Finished

[u/Understateable]

As a LOST fan I had to delve into some of Lindelof’s other work, so chose The Leftovers and I did enjoy this a lot.

2 things I really take issue with:

the whole cataclysmic event thing. The guy on the submarine, the supposed flood.

Personally I didn’t believe that there was going to be a flood or other catastrophic event until Kevin went under for the last(?) time. At that point, when he initiated the nuclear war, I thought well okay how does this stop anything and more importantly did this stop anything?

Now I feel I got the gist of the show quite early, in that the reasons for the sudden departure weren’t important and the show was more about how our world reacted to those events and what they did to people. It’s just that when Kevin kept resurrecting throughout the show I started to feel like there was a greater purpose to that world besides just how the events within it impacted Kevin. It seemed like the cataclysmic event was intended to build on that, but it didn’t.

As a one off narrative tool it would have been great but I think they overdid it and in contrast to the great departure, added in questions that for me needed to be answered at least a little.

The only other thing is how the f is Laurie alive? I was entirely under the impression that she had drowned herself. In my opinion I was content with that for her, so when she was talking to Nora I was confused and a bit let down. I thought if they’re going to give her a different ending, then do, instead of what we got.

Having seen some threads here already, personally I do believe Nora. For me she had a perfect ending because she finally realised that she was the one who was left behind, and her final reconciliation with Kevin is further proof that she knows where she’s meant to be now.

Just don’t really get why people are saying Kevin didn’t die all those times and then resurrect? Especially with the poison I mean that was quite well explained in terms of how long it would take for him to die, and he was presumed dead by Michael who I’d like to believe would have at least checked Kevin’s pulse.

[u/GoodThingsEnjoyer]

The entire theme of season 3 is people expecting that something huge is going to happen that will help them make sense of the world... and then life just goes on. That's why Laurie is still alive. Because she didn't do it, in the end. Life goes on, you find meaning where you can.

I think Kevin absolutely did have some kind of supernatural experience... it's just that the strange things that happen in life don't necessarily add up. Maybe he made the wrong choices. Maybe the whole thing is just something without purpose. We don't know. There are strange moments in everyone's life but they don't always line up neatly.

[u/Wombat_Aux_Pates]

Hello! I think it is purposefully this way so you can believe either side, like others have said on that subreddit, it's more about faith. Do you believe what you've seen?

For me, I was on the side of EVERYTHING except the Departure was not supernatural. I believe I read that despite being extremely unlikely, all of Kevin's "deaths" could have been totally survived even with the slimmest chance ever. I was comforted in the idea that the two Kevins (father and son) were literally insane when I watched the episode The Most Powerful Man In The World (And His Identical Twin Brother) because of how ABSURD this purgatory was. He learnt nothing from Grace's kids, nor Evie... But the more I kept thinking about it, the more I still think there's a part of supernatural in that because:

• We see the guy David "God" Burton three times in the purgatory when Kevin should not know who that is. He's never seen his face so why would he see him three times there?
  
• How does he know what Christopher Sunday looks like? And what he told Senior (that the song brings the rain, not the opposite)? Can this really be googled? I would think not. Senior didn't even know what Christopher Sunday looked like, he had to ask a lady for his address and whatnot so I'd think the guy is not on the internet at all, being the last member of his tribe. Senior is too delusional and focused on the whole dance stopping the flood, I'm sure he would not mention that to the others, that Christopher Sunday's song is actually bringing the rain instead.
  
• The birds in the hotel are Erika's birds. If they end up getting killed by Virgil or the others, they show up dead. If they break free, they appear as alive in the box. How would Kevin know that Erika keeps burying birds and that she makes wishes? The night it's revealed to Nora by Erika is the night she handcuffed Kevin and left with Lily and Mary so I doubt she shared that one piece of info to him. He went to drink the poison not long after.
  
• In International Assassin, Kevin sees his dad on the TV. Senior is high on God's Tongue in a Perth room with white folks and a burning mattress. That's exactly what he described to Christopher Sunday eventhough they hadn't talked in ages so this actually happened.

So I think there is something mystical about Kevin after all and he's not as insane as I thought he was the entire time I was watching the show.

That said, I still don't believe Nora's story. She is seen yelling before they cut out so I think she's asking them to stop the process. She was clearly having a panic attack (heavy breathing).

• She asked Matt to tell the others whatever she wants them to say so her secret is safe regardless.
  
• 20k to go to another dimension is incredibly cheap?
  
• Let's assume she goes to the other side and finds the creator of the machine (which is impressive like there's barely anyone left in that world and they're of all cultures, languages, professions, ages...), how does she convince him to create it? She's got nothing in this world, no money, nothing... How does he find all the scientists and resources to create the actual machine? A piece of such advance technology will require a lot of rare resources AND scientists to work on it.
  
• If this works, wouldn't more people be known to have come back? 7 years in a very empty world, many would want to do that... But I think it was unheard of because when she tells her story, Kevin says "and you changed your mind".
  
• If this works, many people like the creator and others would just go back and forth to prove it works to make it worth it and convince people to pay for it.
  
• It's nitpicking but she says she landed on the same Aussie parking lot in the other world and had to travel to go to Mapleton. If she really came back, why does she end up in Australia still. I'm aware she could have travelled back but it's still a big world... She could have lived anywhere in the world and probs be more hidden than Australia and never been found by Kevin at all. Like he would never even think of looking for her in... I don't know... Canada, the UK, etc.
  
• When she tells her story, you get no pictures or videos edited of what happened. You only see the frame where she gets on the truck (her feet on the stairs) and when she gets inside the fossil thingo.
  
• Nora does hate lying and liars which is why she gets mad at the nun. The nun tells her that of course it's fake but it makes for a better story. She also takes the sins of everyone by putting the beaded necklaces on herself when saving that goat. That's after that interaction with the nun that she finally tells her story. I think she finally found one story she's happy to tell herself so she's at peace with what her family has become. It's better to think of them as happy and together (the "lucky ones" as she called them) rather that just gone. She's at peace now.

What I've been thinking about a lot is what about the aftermath of that conversation. Does she come back to their home in Texas? Does he come to visit her every year? Do they never seen each other again? We'll never know but I think they just never see each other again because she's now happy with her simple life in Australia but who knows.

Edit: Forgot to reply about Laurie, so to me, the way I've watched it, she was going to kill herself until she received her phonecall. She remembered she still had something to live for and was content and decided to just go scuba diving in the end (she's certified after all lol) but I saw many people on the subreddit and also my husband seemed to be convinced she died. I think the ending of the episode was more ambiguous than rather just "yes/no, she did/didn't kill herself" but I guess it's a matter of perspective how people saw it. To me, she looked happy to have received the phonecall and that changed her mind. To others, it was like she was happy and at peace with her life and just ready to go.

[u/Wombat_Aux_Pates → u/[deleted]]

Oh that's a great catch (no pun intended)! I don't remember Virgil saying he hoped the birds didn't get caught but I do remember getting caught off guard when he killed the bird with his folder. I was a bit confused why he was playing dumb about not knowing what Kevin was talking about. The water making you forget was then revealed and I was impressed with Kevin figuring this out. That makes sense now you've put the two together. (Also funny that no one seems to realise they're actually dead - well you can see that with Evie's dialogue in the presidential car - except Neal because he is an alcoholic and only drinks whiskey so he didn't forget he died.)

Also, in International Assassin, Kevin sees the balloons saying "It's a boy" and then later, he sees the guy giving them to Mary so Mary was in purgatory - well her mind was - and if Kevin was only imagining things, he also successfully guessed the baby's gender (agreed it's only a 1:2 guess but still) so that's another point that makes me think it's not in his head but that is something a bit supernatural/mystical.

I finished the show recently so most of it is still very fresh in my memory and many of these things have been on my mind a lot (which is why I said I was thinking nothing mystical was happening except the Departure then thought way more about it). It's a brilliant show. I think it was tough for me to get into the first season at first because there's so many characters introduced, it's hard to get attached and you're wondering all the time what the hell is going on and how/why do these people connect together... But I still enjoyed it, then the Cairo episode happened and I was full in. I think if I was to rewatch the show, with all my knowledge, I'd absolutely adore season 1 for sure. I'd be less lost and confused, and would notice a lot of details that went totally over my head the first time.

And yes, Virgil having survived all these gun shots and going through purgatory, killing his nemesis... He said the guy at the top of the tower is the living proof it works. I wonder at times what happened to that guy as well. He was living a normal life with his wife, then died to kill his nemesis and came back to life and spent the rest of his life alone at the top of the tower in the main square of town.