US: The Leftovers

Three years ago I wrote these words in this very thread:

"Lindelof is really good at building immersive background stories. It's pleasure to watch. But. The one thing that Lindelof does not grasp even after all this time, is that mini stories only matter if they are used to propel larger idea. What we see (in Leftovers) serves no purpose, builds no larger story, and is just a distraction, a device invented with a sole purpose of wasting our time. You are just being lead by the nose though a minefield of (brilliantly presented but) equally unexplained and often quickly dismissed WTF devices. The moment you realise that, you know it's journey to nowhere."

I stand by that. Lindelof is a hack. He's one of those people we all met in life - brilliantly webs immersive story with minute details about setting, weather, what the air felt like, the feelings, the emotions, just for it to end with nothing, useless trivia - like "and then I bought the drink from corner shop and gone home". The type of story teller that can sell a product when there is no product. Ice to eskimo's type of tall tale spinner. Builds a moment, sucks you in. And then nothing. Bapcus. It's just a "cool story bro". It's just a facade. It amounts to nothing. That's what Lindelof does every single time he writes something.

And that's my prediction for Leftovers finale. No questions will be answered. No mysteries will be explained. He will waste your time. He will deliver chain of brilliant moments in 28 hours across 3 years that amount to absolutely nothing. You will summarise his story to yourself in under 3 minutes and realise it was nothing. The king was naked. It was a bad joke. And when he does and you are left (over) screaming at your TV set in anger, I want you to imagine Lindelof not as a harmless storyteller that plays everyone afool. I want you to imagine him as the type of sleaze that lures people in to his table with a story, roofies their drink and they never get a full picture of what happened on the night. And then you'll promise yourself to never ever fall for it again. You will never waste another hour on anything Lindelof wrote again, OK?
 
Same here, I've enjoyed this series like very few others and even if the ending does prove to be a letdown it doesn't take that enjoyment away - it won't, however, stop me from throwing things at my TV :D
 
Pfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffft. Started well and then fizzle me timbers. Great series; always knew the finale could not live up to my expectations of closure BUT great acting all round.
 
The finale was actually written really well, as it appeases BOTH groups of people. Those who believe Nora's story, and those who don't. The episode places countless clues to help both groups of people come to their own conclusions.

Here are my thoughts on it (which I posted on reddit's thread discussing it):
The title of the episode itself should be a direct giveaway as to the underlying intentions of the show and its creators.

The book of Nora.

I believe this is deliberately entitled and in a roundabout way, a mocking of our own books of faith around the World. Some choose to believe the writing in those books, whilst others interpret them for their own narrative (for better or for worse).

It's pretty clear at least in my mind that Nora was lying for a couple of reasons. She knew Kevin would never stop. he even says he went back every year searching, and this fabrication also gives Nora closure.

After all, what else is someone to do? When they are presented with a situation that they can't understand or even comprehend, human nature is to make sense of it one way or another, and stories are formed.

Both sides of this belief could be write or wrong at the same time, we simply aren't shown what happens before the machine ignites. In a way, this also annoys me, because it reminds me of LOST, how too many things were left unanswered, but at least with Leftovers, we are given clear directions as to which conclusion we wish to believe, and either could provide closure, whereas in shows like LOST, we are forced into a belief.

There are more clues to Nora lying than there are to not in the episode. But even still, both scenarios /could/ provide closure for viewers.

Overall, a solid rollercoaster of a series, I'm glad I stuck with it every episode. It's a show that I was always thinking about when it was off the air, and always told friends and colleagues about, but many of them barely put it on their radar still.

Their loss!
 
Totally NOT disappointed with the ending and nothing was thrown at the TV.

They stated right back at the start of season 1 that there would be no great reveal at the end, so why anyone should be disappointed or annoyed with the end is beyond me.

They also stated that it was a story about the survivors of whatever it was that happened and that's exactly what we got.

In my view, one of the finest TV shows ever made. :)
 
rids57 said:
They stated right back at the start of season 1 that there would be no great reveal at the end, so why anyone should be disappointed or annoyed with the end is beyond me.

They also stated that it was a story about the survivors of whatever it was that happened and that's exactly what we got.
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All that is true. I recall right from the outset that Lindelof stated the story was and is all about the aftermath for the leftovers.

I can accept pretty much most of it, including Kevin's hallucinations, whether with Paddi or others, and even for the quasi-purgatory of the other place sequences. I think I just wanted more of it :)

And yes; it's up there as one of my favourite TV series.
 
I'm not the sharpest tack when it comes to stuff like this so reading the Reddit thread really helped as I when it ended I hadn't considered she'd been lying at all. Thought it was a twee ending actually, but the clues are there. What a ride this show has been, In my top 3 of all time. The notion that never mind the 98% who were left, the vast majority of the 2% who departed lost evvvvveryone, really landed. Throw Emmy's at the leads FFS.
 
Very pretty, poetic end of the journey to nowhere. Rarely anyone can tell the story for so long, in so many ways, using so many resources and end up telling you so little. In the end, as expected, everything was discarded and irrelevant, the cult of people in white, the dog hunters, town of Jardin, the cave woman, the god on the boat, the goat with beads. 28 episodes. Three years. "I understood that over here we lost just some of them, but over there they lost all of us". Nice. Good stuff. Lovely made.

Oh, and why don't you go love yourself Lindelof, go lie down next to a labrador in some bamboo garden and expire already.
 
Finished watching S03 at the weekend.

I think s02 was some of the best TV ever. S03 was good but it was too disjointed and although I didn't hate the ending it was very typical Lindelof. I knew we weren't going to get anything resembling answers so I prepared myself for that, however if I hadn't seen Lost and knew the game I may have been disappointed.

They didn't really give any answers but they didn't really leave much up for discussion, which is strange.

s01 - Slow
s02 - Amazing
s03 - Fairly solid.
 
Although S2 had some great episodes, S1 was the best season in my opinion. I enjoyed the slower paced wtf is going on during the first few episodes, all accompanied with the superb melodic piano of Max Richter. So many good scenes with the younger cast members too, with some quite memorable dialogue!

“.. on a bed of guns.”
 
Well that's three years of my life I'll never get back

What a rubbish ending, another lost

Someone who can't die, until he gets a heart condition and a group of chain smoking mutes. Next!
 
I think it might, quite possibly, be an utterly brilliant ending, maybe.

Think Nora was probably lying but only because it didn't quite fit with my own take on why folk departed.
That those that went were all unwanted/unloved at that one particular moment in time. The pregnancy, the screaming kids and dad annoying Nora, the woman Kevin was sleeping with etc.

The leftovers realise it was their fault, so are all messed up about it.

Not quite sure what some were expecting? It's all based on a premise from a book that even the author didn't explain. Why does it need explaining? Make your own conclusions about what happened.
The show is about the Leftovers, the clue is in the title. Being frustrated by Lost is one thing but I think this series is to be admired.

Brilliantly made and a joy to watch.
 
v0n said:
Very pretty, poetic end of the journey to nowhere. Rarely anyone can tell the story for so long, in so many ways, using so many resources and end up telling you so little. In the end, as expected, everything was discarded and irrelevant, the cult of people in white, the dog hunters, town of Jardin, the cave woman, the god on the boat, the goat with beads. 28 episodes. Three years. "I understood that over here we lost just some of them, but over there they lost all of us". Nice. Good stuff. Lovely made.

Oh, and why don't you go love yourself Lindelof, go lie down next to a labrador in some bamboo garden and expire already.
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Wow, did he sleep with your Mrs or something?
 
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