My Frustrations with "The Leftovers" and How it is Trying to be "The Wire"

Christopher Eccleston

For many, there has been only one show this summer that has mattered: The Leftovers. With critics agreeing almost universally of its appeal to a moodier, darker facet of television, it is hard to see where I differ from things. While the pilot was a little slow, it felt deserved in establishing its characters and giving reason to be concerned about the supernatural occurrence that made millions disappear. However, by the second episode where Kevin Garvey (Justin Theroux) was fixing a toaster, things began to become clear: this is a stubborn show. Yes, writer Damon Lindelof pumped the episodes (and their titles) full of metaphorical weight, but what else was there? We had Meg Abbott (Liv Tyler) cutting down a tree, but for what purpose? It was only in watching the third, and best episode so far, "Two Boats and a Helicopter" that things made sense: this series wants so desperately to be the philosophical version of The Wire.

If there is one issue with The Leftovers, it is that there are too many characters without any real motivations or goals to strive towards. The only real progress that the series had made by the end of episode two, "Penguin One, Us Zero," was that the metaphors were clearly overpowering everything else. They almost commanded your attention to the point that Garvey's story was inconsequential. It may be because he's a dull protagonist with the even duller missing daughter angle, but the series didn't real have a plot in motion. All it had was a community of characters that all suffered the same consequences. In the series first two episodes, with 2.5 hours under its belt, nothing had really happened with exception to introductory work and a phenomenal opening credits sequence.

I was about to give up on the series after the anticlimax of "Penguin One, Us Zero." Then, I caught  "Two Boats and a Helicopter" and felt the need to reconsider. With websites like Pajiba had considering it a divisive episode, there was some new allure. I randomly caught it days later and was impressed. Nay, I was ecstatic about the episode and for the first time, I understood what The Leftovers was trying to do. Focusing around Reverend Jamison (Christopher Eccleston) as he tries to raise funds to keep his church from being sold, the episode explored a profound context of spirituality and what exactly is a just cause. It felt important and most of all, its symbolism was secondary to the story. It ranks as one of the best episodes of TV so far this year.

So what separates this from the two other episodes? The most notable is that Jamison is predominantly the only character of consequence in that story. It fleshes out how survivors of the tragedy deal with grief. It felt strangely human and even managed to tie in perfectly to the opening scene of "Pilot." This intricate webbing is making me get my hopes up that maybe we're through an introductory period and are now going to focus on individuals within the society. I don't feel that there is any benefit from focusing one every character's plights in a single episode. Some are just plain inessential, especially involving Jill Garvey (Margaret Qualley) and her nihilistic teenage friends who are very cliche.

It often feels like the series was created from Lindelof watching David Simon's The Wire and trying to imitate it. Yes, The Leftovers is based on a book by Tom Perrotta, but it still feels insanely structured in the same way. The Wire was notorious for being a scattered debut introducing countless characters without any real context. Over time, it became the Dickensian novel of TV with these countless characters all receiving their respective dues. The Leftovers feels like it is aping that formula, but with less interesting payoffs. We get to see how the society functions, but never do we really get a sense of these characters. There's groups in the community, but what do they all mean? We're all too concerned with Kevin Garvey's police hunt and symbolic dead dogs to even care. Lindelof is no David Simon, let's just say that.

I think that the biggest issue also lies in the show's lack of communion. These individual characters feel arbitrary notably because they don't feel like they will ever intersect or even influence each other's environments. The Wire was nothing but butterfly effects. Sure, the symbolism can make for a profound basis, but what is the real draw of the series besides grieving and pseudo-spirituality? What is the driving force and where will the show end up by the conclusion of this 10 episode run? Things are not clear and frankly, the massive amount of characters haven't really done anything of value yet. It's like watching a community through window shades.

There is a simple answer to this: be patient. Even then, it is challenging this method rather gratingly. In fact, "Two Boats and a Helicopter" gave me hope because it took this navel gazing in an interesting direction. There's nothing exciting for this community, so just make individual episodes about these characters and maybe things will pay off. I can only hope that the series continues to try this out, because the countless character angle hasn't allowed for the grieving to feel personal or at all worth investing in. With Jamison's story, it felt more grounded and personal. If nothing else, I would like for this show to tackle grief in interesting ways. Kevin Garvey is too cliche to be interesting. Based on IMDb's plot synopsis of episode four "B.J. and the A.C.," it looks like the informality will return.

I know that I should stop comparing it to The Wire, but the series feels like it is trying too hard to follow in its HBO predecessor's shoes a little too much. I think that is even attributing to the series' reputation as this amazing new series. Yes, it is doing something ambitious, but not in an overall enjoyable manner. Nothing is really happening and frankly it is living in a plot that would be impossible to explain without seeming asinine, especially since the characters left on Earth have made as much of an impression as those who were taken and whom we have actually never seen. The idea of introducing so many characters and eventually paying it off is a technique that kept The Wire from finding an audience immediately. I just feel like audiences are giving The Leftovers a pass with similar hopes that Lindelof is writing on a level akin to Simon's. So far, the show's use of dead dogs remain its own connective tissue.

I want more episodes like "Two Boats and a Helicopter." I want to care about the characters instead of randomly going to new, pointless journeys where nothing out of the ordinary has yet to happen. Jamison was interesting because he had real stakes. We know that Kevin Garvey will never get his daughter back and the therapy is a facade. The show really has nothing to prove, so it might as well just give us interesting characters to fill up the show's run. Otherwise, it is a tragic society that has nothing to offer. The Leftovers needs to work on doing something instead of grieving in metaphors and chopping trees. It can keep the slow burns all that it likes, but it has to make them count a little more.