The Leftovers / HBO
Warning: Some spoilers are within for those that want the mystery to remain a mystery.
Holy hell that intro was awesomely gripping! After all the chaos, mystery, and weirdness the first season of HBO’s THE LEFTOVERS offered, we start season 2 off in the distant past during freaking caveman times witnessing the harsh life of a pregnant cave woman. We spend a good 5+ minutes in what felt like a damn Terrence Malick short film. We follow an unfortunate woman who’s family get’s smashed under rocks during an earthquake, then she gives birth by herself in the dirt, and soon after gets bitten by a snake and dies near a small lake. Yeesh! And I thought Mondays were bad! From then, a beautifully shot transition at the lake to current times thrusts us into Season 2. One thing is for sure; this show is still weird as hell and I love it!
After our aforementioned cave dweller adventure, we are introduced to the town of “Miracle”. For those that saw Season 1, you know 2% of the world’s population vanished with no explanation. However, the town of “Miracle” had no “departures” to speak of…hence the name. For whatever reason it was unaffected and people feel safe, live happier lives (or so it seems), and people from all over the world are moving in and taking interest. We catch up with the Murphy family which consists of the father named John (Kevin Carroll) who is the town’s fire chief, his wife Erika (Regina King), and their two children Evie (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and her brother Michael (Jovan Adepo). We spend a good 30+ minutes with the Murphy’s before any familiar faces from season 1 pop up and I was just fine with that. The Murphy’s are a dynamic and mysterious bunch. John is a fireman by day and enforces his own kind of justice by night aimed at people trying to make a quick buck off the miracles in “Miracle”. Basically he’ll burn your house down if he thinks you are exploiting the fine people of the city. Don’t mess with that dude. But it’s his daughter Evie who steals the spotlight this episode. We first see her swimming in the tainted cave woman lake with some friends, and not soon after she’s having epileptic episodes, running naked through a forest with friends, and straight up disappearing along with the whole damn lake. Any hesitations I had about the new cast members is over. The Murphy’s are a great addition.
HBO’s THE LEFTOVERS Season 1 Review by Jason Furie / Art by Adam Cahoon
While we do see Matt Jamison (Christopher Eccleston) from season 1 fairly early on serving as the new priest of Miracle, it’s not until about 35+ minutes later we catch up with The Garveys including Kevin (Justin Theroux), Nora (Carrie Coon), Jill (Margaret Qualley), and their adopted little baby that was left on their doorstep at the end of Season 1. Apparently sometime between season 1 and 2 they decided to pack up, get the hell out of town, and start fresh. Not a bad idea considering how screwed up season 1 turned out to be for everyone. And guess what!? They are neighbors with the newly established Murphy’s. Oh, this is going to be good. It was great seeing the old cast back in action and we were treated to a birthday BBQ scene at The Murphy’s with the only guests being The Garveys. There were some great exchanges as these two families began to feel one another out. It had a very “calm before the storm” vibe.
This one episode was jam packed with a hell of a lot of mysteries and unanswered questions. The cave woman significance, Erika digging up a box with a live bird in it, that homeless dude in downtown Miracle living in the tower, Evie running in the woods naked with here friends, Kevin’s mysterious head wound, that hawk, the pie on the doorstep that no one wants to eat, and that damn cricket that won’t stop chirping are just a few of the things that will hopefully be explained later. The one constant here is that it’s all very strange and perfectly intriguing.
I’m so glad THE LEFTOVERS is back for a second season. The new cast is perfect, seeing the Garvey’s again is great, and this new town is just full of mystery. I dig the new vibe, I dig the new city, I dig the new characters, and I can’t wait to unravel this stinky onion. The goal of any TV premiere is to tell a good story and to grip the audience. THE LEFTOVERS accomplished both of those feats and I’m anxiously awaiting the next episode in what is likely going to be another wonderful season. Best premiere episode of the new Fall TV season so far. Watch this show.
Final Score: 10 out of 10
