Drama Damon Lindelof Developing The Leftovers at HBO

[Marz69]

another great episode.

I find that this show does a better job of writing women than a lot of shows. Many times you see the females as a plot point to give the male leads a family. And any conflict there is shown from his perspective and you end up with a female character that so many people end up hating. And not the kind of hate where youre supposed to hate them, but more about they are annoying to many.

Take the end scene when Nora came home and she wasn't ready to talk. Had we only seen his point of view, you'd get a lot people thinking she's selfish & annoying. But we just saw what she was dealing with and so that scene had layers to it even before he confided in her about Patty.

I liked how they showed the perspective of being deaf. I also liked how we see the Patty scene from the perspective of Nora, who can't see her. Very creepy.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Quick question. Was it Nora that threw the rock threw the window at the beginning? It looked like her but I wasn't sure why she would do that.

 

[Primal Slayer]

Another great episode, I'm going to be so sad if this gets canceled.

 

[rashad]

Quick question. Was it Nora that threw the rock threw the window at the beginning? It looked like her but I wasn't sure why she would do that.

The way John treated her brother.

 

[squeekness]

Another great episode, I'm going to be so sad if this gets canceled.

Me, too. This show is like nothing else.

 

[antsman41]

The way John treated her brother.

I saw it more as...

This neighbor family is contradicting her reason to escape to Miracle.

They are trouble, and might now be involved in another Departure.

 

[rashad]

‘The Leftovers’: Regina King on Erika’s Face-Off With Nora (SPOILERS)
NOVEMBER 8, 2015 | 07:04PM PT
Debra Birnbaum
Executive Editor, TV
@debrabirnbaum

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read until you’ve watched episode 206 of HBO’s “The Leftovers,” titled “Lens.”

“There are no miracles in Miracle.” Or are there? The long-simmering tension in the Murphy household finally reached its boiling point in this Sunday’s episode of HBO’s “The Leftovers,” when Regina King’s matriarch, Erika Murphy, made it clear she has had enough. Enough with her abusive husband. Enough with her manipulative father. Enough with the superstitious townspeople, who’ve been repeating the same rituals ever since the Departure.

And enough with her neighbor Nora Durst.

In yet another bravura performance by King (who recently won an Emmy for her role in ABC’s “American Crime”) as well as Carrie Coon, the two women face off for a confrontation that starts with Nora (Coon) administering the Department of Sudden Departures questionnaire as she has been trained to do — but Erika quickly turns the tables.

Here, King tells Variety about that eight-page scene that turns into a challenging conversation about faith.

How did you react when you got the script?

I was so excited. I knew that was the style of (showrunner) Damon (Lindelof’s) writing with the show. They have an episode that showcases one or two characters at a time. So I knew that was going to come. To see that I had the opportunity … I was really excited to read that I had a powerhouse scene with Carrie Coon.

Did you rehearse it?

No, it’s a lot of dialogue. It was just one of those moments. You hope that whoever you’re working with is a great actor, which I already knew. You just have to go for it. You don’t want to rehearse much before because you can kill it. There are a lot of little nuances that you want to play. It’s very easy to overdo it. We both felt like it was a mini stage play.

Erika’s husband John, played by Kevin Carroll, believes there are no miracles in Miracle. What does Erika think?

I think she has a certain amount of faith. Just having witnessed what she’s witnessed prior to (her daughter) Evie disappearing; the way she was raised, she does have faith. She has faith in faith. What’s meant to be is what’s going to be, but you can hope for the best. I think she has a little more optimism going than John when we first meet her. But by episode six, that faith is starting to wane.

Why does Erika open up to Nora at first?

I feel like she doesn’t have anyone else to reveal herself to in that moment. There was that moment where she recognized that this woman and I could possibly share something similar. It was that immediate feeling that you get when you think someone can truly relate to what’s going on inside you.

So I’m going to throw that question back to you: Did Erika’s daughter depart or did she die?

I think she’s in the in-between space. Which one is more painful? A small part of her, I believe, thinks it would be less painful to find out that her daughter has been abducted, as opposed to departed. Either way, it’s a painful thought. Where we meet Erika at that point of that story, I feel that she’s feeling like she’s just hanging on to the curtain. Just barely making it. And she has this false hope.

This episode is a turning point, to be sure.

Exactly. If you think about it, a woman who’s been planning this getaway, a departure of her own from her husband and kids, that’s got to be a very broken place for quite some time. She’s got quite a pretty elaborate plan that isn’t a plan. She doesn’t know where she’s going or what she’s doing. She’s just gotta get out of here. And then this big moment happens that shuts down her not-so-tight plan. She never anticipates what would happen to Evie. Now what? Did I bring this on myself?

Where does she go from here?

I don’t know! We’ll have to see. When we leave her, she’s numb.

Can she stay with her husband?

That’s an interesting question. I feel like if she found her daughter, or found out what happened to her daughter, there’s a possibility. She has a lot of guilt for having to raise her kids those 4 or 5 years without their father. And how she painted a picture for them that wasn’t an honest picture of what was going on in their family. That’s a tough question to answer. That’s the way Damon writes. He keeps you in this mysterious place where you don’t know where you’re going.

Why did she throw the rock through Nora’s window at the end?

She knew 100% without a doubt that Nora threw the rock through her window. And that eight-page scene is when she realizes Nora’s the one who threw the rock. She really had no clue before then. It was like a f–k you back moment.

What can you tell us about what’s to come?

You guys have no idea what you’re in for! Mind blown. Just get ready.

http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/the-leftovers-season-two-episode-six-regina-king-1201635534/

 

[kvz5]

I'm so glad I stuck around for S2. While S1 was decent, S2 is just on a whole other level. There hasn't been any filler episodes and each episode is arguably better than the last one. Looks like King and Coon have their Emmy submission tapes all ready to go with that scene.

 

[Marvolo]

Them name dropping the demon Azreal blind sided me. A bunch of scientists even remotely entertaining the notion that a demon is involved is just bonkers. Wish Nora hadnt hung up. I wanted to find out where that crazy train went.

 

[antsman41]

Them name dropping the demon Azreal blind sided me. A bunch of scientists even remotely entertaining the notion that a demon is involved is just bonkers. Wish Nora hadnt hung up. I wanted to find out where that crazy train went.

Her smile, when they dropped that idea to her... is the same ******** smile I make when these idiotic Presidential candidates talk about religion.

 

[Pickleweasel]

Woah

Spoiler

Episode basically confirms Tommy can take away pain with hugs / is a Wayne

Also kind of obvious little dude is going to bury Kevin for three days and then he's gonna dig him up alive but still. Not sure why the old man off'd himself

 

[antsman41]

First, holy ****.

Second, seriously Nora... You're to awesome to leave Kevin, and if this works, you better be back god dammit.

Third, No. Laurie straight out said they lied about the Holy Wayne 2.0 schtick. Didn't you listen to her...? thats what made their relationship shatter. Tommy couldn't handle being a fraud.

 

[squeekness]

This show is seriously messed up. But I agree about the three day burial being likely. I just hope it works, geez.

 

[antsman41]

This show is seriously messed up. But I agree about the three day burial being likely. I just hope it works, geez.

We need to start a Leftovers GOT inspired poll...

Has Kevin gone the way of [BLACKOUT]Ned[/BLACKOUT] or [BLACKOUT]Jon[/BLACKOUT]?

 

[Marvolo]

 

[cronosred]

I really hope this crazy wonderful show gets another season.

 

[cronosred]

Woah

Spoiler

Also kind of obvious little dude is going to bury Kevin for three days and then he's gonna dig him up alive but still. Not sure why the old man off'd himself

My guess would be he didn't really win his battle and figured Kevin wouldn't either or he had to do it to become Kevin's guide.

 

[Marvolo]

My guess would be he didn't really win his battle and figured Kevin wouldn't either.

Nah. Clearly him and his grandson had a plan. The grandson didn't look happy about it when Kevin arrived. My guess is the grandfather had a plan, a plan that Kevin would never agree to. So he told Kevin he'd give him the Epi to restart his heart so that Kevin would go through with it when in reality he was planning to let Kevin die and for his grandson to bury Kevin for three days.

As for why he offed himself, maybe he did it because it was necessary. Like a price that must be paid to bring back a human life. A life for a life. Or he did it because helping Kevin was his final atonement and he was ready to cross over and leave the world behind.

Whatever the reason was, it's clear that we and Kevin weren't privy to a few details nor the grandfather's true intentions. But I doubt his intention was to just murder Kevin because he didn't win his battle against his own demons. Something much much bigger is going on.

Edit: And I don't think it's a coincidence that the grandfather's name is Virgil. Remember that in Dante's Inferno Virgil guides Dante through the 9 circles of Hell. Perhaps Virgil thought that the only way he could guide Kevin was by crossing over with him.

 

[Marz69]

My guess would be he didn't really win his battle and figured Kevin wouldn't either or he had to do it to become Kevin's guide.

The guide part, yeah, I'm in that camp.

I'm unsure of whether grandpa won the battle. It could be that he lost and is still seeing what he was seeing. The demons still haunt him etc. And so he sacrificed himself to ensure that Kevin wins his battle, by being his guide.

Because we learn things from him, there's the whole unreliable narrative here, which is so awesome

Nah. Clearly him and his grandson had a plan. The grandson didn't look happy about it when Kevin arrived. My guess is the grandfather had a plan, a plan that Kevin would never agree to. So he told Kevin he'd give him the Epi to restart his heart so that Kevin would go through with it when in reality he was planning to let Kevin die and for his grandson to bury Kevin for three days.

As for why he offed himself, maybe he did it because it was necessary. Like a price that must be paid to bring back a human life. A life for a life. Or he did it because helping Kevin was his final atonement and he was ready to cross over and leave the world behind.

Whatever the reason was, it's clear that we and Kevin weren't privy to a few details nor the grandfather's true intentions. But I doubt his intention was to just murder Kevin because he didn't win his battle against his own demons. Something much much bigger is going on.

Edit: And I don't think it's a coincidence that the grandfather's name is Virgil. Remember that in Dante's Inferno Virgil guides Dante through the 9 circles of Hell. Perhaps Virgil thought that the only way he could guide Kevin was by crossing over with him.

I also think his suicide was more of a sacrifice to be Kevin's spirit guide. The vial never had anything to help Kevin, could have been sugar water, but ultimately it was there to make Kevin think it was going to save him instead of being buried alive. Cause yeah, I agree, Kevin might not have agreed to being buried for 3 days.

Virgil... nice catch

 

[Marz69]

The thing about Laurie and Tommy. She did say that Tommy couldn't heal and it was a scam to help people.

BUT it's really hard to be sure at this point because she is the one telling the audience. She also doesn't believe Patty exists (and that's still a question mark to us as to what is going on). Tommy could very well really have the power and either lied to his mom or his mom doesn't believe it.

Her saying that Tommy is not wayne is made questionable when, later on, she tells Kevin that Patty isn't real.

 

[Pickleweasel]

First, holy ****.

Second, seriously Nora... You're to awesome to leave Kevin, and if this works, you better be back god dammit.

Third, No. Laurie straight out said they lied about the Holy Wayne 2.0 schtick. Didn't you listen to her...? thats what made their relationship shatter. Tommy couldn't handle being a fraud.

That's what she said, then she started to say that Tommy actually believed it but stopped herself. It's not about the words she said you need to rematch it

 

[Marz69]

forgot to add, I loved it when grandpa told Kevin that the crazy guy was a success story

 

[squeekness]

forgot to add, I loved it when grandpa told Kevin that the crazy guy was a success story

I know, right? Not exactly a winning point there, much.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Yeah, so... interesting thoughts on the grandfather being a guide. I honestly have no idea, but you guys might be right.

Also, am I the only one who thinks Nora was a straight-up b**ch for just leaving Kevin like that? I mean yeah, fine, he might be schizophrenic and that's a lot to deal with, but she's also not the most stable person either (throwing rocks through her neighbor's window, spending all their money on a sh**hole house, paying prostitutes to shoot her in the chest).

 

[antsman41]

It was because he didn't tell her about right away. Their relationship is supposed to be open (that's why we saw their unveilings in Mapleton in s2e2). He had plenty of times to do so, she witnessed him/remarked about him talking to himself a few times.

He had to win her trust back on that phone call.