S01.E09: The Garveys At Their Best

[seamusk]

Is there significance to the fact that everyone at Kevin Sr.'s "surprise" party is a Leftover?

I don't think this is true.  I mean, I recognized many leftovers at the party, but there were many that I did not recognize as well.  I assumed some of those disappeared.  Overall, I think there were around 50 people at the party.  2% of that would be 1 person, though as we know, the geographic distribution of the departed was not a constant.

[ganesh]

Now that was an episode. It explained so much.

 

Did it really? I'm not being contrary for the sake of being contrary, but just regularly viewing this board, most people have made reasonable speculations about pre-1014 events, most of which were confirmed. Nothing "big" was answered from what I saw. It's a classic misdirection because there's just not a lot of show here. No reason on why Kevin Sr. went nuts. There's a wide net of speculation, but I don't think what I saw really shed much light on what's going on post-1014

 

This really would have worked better as an 8 hour series, following 3 or 4 characters. Because from their pov, you don't have to worry about any missing information. From this omniscient pov, there's so much that's deliberately left out, it's jarring. They could have done the opener, Matt episode, Nora episode, someone else, and then this episode. I don't think by going through 9 episodes of this we are better off than if this was hour 5 or 6. 

 

I do like that Jill seemed like a well adjusted kid for the most part. And she got along well with Tom. 

 

For what it's worth, we got the confirmation that Laurie was Patti's therapist.  But I don't think that was ever revealed.  I'm pretty sure we got book spoiled on that one.

 

I don't have a problem with this, but I'm highly skeptical that this point could have been gleaned from the diner scene alone. I mean, good call on anyone who guessed it. I suspect knowing some outside information played into it. But again, what real information was put forth? We don't really know anything more about Patti. I'm not really clear why Laurie and Kevin's marriage wasn't so great. Because it is? Because Kevin said he's a Bad Guy. That's not really motivation and character development. You can't have your characters walking around saying how they feel.

 

And really, so what? It's not like knowing Laurie was Patti's therapist has given us any insight on the GR. Maybe if we had some quick scene with Patti talking to the women in the car it would have helped.

 

In this day with everyone recording everything with smartphones and security cameras everywhere -- there has to be many recordings of the Departed ... departing.

What if  the only people who were taken were out of view at that particular moment?

 

I've eviscerated this topic to shreds and I've yet to see the show actually address this in a reasonable way. Maybe Kevin was in the bathroom. Ok. But a school full of people together like that? Tom looked like he was looking around. Maybe he did see something and that's why he left. That's actually pretty interesting. To be fair though, Nora was in the same room as the rest of her family and she didn't hear anything at all. So that's an actual piece of information. 

 

And the fact is, they probably won't get more into that because they don't want to. They just haven't created a credible world, which is why limiting the pov to a few characters is better. Nora had her backed turned. I don't think the chief really cares what happened. Matt was in an accident and wouldn't have seen anything. To say, "we don't know anything" as they did in E1 is just flat out wrong because we do know some things now. 

 

Video, however, can confirm whether the departed were reacting to something right before vanishing though. 

 

Did anyone notice if Nora's husband's phone was still there? Because he had it in his hand the whole scene. 

Edited August 25, 2014 by ganesh

[ottoDbusdriver]

Did anyone notice if Nora's husband's phone was still there? Because he had it in his hand the whole scene.

 

Nora's husband's phone was still there on the table -- he had the phone in his left hand and must have put it down on the table as he used his left hand to tousle his daughter's hair after the juice spill.  And then they were gone.

[ganesh]

That doesn't say much then. I was wondering if whatever they were holding went too. Although, the kids were holding hands and they didn't all go. 

[jcin617]

don't have a problem with this, but I'm highly skeptical that this point could have been gleaned from the diner scene alone. I mean, good call on anyone who guessed it. I suspect knowing some outside information played into it.

 

I am not privy to anything outside this show, and I deduced that there was some kind of prior relationship between them from Patti's "remember in our last session before everything changed" comment.    Referring to something as a "session" with someone has a pretty limited number of contexts.

 

 

To be fair though, Nora was in the same room as the rest of her family and she didn't hear anything at all. So that's an actual piece of information.

 

Well, technically we don't know what Nora heard or didn't hear as there was only music playing during her "Departed" scene.  I suspect that the noise from her kids shouting or whatever they were doing was probably cut off as abrubtly as the crying baby was in the first episode.

 

But, I think people did see people depart;  but imagine what that would look like:  someone is standing there, and suddenly they aren't.  Without any visual or auditory cues of movement, I think that would be very jarring on your brain.   As I type this I'm trying to imagine what it would look like if my monitor just vanished and I could suddenly, and without warning, see through where it used to be.   

 

The people at the school "completing the circuit" who were holding the hands of the person who departed must have... well, not "felt" it, per se, but suddenly their hands were empty.

[RedHackle]

The flashbacks do hint that departing had to do more with the "leftovers" then with those taken. That is, if a human had been subconsciously wishing away a person important in their lives, they got a horrific lesson in "Be careful what you wish for." (You can see that the elderly couple loves their Downs son but can also imagine the strain of caring for him as they advance in years.) That theory would prove that for all Kevin's dissatisfaction, he never wanted his family gone--it is the distraction that vanishes.

 

 

Very astute observation, Cardie.  I think you may be on to something.  Can somone refresh my memory  - who did Meg lose?  I know her mother died the day before the Departure, but I feel sure I remember hearing at some point who it was she lost.  I wonder now because she's one of the few people we didn't see in this episode.  Did she lose anyone?  I wondered, because of something that happened in a previous ep that made me think she might be an infiltrator.

[Maximum Taco]

Very astute observation, Cardie.  I think you may be on to something.  Can somone refresh my memory  - who did Meg lose?  I know her mother died the day before the Departure, but I feel sure I remember hearing at some point who it was she lost.  I wonder now because she's one of the few people we didn't see in this episode.  Did she lose anyone?  I wondered, because of something that happened in a previous ep that made me think she might be an infiltrator.

 

I don't think Meg lost anyone (other than her mother dying the day before.) Or atleast I don't think it's been mentioned specifically yet.

 

IIRC her problem was that her boyfriend/fiance wanted to move on with their lives/relationship and get married and be happy like nothing ever happened, and she couldn't do that.

Edited August 25, 2014 by Maximum Taco

[ganesh]

Meg's mother died on 10/13, but that's all we know. I forgot about her. Curious that she was totally missing from this episode. There's the other character we could have followed around. 

 

Well, technically we don't know what Nora heard or didn't hear as there was only music playing during her "Departed" scene.  I suspect that the noise from her kids shouting or whatever they were doing was probably cut off as abrubtly as the crying baby was in the first episode.

 

I know. I was trying not to shit completely on the show, since I've been so critical. 

 

Kevin Sr. is a huge part of the post 10/14 landscape. Since he hears voices and got the magazine. Let's confirm that Kevin Jr used to smoke though. That's an important piece of canon.

Edited August 25, 2014 by ganesh

[Kris117]

How did Kevin get tapped to replace his dad as Chief of Police after pops went nuts?

There's a history of mental illness in the family and Kevin was beating the crap out of people even before the Depature.

 

He was the best Not Lou they had. 

 

 

Did it really? I'm not being contrary for the sake of being contrary, but just regularly viewing this board, most people have made reasonable speculations about pre-1014 events, most of which were confirmed. Nothing "big" was answered from what I saw.

I learned a lot, but then I don't think the point of this show is "How and why did all those people disappear?" For me, it's more about the journey these people were making, both before and after the Disappearance. Kevin was undergoing a midlife existential crisis, where he was wondering, "Is that all there is to my life? Being a cop in a small town, with a wife and kids?" His dad told him that doing the best he can with the life he was given is good enough. Kevin and Laurie had a strained marriage long before the disappearance. Laurie was a polished professional, but also unhappy and debating whether to go through with her pregnancy. Jill was a happy, well-adjusted kid with a strong bond with Tom, and the family was living in a large, beautiful modern house, and they're not living there now. Tom was working through some father issues, which, for me, shed light on his devotion to Wayne. Nora was trying to define herself beyond her role as wife and mother. Kevin Sr. seemed to have everything together. Patti was the victim of an abusive husband, and didn't even think she had a right to the house after her divorce. Laurie was a mentor or authority figure for her. The power in that relationship has shifted drastically in the intervening three years. I could go on, but those are the first things that came to mind from this episode.

 

I don't have a problem with this, but I'm highly skeptical that this point could have been gleaned from the diner scene alone. I mean, good call on anyone who guessed it. I suspect knowing some outside information played into it. But again, what real information was put forth? We don't really know anything more about Patti. I'm not really clear why Laurie and Kevin's marriage wasn't so great. Because it is? Because Kevin said he's a Bad Guy. That's not really motivation and character development. You can't have your characters walking around saying how they feel.

I haven't read the books, and I don't read spoilers, but I guessed correctly, and that was confirmed this week.

 

I've eviscerated this topic to shreds and I've yet to see the show actually address this in a reasonable way. Maybe Kevin was in the bathroom. Ok. But a school full of people together like that? Tom looked like he was looking around. Maybe he did see something and that's why he left.

I think they've established that no one saw anything except people being there one moment and gone the next. I don't need to see footage of that—I could create it. But again, that's not the point of the story for me. And Kevin was shown in the first episode to be in mid-thrust when his partner disappeared out from under him. The kids were holding hands that all of a sudden weren't there. I don't think there was anything to see except sudden absence.

I'm glad that they saved this episode until late in the season—very few of those little details about what people's lives were like before the Disappearance would have registered in the same way they did last night had they happened in the first episode. Also, I think jumping from the event to three years later would have been weird.

[xlibris]

Did it really? I'm not being contrary for the sake of being contrary, but just regularly viewing this board, most people have made reasonable speculations about pre-1014 events, most of which were confirmed. Nothing "big" was answered from what I saw. It's a classic misdirection because there's just not a lot of show here. No reason on why Kevin Sr. went nuts. There's a wide net of speculation, but I don't think what I saw really shed much light on what's going on post-1014. 

The main problem I had from the beginning was that I had no reason to wish better things for any of these people, and I had no investment in their grief. This episode filled that in, admittedly late in the game. Jill used to be likable, and Tom used to have multiple gears. Nora was making plans to create a life of her own outside her family. Laurie's path to the GR becomes a little more clear -- now we know who she lost, and beyond that she seems like she was already becoming disaffected enough to scrap her frustrating life for something she could believe in. The turns each of them have taken are ironic twists of the knife. 

 

The show has miscalculated a few things -- or a lot of things -- but I no longer think it's playing dirty. 

[stillshimpy]

And really, so what? It's not like knowing Laurie was Patti's therapist has given us any insight on the GR.

 

I think it helped explain why Laurie believed anything Patty had to say.  Patti even referenced their last session, and honestly I thought the scenes with Patty -- who just seemed delusional, broken and sad (and that's probably how Laurie viewed her) -- would seem omniscient in retrospect from Laurie's standpoint.  Talking about something about to happen, telling Laurie there was something wrong inside her.   Explaining Neil and why Patti dropped off a bag of crap on the front doorstep with his name on it.  

 

The huge difference in Patti's bearing and level of assurance from that session to the moment just before she died.  The suggestion that the GR actually did know something was going to happen because of the truck full of people stopping to pick up Kevin (because he was clad in white and smoking).  

 

I didn't feel like the episode answered a lot of question, but it added a lot to the characterizations thus far.  

 

I don't think this show believes it is telling a story about a mystery to be solved. 

 

But, I think people did see people depart;  but imagine what that would look like:  someone is standing there, and suddenly they aren't.

 

I agree, and I'm not sure why it's assumed that departures weren't witnessed.  I also think that there's video footage.  Kevin and the Mayor talking about it being three years and they still don't know anything, still don't know why it happened, doesn't actually indicate that departures weren't witnessed or caught on film, but rather that whatever information they could glean has yet to provide any answers to what happened beyond "they disappeared" and certainly hasn't yielded a how or why. 

 

Some of the things the show has chosen to do are silly and a bit beyond belief.  That there wouldn't have been a huge outcry about the photographs being taken is one of those things.   But it's never actually been stated, or suggested that none of the departures were witnessed.  Laurie hears someone screaming, that suggested that someone has seen something disturbing (like someone vanishing).  The story is following people who had someone vanish and most weren't looking, it doesn't then follow that no one was looking and since none of these characters are scientists trying to figure out what happened, other than Nora's research for benefits (and we have heard some of those questions) , it actually makes sense that we haven't sat around watching footage of vanishings.  

 

Now, not having a video feed for the hotel where Nora was staying makes less sense, so the show has pulled more than a few "Really? I'm supposed to buy that?" moments, but the fact that the series hasn't shown footage of someone disappearing or referenced it being studied doesn't strike me as one of those gaffes. 

[thuganomics85]

Late for this one.  Much better then the last few; probably with the Nora-centric episode as my favorite so far.  This was a case were a flashback was needed, because I didn't care for almost any of these characters, and this at least did a good job at explaining their motivations, and what they were like before the "event."  It was fun seeing Matt sane, Jill likable, Tom with his family, Kevin Sr. before he went off the deep end, and Laurie actually speaking and being a mother!

 

As for the events themselves, a lot of what was predicted happened, so it wasn't too surprising (Kevin was in the middle of cheating on his wife, Laurie was a therapist and Patti use to be her patient), but I didn't see Laurie being pregnant and the fetus/child being one of the disappeared, so that was something.  It did sound like she was considering an abortion, but I can still see why that fucked her mind up.  But, I"m still wondering how Patti manages to get in her head, and actually be her boss in the GR.

 

Nora's stuff was my favorite, of course.  Yeah, I figured they heading towards the fact that the last thing she did was lose her temper at her kids before they disappeared, but it was still sad when it happened.  Really explains why Nora is the way she is.

 

I know cheating is wrong, but damn, Kevin's fling was hot!  Too bad she's already gone!

[Kris117]

I think it helped explain why Laurie believed anything Patty had to say.  Patti even referenced their last session, and honestly I thought the scenes with Patty -- who just seemed delusional, broken and sad (and that's probably how Laurie viewed her) -- would seem omniscient in retrospect from Laurie's standpoint.  Talking about something about to happen, telling Laurie there was something wrong inside her.   

 

Yes, in that session with Patti, Laurie was professional, but still looked as if she were thinking, "Yeah, right, lady, again you think something bad is going to happen again, even though you've never been right before." I can see why Patti being right about that would lead to Laurie thinking of her as a prophet rather than as her delusional or neurotic patient. 

[ganesh]

I learned a lot, but then I don't think the point of this show is "How and why did all those people disappear?" For me, it's more about the journey these people were making, both before and after the Disappearance.

 

No, it isn't the point of the show. Which is why I suggested limiting the pov to 3,4 character would work better. However, I don't feel I gained any insight after watching the episode. 

 

We've asked: what was Matt's church like before 1014? Why did Kevin Sr go nuts? Major things shown prior to here still really haven't been addressed. They showed us why Matt's wife was driving the car. I feel like the show is deliberately avoiding things people naturally would be curious about. 

 

I think it helped explain why Laurie believed anything Patty had to say.  Patti even referenced their last session, and honestly I thought the scenes with Patty -- who just seemed delusional, broken and sad (and that's probably how Laurie viewed her) -- would seem omniscient in retrospect from Laurie's standpoint.  Talking about something about to happen, telling Laurie there was something wrong inside her.

 

That's fair. But it's still a considerable leap for Laurie to abandon her family based on the ramblings of a delusional patient. So she guessed right and now you drop your whole life? There's stuff being left out that I think is crucial to this. Even if she and Kevin were on the outs, she abandoned her kids. It's stuff like this that I'm just not buying and much of the show is predicated on people not telling other people who are important in their lives, important things. 

 

I never thought the show was playing dirty. I just think they structured the whole thing wrong for what they wanted to do. 

 

Now, not having a video feed for the hotel where Nora was staying makes less sense, so the show has pulled more than a few "Really? I'm supposed to buy that?" moments, but the fact that the series hasn't shown footage of someone disappearing or referenced it being studied doesn't strike me as one of those gaffes.

 

That's the problem. There's too much I have to buy into, and a lot of it could be fixed easily. A shitty show is a shitty show and there's not much that you can do about that. But a show being shitty because they could have put in a smidge more effort is worse to me. 

 

The main problem I had from the beginning was that I had no reason to wish better things for any of these people, and I had no investment in their grief. This episode filled that in, admittedly late in the game.

 

That I can get. And I think the show needed to have an episode pre 1014. But I don't think much was explained. It's dramatically important that Kevin Sr was hugely respected and then he went bonkers. We haven't gained much insight into the GR at all and they've been a pretty big part of the show. The main character is investigating them. The federal government doesn't know much about them after three years, but they know enough to snuff out Wayne's compound. I mean, come on.

[ottoDbusdriver]

At least we did get the confirmation that the Departed left with all their clothes on, and there weren't piles of clothing where a departure occurred (except for Kevin's mystery bambikiller who was naked at the time).

[spaceghostess]

This is my first time commenting on The Leftovers, but I just finished watching this episode, and I have to admit, it got to me. I've been on the fence re: this show, by turns impressed and frustrated with the storytelling. From episode 1, I never expected it to be about "solving" the disappearances, but I did want to feel that the character moments were earned, rather than manipulated. Last week's episode really pissed me off; I was *really* close to jumping ship. But, since my sister loves the show and we debate it every week, I decided to stick around for the last two. I'm glad I did, at least for "The Garveys at Their Best".

A few thoughts:

1. I thought the decision to leave the pre-10/14 character explorations for the penultimate episode was brilliant. Putting this near the beginning of the run would have been meaningless for me as a viewer. Growing to know, like, and dislike these characters post-10/14, only to "meet" them now as they once were was deeply moving, and gave much more of a sense of what was lost.

2. I believe Laurie was ready to go forward with the abortion, but the decision she made to listen to the heartbeat and look at the ultrasound made her change her mind. (Of course, that's just my interpretation of Amy Brenneman's amazing acting in that scene.) And then, poof. Fetus gone. Choice gone. Terrifying.

3. Someone above commented to the effect that people lose babies everyday, and that losing one under these circumstances wouldn't necessarily be enough to put Laurie in the GR headspace. As someone who's had two miscarriages, I will say that it's impossible to predict how anyone (even yourself) will process the experience. Whether Laurie had decided for or against termination, witnessing her baby's literal disappearance would fuck her up but good. Then again, she has two other "babies" who need her. How could she leave them?

4. It was impossible for me to keep an emotional distance from Nora's situation, as well. I'm a stay-at-home (but also a work-from-home) mom, and I've certainly had my share of those "I said TWO HANDS, goddamn it!" moments with my kids, as well as the "Can't you just deal with them for a MINUTE without looking at your computer/phone/etc.?" moments with my normally very involved (and hopefully not cheating) spouse. I imagined for a moment the utter shock of that sudden silence. Great acting (as usual) by Carrie C***.

5. And finally, did anyone else find Kevin (whom I don't dislike) the least changed of any other non-GR character? Kevin, pre 10/14: Simmering bed of secrets, lies, anger, and confusion. Kevin, post 10/14: Ditto, but with a side of crazy.

Edited August 26, 2014 by spaceghostess

[Addlepated]

The whole Garvey family situation sort of reminded me of a scene from the Simpsons --

 

Rod: Uncle Homer, will you sing us that crazy song we love?

Homer: Okay!  "Is that all there is?  Is that all there is?  If that's all there is, my friend, then let's keep daaaaancing!"

Lisa: I don't remember the last time Dad sang US a torch song.

[ganesh]

At least we did get the confirmation that the Departed left with all their clothes on, and there weren't piles of clothing where a departure occurred (except for Kevin's mystery bambikiller who was naked at the time).

 

That's why I asked about the phone. I didn't expect any clear set of rules for the disappearances though. I mean the baby goes, but not Laurie. I'm not even going to bother. 

 

As much as I bitch, I actually don't care about the reason either. But I think the show is trying to have it both ways. I'm doubtful TPTBs know either. Having the GR with some inside knowledge isn't playing entirely fair with the audience. As a result, they've botched how people would actually behave in the aftermath. I think it was a mistake to show the show-proper 3 years out. Closer to the actual event would make a lot more of this palatable. 

[hacman00]

 

That's fair. But it's still a considerable leap for Laurie to abandon her family based on the ramblings of a delusional patient. So she guessed right and now you drop your whole life? There's stuff being left out that I think is crucial to this. Even if she and Kevin were on the outs, she abandoned her kids. It's stuff like this that I'm just not buying and much of the show is predicated on people not telling other people who are important in their lives, important things.

 

You're assuming that Laurie joins the GR immediately after everyone vanishes.  There's 3 years between w=last night's episode and the pilot.  We don't know exactly when and why she chooses to join the GR.

[Armchair Critic]

Was Tom visiting Jill at school because he was too old to be there? It makes me like Laurie even less for joining the GR when I saw how sweet Jill was before.

[stillshimpy]

It would help if we understood anything about what the GR believes, and we do understand more now that Patti has shuffled off the mortal coil. 

 

 

 

That's why I asked about the phone. I didn't expect any clear set of rules for the disappearances though. I mean the baby goes, but not Laurie. I'm not even going to bother.

 

Oh see, I thought that having a baby vanish from within Laurie actually was the thing that answered the "what happened?" question in terms of rules and it tends to be an answer scifi fans dislike, but there really are only two possibilities for something like this:  God or Aliens (or Wizards, or possibly Alien Wizards, but you get the drift) and yeah, the baby Departing from within would lean more towards God or gods, I think.  Or possibly Obstetric Obsessed Aliens?  Seriously though, I thought they swung firmly into "Okay, so now we know it was supernatural" territory with the fetus disappearing. 

 

I could be wrong, but it's not like there was ever going to be "well the health nuts were right, aluminum in deodorant really is deadly and it turns out, it can cause a person to vanish" explanation and as for rules of departure, anything that powerful and it would seem , supernatural can sort of take what it wishes and leave what it wishes.  As to why? That's the question and so far the best theory I've seen is that everyone who was taken may have been wished away at some point.  

 

Funny thing is, I think that would cover almost every human being on the face of the Earth though.  I mean, no matter how dedicated a parent, spouse, friend, co-worker what-have-you someone may be, chances are someone has wished that person gone.  Plus, pretty much universally I think almost every child has had that wished in their direction at.some.point .  I know that every parent around feels a tremendous need to say "No, not me! Never!"  because it's considered so taboo and possibly capable of invoking bad luck , but most of us -- if not all -- have a moment like Nora had where, at a bare minimum, you wish for five full minutes of peace.  Or you wonder "Why did I think having a child was a good idea?" (this can be an almost daily feature for the parents of teens).  It doesn't mean you love your kids any less, it's deeply human.  

 

Just saying, if that was what qualified someone for Departing....my butt would be gone, I'm sure. It's a rare person that wouldn't have been wished ...if not away...then at least briefly away.  So I don't think that's what the departees have in common, but rather that in the absence of any explanation, it's probably human nature to think, "It's something I did, wasn't it?  This was my fault, wasn't it?"  

Edited August 25, 2014 by stillshimpy

[ganesh]

You're assuming that Laurie joins the GR immediately after everyone vanishes...We don't know exactly when and why she chooses to join the GR.

 

I'm not assuming that, but I think we're supposed to get the idea that she's "on the road" to the GR. Don't you think by now we kind of should have a better picture of this? I didn't see much in this episode that offered insight to that end. Presumably, a full flashback episode would give something up for a featured character. 

 

Oh see, I thought that having a baby vanish from within Laurie actually was the thing that answered the "what happened?"

 

We were discussing in the other episode threads why people's clothes went with them, and someone mentioned about talking on a phone, etc. So I asked about the phone here to see if TPTBs slipped up. The shopping cart didn't vanish in E1 either, so the phone shouldn't, and didn't. Again, I don't care exactly what happened, just that it's consistent and the reactions are believable. 

 

There's been nothing further about the dogs either. 

[xlibris]

Of course, that's just my interpretation of Amy Brenneman's amazing acting in that scene.

It was kind of a bummer that she's not going to go 100% speechless in this series! But I agree. And her best moment of acting in that scene was, in fact, silent.

 

You're assuming that Laurie joins the GR immediately after everyone vanishes.  There's 3 years between w=last night's episode and the pilot.  We don't know exactly when and why she chooses to join the GR.

At the diner, didn't Patti say it had been 8 months since she'd joined? So I'm guessing that in the pilot, it had been 4-6 months ... in any event, it seems like she did try to stick it out with her family, but I think she was in a vulnerable state of mind and it couldn't have gotten any better since 10/14.

 

5. And finally, did anyone else find Kevin (whom I don't dislike) the least changed of any other non-GR character? Kevin, pre 10/14: Simmering bed of secrets, lies, anger, and confusion. Keving, post 10/14: Ditto, but with a side of possible crazy.

Right down to his signature "huh?" look. 

[WearyTraveler]

Timestamp on the Ultrasound machine at the Departure time -- 2:23pm -- and it never changed, so that's probably when the ultrasound examination started recording.

 

Based on that, did Kevin spend the entire day with the mystery woman who hit the deer, drinking and banging ?  Because it was still early in the morning when he got that call about the deer (he had just come back from his run).  Didn't anyone at the police station wonder why he didn't show up at work at all ?  Because he was in his uniform. Plus, that woman had much darker hair than the woman in his flashback in Episode 1.

 

From what I know about accidents, they are a pain, even when there's no property damage or humans affected.  They had to call the tow truck and wait for it to arrive, then the guy has to get the chains and hook things up so as to free the car from the deer.  There's paperwork to fill out on site.  Presumably they have to call animal control or some other such authority to remove the animal (you can't leave a dead deer in a residential street, much less one which was acting weird; maybe it had a disease or something).

 

Kevin probably radioed in, apprised them of the situation and told them he was going to stay there to see it through.  It's not uncommon for police to accompany witnesses / victims back to their residence if they are very shaken. So, he might have also radioed back that he was taking the lady home.  Also, she said she had taken a wrong turn, so, who knows how far away her hotel was, maybe a half hour away, 45 minutes?  Then we saw two almost empty glasses of bourbon / whiskey; that stuff takes a while to down, it's not like you just do a shot with glasses like that. 

 

Finally, a the time of these events Kevin is the Chief's son.  I didn't get any feeling Kevin Sr. treated him nicer than anyone else, but still, who's going to rat out the boss' son?

 

As for the woman's hair, I didn't notice the difference, but this woman's hair seemed pretty dark to me.

 

 

Why wasn't Nora Durst's husband at work ? 

 

Maybe the guy came home for lunch.  Some people do that when they work close to where they live, or maybe he was working from home that day.  Or maybe he came home earlier because it was a Friday and he just told his secretary he'd be available on his phone.  I've done all of those things in the past, it's not a big deal.

 

Why was she making grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch after 2pm if they had been home all day ?

 

Who says they had been home all day? Maybe she ran errands in the morning and the day got away from her. It happens.

 

Nora picked up the plastic yellow cup and took it with her after the spill, yet the plastic cup reappears on the floor under the table after they Departed.

 

That one is a continuity mistake.  I don't see where she puts it after she walks away from the table, but it does look as if she took the cup to the kitchen along with her phone.  Good catch.

 

Matt and Marie had just left the doctor's office -- and didn't really have time for Matt to go get drunk before the Departure occurred.  So why was Marie even driving ?

Sometimes when you're emotional, you shouldn't drive, even if you're happy with relief.  It's quite distressing and disturbing to think you're going to get bad news and then get good news.  You don't realize how much tension you've been holding in until it happens, so, maybe that's why she was driving.  It's a minor point though.  Some couples switch around the driver position all the time.  I love driving, so, even if the guy I'm seeing wants to drive, I'll probably be the one doing it.

 

How did neither of the 2 kids standing right behind the girl in the science fair circuit that disappeared not even notice that she had disappeared ?  Or even say something like "Hey, that girl just disappeared, where did she go ?" They were right there and would have seen it happen.  No sound. No bright light. Nothing. They just disappeared. Where were Amy and the Frost twins at high school ?

Everyone noticed.  It was obvious on all their faces.  As for talking, two points: one, the disappearing scenes were all in slow motion, so, we are seeing the second it happened, most people wouldn't know what to say right at that second, maybe 10 seconds in they would start asking each other questions; and two, if anyone actually said anything, we  wouldn't have heard it because the scenes were a montage with music playing over it.  We didn't hear the sound from any disappearance.

 

This should have been Episode 1 -- and then Episode 2 would have begun with "3 years later".

 

I disagree, I think the episode has a lot more emotional punch after seeing what these people became.

 

I learned a lot, but then I don't think the point of this show is "How and why did all those people disappear?" For me, it's more about the journey these people were making, both before and after the Disappearance.

 

I think you're right.  I don't think the point of this show is to understand why the people disappeared or why.  It's a secondary mystery, even a tertiary one.  It's not called The Gone, The Rapture, The Day They Left, or any other similar titles. It's called the Leftovers, so, it's about the people who did not disappear.  How they were affected and what they do to get on with their lives, if they actually manage that.

 

I think anybody who is in it with the expectation that the show will explain the disappearance is going to be disappointed.  Lindeloff loves sci-fi and he's a self-declared geek, but his writing forte is character studies.  When he writes about people, their emotions, their issues, motivations etc. he's very, very good.  I'm not ashamed to say I loved Lost, including the ending, but, I wasn't watching that show for the mysteries, I was watching for the characters.  For me, time traveling almost ruined that show, since, from the very beginning, I saw all the sci-fi elements as a mere diversion meant to fill the time from the point where Jack is thrust into an unwanted leadership role, to the point where he took the role willingly and saved everyone else for real.  And that was exactly what I got, so, I was a happy camper.

 

I think this show is very similar to Lost in that regard:  There is a mysterious event that impacts all the characters (crashing on a wacky island in Lost, the disappearances in The Leftovers), and we get to see how people deal with that, whether they evolve, devolve or go back and forth.  I think the point is human struggle, not the event.

 

I haven't read the book, but one of the earlier articles about the series I read said that the book never explains the disappearances.  So, it seems the source material is centered around how people deal with an unexplained event of massive ramifications, not the event itself.

 

I think they've established that no one saw anything except people being there one moment and gone the next. I don't need to see footage of that—I could create it. But again, that's not the point of the story for me. And Kevin was shown in the first episode to be in mid-thrust when his partner disappeared out from under him. The kids were holding hands that all of a sudden weren't there. I don't think there was anything to see except sudden absence.

 

I agree, I think part of the problem might be that we have preconceptions as to what something like that would look like and some people expect those things to happen; like a sound or a light.  The physics of it all would suggest that some visible or audible effect should happen when you remove a collection of particles suddenly from a place, I mean the existing particles in the air would rush to feel the void, and given that 2% of the world population disappeared at the same time, that would suggest a combined noise of some sort.  BUT, since we don't know how these people were taken out, we can't assume that it would be that way.  There's a lot that physics can not explain in our world today, so, maybe this is one such thing.

 

In any case, I really don't care.  Let's say there was a noise, a light, whatever; so what? The people are still gone, and the Leftovers are still left behind.  The physics of it all don't really matter.

 

Also, I think that when we saw / heard someone saying in Pilot that they didn't know anything, it's doesn't mean that they haven't seen footage of the disappearances or heard accounts, or even registered the physics changes that happened during and after; it means that they still don't know the answers 99% of the Leftovers want: "where are they?" and "why did they go?".  These are the questions haunting everyone in the Post-disappearance world.  Once they have those answers they might move to "how was it done?" but not before.

[ganesh]

Regardless of when she joined, there's still a big gap there and I'm just not seeing the overall motivation. Mainly, because of the kids. They were both really nice. Even with Tom having issues with the bio dad. Now, if Tom left to join the cult first, then there's something at least. That might have lead to Jill becoming so insufferable, and Kevin certainly isn't helping. 

 

It's not that the family disintegrating is unbelievable, but there's nothing that I've seen to make that leap. I just think the show omitting 1014 to +3 years is a cop out to not do any of the heavy lifting. 

 

Lindeloff loves sci-fi and he's a self-declared geek, but his writing forte is character studies.

 

He hasn't done well here at all. These people are 2D at best, mainly because their motivations seem to be absent. 

 

Let's say there was a noise, a light, whatever; so what?

 

Because people are inquisitive by nature and would want to investigate, even if there's no concrete result. Even proving nothing requires rigorous work. The show doesn't have to be about that, but when you have something like the dogs, giving the impression that there are people out there trying, makes a believable world. Something like this happens and in only 3 years people are like, "oh well I guess we don't know." I just don't buy it. That's just not how people are. I really think making the show 6 months to a year would have eliminated a lot of these issues. 

[WearyTraveler]

I'm not assuming that, but I think we're supposed to get the idea that she's "on the road" to the GR. Don't you think by now we kind of should have a better picture of this? I didn't see much in this episode that offered insight to that end.

 

I think there are a lot of threads in the air and the show is taking its time with each one, plus, it's to be expected when you have more of an ensemble show.  I don't think 9 hours is enough to show what everyone of the main characters was doing pre 10/14, during and for the three years immediately after.  It's a lot of ground to cover.  Maybe the show is too ambitious, but with only 9 hours in, I don't know if it's fair to expect that much.

[WearyTraveler]

He hasn't done well here at all. These people are 2D at best, mainly because their motivations seem to be absent. 

 

I find them interesting, they have a lot of pain, a lot of issues, a lot of struggle.  Motivations are slowly being revealed. Some I can infer, others I can deduce.  Others haven't been shown yet, but we have seen the start of some of them.  I'm cool with the slow burn.   

 

Something like this happens and in only 3 years people are like, "oh well I guess we don't know." I just don't buy it. That's just not how people are. I really think making the show 6 months to a year would have eliminated a lot of these issues.

 

But people are not like that.  The guy in Pilot said they still didn't know anything but there hasn't been any indication that the research has been dropped.  If anything, Nora's job seems to indicate that the government is still trying to understand.  As for regular people, they might not be asking the questions out loud, but that doesn't mean they don't care.  If anything, their current emotional state actually shows what living three years without an answer might do to people.

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Also, I wanted to say, since no one has yet taken the cheap shot, I will: Hot Cop is packing! :D

Edited August 25, 2014 by WearyTraveler

[ottoDbusdriver]

I think there are a lot of threads in the air and the show is taking its time with each one, plus, it's to be expected when you have more of an ensemble show.  I don't think 9 hours is enough to show what everyone of the main characters was doing pre 10/14, during and for the three years immediately after.  It's a lot of ground to cover.  Maybe the show is too ambitious, but with only 9 hours in, I don't know if it's fair to expect that much.

 

Makes me wonder if the kid that disappeared in the fridge in the woods was just a myth, or really happened ?  I would have liked to see what the Frost twins were doing on Oct. 14 because they don't seem to have been phased by any of it.

[ganesh]

That's a lot of inference without much in terms of data points supported by the show though.

I don't think it's asking too much to expect that the show can give us a stronger indication of why Laurie joined the GR by E9, since she is one of the leads.

There is a lot of time between 1014 and +2.5 years. I don't need to be spoon fed, but I'm just not seeing much that would lead her down that road. If anything, i'd buy Nora joining up by now.

Just off the to of my head, many of the topics covered here haven't been addressed by the show. And a lot of it is about "what is this world like?"

TPTBs are pretty good at talking around everything important, and making it seem like stuff is happening I'll give them that.

[Guest]

I don't think 9 hours is enough to show what everyone of the main characters was doing pre 10/14, during and for the three years immediately after.

In the hands of a better storyteller, this mess could have been a great 2.5-hour character-study film like Magnolia or Nashville. Whoever this Lindelhof guy is (I didn't watch Lost and no longer regret that decision), he needs to learn from his betters how it's done.

As for Laurie's disappearing baby, either that was the world's longest ultrasound ('cause it should have been over once the doc said the fetus was "perfectly normal") or it was a self-activated ultrasound since I assume the doctor would ditch the room once the person outside of it started screaming since I noticed Laurie's view of the machine was unobscured by the doc's arm or body.

[Cardie]

The intervening three years will get filled in eventually. One of the characteristics of serialized "quality television" is that there is either a big reveal or a chronological lacuna whose mystery comes out in dribs and drabs. Lost did a lot to make this a thing but we can see less drastic paradigms in things like season opening flashforwards like on Damages or Revenge. It's gotten pretty tired as a trope but is being handled fairly well here as opposed to other shows I could name. After the attempts to explain the island on Lost rather than just use the crash and the start over to look at how the castaways find their salvation, I'm grateful Lindelof looks to be avoiding glowy light caves this time around.

Kevin is an interesting case since he seems to encompass all the reactions to the departure in his rapidly disintegrating psyche. He was prime cult material, thus his early awareness of things cracking and being seen in a GR pose. He saw someone disappear. He's trying to go on with his family's life and his own. He's succumbed to an investigative obsession. He wants to save panicked, destructive animals but ends up killing them--and he's clearly a lot like them. Plus he's going crazy.

[Mor]

I think it was a great episode, seeing everyone in this light was a stark contrast to the rest of the season (especially the party where everyone were outwardly happy) and filling some important blanks and humanizing few characters.

Is there significance to the fact that everyone at Kevin Sr.'s "surprise" party is a Leftover?

I am not certain that everyone there are leftover, IMO the most significant moments at that party was Kevin speech and his father comment to him afterwards.

[shapeshifter]

...we heard a woman scream during Laurie's ultrasound, presumably because she was looking right at somone who disappeared.

I was taken out of the scene with that editing choice. We see the fetus/baby on the screen at the same moment we here the scream, right? If so, this implies that rather than a single moment of disappearance (which I had assumed, based on the pilot) they winked out like stars as clouds roll in.

...The suggestion that the GR actually did know something was going to happen because of the truck full of people stopping to pick up Kevin (because he was clad in white and smoking).

I really want to know what's up with that.

Nora picked up the plastic yellow cup and took it with her after the spill, yet the plastic cup reappears on the floor under the table after they Departed.

That one is a continuity mistake.  I don't see where she puts it after she walks away from the table, but it does look as if she took the cup to the kitchen along with her phone.  Good catch.

I would think these scenes would have been scrupulously edited for continuity to make the disappearances believable. I suppose they could have missed one, but, instead, could it be a mini-flashback from Nora's point of view?

[Zima]

That does seem odd. I thought maybe it was a Saturday, but the older kids were at school. What time did the Departure happen?

 

The older kids were at school only for a Science fair, right? Those can take place in the evening or during the weekend. 

[WearyTraveler]

As was stated by a previous poster, Laurie's ultrasound displayed the time as 2:23 PM. And as someone else said, if we check a calendar, it was a Friday.

[izabella]

I was glad to get this episode, as I've been starved for backstory and context all this time!

 

I really liked the interview scene with Nora and the now-Mayor before the campaign.  She was not expected to win, so I wonder if the other candidate was one of the Departed.

[scrb]

I like them better when they didn't talk ...

[placate]

Am I the only one who still doesn't get what's going on? It's been almost a season but I feel I'll have to read the book while season 2 is being made, just to understand the current episodes mean.

[Blakeston]

I had very mixed feelings about this episode. I thought it was very powerful dramatically. But I also thought there was something very manipulative and even cheesy about it.

 

• Laurie's baby disappears at the exact moment she's looking at an ultrasound for the first time.
• Even though it was 2:23 on a weekday, Nora's husband was with her, and everyone disappeared just as she lost her temper with one of her kids.
• Kevin was cheating on his wife when the woman he was screwing vanished.
• Tom happened to be at Jill's school with her, and they were in a circle of people with locked hands with someone who disappeared.
• Matt and his wife were in that accident on their way home from learning that he didn't have cancer.

 

I get that there's suspension of disbelief, but I still thought it was all just too much. I'm surprised we didn't see a major character lost their spouse at the altar, the second after saying "I do."

 

I was taken out of the scene with that editing choice. We see the fetus/baby on the screen at the same moment we here the scream, right? If so, this implies that rather than a single moment of disappearance (which I had assumed, based on the pilot) they winked out like stars as clouds roll in.

 

We didn't have a view of the ultrasound when the scream happened.

Edited August 26, 2014 by Blakeston

[Trick Question]

As to why? That's the question and so far the best theory I've seen is that everyone who was taken may have been wished away at some point. 

 

Funny thing is, I think that would cover almost every human being on the face of the Earth though

 

This was also my working theory for the Departure after reading the book.  This isn't really a book spoiler since the scene has now been portrayed on the show --- Nora was describing that final moment with her kids and husband and said she was so frustrated that she wished them all gone and then they actually did vanish.  That said, your counter-argument is a good one.  Even if you limit it to only people who were being wished away at that specific second of 2:23 pm on 10/14/2011, that still probably means that every major politician in the world and most celebrities Depart instead of only some of them.

[stillshimpy]

I really liked the interview scene with Nora and the now-Mayor before the campaign.  She was not expected to win, so I wonder if the other candidate was one of the Departed.

 

Or if her opponent simply decided not to run because the world was sort of in chaos.   One thing I liked about the story with Nora is that she tells the Now-Mayor (who I'm sure has a name , if only I knew it) that "as far as you're concerned, for the next month I don't have a family.   I couldn't help but wonder "how would that work?" because Nora's husband seemed sort of useless.  We now know he was having an affair and that when he came home late, that was the likely explanation as to why, but as far as Nora knew, he was working.   

 

I just liked all the details in that moment, because Nora had to know that there was no way she could count on him to let her do something all consuming for a month.  Admittedly, even though the story took some pains to show that Nora's husband was sort of a drip, even outside of the cheating, that would be a completely unreasonable thing to ask of a spouse or a partner without a lot of prior communication about why it was important.  I'm not saying that it would be out of the question, it's just she had nothing in place and clearly could barely count on hubby to come home, let alone be the primary caretaker for a month and as far as she knew -- although we suspect it was his affair -- he had a job that kept him working late into the evening.  

 

So the entire interview was Nora engaging in a bit of fantasy and role play almost and she had to know that.  It just added to knowing what she had to be thinking in the moment they vanished, which was that he was sort of useless and she felt very trapped by her kids (again, in that moment) and she just wished to be free. 

Edited August 26, 2014 by stillshimpy

[Enigma X]

That scene with Nora, the mayor, and Kevin Sr. solidified for me that the mayor and Kevin Sr. were more than just friends. Am I inferring too much?

[shapeshifter]

...Even if you limit it to only people who were being wished away at that specific second of 2:23 pm on 10/14/2011, that still probably means that every major politician in the world and most celebrities Depart instead of only some of them.

I'm guessing a higher percentage of bosses go missing than celebrities, and maybe even higher than politicians. Heh.

Maybe the strength of the wishing-them-gone thoughts was dependent upon how many others had wishing-them-stay thoughts.

[seamusk]

I'm guessing a higher percentage of bosses go missing than celebrities, and maybe even higher than politicians. Heh.

Maybe the strength of the wishing-them-gone thoughts was dependent upon how many others had wishing-them-stay thoughts.

I was thinking that maybe it was geographic.  What if it only impacted people who were wishing them away within a certain geographic range.  So, the fact that a politician has people all over the world wishing him away doesn't matter.  What matters is if someone in his direct vicinity is doing so at that particular moment.  Or maybe, as you suggest, it's the passion or weight behind the wishing.  But there can be other variables here.  It could even be that someone has to be wished away and they are still only 25% likely to be vanished.

[Constantinople]

That's fair. But it's still a considerable leap for Laurie to abandon her family based on the ramblings of a delusional patient. So she guessed right and now you drop your whole life? There's stuff being left out that I think is crucial to this. Even if she and Kevin were on the outs, she abandoned her kids. It's stuff like this that I'm just not buying and much of the show is predicated on people not telling other people who are important in their lives, important things.

I agree this needs to be fleshed out more. Given how little we know about the GR, other than their white PJs, their smoking and their inane prattle about remembering what happened, as if anyone could forget, Patti is still just the proverbial busted clock that's right twice a day.

 

And even if the Patti was "right" in the sense of not being a busted clock, what does the GR have to offer?

[The Solution]

Am I the only one who still doesn't get what's going on? It's been almost a season but I feel I'll have to read the book while season 2 is being made, just to understand the current episodes mean.

 

Yeah. That's not going to help. Already tried it.

 

The book is good though. Better than the TV series, which bears only a superficial resemblance to the book.

[ganesh]

Especially that's it been established that the GR was forming pre 1014. This is so typical though. Rather than shedding some light on how/why Laurie would join the GR, who is in charge now, so it's kind of important, they instead throw that on top of it. It's like when you finally confront the Big Bad and they say, "you think I'm the Big Bad? Wait till you see what's coming." ffs. 

 

Am I the only one who still doesn't get what's going on?

 

There's really not much going on. There's no directed narrative. But, it's supposed to be a "character study" and "about the journey." Which is a cop out. Because if you have people meandering around and milling about, there's not much journeying going on. If you don't have real characters living in a real world, there's not much else. As shitty as Lost was, and it did have it's moments, no one can say those weren't real characters in a real world. Until the end, which was dumb, but not unexpected. 

 

But I also thought there was something very manipulative and even cheesy about it.

 

I said yesterday, it was a classic misdirection. They didn't really reveal much that wasn't known or reasoned out already. It was good to see Jill and Tom were fairly normal and decent kids. Laurie and Kevin both had good relationships with the kids. They got along together. Kevin Sr was well-respected, Matt seemed well-liked as well. I'd even say Nora is better off now than she was. Nothing wrong with all that. It's hard to make an entire show just about all that though.

 

But when it came to actual major story stuff; i.e., the GR, we got nothing. No indication on why Laurie would join. No Liv Tyler. No reason why Tom would lave to join the cult. No idea why that cult came around. The dogs. 

 

I get that there's suspension of disbelief, but I still thought it was all just too much.

 

Same thing. I said they wanted us to buy into a lot overall and it's just too much. It's really contrived when you really look at the show. They don't want to address what happened and that's fine, but in their effort to Not Focus On That, they've kind of forced the action and it's not working.

 

Even if you limit it to only people who were being wished away at that specific second of 2:23 pm on 10/14/2011, that still probably means that every major politician in the world and most celebrities Depart instead of only some of them.

 

Still, even if the wishing is limited by geography, Congress would still be gone.

 

One thing that is interesting, and I think this on accident rather than TPTBs wanting us to consider this, is that if people just wished for others to vanish, when Nora asks her question "do you think they're in a better place?" It's got some oomph to it. 

[stillshimpy]

I think in the absence of an explanation with any scientific or logical validity, people would reach for whatever reason they could find in that moment and that it isn't really an explanation that is attached to any reality.  If something that terrible happened to a person, they would want to know why and it's human nature to think that we have the power to impact the outcome in a particular direction.  

 

Everyone who has ever lost someone to an accident goes through the "if only" stage of grieving.  "If only I'd talked to him for three more minutes, he never would have been in that spot!"  "If only I hadn't talked to him, he would have been early and he'd never have been in that spot!"  "If only I hadn't moved my dentist appointment..." "If only I'd called the electrician when the overhead lamp flickered...."  

 

But it's not really the cause of the accident.  It's about our power -- real or perceived or desperately wanted -- to impact our own lives.  To feel like we aren't just helpless to the whims and vagaries of fate and circumstance.   When something hurts someone soooo much, like having your family disappear when you were irritated with them, an individual would want to feel like they had some say in it, even if it was a negative thing.  Even if it was the conviction, "I caused this with my errant thought!" so that you wouldn't feel so much like fate or god's fool.  

However, for starters Laurie may not have been contemplating an abortion,  When the doctor said "we're running out of time here" it was as likely related to the need to do testing due to Laurie's age and that was why there was a clock ticking, not because Laurie was contemplating abortion.  She kept one baby, we are given to understand, without the dude who was the father around, she might have been sad because she thought she was going to have to do that again.  

So the appointment might not have had a thing to do with with termination, other than trying to ascertain if the fetus was healthy and to proceed with amnio testing, which Laurie would need to have done.  

Then when you add in things like science fair kid disappearing or the dad who apparently disappeared while holding his child's hand, it really becomes unlikely that what actually caused anything was "I wish you weren't here" and proximity or strength ratio, but rather than when there is no explanation, people will make up one, because they need one and the people who were in the midst of being irritated, annoyed with or downright savage towards someone who went poof would absolutely think, "It's my fault."  because we feel responsible for one another and we fear our own fuckups.  Or most people do, not everyone.  

So I doubt there's any validity to it, it's more like little kids who think their parents wouldn't have divorced if only they'd picked up their room when told.  It wouldn't have done a thing, but we need to feel like we aren't just twisting in fate's wind, even when the conclusion drawn are painful. 

[gaPeach]

I don't think this show believes it is telling a story about a mystery to be solved.

 

I have come to this conclusion too.

 

Count me in as one that just does not care that much about any of the characters.  I thought it was a mystery to be solved but apparently not.  Even though you have mysterious deer and dogs running around, crazy/not crazy Sheriff, mystery dog killer with no apparent forms of ID etc.  So that leaves how the characters are coping with their loss and I am just not connecting with any of them. 

 

This show is either way over my head or I am just not vested in it enough to try and get it.  I loved Lost even with the lame ending but that show had mystery and I liked most of the characters.  This show?  Not so much.

 

Will probably hang in for the rest of the season but will not watch next season.

[xlibris]

I had very mixed feelings about this episode. I thought it was very powerful dramatically. But I also thought there was something very manipulative and even cheesy about it.

I know what you mean, but to me, just telling a story takes some artifice. Each of the individual scenarios was plausible, and I found it kind of moving that Kevin and Laurie were going through their marital crises together but separately. And in the end, they were left with nothing but each other.

 

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but the show had yet to put us in the position of dealing with an intimate disappearance, right? The stuff in the pilot and the subsequent flashbacks were all public settings (and I don't count the very brief Kevin flashback). If it's just you and someone who's not there anymore, you don't even have the luxury of looking at a stranger's reaction for confirmation that you're not crazy.

 

I thought the show did a good job of sticking to that Pixar rule: "Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating."

 

I don't think this show believes it is telling a story about a mystery to be solved. 

I'm cool with that. What answer could they possibly give that would be satisfying? I hope they spend the whole "offseason" focused on character development to make this question moot. My opinion of the show has risen and fallen almost 100% based on how I feel about the characters.

Edited August 26, 2014 by xlibris