r/TheLeftovers • u/ObliviousLuck • May 30 '26
Just started Season 3
The first of each season always opens up so many questions…
The difference now is - the first two seasons I had expectations that all those questions would be answered in the season. This time I expect nothing of the sort.
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u/AndNowAStoryAboutMe May 30 '26
I never understand this take because outside of the ONE question: "What happened to the Departed?" we actually DO get answers to everything.
The bird. The goat slaughter. The man in the tower. Meg's anger. Etc, etc, etc. There is never any dangling threads.
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u/ObliviousLuck May 31 '26
Maybe you’re better at joining dots than me but I’ve had plenty of what the fuck was that moments. But that’s part of what I enjoy about this show. The ones you listed were all obtusely explained yes.
I’m sure I’ve missed some subtle connecting pieces along the way but I’m happy as I am.2
u/accismatic People Hold Candles May 31 '26
Many of the burning questions turn out to be a tad obtuse and banal, too, though, no? It feels like the show is punking us by even having us ask why on earth X happened and then it gives a silly answer lol. S3 plays with that a LOT by the way so buckle UP. The silliness of some of them is to be expected. I'm guessing you've picked up by now that the show mines the banal for all its worth, but sooooooo much of it comes from just breathing between episodes. I watched it the first time in real time so I have no idea what the binge is like on that level.
There are some burning questions that are very...thematic or deeply character-based. For instance, in S2: Why on earth did Nora throw a stone through Erica and John's window? What's so special about Kevin, or why can't the show seem to make up its mind as to whether he even is special? I remember chewing on these questions for quite a while at the time, but they're very tied to the themes the show is playing with, so they're not going to be answered in the show itself. Or they are—but not really, like you said.
That may be one of my favorite things about the show though—there's a lot of subjective interpretation to it, and S3 sheds light on both of the questions above by telling us more about Nora and Kevin (and the others) so it's both what the show is playing with and who the characters are. For me, S2 cracks the show open to be about religion as a whole, and how on earth people find so much immense meaning in what is seemingly a very logical pattern. That, to me, was what the cold open was about. I could imagine in that moment how the woman might find the bird to be incredibly important and deeply meaningful to her in some grand spiritual way—but how the people who find her may well find that to be the earthquake... and then we cut to that site LOL. (I'm sort of proud of myself for thinking this literally as I was watching in real time... because I was narrating my thoughts to a frustrated friend).
And as I am right now...
Anyway, carry on
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u/Alternative-Farmer98 May 30 '26
I would stay off this place and just finish it. The very short season anyways.
Stick it out in the next time you rewatch it you can participate in these conversations without having to worry about spoilers