It's not that I don't understand why so many people dislike The Leftovers; quite the opposite, in fact. Here's a show about a world three years after a Rapture-style event, when a small percentage of the world's population suddenly and without warning vanished, leaving the survivors wondering why they were spared and what, if anything, the event meant. It's a show where what plot threads there are take a back seat to character development, atmosphere, and mood. It's a show where the closest things to villains, apart from a cult obsessed with forcing people to remember and deal with the event instead of repressing it, are mental instability, isolation, and fear of a world where God's existence may be nothing like what we ever assumed. And it's a show without much hope, as characters try to find meaning in their lives as they feel rejected, discarded, or simply adrift in a world that may have already begun to end. That's heavy stuff, and the sheer bleak atmosphere of The Leftovers can be hard to take; what little humor there is is pitch black, and there's no shortage of raw emotional pain, from the families torn apart by the event to the police officer whose mind may be crumbling to the woman who lost every member of her family on the day of the disappearance. And none of that even touches on the Guilty Remnant, the white-clad, smoking cult whose simple presence constantly reminds us and the characters that there is no forgetting of that event, no letting go. But for all of that, The Leftovers may be one of the best shows on television, combining a beautiful visual sense, an astonishing command of tone, honest performances, and raw emotional power to create something beautiful about loss, grief, religion, hope, and how we connect to each other. From the pre-credits sequences, which work almost as perfect short films (my favorite was the story of the town's Jesus doll for its nativity, set the "Not the One" by the Black Keys), to its knack for knowing when to let silence or music do all the talking, The Leftovers used its premise to explore people on the verge of giving up, and did it with honesty, strength, and even some beauty. It's a rough watch sometimes, make no mistake, but it's also profoundly moving and richly human, and it's all the more so for embracing the uncertainty of its premise and making its characters deal with the lack of answers. It's a polarizing show, but count me among those who are floored by it, week in and week out.
- Josh Mauthe
- Josh Mauthe
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