Warning: contains finale spoilers forThe Leftovers.
The chaos and confusion.
The disbelief and destruction.
The howls of anguish.
The questions, the first of many, begin here.
Why did this happen?
Where did the people go?
What does it all mean?
What do we do now?
The Leftoverswas always more interested in asking questions than answering them.
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Crucially,The Leftoversreveals itself to have been a love story all along.
The final episode The Book of Nora begins a little after the seventh anniversary of the Sudden Departure.
For old times sake.
Reluctantly, she goes.
But it isnt a party, its a wedding.
One at which Kevin looks like it’s a guest of honour.
The facade eventually becomes too much for her, and she storms away from the wedding.
I cant do this, she tells him.
Because its not true.
Back home, Nora is angry when she discovers that her birds havent returned home.
Nora pedals off to the church.
He greets Nora sheepishly before roaring off on a motorcycle.
The nun looks no less sheepish when she appears at the front door of the church.
Nora rebukes the nun for her handling of the birds and blames her for their absence.
Maybe theyre delivering the messages of love, the nun offers with a barely repressed smile.
Im not trying to sell you anything.
Its just a nicer story.
Truth, of course, is one of the cornerstones ofThe Leftovers.
Who or what caused the Sudden Departure?
Where did all the people go?
Was Nora transported to the same place?
If so, how was she returned?
Was Kevin once immortal?
Is Kevin telling Nora the truth now?
Every year I would say to myself, I cant do this.
Im not doing this.
But every year, I would come back.
Because… Because I couldnt stop.
And a couple of days ago I showed your picture to that nun.
And I saw it in her eyes.
And when I saw you…
I couldnt believe it.
But I didnt know what to say.
Or where to start, and so I just thought, Oh fuck it, Ill erase it.
Just erase it all and maybe that would give us another chance.
But you were right.
Thats how I found you, Nora.
I refused to believe you were gone.
New gospels, a whole new testament, sprouted from his trials and deeds.
His faith was in love.
As all-consuming as it was irrevocable.
You want some tea?
Where she went; how and why she came back.
The Book of Nora
The gear worked.
But over there, they lost all of us.
Nora made the long journey back to Mapleton Planes dont really fly over there.
They were all happy.
I understood that here in this place, they were the lucky ones.
In a world full of orphans they still had each other.
And I was a ghost… who had no place there.
Did I… think about you?
Did I wanna call you?
Did I wanna be with you, Kevin?
Of course I did.
But so much time had passed.
It was too late.
And I knew that if I told you what happened that you would never believe me.
The very fact that he thrice survived what should have killed him is cause enough for doubt.
This fits with what weve learned about Nora.
Shes always been rational, even in her irrationality; someone who never suffered fantasists or liars gladly.
From a purely psychological perspective it makes sense to take Nora at face value.
And whether real or imagined, Noras experiences would almost certainly have seemed true to her.
Damon Lindelof himself confirmed as much in an interview withEsquire.
In many ways, Nora is the better nun.
Both women abandoned ordinary lives to uphold the integrity of a story.
Whereas the nun broke her covenant by sleeping with paramours, Nora kept hers sacred.
And within that heaven shed contented herself that her children were safe, and where they now belonged.
After all of her pain, thats the thing that mattered most to Nora.
But when she talks about missing Kevin it doesnt matter that her eyes veer to the left.
Its all there in his eyes, too.
Why wouldnt I believe you?
Im here, says Nora, as she reaches out her hand to Kevin.
Faith and families were fractured.
Therapists became patients, humble servants became holy warriors.
But with two words, Youre here, Kevin and Nora find it.
Kevin and Nora are finally healed, and the world around them is healing, too.
We are the answer.
Time is the answer.
Love is the answer.
The Leftovers is streaming on Max in the US, and on NOW and Sky Go in the UK.
