When The Leftovers premiered in mid-2014, it was hard to take the show seriously. Writer and co-creator Damon Lindelof was coming off of disappointing credits, whether it be the controversial ending of Lost, or the lampooned screenplay for Prometheus. To invest in a new show that dealt with existentialism and grief felt more like a joke on his career; was near impossible. At times, the first season played more as what depressing dramas could be as opposed to being one. Transferring pop music into piano ballads didn't help much either. However, season two came back, and it felt revamped in every way. It wasn't just some show that skidded by on occasionally thought provoking moments. It was just going to be the show that it wanted to be, and the payoff was astounding. To say the least, this was the season where The Leftovers went from just another HBO gamble to a legitimately great show.
The plot was simple. It would take all of its characters from season one and transplant them to Miracle, Texas. Considering the burned down remnants of the old city, it was a refreshing way to start the journey. It also helped that they decided to revamp the opening credits to a more optimistic visual as the new theme sang "I guess I'll just let the mystery be." While the show would enter far more bleak and surreal stories, it was also more confident in letting certain things be uncertain. In a sense, this is probably what makes the season work, especially as it introduced varying concepts such a what death looks like (in what feels like an homage to The Sopranos' last season). Still, it was coming out more willing to embrace the unknown, and it resulted in material that was bolder and more exciting.
The town of Miracle itself was a great construct for the show. The town was named after the fact that none of its citizens were raptured on that day four years ago. As a result, the prime real estate is stuck inside a compound, where there's new problems emerging as security rises. Without wristbands or evidence, getting in is near impossible. While the season uses this as a plot point repeatedly, it does so with a sense of desperation that is palpable to the story. There's a need for that safety and way of resurrecting your own life from the ashes it's become. As lives around them decay, they must find a will to live.
The show's imagery is also among its most staggering when it makes the least sense. In "International Assassin," Kevin Garvey Jr. (Justin Theroux) dies in an attempt to free himself of the constant guilt of Patti (Ann Dowd), of whom died at the end of the first season. As he enters a surreal limbo, the episode enters its craziest level. Two episodes later, he emerges from a grave in the real world, practically a new man. As much as this likely will serve to remind people about how much they hate Lost, it definitely paints how far this show is going to go with its spiritual subtext. It isn't just going to make a show about grief anymore. It's going to show the violent, aggressive ways by which we try to escape it. While other people's are more quaint, there's still a depressing sensibility running through the lack of identity in these characters. It really raises the question: how long can this show continue now that it's embraced surrealism tenfold?
Whether or not it achieves anything like it again, The Leftovers deserve some credit for one of the year's most emotional episode of TV. In "No Room at the Inn," Priest Matt Jamison (Christopher Eccleston) attempts to get his vegetable wife into Miracle. He tries legally before doing shady things, such as going through a water pipe. As allegations about impregnating his wife arise, his options become more pressing and limited. There's an attachment that he has that is unable to let her go. It's the most striking image that the show has given since the opening scenes of the pilot. There's the sacrifice and the realization that happiness isn't easily achieved. There first must come a dive into humiliation of greedy humans. As the episode closes, Regina Spektor's "Laughing With" song comes on, capturing an even deeper emotional study that epitomizes the irony and absence of karma. The episode ends not with catharsis, but with personal humiliation and sacrifice.
If the show deserves one credit, it's in the soundtrack department. While borrowing several motifs from the first season, the show expands on the subliminal text of music throughout the show. Early on, Kevin's grief is expressed through the original version of The Pixies' "Where Is My Mind?" It is intense and drives the chaotic scenery. However, it shifts to a piano version in the closing episodes, as if creating more of a peaceful vibe. Even if this isn't as present in other characters' story lines, the use of soundtrack definitely conveys a change in emotional state throughout the season. Even in the finale, there's piano ballads over images of potential destruction, creating an overwhelming sense of melancholy to come. If the show does one thing right, it's this.
During the promotion for this show, Lindelof has confessed to being depressed during the writing of this show. It definitely shows, as the second season is unapologetically bleak. While this makes it more acquired taste TV than HBO's bigger shows, it definitely embraces an emotional state not often explored on TV. It's ethereal and beautiful in its way. While the first season felt too tame to explore grief in a direct way, this season embraces it on every front. You feel it in the story, acting, and soundtrack. While it may seem haphazard to praise Lindelof for making parts of the story uncertain, it only adds to the depressing nature of this story. Grief has no easy answers, and I am fine if the show chooses to embrace that.
The Leftovers is a show that likely won't last much longer and may end up finding cult status in the years to follow - eventually achieving something along the lines of Deadwood status. If nothing else, it's a show that feels very accomplished in what it wants to do. It's bold that HBO allowed for something so off putting to be on TV, but it makes for arguably their most thought provoking series in recent years. Even if viewed as vignettes of dozens of characters' lives, this is probably one of the ultimate shows about depression to ever exist. It's not pleasant, but it definitely is beautiful and raw in ways that those willing to embrace the unknown will likely find interest in.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
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