The Leftovers, Season 2, Episode 10: “I Live Here Now” Written by Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta Directed by Mimi Leder Airs Sundays at 9pm ET on HBO “I don’t understand what’s happening.” I’m not just saying this because there’s a chance it might be its actual last episode: “I Live Here Now” is the ultimate …
An unexpectedly great performance anchors a just-in-time return to form.
The Leftovers, Season 2, Episode 8: “International Assassin” Written by Damon Lindelof and Nick Cuse Directed by Craig Zobel Airs Sundays at 9pm ET on HBO After some considerable wrestling on the issue afforded to me by a night’s sleep, the shortest version I can come up with is this: “International Assassin” is a very …
For possibly the first time in The Leftovers’ run, “A Most Powerful Adversary” does something you’d think it would do a whole lot more often: it conjures up the spirit of Lost; it’s almost as though we’re getting a glimpse of what a more conventionally “entertaining” version of The Leftovers might look like.
A stellar episode sics two of the series’ best actors on compelling, harsh material.
A stellar second season finally stumbles a bit by trying too hard to emulate a first-season highlight.
The Leftovers has single-handedly revived the tradition of dramas that don’t care about fan service.
With Kevin, Nora, and Jill restarting their lives in Miracle, it seemed that the series had moved away from the Guilty Remnant, while leaving behind only memories of the twisted events that unfolded in the Tri-State area.
The episode we were expecting arrives a week behind schedule, and the resulting unease has a purpose.
Three years after a global event in which 140 million people (2% of the world’s population) inexplicably disappeared, those left behind are still trying to push the catastrophic event out of sight and mind. And it seems no matter how hard they try, the ‘Sudden Departure’, is something they just can’t escape.
While the premise may sound like the show would focus on the mystery behind the Departure, The Leftovers is much more of a character-driven drama, using the Departure as a gateway to explore a series of perspectives on how people deal with grief and loss.
One of the most talked about new drama series of 2014, HBO’s The Leftovers, will be entering its second season to some considerable alterations. Deadline reports that for the shows sophomore year they will be having a change in setting and dwindling down of the cast. In its first season the story centered on the …
If you happen to follow a decent number of TV critics on Twitter, you may have noticed a minor eruption of late. A schism has emerged, prompted by accounts like The Cancellation Bear, which concerns itself solely with the topic of whether or not series are likely to survive based on current ratings patterns. That …
The Leftovers, Season 1, Episode 10, “The Prodigal Son Returns” Written by Damon Lindelof & Tom Perrotta Directed by Mimi Leder Airs Sundays at 10pm EST on HBO “He’s never coming for us, is he?” Christine asks this to Tommy in regards to Wayne, but in a series that asks all the Big Questions by …
Well, that was a neat trick.
Not the final reveal, no, that is something that (I hope) will become almost beside the point. But what I’m really talking about is the episode itself. That is something that I did not expect the show to pull off so well this late in the game.
Nine episodes after the fact, we are now getting who Tommy is and what he means to Kevin. We get what Jill has lost. And we see where Kevin’s head has been at, and where it might go, all in an absorbing, if necessarily stuffed hour. This flashback to flesh everyone out is absolutely invaluable as we head into the finale and the second season. It is also pivotal in continuing to explore Kevin’s hero’s journey, which has been smartly pushed to the forefront in the previous two episodes, and looks to be the definitive crux of a finally focused series.
Cults on TV are tough. They seem like a really good idea. They’re weird and scary and, bonus, we have them in real life. But anyone who has seen or read my reviews of The Following knows that it is incredibly easy to abuse (big, unnamed plans that go nowhere; non-believably-cultish members, too much access and synchronicity on too many fronts). It’s exciting to see, then, that this show, which has saddled itself with two cult plots—both trickily heightened from real life— finally comes through with really activating at least one, with making it live. A lot of what’s in “Cairo” is material I’ve been waiting for since the pilot. The gusto with which it delivers it makes it absolutely worth the wait.
The Leftovers, Season 1, Episode 7, “Solace for Tired Feet” Written by Damon Lindelof & Jacqueline Hoyt Directed by Mimi Leder Airs Sundays at 10pm EST on HBO There’s finally a flow happening with this show. In previous reviews, I have discussed the many problems of The Leftovers I won’t delineate now. Slowly, however, they …
The Leftovers, Season 1, Episode 6, “Guest” Written by Damon Lindelof & Kath Lingenfelter Directed by Carl Franklin Airs Sundays at 10pm EST on HBO “I’d like to remain Nora Durst,” Nora (Carrie Coon) says toward the beginning “Guest,” and that perfectly sums it up. She will get a divorce, but she doesn’t want to …
Damon Lindelof’s latest TV effort, The Leftovers on HBO (co-created by and adapted from the novel by Tom Perrotta) just hit the halfway mark through its first season on Sunday, and it’s easily the best new show to premiere this summer. This comes with two disclosures: 1. Summers are usually treated more like draughts than harvesting …
The Leftovers, Season 1, Episode 5, “Gladys” Written by Damon Lindelof & Tom Perrota Directed by Mimi Leder Airs Sundays at 10pm EST on HBO Gladys, Gladys, you were so classless, intimidating the leftovers with sass and badass-ness. This is a song. This is a song I came up with, but do not necessarily feel …
The Leftovers, Season 1, Episode 4, “B.J. and the A.C.” Written by Damon Lindelof & Elizabeth Peterson Directed by Lesli Linka Glatter & Carl Franklin Airs Sundays at 10pm EST on HBO Starting off positively—and it’s a big one—no new mysteries were introduced this episode! At least, nothing of the paranormal, never-going-to-be-answered-adequately nature. What we …
The Leftovers, Season 1, Episode 3, “Two Planes and a Helicopter” Written by Damon Lindelof & Jacqueline Hoyt Directed by Keith Gordon Airs Sundays at 10pm EST on HBO What is The Leftovers? A mystery wrapped in an enigma, sure, but what else is on the show’s mind, and most importantly, what does it have …
While the pilot was almost pure set up, and in this mostly disappointing second episode we have a further muddling of that set-up, what has at least become clearer now is that despite its literary origins, The Leftovers is definitely shaping up to be, for better or worse, Lost’s direct successor.