life. These are our warts, and we don't know how much we need them until we see (or are forced to live) and alternative that is oh-so-much worse.

Pretty good series, and just another example of how HBO is creating some of the best television available today...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This really wasn't my genre and I was never able to wrap my head around Lost. I kept thinking about giving up on this show but I'm a sucker for exploring the human condition under extreme circumstances. Moved outside my viewing comfort zone and very happy with my choice. Love The Leftovers!

Unknown said...

Love this series.

As an author, I praise the writing.

I was hooked from the beginning and was compelled to watch again and again.

Daniel Powell said...

Hi Zooey and Anon.,

Yeah, I agree that the writing is keen. From episode one ("These are not our dogs.") to the finale, the writers' ability to pull us into the surreal circumstances of this narrative has been admirable.

Now, I'm curious about the scope of the series. My wife has read the book, and she said it was a stretch to think that a season could be made out of it. Not sure what the numbers have been, but it will stretch for at least two seasons (I certainly hope).

Thanks for dropping by!

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