Initially set in Upstate New York but eventually detouring to Texas and Australia, the series dives headfirst into the aftermath of a post-apocalyptic event in which two percent of the Earth’s population vanishes. While nearly every person on the planet has been impacted in some way by this nonsensical event known as the “Sudden Departure,” the show hones in on the lives of one specific family: the Garveys. Kevin Garvey (Justin Theroux), his eventual girlfriend Nora Durst (Carrie Coon), and Nora’s brother Matt Jamison (Christopher Eccleston) are the three protagonists for the majority of the series.
While it would have perhaps been easier to make The Leftovers a sci-fi mystery in which society attempts to figure out the science behind how and why the rapture occurred, Lindelof and the writers’ brilliant decision to peel back the trauma caused by the disappearances through three broken individuals crafts an experience that captures the melancholy of the contemporary human plight. In the process, there has never been a more haunting, thought-provoking, or prescient story put on TV.
The Leftovers As a Thought Experiment
The series’ trigger event begs for answers, almost like a fish in the ocean just out of reach of the line. Why did it happen? Is there an alternate dimension that the disappeared go to? Is it the wrath of an angry deity that finally had it with the state of the universe? Why did the people who disappeared deserve such a fate?
Across three seasons, all of these questions are asked, but very few, if any, are given concrete answers. The decision to leave all of these mysteries open-ended allowed for a program that mirrored the reality of real life more than anybody could have imagined. Every day, people suffer without answers. Why do innocent kids get cancer while evil politicians live into their 90s? How did any of us get here in the first place? Is it an all-powerful God? Did everything really evolve from nothing in a Big Bang? If God is real, how does it make sense that he’s always existed?
We could go on all day debating the infinite ambiguities of life. Existentialist dread bears down on all of us at one time or another. The Leftovers represents these philosophical questions on steroids with a supernatural cataclysm that has next to no chance of happening in real life but causes an influx of anxiety, depression, and apprehension.
Kevin’s wife, Laurie (Amy Brenneman), joins a cult. Matt believes that Kevin is a messiah who will redeem the human race. The citizens of Jarden, Texas lean into the thought that they were blessed by divine intervention because none of their people departed. The show covers such vast ground in such a small amount of time that it feels almost unfair. Each character lives a unique and personalized experience that reflects how actual people would react if a departure happened in our lives.
