Sarah Mason and Jake Essoe of The Harold & Maudecast review The Leftovers, Series finale, "The Book of Nora".
Season 3, Episode 8, "The Book of Nora" opens with Nora Durst (Carrie Coon) announcing her sound mind and body intent to go over the other side. Brother Matt (Christopher Eccleston) is by her side to say goodbye. Flash forward to many years in the future a much older Nora is delivering doves to a church -- fans will remember this scene from the Season 3 premiere. We are soon reunited with Kevin, also much older, who surprises Nora at her home and spins a tale of vacations and old crushes. The truth of Kevin's journey, and Nora's is slowly uncovered and revealed at the very end leaving fans to sort out for themselves whether they got an answer to the ultimate question -- what really happened to the departed?
The Leftovers finale may leave the casual fan confused but, if you're thinking this was another Lost finale, which was loudly criticized by fans who felt jipped out of a conclusion, then you've missed the point entirely. Damon Lindeloff and the creators of The Leftovers have the balls to leave this ending up for interpretation in a way that is completely true to the essence of the series. This final episode is not filled with bizarre sequences or madcap suspense in fact the story is quite prosaic. The world has moved on from the Sudden Departure and Nora and Kevin, now older, none the wiser, are normal folk. Their lives are filled with mundane routines and two week vacations. In the hands of a lessor show this may feel like a let down particularly after the crazy brilliance of the previous episode "The Most Powerful Man in the World (and His Identical Twin Brother). But this is The Leftovers which means, exploration into spiritual salvation vs damnation, weird but poignant metaphors, suicidal tendencies, poetic music interwoven strategically to punctuate in just the right places, loose ends tied up from previous seasons, and still a lot of unanswered questions. The final monologue, delivered by Nora, is the crescendo of this masterpiece concluded by its ethereal signature piano concerto.
Did we get our answer to the questions of what really happened? You decide. We're gonna take the opening song's advice and Let the Mystery Be.
For more tv, movie, game reviews and more visit www.thehmcnetwork.com
Sarah Mason and Jake Essoe of The Harold & Maudecast review HBO's The Leftovers, Season 3, Episode 7 "The Most Powerful Man in the World (and His Identical Twin Brother).
Well it's back to purgatory, or whatever this place is, for Kevin Garvey where the Grateful Remnant (GR) have become the ruling party. President Kevin Harvey (as he's called in this world) must work fast to stop assassin Kevin Harvey, his identical twin brother, from spoiling his plans for a nuclear launch. Assassin Kevin must work fast. He's got messages to distribute and Christopher Sunday to find so his father can stop the rain. Confused? Of course, It's The Leftovers!
One more episode to go and The Leftovers just keeps getting better and better. This episode showcases Justin Theroux's amazing yet unsung acting chops -- please give this man an award! Equally outstanding is Ann Dowd who returns as Patty Levin. There are many familiar faces popping up in this episode, like pieces of a puzzle that we can't quite put together. Never fear, it's in Leftovers we trust to sort it all out in the series finale which will air on June 4, 2017 on HBO.
For now, take a listen to our review and recap of this crazy but brilliant episode. Visit www.thehmcnetwork.com for more tv, film, game reviews and more!
