[REVIEW] The Leftovers Season 2 Series Premiere Review

 article by: Jeff Labrecque

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY magazine
"If there was any doubt that season 2 of the HBO drama/fantasy series The Leftovers would have a very different vibe than last season, which faithfully mined novelist Tom Perrotta's dark 2011 novel, look no further than the new opening credits. Gone are the anguish-of-the-damned paintings and strings-heavy orchestral music. In their place are some random family photos of happier times, with at least one character silhouetted out to represent his or her departure, strung together by Iris DeMent's upbeat 1992 folk-spiritual, "Let the Mystery Be": "Some say once gone you're forever/And some say you're gonna come back/Some say you rest in the arms of the Savior/If in sinful ways you lack/Some say that they're comin' back in a garden/Bunch of carrots and little sweet peas/I think I'll just let the mystery be." In the Leftovers world, this new credits opener practically feels as chipper as "Don't Worry, Be Happy." The show's creators, Perrotta and Damon Lindelof, have teased that the show is also shifting away from Mapleton, New York, where Police Chief Kevin Garvey; actor/screenwriter Justin Theroux's character, lost his family in the aftermath of the baffling departure that evaporated 2% of the world's population. "Kevin might not be mentally stable," said Theroux regarding his character, "but he finished on a high note, reuniting with his daughter Jill; played by actress Margaret Qualley, and potentially piecing together a new family with girlfriend Nora; played by actress Carrie Coon, and the orphaned baby of Holy Wayne; actor Paterson Joseph's character, who died last season, the martyred prophet (or fraud).

The Leftovers season 2 episode "Axis Mundi"

It echoes the narrative of the first season, with Nora finding the baby, but it's also a warning, too: Whether it's a plume of smoke in the distance or the promise of a Texas town called Miracle, really bad things can happen between here and there, things even worse than the catastrophe you're trying to escape. Welcome to Miracle, formerly known as Jarden, Texas. Catching up with the Garveys and their extended clan will have to wait, as we get to know the new town, which has become a national shrine after zero of its 9,261 residents departed during the rapture. Is there something magical about the water? Is it the tobacco? Is it the tremors that rattle the town periodically? Whatever it is, it is an oasis that others seek, hence the park rangers who keep a close watch on the tourists who are bussed in to seek peace as well as understanding. In town, there's an Homnibus-looking vagrant who lives upon a town-square pillar, a literal axis mundi symbolizing the sacred door between the heavenly and the terrestrial. Just who are these Murphys? There a new family introduced in the series premiere including actors Regina King as Erika, actor Kevin Carroll as John, actor Jovan as Michael, and actress Jasmine as Evangeline "Evie". The new family quickly clashes with the Garveys: Kevin's a cop; John's a fireman, Kevin drinks; John's sober; Kevin's is a bad liar; John has served six plus years for attempted murder."

Tune in for the season next episode "A Matter of Geography" set to premiere Sunday, October 11, 2015 @ 9|8c p.m. check your local listings.

"Click" on the link listed for more information:

• http://www.hbo.com/the-leftovers