‘The Leftovers’ season 2, episode 9 review: Meg becomes her own deity
Following the best episode of “The Leftovers” ever, and maybe even the best episode of TV we have seen so far in 2015, it makes sense that there would be some sort of falling-off for the show. Just be happy it didn’t dive headfirst off of a cliff.
The worst thing about Sunday night’s Meg-focused episode was not that the acting was terrible. The same goes for the writing. It just felt too much out of left field. It feels almost like Liv Tyler’s character was victimized somewhat by the show having a ten-episode order; with this many cast members, having twelve or thirteen hours may have presented this particular problem.
Meg’s story is no doubt interesting, given that she is a terminally-devastated woman who is in many ways a psychopath, desperate to assert her power in some way and be her own sort of god in a post-apocalyptic world. She was not okay just being in charge of the Guilty Remnant; instead, she wanted to form her own subset, and be the ones to bust the refugees into the Miracle National Park and therefore Jarden. She has a plan to cause mass devastation in the town, hitting the fanatics and the believers in the sacred ground right where it hurts.
What was so interesting about this story is that while Kevin Garvey’s journey last week was inherently religious and spiritual, this was almost anti-religion in its approach. It offered up logical explanations for both the earthquake and Evie’s disappearance, with the latter being that she and her friends merely showed an interest in running off and being a part of Meg’s sect after a meeting there long before Matt, Nora, or anyone else first arrived there.
As for Tom accompanying Meg on her journey down to Jarden the second time with her plan, it was a little unclear what his motive was other than his own desire for answers after scamming people over his “healing” powers. We understood now why he left Laurie and that Laurie was looking in the right place seemingly for him; however, we have a rather hard time believing in full that he would want to spend his time with someone who raped him earlier in the season, a move that she claims was to get him “pregnant.” (As with last week, don’t think here in straight lines.)
This episode of “The Leftovers” was still very good, compelling television; yet, some logic leaps and a complete left turn so close to the endgame made us yearn more for some of the people we are more invested in at this point. Grade: B.
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