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The Leftovers S3 |OT| The End Is Near - Premieres Sunday 4/16, 9pm on HBO

Theorry

Member
Ah oke. My guess we get every episode this kind of intro then that we saw this episode and not a standard opening credits.
 

Erigu

Member
Another really small touch I liked is that Kevin's gun didn't go off because it got wet during his little stunt. This show doesn't waste a scene, I swear.
Then again, that bit was basically telling us that all the time spent on Dean and the dogs back in season 1 was wasted ("he was just crazy lol"), so the balance is still somewhat negative, there!

"Bringing characters back just to unceremoniously kill them off counts as resolving plotlines, right?"
-A super-talented writer, circa 2017
 
Then again, that bit was basically telling us that all the time spent on Dean and the dogs back in season 1 was wasted ("he was just crazy lol"), so the balance is still somewhat negative, there!

"Bringing characters back just to unceremoniously kill them off counts as resolving plotlines, right?"
-A super-talented writer, circa 2017


I think bringing Dean back was a way to show us how much Kevin has grown and matured since season 1, while confirming that Dean wasn't some supernatural wiseman type of figure and was instead just a disturbed man.

Killing him off also gave Tommy an opportunity for growth, as now he will have to deal with the psychological fallout from killing a man.
 
So, I had heard about this show a month or so ago when people were discussing good returning shows. I was out of stuff to watch and kinda said "fuck it".

I had no idea it would be such a great show. I marathoned seasons 1 and 2, and just finished the first episode of Season 3. Guess I'll be joining the threads from here on.
 
So, I had heard about this show a month or so ago when people were discussing good returning shows. I was out of stuff to watch and kinda said "fuck it".

I had no idea it would be such a great show. I marathoned seasons 1 and 2, and just finished the first episode of Season 3. Guess I'll be joining the threads from here on.

hHVxbR2.gif
 
So, I had heard about this show a month or so ago when people were discussing good returning shows. I was out of stuff to watch and kinda said "fuck it".

I had no idea it would be such a great show. I marathoned seasons 1 and 2, and just finished the first episode of Season 3. Guess I'll be joining the threads from here on.

Welcome! Truly one of the best shows I've ever seen. Hopefully season 3 can finish strong.
 

Erigu

Member
I think bringing Dean back was a way to show us how much Kevin has grown and matured since season 1
Has he? I mean, it looks like he's somehow cured from his weird personality disorder that plagued him back then for some reason, so I guess there's that, sure, but... growth?
Like, in season 2, there was that bit in the purgatory hotel where he picked the suit instead of the weird costumes which obviously meant he wanted to be an "international assassin", i.e. was longing for a life free of attachments and responsibilities... just like we were already told in that season 1 episode that was set waaaaay back before the departure/actual beginning of the series.
"Ah, but the ending of season 2!" Yeah, but then again, the ending of season 1 did the exact same "family is all that matters" thing, and still, later on: "international assassin".
And he's now back to trying to kill himself anyway (but he can't, because he's in a special, magical place that won't let our messianic main character die... keep those fresh ideas coming, Lindelof!).

while confirming that Dean wasn't some supernatural wiseman type of figure and was instead just a disturbed man.
And when Kevin's father told his son the voices he was hearing were sending someone to help him and he should keep that a secret, and Dean later told some invisible interlocutor that he tried to help... well, that whole plotline was just a series of coincidences after all!

Killing him off also gave Tommy an opportunity for growth, as now he will have to deal with the psychological fallout from killing a man.
On a Lindelof show, that would be a first. Remember when Eccleston's character left a man for dead, back in season 1? If so, I don't think you're supposed to.
(besides, Tommy has already been there, back in the second episode of the series)
 

cLOUDo

Member
In the trailer "the weeks ahead"
Appears...
the man of the bridge talking with Matt
That will be interesting, that character is very intriguing
 

Kadayi

Banned
That opening was stellar. Really liked the way it told the story without dialogue.

Strong start to the season but Regina Kings absence was felt.
 
So, I never watched LOST, but with the flash forwards and the pure mystery of everything, was this what watching LOST was like?

I just binged Season 2 and watched the new episode, I was extremely happy that almost no questions were really left dangling that would have left the season feel incomplete.
 

AoM

Member
So, I never watched LOST, but with the flash forwards and the pure mystery of everything, was this what watching LOST was like?

I just binged Season 2 and watched the new episode, I was extremely happy that almost no questions were really left dangling that would have left the season feel incomplete.

x1000
 
Rules are to spoiler tag promo/ trailer stuff right? Because MAN...
Bill Camp of "The Night Of" and "putting a noose on Kevin's neck and encouraging him to sing karaoke in an Australian accent" fame is definitely the guy Matt is talking to in the "in the weeks to come" trailer. Hype!!
 
So, I had heard about this show a month or so ago when people were discussing good returning shows. I was out of stuff to watch and kinda said "fuck it".

I had no idea it would be such a great show. I marathoned seasons 1 and 2, and just finished the first episode of Season 3. Guess I'll be joining the threads from here on.

This is more or less how I came into the show also. I had my reservations about S1 but still liked it enough but S2 was just great. I'm actually less about the mysteries and overall weirdness (but I still enjoy them -- like that one episode where Kevin is a spy or some shit) and just into a show about people dealing with loss in their own ways.
 

Lorcain

Member
As much as I like The Leftovers, and have always appreciated the show for being artistic, quirky and weird, I think sometimes they try too hard to amp up the artistic shots and scenes which gets in the way of the storytelling (for me). But just when I think they're laying it on too thick trying to reach Malik levels of film art, they pull me back in with a really intriguing story arc or event.

One thing the show has always done well, and continued to do in the premier, was create this underlying sense of angst or dread that persists in the background of every scene. It's like a dull pain that's always there.
 
Gonna be honest: I had a really hard time following that episode and spent at least half the episode accepting the attack wasn't a dream or metaphor or some shit.
 

Erigu

Member
People need to believe in Miracle or else the world falls to chaos. It was the only way.
What does that even mean? How did that drone strike help people believe in Miracle? The Bolt Cutter Army had already done what it set out to do, at that point.
 
People need to believe in Miracle or else the world falls to chaos. It was the only way.

What does that even mean? How did that drone strike help people believe in Miracle? The Bolt Cutter Army had already done what it set out to do, at that point.

I don't think it was because of that. The show had already established that the government hates the cults that have been springing up and will look for any excuse to strike at them with full force. This is the logical extension (or conclusion) to that.
 

Erigu

Member
I don't think it was because of that. The show had already established that the government hates the cults that have been springing up and will look for any excuse to strike at them with full force. This is the logical extension (or conclusion) to that.
Well, yes and no. Yes, as in the show did establish that the government didn't have a problem attacking cults even for the flimsiest reason/excuse, indeed. But also not so much in the sense that how the hell did the Guilty Remnants, a cult that seems to only exist to torment the fuck out of people, thrive for so long, then?
Ah, well.
 
Well, yes and no. Yes, as in the show did establish that the government didn't have a problem attacking cults even for the flimsiest reason/excuse, indeed. But also not so much in the sense that how the hell did the Guilty Remnants, a cult that seems to only exist to torment the fuck out of people, thrive for so long, then?
Ah, well.

This is the first time the GR has basically overthrown an entire town (that the show has covered, anyway), and a high profile town at that. Although the government has no problem mowing them down, it looks like there needs to be an actual reason for it, or at least a legitimate pretense.

They only invaded Holy Wayne's compound because he was keeping underage girls there, for example.

Yes, in Season 1 the GR attacks Mapleton, but in that case, they are dealt with before the government has a chance to step in.
 

Erigu

Member
They only invaded Holy Wayne's compound because he was keeping underage girls there, for example.
He was wanted for his taste for underage girls, yes, but the reason they gave for the brutal strike on that compound was that he was a "threat to national security" (selling hugs to senators). And it's made pretty clear that was a lazy justification they came up with on the spot.
Wayne was mostly keeping to himself, unlike the Guilty Remnants (who, we were told, were a far larger group, too... somehow).
Like you said, the Guilty Remnants had attacked Mapleton (and I'm not sure there's any reason to believe that town's chapter was particularly worse than others), and when whatshername trolled a school bus with a fake grenade, she only got reprimanded for "involving children" ("oh no, now the police is going to go after us!"), which makes one wonder just what kind of "pranks" they pulled over the years.
How nobody came up with another quick excuse for seizing their headquarters over the years is a bit of a MYSTERY. And aren't mysteries wonderful?
 

SickBoy

Member
Erigu is certainly entitled to his opinion on the show, but do people believe they can change his mind or just enjoy arguing with him?
 
He was wanted for his taste for underage girls, yes, but the reason they gave for the brutal strike on that compound was that he was a "threat to national security" (selling hugs to senators). And it's made pretty clear that was a lazy justification they came up with on the spot.
Wayne was mostly keeping to himself, unlike the Guilty Remnants (who, we were told, were a far larger group, too... somehow).
Like you said, the Guilty Remnants had attacked Mapleton (and I'm not sure there's any reason to believe that town's chapter was particularly worse than others), and when whatshername trolled a school bus with a fake grenade, she only got reprimanded for "involving children" ("oh no, now the police is going to go after us!"), which makes one wonder just what kind of "pranks" they pulled over the years.
How nobody came up with another quick excuse for seizing their headquarters over the years is a bit of a MYSTERY. And aren't mysteries wonderful?


This is reading between the lines and speculative, but I got the impression that GR leadership had an unwritten agreement with law enforcement that they could do their thing, so long as they don't get too out of hand. Seems like there are probably too many GR chapters nationwide for the government to just crack down on all of them without possibly causing even bigger problems.

When they go too far, as Meg's splinter cell did in the S2 finale, that's when the government puts their foot down.



Erigu is certainly entitled to his opinion on the show, but do people believe they can change his mind or just enjoy arguing with him?

Eh, it's a discussion board, and I'm engaging Erigu in discussion. I used to get mad at him for going on and on about Lost and about this, but I realized that he's not hurting anyone, and he's right that discussion threads about TV shows don't have to be echo chambers.
 

Erigu

Member
This is reading between the lines and speculative, but I got the impression that GR leadership had an unwritten agreement with law enforcement that they could do their thing, so long as they don't get too out of hand. Seems like there are probably too many GR chapters nationwide for the government to just crack down on all of them without possibly causing even bigger problems.

When they go too far, as Meg's splinter cell did in the S2 finale, that's when the government puts their foot down.
I imagine that won't surprise you, but I'm not convinced! The very first episode of the show had them crash a very public event, there's no reason to believe they wouldn't go after important figures / politicians as well, I can't see how the general public wouldn't be damn near unanimous in condemning those guys, considering tormenting people is literally all they do... Seems like it should be a no-brainer, considering how they handled Wayne. But nope.
... And then, for whatshername's group (were they even armed?), they just go ahead and use the nuclear option: drone strike + cover story. Er. Okay.

Eh, it's a discussion board, and I'm engaging Erigu in discussion. I used to get mad at him for going on and on about Lost and about this, but I realized that he's not hurting anyone, and he's right that discussion threads about TV shows don't have to be echo chambers.
Thank you.
 

Saty

Member
The GR were committing crimes against innocent people all the time and the law did nothing against them. The show justified it by saying the cops are OK with hurting adults but not children (!).

So basically dropping a bomb on the GR is trash and highly convenient way to get rid of that plot-line. What i want to know is whether this was planned or because this is the final season they had to fast-track stuff and skip time and erase plot-lines and characters from existence. There's also the issue of what happened with the many other GR factions which surely didn't sit on their hands after the bombing - were they all raided and dismantled. I should hope we at least get a throwaway comment about it.
 

Erigu

Member
So basically dropping a bomb on the GR is trash and highly convenient way to get rid of that plot-line. What i want to know is whether this was planned or because this is the final season they had to fast-track stuff and skip time and erase plot-lines and characters from existence.
The latter is a very Lindelof thing to do. See how he got rid of the crash survivors (both instances), kids, Other Others, etc, in Lost, for instance.
 

shoreu

Member
I think bringing Dean back was a way to show us how much Kevin has grown and matured since season 1, while confirming that Dean wasn't some supernatural wiseman type of figure and was instead just a disturbed man.

Killing him off also gave Tommy an opportunity for growth, as now he will have to deal with the psychological fallout from killing a man.

I feel like that dog whistle did something
 
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