Can a present about what occurs when 140 million individuals vanish in a single day be uplifting? It will possibly when it’s The Leftovers, a present I had been avoiding till just lately, and now it’s one in all my favorites.
Why I Skipped The Leftovers
After I’m on the lookout for a brand new collection to begin, I at all times take into account the yuck issue. What is the yuck issue, you ask? It is after I take a look at a promo for a brand new TV present and am instantly turned off by both the premise or, in some circumstances, who stars in it. Selecting and selecting which new collection to observe based mostly on this unscientific finger-in-the-wind technique normally works for me, till it would not, after all.
Within the case of The Leftovers, which aired on HBO over 4 seasons from 2014 to 2017, I used to be confirmed flawed. It took me almost ten years to determine this out, however I ultimately found the reply nonetheless.
The Leftovers revolves round a worldwide occasion referred to as the “Sudden Departure,” which occurred three years earlier than the collection’ occasions. This occasion noticed 2% of the world’s inhabitants vanish into skinny air. The story exhibits how those that stay try to select up the items and get on with their lives.
A premise just like the one offered right here would sometimes be greater than sufficient to pique my curiosity in a brand new present. A few of my favourite exhibits, each earlier than and after The Leftovers initially aired, additionally featured unexplained disappearances or mysterious world occasions. These embrace exhibits like Misplaced, The OA, Yellowjackets, and even Severance.
So, what turned me off? One of many first trailers for the collection featured a lady smiling at her child within the automobile, solely to have the toddler vanish moments later, which freaked me out as a dad of a then-six-year-old. It additionally did not assist that the identical trailer continued and easily confirmed these poor individuals lacking their family members. It was all too miserable.
The actors portraying these poor souls additionally did not do a lot for me. On the time, I solely knew collection star Justin Theroux as Jennifer Aniston’s then-husband. And, though I knew and preferred Liv Tyler due to her time in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, it wasn’t sufficient for me to observe. This was years earlier than Ann Dowd performed the advanced and sometimes contradictory character of Aunt Lydia in The Handmaid’s Story, a present I preferred from day one.
Lastly, early evaluations for The Leftovers had been blended, which gave me one more reason to bypass it.
Lastly Taking the Plunge
Actually, I can’t bear in mind with certainty what led me to provide The Leftovers a strive. It was seemingly a mixture of causes. I do comprehend it occurred after The Handmaid’s Story started, and Dowd was being universally praised for her portrayal of Aunt Lydia, for which she quickly received an Emmy.
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This was additionally concerning the time I began watching and principally liking The Mosquito Coast, which starred Theroux. Maybe extra importantly, I heard from quite a lot of associates that The Leftovers, regardless of its many doom-laden components, was a really uplifting collection to observe.
After watching the primary episode of The Leftovers, the preliminary yuck response I had from the trailer resurfaced. I stored going, nevertheless, and after a number of extra episodes, I lastly received hooked.
Why The Leftovers Was Definitely worth the Wait
Finally, the tales offered in The Leftovers moved past grief and loss. Sure, all through the present’s 4 years, these two themes continued to play a central position within the storytelling. Nonetheless, though they weren’t at all times essentially optimistic, different themes emerged, and these had been uplifting and layered, prompting you to suppose.
It additionally didn’t damage that the characters in The Leftovers had been every advanced and flawed, as all of us are in actual life. Particularly, I used to be rapidly drawn to Coon’s Nora Durst character, who, when the collection started, had misplaced everybody in her household. Finally, she discovered what may be finest described as closure, albeit not happiness, and that journey was a robust one.
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Theroux’s Kevin Garvey was by no means one which I loved. Nonetheless, I did study to understand what he was going via, although a lot of his selections weren’t what I’d name sound.
The Leftovers additionally did a masterful job of presenting every character’s story, each because it developed and the way their previous influenced it. The collection options quite a few flashbacks, making it simpler to narrate to characters who’re initially considered in a decidedly unfavourable gentle. In flip, you possibly can’t assist however marvel what you’ll do in related conditions.
One of many methods these behind The Leftovers had been in a position to current fascinating tales was by typically focusing episodes on a single character. Very like Misplaced did years earlier than, this system offers the writers of the episode extra time to flesh out a personality.
In flip, we achieve a greater understanding of what drives them and why their flaws are as they’re. These episodes don’t essentially make you just like the character extra, which can be a slick storytelling gadget that I preferred.
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The Leftovers, like different HBO collection, aired weekly. As such, I can see how these character-driven episodes may need brought about some frustration, as they, in some cases, abruptly paused a storyline from the earlier episode. Severance followers in 2025 are conversant in this sense of annoyance as tales are paused.
Nonetheless, as a result of I binged The Leftovers, I didn’t have to attend, which most likely allowed me to understand the collection greater than I’d have had I watched the collection because it initially aired.
Past the sturdy growth of the characters, the tales in The Leftovers are elevated by way of symbolism and metaphor. The continued use of water and the sighting of an occasional dove take the story to new ranges that, as a viewer, one can admire.
And eventually, the storytelling in The Leftovers is elevated by the anomaly it leaves in place. Although many unanswered questions are resolved by the top of the collection, many will not be, together with the most important query of all: why did the two% vanish? One of many present’s creators, Damon Lindelof, was additionally behind Misplaced, so the numerous non-resolutions should not come as a lot of a shock.
Ambiguity on the finish doesn’t at all times work for TV collection as a result of many people naturally search closure. Nonetheless, this isn’t The Sopranos, the place a fade to black ceaselessly taints an in any other case good piece of tv leisure. The unanswered questions The Leftovers leaves don’t take away from the collection. As a substitute, I’d recommend not understanding all of the solutions makes you, because the viewer, query issues in the actual world, and that’s not essentially a foul factor.
Another excuse The Leftovers is profitable as a complete is the ambiance it presents. Every episode combines components of surrealism and melancholy, creating a way of unease and stress, together with moments of levity and way more.
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The Remorse and the Suggestion
In lots of respects, I remorse not watching The Leftovers when it aired. By analysis, I’ve come to know that, regardless of having a small viewers all through all 4 of its seasons, the present had a loyal and devoted following that loved discussing every episode on-line, as The Fandomentals famous on the time.
And there’s a component of pleasure for any present that makes you wait no less than every week between episodes. Binging, which Netflix started unleashing on us almost 20 years in the past, has its enchantment, however there’s nothing just like the constructing pleasure of ready for a brand new episode of a favourite collection to drop.
And but, there are additionally methods I benefited from ready to observe The Leftovers. There’s that binging facet, after all. There’s additionally understanding when the story will finish. I additionally admire most of the actors within the present way more than I most likely would have years in the past as a result of I do know extra about them now.
Lastly, the web is a extra various place as we speak than it was a decade in the past. As new individuals uncover The Leftovers, extra YouTube movies about it emerge, which ends up in extra questions, preserving the present contemporary although it ended eight years in the past.
I strongly suggest The Leftovers for anybody seeking to start a TV collection that may make you suppose. Count on the occasional tear, nevertheless, particularly if you happen to’re a guardian, and perceive that some episodes are a lot better than others. In any other case, get pleasure from; you possibly can thank me later.
All 28 episodes of The Leftovers can be found to stream on HBO Max with a subscription. It is also a fantastic purpose to subscribe to HBO Max if you happen to’ve by no means achieved so earlier than!
