The Leftovers: The Prodigal Son Returns

For a television show that's about a biblical event, The Leftovers has always been fairly quiet about its religious roots. A priest here, a biblical allusion there, episodes about churches or the Baby Jesus... okay, maybe it hasn't been all that quiet. To wrap up its first season, it leans heavily into religious themes, beginning with a title based on a biblical parable, and featuring a priest, confessions, plenty of baptism imagery, and fire, fire, fire.

The Leftovers: The Garveys at Their Best

"Those times... they were like... tremors. This... this is the big one. Like the world is gonna end."

Anyone else remember Nyan Cat? Nyan Cat, that cheery little pixel kittie, flying through space with a rainbow contrail, meowing along to a synthetic beat?

The Leftovers: Cairo

"Let's play ping-pong, okay?"

Yes, please! Ping-pong sounds great. Let's finish that joint and play some ping-pong, and pretend a little longer that the path toward healing that our characters have been on didn't just take a giant U-turn back into the darkness. But these things are rarely linear, are they?

The Leftovers: Solace for Tired Feet

"It's a girl!"

After the emotional high of "Guest," it was probably inevitable that we'd get more of a workhorse episode. It did include a few noteworthy plot developments...

The Leftovers: Guest

"Will I forget them?"
"Never."

Of all the open questions raised by The Leftovers (what's the deal with Dean? will we ever need to tell the twins apart? what really happened to Kevin's white shirts?), possibly the most pressing has been: when is The Leftovers finally going to deliver on the promise of its deep well of talent, source material, and a growing number of very, very good episodes?

The Leftovers: Gladys

"It was only a matter of time."

Gladys (heretofore known as "not Patti"), we hardly knew ye. Somewhere in the distance, you can hear a flophouse full of Tyler Durden acolytes chanting, "In death, she has a name! Her name... is Gladys!"

The Leftovers: B.J. and the A.C.

"You can't just get a new one; it's sacred."

'Tis the season in Mapleton! Unfortunately, the only one looking particularly merry is Patti, and that's never a good sign.

The Leftovers: Two Boats and a Helicopter

"If it was a test, then I think you may be failing it."

Like the titular parable, "Two Boats and a Helicopter" is a cautionary tale. In this case, it's not the story of a man who can't recognize divine intervention in its everyday forms. Instead, this is the story of a man whose every triumph and trial further convinces him of his personal connection to the almighty, and woe to the person who suggests otherwise. This is the story of a man who, upon learning that a little girl has woken from a coma, is more disappointed than relieved, because he could not take personal credit for her recovery.

The Leftovers: Penguin One, Us Zero

"The old world is gone."

"Penguin One, Us Zero" didn't break a lot of new narrative ground. Instead, it continued to echo the overarching theme of the pilot, which was the impossibility of "moving on" from October 14. "Everybody's ready to feel better," quoth the mayor, but no one seems to know how. All they know is that ceremonies of old such as parades, teenage house parties, and weddings don't seem remotely capable of healing the collective open wound. It feels almost reasonable to try new potential remedies such as getting branded with a fork, hunting feral dogs, or joining a cult, because you never know until you try, right?

This Week: A Serious Case of the Mandela Effect

Here's what the Agents of Doux are watching this week.

Billie Doux: I was a bit freaked by the announcement that they've cast Mary and John Winchester. I was hoping it was going to be Amy Gumenick and Matt Cohen...

Josie’s Best of 2019

A Plucky Band of Time Travelers at Comic-Con

4 TV Shows.
3 Books.
2 Movies.
1 Cat.
Commence countdown...

The Leftovers: Two Boats and a Helicopter

“Why do you persist?”

(This is not a review.)
In the lead-up to the series premiere, critics with screeners all raved about “Two Boats and a Helicopter,” which focuses exclusively on Christopher Eccleston’s Father Matt Jamison. I had high hopes for this episode, particularly since its placement third in the first season evoked Lost’s “Walkabout,” which many people cite as the a-ha moment in their Lost-watching journey.

New Shows: June 28-July 4, 2014

THIS WEEK: Outlaw Prophet — Whitney Cummings — Reckless — The Leftovers — Vicious — 112 Weddings — Time Scanners

The Leftovers: Pilot

“Let’s go teardrop-hunting.”

Damon Lindelof’s new show The Leftovers portrays the small town of Mapleton three years after 2% of the world’s population (and 100% of our collective serotonin) disappeared in a Rapturesque event. Dreary and edgy, the show echoes many of Lost’s themes without seeming to repeat its mistakes.

The Leftovers

Season 1 | Season 2 |
Season 3 |
Related Links | Cast |

The Leftovers (2014-2017) is an HBO series about the unexplained disappearance of 2% of the population of the world and its effect on the people left behind.

Mothra is currently reviewing this series. Josie Kafka reviewed the pilot.

Season One

1.1 Pilot
1.2 Penguin One, Us Zero
1.3 Two Boats and a Helicopter
1.4 B.J. and the A.C.
1.5 Gladys
1.6 Guest
1.7 Solace for Tired Feet
1.8 Cairo
1.9 The Garveys at Their Best
1.10 The Prodigal Son Returns

Season Two

2.1 Axis Mundi
2.2 A Matter of Geography
2.3 Off Ramp
2.4 Orange Sticker
2.5 No Room at the Inn
2.6 Lens
2.7 A Most Powerful Adversary
2.8 International Assassin
2.9 Ten Thirteen
2.10 I Live Here Now

Season Three

3.1 The Book of Kevin
3.2 Don't Be Ridiculous
3.3 Crazy Whitefella Thinking
3.4 G'Day Melbourne
3.5 It's a Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt World
3.6 Certified
3.7 The Most Powerful Man in the World (and His Identical Twin Brother)
3.8 The Book of Nora

Related Links

Two Boats and a Helicopter (Discussion)
Doux News: February 10, 2013 (Mention)

Cast

Justin Theroux (Kevin Garvey)
Amy Brenneman (Laurie Garvey)
Christopher Eccleston (Matt Jamison)
Liv Tyler (Meg Abbott)
Chris Zylka (Tom Garvey)
Carrie Coon (Nora Durst)
Margaret Qualley (Jill Garvey)
Ann Dowd (Patti Levin)
Kevin Carroll (John Murphy)
Jovan Adepo (Michael Murphy)
Janel Moloney (Mary Jamison)

Doux News: February 10, 2013

This Week: Game of Pups -- Babies of Space -- Death of Chaos -- Reign of Ratings -- Leftovers of Lindelof -- Trailer of Defiance -- Schadenfreude of the Peacock -- Capitalism of Cats -- Butt of Jokes.