‘The Leftovers’ season 2, episode 2 spoilers: Will we see Kevin’s arrival to Jarden?

We appreciated how the season 2 premiere of “The Leftovers” did in some ways address the criticism that is out there for the show, but at the same time, it also focused quite a bit on executive producer Damon Lindelof doubling down on being one of the biggest risk-takers out there on TV. He started the premiere with a graphic birth sequence that was one of the strangest introductions we’ve ever seen to any show, one that worked to establish Jarden a.k.a. Miracle, Texas as a place where phenomena can occur at any moment.

From there, the show then took another risk, waiting for the majority of the hour to introduce Kevin Garvey and his family once more after they moved to the town from Mapleton. The focus was instead on John Murphy, the fireman / protector of the town who sometimes used questionable motives to get what he wanted for the betterment of the community.

So are we going to go back and see more of what drew Kevin to this place after all of the heartache in season 1? Based on what Lindelof said in a postmortem for the premiere to TVLine, this seems to be a priority for Sunday night’s new episode:

“The first episode told the story from the point of view of this new family. The second episode is purely through the point of view of the Garveys, and it will start prior to the moment where we see them arrive in Miracle. The audience deserves some of the math that led them there.”

Given the disappearance-of-sorts that came at the end of the premiere, we have what is in some ways a jumping-off point for what comes next. All we know with confidence for now is that season 2 is looking to give you at least a little more hope that people can change … but not so much to make this a different show entirely.

Head over here if you did miss our review of the “Leftovers” premiere; meanwhile, you can sign up here in the event you want some further TV updates on all we cover sent right to you, via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: HBO.)