The greatest drama series of all time, and I doubt anything I'm going to see down the line for the rest of my life will ever unseat "The Leftovers."
You go into this show, having read the brief description, thinking it's going to be just another, run-of-the-mill Twilight Zone-ish fantasy/sci-fi thing of which countless many have been churned out before. Then the actual story dawns on you like the apocalyptic thunderbolt it promises to deliver.
2% of the population anywhere on earth have vanished into thin air, and the remaining 98% are left behind to pick up the pieces. It doesn't sound like such a big deal, but the Sudden Departure touches everyone, even those who haven't lost anyone.
Cults, messianic figure leaders, delusional patients, inexplicable event after inexplicable event, absurd concepts - the absurdity sometimes reminds you of a Stephen King story, but here it's actually fun to watch.
The apocalypse. It's riveting.
It's a story about mental illness and suicide. Loss and grief. Pain and suffering. But above all, it's a story of love. Love, compassion, friendship and brotherhood - and faith.
Deeply felt, raw, unsullied faith.
It goes without saying that Justin Theroux (Chief Kevin Garvey) and Carrie Coon (Nora Durst) provided us with an absolutely divine performance, and a romance that was as complicated as it was seismically intense, that will be seared on everyone's mind for eternity. Just watching Justin cry those handsome eyes of his out, his sweet voice breaking with every tear - it's beyond words. I couldn't give him justice.
But my favorite episode was season 2, episode 5. Reverend Matt Jamison, magnificently played by Christopher Eccleston, leaves no stone unturned to protect his paralyzed, locked-in wife Mary, and the lengths he went to, that was just something else. I've never seen a performance so solid, so profoundly heartrending, of a love that is so strong, of a selfless heart that knows no bounds when it comes to sacrifice.
At the end of the day, closure is a luxury we can't afford, not even at the end of the world.
