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[HBO] The Leftovers

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by GRENDEL, Jun 30, 2014.

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  1. OmegaSupreme

    OmegaSupreme Contributing Member

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    i think that was the point.

    nora's final words (final words for the series), "i'm here" was supposed to settle the lingering questions. what's more important than after seven years of asking "why", and after going great lengths to finally get the answer, realizing how unimportant that question or any other was to begin with?

    all that ^^^ said, i also agree that it was literal. depature unexplained, but scientists found a way to access a parallel universe (very cool stuff in the link): https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many-worlds_interpretation
     
  2. GRENDEL

    GRENDEL Contributing Member

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    I thought it was an excellent finale, that final sequence between Nora and Kevin was really well done. So many tidbits dropped throughout the episode, like the nun saying "sometimes it just makes a better story....".

    We could take Nora's story as literal or just a fabrication, it's totally left up to interpretation. The open sequence of the season really come into focus as well with the Millerites, waiting for an apocalypse never really let those zealots live. Same goes for the characters on the series.
     
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  3. DreamShook

    DreamShook Member

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    Classic Lindelof... except this time he made it a point to say the mystery was unsolvable. Fans think it's another masterpiece, I'm giving shoulder shrugs.

    With Lost, at least I enjoyed the ride.
     
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  4. daywalker02

    daywalker02 Member

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    Why couldn't they make 10 episodes?
     
  5. mrm32

    mrm32 Member

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    It makes for a better story.
     
  6. A_3PO

    A_3PO Member

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    Finale was OK but the totally awesome prior two episodes made it somewhat disappointing for me.

    Great series.

    Carrie Coon's career will go into orbit. What a year for her.
     
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  7. daywalker02

    daywalker02 Member

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    Or what about she just needed that time span of 7 or 10 what years to find herself, she did not go through with the eradication process, then living in the belief she did it, she never met her children and the creator of that machine. She was just imagining it. She thought she could live by herself until she saw Kevin, and she knew she missed him very much and can finally choose him instead of being held back by her departed children.

    Kev just believed it to be with her eventually.He did look for her everywhere, esp. in Australia.
    A mundane interpretation.
     
    #347 daywalker02, Jun 6, 2017
    Last edited: Jun 6, 2017
  8. tinman

    tinman Contributing Member
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    They completely got rid of the kids this season
     
  9. peleincubus

    peleincubus Member

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    That could be. Was Kevin capable of dying of and coming back or not? If he is and the fact that all of those people vanished makes me believe that that would be true also.
     
  10. Commodore

    Commodore Contributing Member

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    the ending was fine, not great

    1. Nora telling instead of showing her entire journey to the other side felt like they ran out of time/budget (they can play it off like ambiguity for the viewer to guess whether she's lying or not).

    2. It makes no sense that she would not help her family and others return back to the other side (or at least offer to take them).

    3. Her reason for not seeking out Kevin was that she was afraid he wouldn't believe her? what?
     
  11. daywalker02

    daywalker02 Member

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    Of course. But on a spectrum coming back from the dead is somewhat supernatural while building a cannon that evaporates ppl is more out of the realm of science fiction and tech.

    Different directions.
     
    #351 daywalker02, Jun 6, 2017
    Last edited: Jun 6, 2017
  12. Svpernaut

    Svpernaut Contributing Member

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    The Leftovers has become my favorite TV drama of all time. I've rewatched the entire thing twice, and am just in awe of the show - and I absolutely loved how it ended. If this show doesn't rack up Emmys this year, I will be absolutely shocked.

    I think Nora was lying in the last scene (yet another coping mechanism), and that Kevin didn't care. I think the fact that they left it up to you, perfectly fits with the entirety of the show.
     
  13. daywalker02

    daywalker02 Member

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    To me Nora seems to have a timid and frail personality.

    The instant Kevin told her he is having an imaginary foe named Patty Levine she made tracks and ran away. In Season 2.
     
  14. EssTooKayTD

    EssTooKayTD Contributing Member

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    The entire show was always questing whether you (and the characters) believed or had faith in something/someone. It's only fitting that at the end, we are faced with the same decision. Do you believe her or not? Ultimately, it doesn't matter if it's true or not, but only if Kevin believes/accepts it, so they can be together.

    I, for one, buy her story, even though there is a strong case that it's fabricated. They could spin off and do a series based off the 2%. I assume it would be more like The Walking Dead without zombies though. Not like how Nora describes it, so maybe she is making things up hah.

    For me, when the show started, I was caught up in what happened instead of what was happening. Totally ignoring the fact the show is called The Leftovers, not The Departed. I tell those who I suggest the show to, to remember that.

    I love the show for the concept, how it dabbles "just enough" into the unexplained, and turns out to be an extraordinary love story. I don't typically like the super mushy love stories or the over the top sci-fi or paranormal (not sure if that's the word I'm looking for).
     
  15. Svpernaut

    Svpernaut Contributing Member

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    Exactly. The entire premise of the show was to portray how people cope with loss and grief from an unexplainable phenomenon. As what would likely happen in "real life," the coping mechanisms and grief outlets were varied from subtle to extreme.

    The departure was simply a plot device that allowed the viewers to understand the type of loss and empathize with the characters, without knowing any more than the characters living in the story. Absolutely brilliant writing.

    The reason I don't buy Nora's story, is because every single act the characters went through, was an act of coping and/or coming to terms with reality - so I don't believe hers would be any different.
     
  16. FishBulb913

    FishBulb913 Contributing Member

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    So I was listening to The Watch podcast, and they said that the shows creator actually had the idea for this alternate universe in the pilot and filmed a scenario where the baby was left all alone, with everyone else departing, the idea being this could be how he ends the series eventually.

    The writer of the source material (also an EP i believe) put his foot down when the time came and said (paraphrasing) "no, Nora can tell her story, but you CAN NOT show this alternate world. It has to be left up to the viewer"
     
  17. Svpernaut

    Svpernaut Contributing Member

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    I follow Damon Lindelhof fairly religiously, and his plan was always to leave the ending open - he just wasn't sure how to go about doing it. Remember, Season 1 was from a book, Season 2 and 3 are all original. They said that when the writers wrote season 3, that they actually started with the final scene first.

    Lindelhof said many times in the past that we'd never find out what the departure was, which leads me to believe that Nora's story was made up. The tagline for the final episode is also, "Nothing is answered. Everything is answered. And then it ends." I think Nora's story was a way for viewers to also, "cope" with the story ending - and them finally having closure as to what the departure was. That was the brilliance of the show to me, that the viewer wanted to know what the departure was just as bad as the characters.
     
  18. peleincubus

    peleincubus Member

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    Just because he said that "we'd never find out" doesn't mean that her story is untrue. What he really meant is you would not find out what happened definitively one way or the other. There is no irrefutable proof from the show that her story is true nor false. If that's the case then you are truly only left with what you want to be true at that point.

    As far as coping... If my 7 year old son vanished in front of me and I didn't know what happened. I'm fairly certain I would go off the deep end. And I do not think I would be able to recover.
     
  19. Svpernaut

    Svpernaut Contributing Member

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    I wasn't saying I know what happened, just what I believe. Lindelhof has said that the ending was supposed to be ambiguous.

    As far as what would happen because of the departure, I think they showed just about what would. From the Guilty Remnant, to Wayne's "hug it out cult," to mass suicides, to Nora and her bulletproof vest, and Kevin and his plastic bag, and Jill and her refrigerator, and Kevin Sr. and his spiritual walkabout, and Matt and his spiritual quest and the Book of Kevin... and all of the crazies at Jarden - they've covered just about every way people would react I think.
     
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  20. LosPollosHermanos

    LosPollosHermanos Houston only fan
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    Stupid show. Sorry just had to say it
     

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