The Leftovers: Season 1

This is a weird show... like I really have no idea what kind of show I was watching.

A while back, my best friend was pushing me hard to watch this show. I tried watching the first episode and I'm not gonna lie, I thought it was pretty boring and kind of confusing. I don't know what happened recently, maybe I had a lot of free time on my hands, maybe it was just the kind of show I was looking for or what, but I really got into this show and watched the first season in a matter of days. There is still a lot to be said about this show and I'm not totally sure on where to start.

The main vehicle of the show is that it takes place in a world where one day, out of the blue, 2% of the world population just up and vanished. One minute their loved ones saw them, the next minute they were gone and nobody knows what happened to them. Of course, there are those that believed that the rapture happened but nobody is really certain why people were taken and why them in particular.

Now that in itself is a pretty huge thing to do an entire TV show on. But I won't lie to you, that is only the tip of the iceberg that is this show. By the end of the first season, you will not figure out what happened to all the people who vanished. You still don't know why they were the ones chosen and I'm getting a feeling that you never really figure that out because that is not the focus of the show at all.

The real focus of the show is the people of a small town that were not "departures" as they are called, and basically how they respond to the insane phenomena that occurs.

The main focus of the show is the police chief of this town, Kevin Garvey (played by Justin Theroux, little known fact, this handsome devil is married to Jennifer Aniston, like who needs Brad Pitt, this guy is very good looking and a really good actor).

He has a daughter (played by Margaret Qualley) who lives with him and a son (played by Chris Zylka) who is off working for a mysterious cult leader by the name of Wayne (played by Paterson Joseph) out across the country.

In this town, there is a strange cult that has formed called the guilty remnant. They are a cult of people who take a vow of silence and nasty smoking habit. Among those are characters played by Amy Brenneman, and Ann Dowd.

Other habitants of the town include a priest by the name of Matthew (played by Christopher Eccleston), his sister Nora (played by Carrie Coon) a woman incredibly affected by the departure. And a woman named Meg (played by Liv Tyler).

This is a very difficult show to review because while there are definitely elements of the show that I

don't want to spoil for you because I think it's better to watch it, there are also things I could say but I don't know if it would ruin the emotional impact of the show.

And that's really the big draw of the show. Shows like this that delve into science fiction really take a lot to get a lot of emotional impact from most people and it requires you to suspend your disbelief for a little bit. The Leftovers accomplishes this by giving some really great performances from some powerhouse actors and actresses. On top of that, the show gives off a very uneasy feeling which definitely takes time to get used to. I'll tell you right now, you get the feeling that something really horrific is going to happen and while there are some graphic imagery, nothing really over the top sci fi-y happens in this show.

The impact really comes from the emotional roller coaster these characters are going through. It's definitely not your regular run of the mill apocalypse story because people (including the audience) aren't even sure if it is the apocalypse.

Sure there are some psychological and maybe supernatural elements of the show, but where this show really shines is the performances. Christopher Eccleston has his own introduction in the third episode of the season where it's all focused on him and that's really where I was hooked and wanted to finish the season at least. Because the show magnifies so much on the characters, you see the good and the bad of each character and it's kind of hard to really point out who are the "good" characters and who are the antagonists.

It is very much a show that I feel myself tip toeing around because I feel like if I say something it might give away the impact of watching it. And I do recommend watching this.

However, I do worry that this all might be for nothing. I watched this show around the same time that I watched Sense8. In a way, those two shows are very similar. They both have a premise that is a little bit science fiction and they both have a supernatural element to it, and yet they are more focused on the characters and the emotional impact than that supernatural element.

However, where Sense8 failed could be the downfall of The Leftovers if it's not played right.

The show delves into some pretty heavy subject matter and I'm a little worried it might be a little too up its own ass with its philosophy.

The problem with Sense8 and the Wachowskis in general is that they let their philosophy and social commentary speak louder than their stories and instead of feeling like I'm watching a story, I feel like I'm being lectured.

I don't see that in the first season of The Leftovers and if there is a hidden message to the season, maybe I'm a little bit too dense to figure it out, but I do think the show takes the risk of going so far into their philosophy that it could detract from the story that I think they're doing a good job at setting up.

And when I say set up, I say setting up REALLY SLOWLY.

There are a lot of characters, a lot of plot points that are developed in this season that don't really get resolved by the end of it. It's interesting that the writers of this show also did Lost because I come out of every episode of this show wondering what the hell is going on and having 15 more questions than I started with.

The show is definitely a slow burn and it's really taking it's time developing the characters and just playing with them and their interactions with each other and the world that has been set up.

It is done well, I just have to step back every once in a while and worry a little bit that this show doesn't know where it's going.

But I'm going to watch the second season. From what I've heard from other people who have watched it, it's like a very long movie and a lot of the show will not be completed until the end of the third season. At least I hope that's the case. Episodes feel a lot longer than an hour and because it is such a slow burn, you really have to be invested to keep your attention on it.

I think it's good, and like I said, I do recommend it. But I want to know what you think? Have you watched all of The Leftovers? Don't give away any spoilers but is there anyway you can explain this show any better than I did as I stumbled around with it? Comment and Discuss below! You can also send me your thoughts on Twitter @MovieSymposium as well as your requests for films and TV shows I should review in the future. If you follow me on Twitter, you can get updates on future movie news and reviews and well as live tweets from shows and movies I'm watching.

I'll leave you with this. I'm just gonna warn you, if you watch the first season, get used to this suite because they use it... over... and over... and over... and over again. It's good music but still. Enjoy!