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Ahhhh... The Leftovers. It's funny, my previous show of choice on Sunday nights was Game of Thrones and although it is filled with as much or more vigor and violence, it simply can't match the gloomy atmosphere that surrounds Mapleton in a thick fog. In contrast to the previous two, this particular episode, "Two Boats and a Helicopter", is centered around one character - Reverend Matt Jamison (played by Christopher Eccleston). It actually allows us to take a deep breath from all of the goings-on and character development crammed into the first two episodes and follow just one set of footsteps.

Eccleston's portrayal of the Reverend is chilling - he seems to be trying so hard to do the right thing by his wife, by his congregation, by the town, etc but every time something good happens to him it is followed up by something much worse. Inexplicably bad, even. For example, in this episode he is told by the local bank that his church has been purchased by some kind of organization, but that he has a chance to buy it back if he can come up with the money in time. Sparked by some kind of revelation, Matt heads to the casino and turns $20,000 into $160,000. Nice roulette skills.

Unfortunately for him, his niceness and related inability to avoid confrontation get him into trouble. First, after leaving the casino with the money he needs in an envelope, someone who saw his winnings tries to steal it from him but ultimately ends up with his face bashed into the pavement. A surprising turn of events for Matt but he is prepared to do anything it takes at this point in order to preserve what little he still has.

Trusting in the pigeons, Matt? Just before he gets to the casino he sees (for the 3rd time) pigeons.. this time in a group of 3, sitting on top of a flashing red stoplight. He bets 3 times.. on red, at the same table that we earlier saw 2 pigeons on top of. I'm still struggling with the imagery here but it seems that Matt's relationship with Kevin's father (Kevin Garvey, Sr., played by Scott Glen) and the strange things that seem to be happening to both of them must be connected.

Anyway, The Leftovers puts on a happy face and it looks like there might just be a light at the end of the tunnel for at least one character when we get completely shut down. Surprise? Stopping to help one of the Guilty Remnant who were hit in the head with a rock from what appeared to be a group of teenagers driving past in a vehicle, Matt was hit in the head himself and wakes up in the hospital after a series of dreams (visions?) and flashbacks. He rushes to the bank to try and save his church, but when he gets there it is already closed. After speaking to Jim Lewis, whom he previously dealt with, he is informed that he was actually in the hospital for several days.. and the church has already been sold.

The organization that bought the church? Yep, the Guilty Remnant. And we see the powerful image of members of the group painting the stained glass windows stark white. And what about his wife, is she ok after Matt never returned home? Like so many things that have already happened in this series, any small semblance of joy or resolution that a character may try to latch onto is destroyed absolutely. Should we fear Reverend Matt Jamison now? I think so.. there is no telling what holy vengeance he may try to strike down upon the Guilty Remnant and others that get in his way now that he has lost almost everything that he held dear. At least he's got $160,000 and a really strange American accent. Good luck, Matt.

The Leftovers really puzzles me. I still can't figure out (along with everyone else, I'm sure) whether there is any sort-of of twist here (supernatural or otherwise), or if Lindelof and Co. are just winding us along this long road of miserable people and terrible circumstance. Either way, I can't stop watching this show because it keeps surprising me. Yeah, the surprises are mostly of a vicious and sadistic nature.. but hey, they say that art imitates life, right? I can easily see all of these events unfolding in modern-day reality after an event such as one that happens here. Maybe that's the whole point.

Anyway, "Gladys" takes us on a journey that centers around Patty and Laurie after the brutal murder of Gladys by stoning. The opening scene shows Patty nodding to Gladys in her office as if in silent agreement. We know that Gladys seemed to be higher up in the ranks of the Guilty Remnant but the whole order of things is very much left open to interpretation still. In my opinion, this opening scene is trying to make us believe that Gladys was ready for this and/or that Patty is actually behind the whole sequence of events that lead to Gladys's death. There just seems to be a general foreboding in the air and a heaviness to Gladys's nod. In addition, right before she was abducted from in front of the convenience store (they had gone to buy more cigarettes, it seems) Gladys took out a cigarette but hesitated in smoking it.. rapping it against her pad as if waiting for something. I'm not sure that I believe this to be the case, but we're still trying to piece together the motivations of these characters. The one thing that makes me think this could be a false path were Gladys's last words when she was near death in the woods. Spending your last moments begging for your life and breaking the vows of the Guilty Remnant are not the actions of someone who was fully aware of what was about to happen.

Patty takes Laurie out on an unannounced trip where they can be alone and have a private conversation. She allows Laurie to shower, dress in normal clothes, sleep in a comfortable bed, etc and even invites her to speak once more, over a french toast and scrambled egg breakfast. Ultimately, Laurie stays silent and seems to be praised by Patty for doing so. Patty says something memorable toward the end of their conversation, "Remember what you told me to do in the last session, before everything changed?".. this seems to allude to a previous relationship that these women had together. Perhaps Laurie was a therapist of some sort, or otherwise guiding or counseling Patty? Either way, it has something to do with 'Neil' and the doggybag that was delivered (presumably on his doorstep) filled with something (presumably feces?). Yikes. Basically, we learn that Patty may be even more nuts that we give her credit for. Looking forward to more on this.

Back in Mapleton, Kevin is once again faced with a personal crisis. Although we seem to learn that Dean is officially, in fact, a real person and not a figment of Kevin's imagination, the Chief's missing shirts send him into a tailspin at the end of the episode. Kevin actually physically threatens the employee at the laundromat and forces him to look more closely for his shirts. Wow, Kev.. looks like some anger management courses would be advisable. In the end, he does get his shirts back.. or are they actually his? I think we are to assume that they are his shirts. Every time it looks like the Chief may be crazy, he doubles back and reconfirms that he is not. We definitely need to learn more about his father and what happened to their whole family directly after the Sudden Departure. The way this show is going, maybe in The Leftovers Season 3?

We don't learn much, but come away with the same sinking feeling in our stomachs as in the previous episodes. Really.. this show is like eating a really delicious, but really spicy dish. Once you've started you have to see it through but not without some degree of pain and regret. I hope, as always, that in addition to the jarring moments that fill the first several episodes, we can advance the overall story arc a little more next week. 

Although I might not share their opinions exactly, quite a few of my friends and colleagues have balked a little at the way that The Leftovers has presented itself over the course of the season so far. Fortunately, the latest episode, "Guest", seems to buck that trend and show us a side of the HBO series that I've been waiting to see. Among the grief-laden population of Mapleton and the thick fog of violence and depression I've been most enjoying the moments of levity and real life that pop up when you least expect them to. Ok, ok - The Leftovers is not a comedy, at least not in the familiar sense, but it is noted that Tom Perotta's novel (that the series is based on) was originally penned more along those lines than what it eventually turned out to be. Personally, I think that a lot of that seems to be seeping into the drama now.. albeit between some particularly hard to watch scenes (e.g., Gladys's death by stoning) that tend to root themselves a bit more firmly in our minds as we watch the show.

Anyway, "Guest" continues the trend started by Damon Lindelof back in his Lost days of focusing episodes on only one character and thusly delving far deeper into the character's psyche and motivations than can be accomplished over the course of a normal program that takes turns with multiple characters being the focal point. So, Nora Durst.. we've known for some time now that she has lost almost her entire immediate family (those particular odds being one in 128,000 apparently) to the Sudden Departure, harbors feelings of terrible guilt and remorse, carries a revolver with her in her purse and has a brother - the Reverend Matt Jamison. This episode, though, dives headlong into her day-to-day life - specifically into what are probably the most important few days that she has had since the day when her family disappeared. Through her work, Nora is invited to a conference to be a representative of the Department of Sudden Departures and speak on a panel. She had done this the previous year as well but this time would end up much more chaotic and ultimately rewarding for her.

But before we get there, it would certainly be remiss not to mention what happened before Nora left for the conference (and apparently at least one time previous to that as well). We knew Nora was slightly off the beaten path but for her to hire people to shoot her in the chest while wearing a Kevlar vest - just to experience something close to peacefulness through death.. yeah, crazy. But so is everyone else in this world - just look at the game that the High School kids were playing in the first episode - Fuck, Burn or Choke? Really? Yeah so we as viewers do need to understand as has been pounded into our heads by the first several episodes, that this new world in the wake of the Sudden Departure is an awful one.

During the conference, Nora runs into all sorts of trials and tribulations. First, someone has taken her badge and we find out later that there is a woman who impersonated Nora Durst to make some kind of a statement.. conspiracy theories! Who would have though it? We definitely need more of this going forward in The Leftovers. Second, Nora meets a married guy who works for the company called Loved Ones (whose commercial we see at the beginning of the episode). A little alcohol, drugs and craziness later, Nora has actually had a good time.. and in the meantime we are treated to some of the best scenes that The Leftovers has ever shared with us onscreen. Thank God for martinis and drugs that are as yet unapproved by the FDA. 

The whole theme of this episode is change. Nora was really one of the people most affected by the Sudden Departure and she showed it. From the unchanged paper towel roll to the trips to the grocery store, Nora was attempting to live life as though nothing had changed when she absolutely knew that everything had. Internal conflict at its best. Because Nora didn't have her badge, she was given one that said 'Guest' instead. During the party scenes, everyone only knew her as 'Guest'.. and she loved it. Separating her own individual identity from the poor woman that had lost her entire family only really happened, though, when she ended up meeting with Holy Wayne. Through someone at the conference she was drawn to an apartment building in a bad part of town, asked to pay $1,000 and then admitted to see Wayne. Two things: Wow, Nora has no problem parting with her money, huh? Also, Wayne's super power is hugs. There are two theories here, I suppose.. either Wayne is the most empathetic character ever in a TV series since Deanna Troy on Star Trek or he has some sort of power that lets him take people's grief from them - supernatural or otherwise. 

Bottom line is that now Nora is bereft of her long-held feelings of depression and grief. The Leftovers makes sure that we know.. showing us scenes of the teacher that she was previously stalking (because she allegedly was having an affair with her husband) and grocery shopping for only herself and no longer for the people that have disappeared from her life. I have to say, this episode was my favorite of the season and I'm really hoping that the trajectory of the show continues. The fact that I can go from absolute horror at the beginning of one episode to a satisfied grin at the end of the next speaks volumes about the quality of this series. Can't wait for the next one!

"Don't wake up. Don't anybody wake up. Go to sleep.. go back to fucking sleep!"

After the frantic pace of recent episodes "Gladys" and "Guest", you would think that The Leftovers would come up for some air. Quite the opposite. With only three episodes left in the first season, "Solace for Tired Feet" brings no solace at all to viewers and in fact continues to take us further under the current as the events in Mapleton start to intertwine and come to a head. This latest episode starts off with Jill and a group of her friends trying to see who can last the longest locked inside an old refrigerator in the woods. Some pretty terrific games that these kids are into, huh? Well, Jill breaks the record but the handle breaks off when her friends try to let her out and chaos ensues. Enter the character that perhaps we least expect to see at this moment, Kevin Garvey Sr., who has apparently broken out of the secure psychiatric facility that he was voluntarily remanded to soon after the Sudden Departure. 

In contrast to the previous two episodes, "Solace for Tired Feet" has an expanded focus but it does still tend to orbit around Kevin Garvey. Whether we're talking about his budding relationship with Nora Durst (one of the bright spots in the series so far), the strange chemistry with Jill's friend Aimee (Emily Meade), the jumbled and somewhat-tied-to-reality sequences with Dean (Michael Gaston) or the unsettling conversations with his father, Kevin is unwittingly the nucleus of all of this chaos. And that's not even mentioning his ties to the Guilty Remnant or the mess that his son Tom is wrapped up in.

Speaking of Tom Garvey, we learn (somewhat shockingly) that he is just one of many spokes in Holy Wayne's plans. Not only does he discover that there are other people like himself who are doing what Wayne has told them to, but apparently there are also other girls just like Christine (young, asian and pregnant?). I think that we as viewers of the show are supposed to be in the dark about Wayne and his motivations and abilities (supernatural or otherwise), but he has certainly been portrayed this far as an unsavory character which is very much at odds with the talent that he somehow possesses. Christine may have been having another vision when she was babbling phrases like 'there are spiders underwater", and I'm sure that we'll find some parallel to this later in the series, but the most important thing that we can garner from this episode is that Wayne has more than one baby and they are being referred to as 'The Bridge'. For whatever reason, Wayne seems to be in hiding and trying to make the money last until these babies have been born. This may be coming pretty soon, as at the end of the episode Christine is revealed to have given birth to her daughter.

Throughout the season so far, we have seen so many references to Kevin's possibly psychotic state (disappearing bagels, missing shirts, Dean, etc.) but at every turn he proves himself to be sane after all. In this episode, we see the real, tangible result of what Kevin perceives as a dream in the bite on his hand and the dog he has tied up outside. Aimee seems to have had a whole conversation with Kevin while he was blacked out, or having an episode - and in fact I'm not sure that Aimee is exactly what she appears to be. We haven't learned much about her and her back story but she seems to know some things about Kevin that he doesn't know about himself. Odd. Anyway, the whole episode culminates in a conversation that Kevin and his father have at a familiar diner.. for some reason an old issue of National Geographic seems to be some kind of token for Kevin to accept a new reality that may be happening to him and already happened to his father. Are things exactly as they seem, or could everything be completely different? Although Kevin does not want to, he ultimately does seem to accept that he has some new kind of purpose or connection waiting for him to explore when he grabs the magazine (not at the diner, but one that had been ordered by his daughter at their house on behalf of Kevin Garvey, Sr.).

Good luck to the citizens of Mapleton as things play out over the next couple of weeks. Things are about to get even crazier than they already are.. and that was already pretty nuts!