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| Ann Dowd (HBO) |
This
isn’t The Road or Children of Men; this isn’t 1984 or The Hunger Games (I hate to make the comparison, but its relevant nonetheless).
Its depiction of the post-apocalyptic is far less exaggerated – only 2% of the
population has disappeared – which allows the show to tackle issues of life
and death, love and loss, without making this a story about survival in the immediate
and explosive way we understand the genre. The
Leftovers is about the capacity of the human being – after tragedy has
struck – to survive; and more than that, the brilliant premise allows these
feelings of loss and tragedy to be a part of the collective experience of a
town in New York – Mapleton.
I’m not
giving an in-depth review of The
Leftovers – David’s doing this already -- but I want to offer my thoughts
on what I thought was a fascinating, often wonderful show. Sure, it had flaws. I
didn’t always enjoy trudging through certain plotlines. But I’m happy with the
way “The Prodigal Son Returns” concluded, with Nora Durst (Carrie Coon) picking
up the child on the doorstep and exclaiming, “Look what I found!” It’s an amazing
final punch – not too dramatic or showy – as it allows you to finish this
chapter of the Mapleton story with a gratifying sense of closure. You might not
know what’s next – but I’m satisfied knowing Nora Durst finds rebirth in really
looking at this innocent child and discovering there is always room for hope –
even though, as Wayne told her during the conference, hope is the reason Nora is
in so much pain.
The show
worked best when it committed itself to its characters motivations, not in an
obvious I’m-going-to-throw-at-the-audience-needless-exposition-way, but as way
to maneuver flawed characters in an equally fractured and broken world. They have
been forced to inhabit the earth when it has so plainly told them, “I have the
power to take you when I want. You are powerless.” How the characters struggle
with this is what makes the moral implications of the show quite engaging.
Certain
episodes explored these issues better than others. “Two Boats and a
Helicopter,” was the strongest episode of the season (the one where the priest really
does not want to lose the church). “Gladys” (Guilty Remnant-heavy, in which Patti
[Anne Dowd] has a meltdown in the diner), “Guest” (Nora Durst at the conference),
and “Cairo” (Patti v. Kevin Garvey episode) were the second-strongest episodes
of The Leftovers. And while “The
Prodigal Son Returns” had the strongest moments of the show for me (Nora Durst
encountering her plastic family neatly returned to her and breaking down), it
was plagued with some of the subplots of the show I didn’t find nearly as
compelling i.e. most of the stuff with Wayne, and everything with Tom.
Other
than that, the Garvey-centered episodes were hit-and-miss. The first two episodes were pretty average - nothing to write home about. 'BJ and AC' - the episode HBO didn't send to critics - was a flat-out mess as it was tonally inconsistent and poorly structured. They switched directors midway through which might explain it, but there was something off about that episode which didn't make it any fun to watch. But “The Garvey’s At
Their Best” epitomized the show at its most terrible: watching that episode
unfortunately made me want to unsubscribe from HBOGO and cry myself to sleep,
as it delegitimized so much of the show’s subtlety and expert craftsmanship.
Seriously! They threw every expositional detail at you to make sure you understood
how the characters got to where they are. What an insult! Ingrain it into the
show, don’t throw at us in a flashback episode.
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| Carrie Coon (HBO) |
But back
to the good: Ann Dowd, Amy Brenneman and Carrie Coon are giving the season’s
best performances. Patti’s suicide made me sad, mainly because she was my
favorite character – despite her tertiary presence - and because her suicide
made me understand that the show wasn’t interested in providing me with a rich
character study of Patti. Instead the Guilty Remnant is dedicated – maybe too
dedicated – to making the citizens of Mapleton feel the pain of the departure, so much so that they become immune to
their own past and desires to find happiness. It worked, but going deep into
Patti’s motivations and desires could have made for more fascinating viewing –
instead, I get from the flashback episode that she was a sick woman who took
advantage of a national tragedy. Whoopee!
Laurie
Garvey (Brenneman) performs The Leftovers’
most morally reprehensible act by allowing her daughter to take part in
replacing each citizens’ disappeared loved ones’ with dolls – (it explains why
they took pictures, but not how they were able to all sneak in) It places Jill
in the throes of unspeakable danger and shows how Laurie’s maternal instincts –
along with 2% of the population – have disintegrated. Chaos ensues, the Mayor
tells Kevin Garvey, “You were right,” when he returns from killing Patti and
we’re presented with a city consumed by the fires, the grief, the fanaticism
and the a lack of leadership we have seen from the beginning.
(As a
side note, Christopher Eccleston as the priest is phenomenal as well, but he
becomes rather cursory as the season goes on, his episode being more of a
Twilight-Zone morality tale than a rich characterization to complement the plot’s
unfolding.)
I was
most frustrated when the show wouldn’t care about plot – in its deliberate POV
episodes, for example – and then when it all of a sudden cared about the plot too much, furthering
things rather than allowing the audience to contemplate the moral questions its
characters raised. It was better in its simpler moments because - when characters were introduced like Maggie Abbot - the writing wasn't able to juggle season archs successfully. And maybe I’m wrestling with the choice to place Justin
Theroux in lead, as whatever he was doing was way less interesting than the
show as its best moments. Overall, the lack of consistency was irksome.
 |
| Amy Brenneman (HBO) |
Nonetheless,
“The Leftovers” – at its best – is drama of the highest caliber. For a show
merely in its first season, this is a true accomplishment. The show is almost
like the Sistine Chapel – Michelangelo’s masterpiece, which the credits
replicate quite powerfully. We’re looking at God creating man, Jesus
resurrecting from death, while simultaneously contemplating the horror and
grandiosity of ‘The Last Judgment’ where some people make it to heaven and
others are left to burn in hell. And, in "The Leftovers", hell is Mapleton. "The Leftovers" pushes the envelope of the absurd dilemma, and forces its characters - in its best moments - to confront an existence that no longer makes sense and to make sense of an ever-mysterious and gradually unfolding existence. This is where the thematic richness of the show is - when it committed to this, "The Leftovers," was a success. I’m
looking forward to its second season and think it’s simply going to get better;
its premise, fascinating ideas and strong elements are ingrained into what the
show is and can become.
Episode Grades:
‘Pilot’
and ‘Penguin One, Us Zero’: B -
‘Two
Boats and Helicopter’: A
‘BJ and
AC’: C
‘Gladys’
and ‘Guest’: A –
‘Solace
for Tired Feet’: B+
‘Cairo’:
B
‘The
Garvey’s at Their Best’: D (Perhaps reactionary, but I hated it that much)
‘The
Prodigal Son Returns’: A-
David wasn't as big a fan; his review is here.