It seems that the reason people are afraid to watch The Leftovers is the fact that it comes from LOST co-creator, Damon Lindelof. They figure no questions will be answered and no mysteries will be solved. Although the ultimate mystery of why people disappeared is unlikely to be solved, there were a lot of answers and reveals in the latest episode of HBO’s dark, new series.

The pre-title opening scenes showed Kevin and Patti in much different situations. Kevin is having an awkward first “family” dinner with Nora, while Patti is prepping the Guilty Remnant’s next plot. By the end of these opening scenes, Patti is Kevin’s hostage.

This starts an episode that is kind of hard to process. There’s a lot going on and a lot of twists and turns. It really throws a lot at you. When Kevin Garvey closes his eyes in his bed and wakes up in Dean’s (who may or not be crazy) truck, it seems like another dream sequence. I didn’t even realize it was reality until Patti started speaking, and even then I was reluctant to believe. She explains the GR’s purpose, but much like Kevin, I don’t understand. Do they want people to forget? Do they want people to be depressed forever? It seems like their “purpose” changes and contradicts itself. Despite my thoughts, I did find Patti’s reciting of Yeats’ “Michael Robartes Bids Farewell to His Beloved” and her ultimate death/suicide very powerful. The fact that Patti reveals that the GR are behind Gladys’ death also confirms many viewers’ predictions. The details behind were sketchy. She says Gladys agreed to be a martyr. I don’t buy that, but I don’t think that Patti felt the need to be completely honest.

Kevin’s mind is brought in question again this week. He finds his shirts. I assume he put them there; he just doesn’t remember. Having a main character that may or may not be sane makes the show even more complicated. The line between dream and reality is blurred.

Then there is Jill. Her pestering of Nora over whether or not she still owns a gun, which at first feels like she doesn’t want her dad to date, but later when her and the twins break in to find the gun, her state of mind is shown to be more complicated. She needs Nora to own the gun so that she can confirm that Nora is not “okay.” If Nora is getting better, then Jill’s dad will get better, and this will leave Jill the only one lost and depressed. Finding the gun hidden away in Nora’s son’s half-packed room and breaking her friendship with Aimee (a little overdone) leaves her knocking on the GR’s door. Which makes sense because most GR members might as well be mopey teenagers.

All in all, this episode of The Leftovers left eagerly awaiting the last two episodes of the season. I am really looking forward to where the GR are planning on putting those bodies they ordered. Hopefully, whatever they do will be creepy, powerful, and well worth the wait.

Score: 9.5/10