# Is there really no thread for The Leftovers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 17, 2017, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-no-thread-for-the-leftovers/784637 "2017-04-17T17:01:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-no-thread-for-the-leftovers/784637/21 "2017-04-24T14:47:46Z")
I love this show! So. Much. Who would have thought I would have heard the theme song for “Perfect Strangers” in the title scene for the Leftovers?! And what fantastic acting by Carrie Coon and Mark Linn Baker! Bravo! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-no-thread-for-the-leftovers/784637/22 "2017-04-24T15:41:14Z")
Based largely on this thread, I’ve been giving the how a shot. I watched (in this order): S3E1, S2 last ep, S2 penultimate ep, S1 last ep, S2E1-4, S3E2. I’m not getting it. It seems to have all the bad things about _Lost_ (including that weird sound effect when changing scenes), but few interesting characters. _Lost_, for all its flaws, had interesting characters like few other shows. I’ll keep watching (not much else good on right now), in hopes I eventually see the light. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-no-thread-for-the-leftovers/784637/23 "2017-04-24T15:43:57Z")
It sounds like you jumped around quite a bit. I think you would better understand the show if you started at the beginning. For one thing, you might understand what the Guilty Remnant is, although that’s a bigger deal in the first season rather than the second or this one. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-no-thread-for-the-leftovers/784637/24 "2017-04-24T15:44:57Z")
Wait… why would you watch it in such a haphazard way? Of course the characters aren’t going to be all that interesting if you go through it like that. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-no-thread-for-the-leftovers/784637/25 "2017-04-24T16:39:59Z")
Yeh, you can’t just jump around the series like that and expect any continuity, intrigue or to know what the hell is going on with the characters or plot. Why the hell would you expect otherwise? Bizarre. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-no-thread-for-the-leftovers/784637/26 "2017-04-24T17:17:08Z")
I was following the advice given in the thread, more or less. I’m catching up on S2 (but not on S1, only the last episode), but still watching the current shows. If you go back in this thread, it was noted that you don’t need to watch all of S1. I wanted to see the last episode of S2 as it relates significantly to S3E1. I’m not confused at all. I can follow what is going on just fine. If anything, I find there is TOO MUCH repetition of past events. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-no-thread-for-the-leftovers/784637/27 "2017-04-24T17:34:04Z")
So I re-watched the ending of Book Of Kevin in light of the ending of this episode, where the nun asks her “Sarah… does the name ‘Kevin’… mean anything to you?” and she replies, “No.” While, to me, it seemed like Nora was denying knowing Kevin out of total renunciation or some awful falling out, I now wonder if she’s protecting him in some way. Is this new sect of Christianity (Kevinanity?) still trying to locate Kevin to force a new resurrection by killing him? ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-no-thread-for-the-leftovers/784637/28 "2017-04-24T17:38:17Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I was following the advice given in the thread, more or less. I’m catching up on S2 (but not on S1, only the last episode), but still watching the current shows. If you go back in this thread, it was noted that you don’t need to watch all of S1. I wanted to see the last episode of S2 as it relates significantly to S3E1. > > I’m not confused at all. I can follow what is going on just fine. If anything, I find there is TOO MUCH repetition of past events. Eh… I think Season 1 is essential, IMO. It’s what really makes the characters of Kevin, Nora, and Matt so utterly compelling. Also makes “International Assassin” (S2, Ep8) so absolutely amazing (one of my Top 5 episodes of TV ever). ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-no-thread-for-the-leftovers/784637/29 "2017-04-24T17:40:00Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > So I re-watched the ending of Book Of Kevin in light of the ending of this episode, where the nun asks her “Sarah… does the name ‘Kevin’… mean anything to you?” and she replies, “No.” While, to me, it seemed like Nora was denying knowing Kevin out of total renunciation or some awful falling out, I now wonder if she’s protecting him in some way. Is this new sect of Christianity (Kevinanity?) still trying to locate Kevin to force a new resurrection by killing him? Yeah, I thought that as well after the end of this episode. I wonder how the ladies knew of Kevin (and was the nun at the end there the leader of the posse of women at the end in this episode?). Maybe his father is telling folks and it gets passed along like a game of telephone? Or perhaps it’s slightly in the future and maybe Kevin and Nora bring the Book of Kevin with them in Australia, where it gets copied and disseminated? ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-no-thread-for-the-leftovers/784637/30 "2017-04-24T17:46:50Z")
I didn’t see anyone say that season 1 wasn’t required viewing. It’s hard viewing, sure, but it’s important to the story. It shows the absolute despair and depression and confusion that followed ‘the event’. It was about people processing the lunacy of 3% of the population vanishing, often in front of their eyes. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-no-thread-for-the-leftovers/784637/31 "2017-04-24T17:47:07Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Yeah, I thought that as well after the end of this episode. I wonder how the ladies knew of Kevin (and was the nun at the end there the leader of the posse of women at the end in this episode?). Maybe his father is telling folks and it gets passed along like a game of telephone? > > Or perhaps it’s slightly in the future and maybe Kevin and Nora bring the Book of Kevin with them in Australia, where it gets copied and disseminated? I wondered that as well, about how the ladies in Australia would’ve known about the Book. And it must be the present day, since the weather man in the sheriff’s office was making jokes about the 7th anniversary of the Departure coming up any day now. My guess is that Michael has been secretly transcribing Matt’s pages online, and Kevin’s father found them, and ostensibly is starting a new cult based on them. Remember him quickly shutting his laptop when Kevin walked into the office, and Kevin made a joke about surfing porn? ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-no-thread-for-the-leftovers/784637/32 "2017-04-24T17:49:33Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > My guess is that Michael has been secretly transcribing Matt’s pages online, and Kevin’s father found them, and ostensibly is starting a new cult based on them. Remember him quickly shutting his laptop when Kevin walked into the office, and Kevin made a joke about surfing porn? Oh snap! That’s right. Though Matt did ask if Kevin saw anything… so maybe the claim that was the “only copy” was a lie and they were putting it online. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-no-thread-for-the-leftovers/784637/33 "2017-04-24T17:49:51Z")
Yeh, agreed. No matter how astute you are in piecing together story threads, skipping S1 and hopping around like that, all willy nilly, you’d lose all the emotional weight as the series works through all these wild issues, step-by-step. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-no-thread-for-the-leftovers/784637/34 "2017-04-24T17:52:17Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Oh snap! That’s right. Though Matt did ask if Kevin saw anything… so maybe the claim that was the “only copy” was a lie and they were putting it online. Ah shit, you’re right! I totally forgot Matt said that. Maybe they’re just uploading select transcripts? FWIW I’m listening to the season one soundtrack right now… god that theme is such a powerful, emotional score. So fucking good. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-no-thread-for-the-leftovers/784637/35 "2017-04-24T18:09:23Z")
> [@MoonMoon](#): > > I didn’t see anyone say that season 1 wasn’t required viewing. It’s hard viewing, sure, but it’s important to the story. It shows the absolute despair and depression and confusion that followed ‘the event’. It was about people processing the lunacy of 3% of the population vanishing, often in front of their eyes. Remembering that this is all based on a novel by Tom Perrotta, the first season follows closely the novel storyline. Note that I haven’t read it. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-no-thread-for-the-leftovers/784637/36 "2017-04-24T18:16:42Z")
> [@MoonMoon](#): > > I didn’t see anyone say that season 1 wasn’t required viewing. It’s hard viewing, sure, but it’s important to the story. It shows the absolute despair and depression and confusion that followed ‘the event’. It was about people processing the lunacy of 3% of the population vanishing, often in front of their eyes. Nitpick, but it was two percent of the population, or about 140 million people. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-no-thread-for-the-leftovers/784637/37 "2017-04-24T19:07:58Z")
Love the show but I hope it doesn’t start zipping all round the timeline like Lost and Westworld. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-no-thread-for-the-leftovers/784637/38 "2017-04-24T19:23:58Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Love the show but I hope it doesn’t start zipping all round the timeline like Lost and Westworld. With only 6 episodes left, ever, I doubt it. It’s weird, with LOST I craved answers to the questions and mythology they set up, only for the ending to totally undermine the journey of that show. For this, while I’m just as intrigued by the weirdness and questions they raise, I’m not expecting many answers, and don’t really desire any (though some would be nice). And not in a cynical way just because LOST left a bad taste in my mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-no-thread-for-the-leftovers/784637/39 "2017-04-24T19:32:11Z")
From what I’ve read, the producers have said they’re not going to get into why the two percent disappeared, and that makes sense, given that the show is about the reaction of the rest of humanity. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-no-thread-for-the-leftovers/784637/40 "2017-04-24T20:32:27Z")
The disappearance isn’t the story, it’s the setting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-no-thread-for-the-leftovers/784637.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-no-thread-for-the-leftovers/784637.md?page=3)