the LeftoverS

squeezing flood out of a stone

UK Broadcast Sky Atlantic, Tuesdays US Broadcast HBO, finished Episodes Reviewed 3.01-3.08

Previously on The Leftovers: weird shit happened. It made vague sense at first when the world had to cope with 10% of the population vanishing into thin air, but then just got very, very silly. There’s a nihilistic cult of smokers and a cop, Kevin, who loves a woman, nora; her entire family vanished and she’s just a tad hung up on the fact. Their relationship has so far been forgettable background colour, but this season it’s what the whole show’s been about. either that, or cruelty to goats.

The season opens with the smoking cult being wiped out in a missile strike. Well, no, the season actually starts with an inscrutable flashback featuring amish types sitting on rooftops.

Cultists But we’ve been the best thing about the first two seasons!

Writers Yeah, we love doing what people least expect!

AudienCe like making some sense?

Kevin’s bonKers dAd hey, there’s a biblical flood coming! i’m off to Australia to go walkabout and discover an Aborigine anti-rain song. or something.

Kevin Are you sure this whole Australia venture isn’t just some strained Wizard Of Oz reference?

reverend MAtt Yeah, because, like the wizard behind the curtain, there are so many fakers in this show.

lAurie You’re just pissed off because that guy who said he was God was eaten by lions.

Kevin’s bonKers dAd is that why there are so many lines this season like, “This is all bullshit!”? is this show just one big meta joke?

norA lAurie Bet that’s fake too. like my suicide.

Kevin’s bonKers dAd Boo-hoo. The flood turned out to be a load of hogwash!

Kevin At least i got to temporarily die and have another bizarre afterlife experience about killing the president which gave cameos to all those dead characters you’ve been missing this season. hi Aerosmith singer’s daughter!

lAurie What did you learn?

Kevin That i love nora and reuniting with her is more important than the apocalypse.

norA That’s good, because i ended up in a really boring world where 90% of the population vanished and my kids didn’t love me. so i came back and rescued a goat. Fancy a snog?

The end. Dave Golder