HBO The Leftovers — Page 2

Well, that second episode was a disappointment. The relationship between the two teen girls is right out of AMERICAN BEAUTY, with the dark-haired actress showing signs of profound Kristen Stewart Imitation Disorder.

Lots of danger signs here that the show is going to devolve into petty easy Look How GRIM We're Being!! gimmickry. They seem to be ladling on the Apocalyptic Collapse Of Society stuff rather heavily, rather like Cuaron's brilliant film of CHILDREN OF MEN to which this series seems more than casually indebted. I'll give it one more shot and that'll be it, despite Justin Theroux's incredible hotness.

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Updated On: 7/8/14 at 09:49 AM

And THE LEFTOVERS is such a good, low-key, small scale book, too. I can recommend it highly.

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Yes, but I'm not sure why. Is this what it was like to watch LOST week after week?

I did watch the third episode, the one centering on the priest, and liked it a good deal. It's becoming pretty clear that I'm going to have to jettison my feelings for the novel if I'm going to continue watching the show -- the storytelling and atmosphere are significantly different, and only time will tell if that turns out to be a positive thing or not.

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"I'm able to sit back and not wonder too much about the bigger picture (because if there's a bigger picture, it's going to be an invention of the show, as there wasn't in the book)"
I think that's the problem with Lindelhof. He's great at setting up stories where you wait to find out what the "bigger picture" is. But then he never tells you.
If that's the case with the source material for The Leftovers maybe this should have been made into a movie or mini series instead of an open ended series. Because if you raise all of these questions and never answer them people are bound to be disappointed.
I loved the episode that focused on the priest btw. Didn't see last weeks yet.

It's been confirmed, at least so far, that we will never know exactly what caused the event. What has not been confirmed is whether or not further supernatural events will take place, or if that was just a freak happening.

I almost wish it were an adaptation instead of Ted Chiang's "Hell is the Absence of God." The central conceit is the same, but backwards. Instead of taking place in a scientific, secular world where a sudden quasi-Rapture takes place, "Hell is the Absence of God" takes place in a world without faith, a world where there is only one religion, everyone accepts that it is true, and you either side with the arbitrary, capricious and inscrutable God and try to go to heaven, which is unimaginable paradise, or reject him and choose Hell, which is exactly like the real world but better in most ways.

The story even focuses on a similar character, a man whose wife was blown to bits during a manifestation of an angel. He struggles to understand why it occurred, see if there is a higher purpose, and figure out what the nature of existence and faith is in a world where God definitely and undeniably exists, but is apathetic and possibly even malicious.

The novella has a rather dark ending that walks the line between satire and just punch in the gut.

I just got caught up. Episodes 5 and 6 are startling for different reasons, #6 by far the best of the series, in my estimation. Carrie Coon is extraordinary in this almost stand-alone episode, and B'way World fans will enjoy seeing Billy Magnasson in a small but critical role.

The show has frustrated me, but I've never given up on its overall effectiveness, not entirely. Even when individual episodes are not entirely satisfying -- and Episode 4 about the stolen Baby Jesus doll qualifies -- something is happening to engage and dig deeper. This is an ambitious piece for television because it offers so little immediate payoff. The story's exploration of grief is really the take-away, moment by moment and cumulatively. People looking for "Lost" or "Under the Dome"-like shocks and revelations are probably mystified and angry.

I'm willing to go almost anywhere they take me. Sometimes, into the abyss. In Episode 5, the horror evoked Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" (appropriately) and Matthew Shepard's tragedy (maybe thematically relevant). It was ugly, but the violence -- which I have little stomach for in general -- seemed entirely earned.

I'm hanging in.

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Updated On: 8/19/14 at 11:08 AM

I am really enjoying the show in a frustrated way.

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Ann Dowd will surely receive an Emmy nomination. That episode, #8, another brilliant stand-alone, was dangerous, frightening and heartbreaking. Theroux, whose performance has been harder to gauge, was awfully effective with Dowd.

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Updated On: 8/19/14 at 01:25 PM

I read the book so long ago I can't really remember that many details. I have all of the episodes on my DVR but haven't watched yet.

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This is such a fantastic show. Each episode (minus, perhaps, the second one) has been bold and revealing and disorienting. The ensemble is one of the strongest on TV, particularly Theroux, Dowd (RIP Patti), Coon, and Eccleston. Each of them, Emmy-worthy.

Updated On: 8/19/14 at 11:26 AM

Well that will be satisfying. Laurie's detachment from her own family is one of the story's maddening secrets, and learning why she's such a die-hard zealot -- and her zealotry has deepened, noted in the moment with the whistle in episode -- will help us understand Kevin.

It's compelling casting, since Theroux and Brenneman are a strange match, not an obvious couple. I wonder who was chosen first.

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