Summary: A day before the anniversary, Laurie goes to see Nora in Australia with Matt. She is still looking into the people of the machine and decides to go into it herself. Matt stays with her as Laurie goes to meet Kevin and the others. She agrees to let John and Kevin Sr. do what they want with Kevin and says goodbye. She goes scuba diving and possibly commits suicide.
The Good: This was more outstanding stuff from the show with several emotional moments as expected. The opening scene was very good at getting us into Laurie's mindset for the episode. It's been a while since she has been a primary focal point so it was very important to get us to understand her character and sympathize with her. The opening scene accomplishes this by showing us how the Departure affected her and nearly drove her to suicide. Additionally, we also got some closure to a storyline which has been going since the first minute of this show. It was really great to see Sam's mom return and I'm glad that we got to see another heartfelt scene, this time from her. I also enjoyed how the scene ties in with Laurie's arc as it shows how broken and lost she was after the Departure. And hearing all these stories about other people's problems couldn't have possibly helped in any way. The rest of the episode held up more than well too. Laurie's overall story was very powerful and just as enjoyable as any of the other character stories this season. The whole topic of this episode was suicide, and we got a magnificent story about Laurie and how she was ultimately driven to a possible suicide once she realizes she has no purpose left in the world. But of course the most satisfying aspect of this was how Laurie was resigned to giving her life away but she still has some possible reasons to keep fighting in John and her kids. That's why I say possible suicide because her final conversation with her kids could very well have changed her mind. We may find out what Laurie's fate is in the next episode, or we may never find out. Either way it's still a beautiful storyline, which is the most important part of this, though there is still a significant flaw (see: The Bad). I appreciated the format of this episode too. With just 3 episodes left, it would be expected that the show picks up the pace and delivers more excitement. But The Leftovers has shown tremendous restraint and instead of going overboard, it has delivered an episode just filled with conversations and is honestly the better for it. Each of these conversations though slow, delivered a purpose and made for compelling storylines and several emotional scenes. Laurie's scenes with Nora helped build up the suicide themes, brought some early closure to Matt and Nora's storylines and also gave Laurie a proper reason to start saying her goodbyes. And that's what all the other conversations equated to: heartfelt goodbyes, with the highlight being the excellent scene between Laurie and Kevin (see: Best Moment). But the Kevin/Laurie scene wasn't the only great thing in this episode. Another highlight was the amazing beach ball speech from Nora. It was powerful and also helped show Nora's grief and displeasure with what she has been doing as her job, and of course tied in beautifully with Laurie too. And it also was a lovely visual seeing Matt staying with Nora afterwards, having given up his faith for his family at last. The previous scenes between these three characters were good as well. We got some quality interactions revealing lots about the characters and there was some nice foreshadowing with the scuba diving and also some good comedy. Other impactful scenes include: Laurie and John talking about what they are doing, Kevin Sr. explaining his goals, the Bible scene where everyone picks an apostle, and of course the beautiful ending phone call between Laurie and her kids. There were a few small things I liked too. We got an answer for what submarine guy was doing: saving the world from Godzilla coming from an underwater volcano. Honestly with this show being what it is, nothing would seem more fitting with the show's themes. I also got a good laugh from Kevin Sr. taking care of the cop by knocking him out with a shovel. I wonder what his future will be if he survives past the anniversary. The Bad: There was one critical flaw in this though preventing this from being next level excellent. And that problem is that either way we go, Laurie's fate isn't satisfying. If she is truly dead, then she won't have that perfect suicide because she talked to her kids before going underwater. And also Laurie has been a character who is the most hopeful in the series. She has always come back from the brink, but if she ultimately ends up dying, there is a certain depressing quality of her fate. But of course if she's alive it would feel like a cop-out and this episode would feel kind of pointless and not as satisfying. It's a lose-lose situation. The Unknown: Is Laurie dead? We may never know. Is Nora going to go into the machine? Will she die too? Will we even see her again? Is Kevin going to die again? All these questions seem to be about characters dying now. Will he make contact with Grace's kids and Evie in the afterlife? Is Kevin Sr.'s flood on the way? A storm was rolling in when Laurie went scuba diving. Best Moment: Kevin and Laurie's scene was very poignant. John and Laurie haven't seen the same development as Kevin and Laurie so I'm happy that the latter was given the primary focus. The scene was very emotional and it was great to see the 2 of them reminiscing and laughing and sharing truths about things they never told each other. The most powerful of which being Laurie talking about her unborn baby. But the real tearjerker was the ending when Laurie gives Kevin the "Don't forget me" lighter which she has treasured so much. Now it's Kevin who wouldn't want to forget her. Very good and emotional storytelling. Character of the Episode: Laurie for her wonderful arc. Though Nora was a show-stealer too as always. Conclusion: A wonderful episode which is one of the most powerful so far. This could have been something special, but unfortunately the one flaw is keeping it from ascending too high. But other than that, this was superb as expected from this brilliant show. Score: 79
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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