re: The Leftovers - Season 3 - early reviews are coming in / Season thread

I thought it was when Kevin told Nora he had a scar on his chest from the pacemaker ( or could it be the KEY that was removed from behind his HEART! ) who knows.

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Start with an ambitious premise and set it up for a few seasons then end it with an emotional payoff and leaving out explanations for most of the mysteries invoked during the series.

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He doesn't answer those intentionally because they're not supposed to be answered. The show is about how people cope with the unknown, why in the world would you want that to be answered? It undoes the entire premise of the show.

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The whole show was about not knowing anything.

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That's not what the show was about, not sure if you watched the entire thing?

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We owed the answer to all those questions, but then there are going to be other areas [we don't answer.] One of the questions that keeps popping up is, “I was kind of hoping you would explain why Kevin has the ability to die and come back to life,” and I said, “Oh, I’m sorry you’re disappointed." Like, I don’t know what else to say in response to that. But I also go, “What does that explanation look like?” I mean, it’s almost like explaining why it is that Superman has powers. It’s like, “Oh, it’s because he’s from the planet Krypton and that’s why he has powers on earth, because of our yellow sun." What is an explanation for why can Kevin die and come back to life? Who gives that explanation and what does it look like? We weren’t touching that with a 10-foot pole — or a 20-foot ladder in our case.

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LINK

I've accepted that the writers and creators haven't given us any explanation on the departure. I know it was revealed a long time ago that they wouldn't, even if I missed it.

But I just think it's a little deflating to not know. For me, as a watcher. I think the show ended well enough. I'm not mad. I'm not upset. I'm glad with how it ended.

I think I missed the point of the show over three seasons. I wanted closure on the departure because that was far more interesting to me than Nora and Kevin's relationship.

Someone mentioned Kevin's ability to come back from drowning or suffocation and that is a great point. Even if the creators have no explanation for it I find it a cop out...what point does it play in the show then?

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I'd like know why Kevin was apparently immortal and why that had nothing to do with the ending of the series. It's just sitting there with no relevance to the show's resolution.

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Pretty sure the "undiagnosed heart condition" that he corrected with a pacemaker was a nod to him seeming immortal and "dying" and coming back.

Beautiful finale. Kevin and Nora dancing to Otis Redding was very moving. That scene is really staying with me. I would have chosen a different Otis song, but you can't go wrong with that voice.

The finale was nearly perfect, IMO. Gave some answers on the departure, if you are willing to accept them, but left a lot of things to mull over. Probably would have been a disaster to try to clarify everything.

I did not feel a need to understand why or how the departure occurred. It is a ridiculous premise and I don't think any physical explanation would have satisfied me anyway. I stopped thinking this was a plot driven show a while ago. It became something like a work of abstract art, to just observe with a relaxed open mind w/o a need for clean lines and clear details; it was almost a sensory experience. It was unique at the very least and I greatly appreciated that.

Carrie Coon and Justin Theroux, outstanding throughout the entire series, kept getting better and better, and I hope they get some award recognition.

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Also, why do you think Nora was lying?

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early on in the episode, the ladies accused her of lying, she said 'I don't lie.'

Kevin was never immortal. Being immortal means you cannot die. Kevin could...and DID die several times. He was just able to choose to come back. And while several characters believed that Kevin was a new messiah, I don't think it was ever a given since Laurie, Nora, and even Kevin himself rejected the idea.

Last week's episode pretty well let us all know that Kevin wasn't a messiah. Nothing on a global scale happened on the big seven year anniversary, so there was never anything to "save" everyone from. Kevin, Sr., was left baffled and disappointed, just like members of the cult in the opening scene of this season.

The point of this whole last season is that the main characters had to save themselves. Kevin did this by rejecting the other side and looking for Nora to make amends, and Nora did this by rejecting the allure of clinging to her losses so she was ready when Kevin came back. I think the symbolic gesture of releasing the scapegoat helped as well.

On top of all of that....the doves finally came home...on Pentecost Sunday.