The Leftovers – Ten Thirteen – Review

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Barry Quinn is an English Language and Literature graduate and a Creative Writer MA studier. He is an aspiring creative and professional writer and is currently in the process of writing his first novel. His writing blog can be viewed here: https://barrygjquinn.wordpress.com You can follow him on Twitter at: @mrbarryquinn

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In its second season, The Leftovers has done an excellent job of moving every pawn into its final place for the upcoming finale, while still maintaining the incredibly high quality of the show.

John hasn’t really been seen for two weeks, but we know EXACTLY what his function in the finale will be: to have a monumental clash with Kevin, and discover the truth about Evie. But it doesn’t matter that he hasn’t been seen for two weeks – he’s perfectly positioned for when all of the current lines join together.

As are Meg and Tom. Meg has been MIA for most of this season – aside from apparently raping Tom (though now we can kind of concede it was consensual, and just what was that line about trying to get him pregnant about?!), she’s done nothing. Until now. Liv Tyler was simply exceptional this week. She has managed to create a character we hate and are sympathetic for at the same time, much like the recently departed (see what I did there?) Patti.

In ‘Ten Thirteen’ we flash back to the day before the Sudden Departure, and discover that Meg’s mother died just before she wanted to tell Meg something, which suddenly explains her drive throughout the first season. Now her current state of mind becomes clear. She is clearly messed up, not just because her mother died, but because the next day 2% of the world’s population vanished and her mother’s death was simply forgotten. By everyone bar Meg. She wants to know what her mother was going to tell her, which leads her to visiting Isaac. The fact that this was withheld from the audience clearly states that it has some importance – but just how important can it be?

The moment Meg bumped into Evie, everything clicked into place, which somewhat ruined the monumental cliffhanger. Her return just couldn’t be a coincidence, and the moment the barn was introduced later in the episode it was very clear indeed that Evie would be inside.

But why? I have a feeling that the Guilty Remnant are trying to fuck with the minds of Jarden like they did with Mapleton last season. And not just Jarden, but the entire world. Because I think Evie and her friends ‘vanished’ so that they could later come back – in the season finale – and suggest that the Sudden Departure can be reversed, giving false hope to billions of people.

Twisted? Yes. But so was their idea of placing life sized mannequins of all those that departed in their exact place of departure last season. If this is the case, I’m sure the resulting emotional impact will be breathtaking to watch.

So, aside from this, what else will we see next week? Obviously Kevin and John are going to spar, Kevin is going to deal with the aftermath of being resurrected, and Kevin is going to try and win back Nora. I think, and I hope, that Mary will either regain consciousness or die – her being in a catatonic state is starting to wear upon me, unfortunately. And Matt has to redeem himself. If Mary regains consciousness, she will be able to affirm that their sexual encounter was consensual, and I’ll go back to loving Matt. I’m also expecting to see Kevin and Laurie hooking up – just to throw ANOTHER spanner in the works with him and Nora.

And finally, as a side note, isn’t it about time HBO renewed The Leftovers? I know ratings have dropped, but if a third season isn’t commissioned I don’t think I’ll be able to cope.