The Leftovers - Halftime

At the halfway point of The Leftovers, we're trying to decide what this show is about. Or I am.  Frankly, I have not written about the show because I have not known what to write beyond a basic summary of things that happened, and that is a waste of everyone's time.  At the halfway point though, it's a little easier to take stock of the series as a whole, even if we don't know what it is getting it yet.

Judging by what's been written about the show to this point, it appears I'm not alone.  A time like this really makes me miss the thoughtful and well moderated boards at Television Without Pity. In light of TV Club's summer collapse, Vox has probably done the best job so far on the series, particularly on its "Gladys" post. 

One thing is clear, the show is not interested in exploring the past or the Why? of the disappearance and the selection of the disappeared.  It is focused almost entirely on the lives these people now lead in a post 10/14 world and how sudden loss affects them even three years later.  After all, the show is called The Leftovers.  It is not called The Unexplained Event or The People Who Suddenly Vanished. 

The time spent in Mapleton has been the most rewarding for me as a viewer.  Whether that be with the priest, the chief, the cult or the Jill.  The show's nuclear family has been torn apart by the vanishing, yet none of those family members themselves vanished.  It shows the far reaching effects of the event and how the suddenness and the lack of closure have not permitted people to return to their lives.  And while not in Mapleton, the overturned truck spilling dead bodies grieving fmilies purchased to bury serve as another device to show the lack of closure on the event. 

Since the first episode, the show has become increasingly oblique.  It often makes passing references to people or events that have not been explained and make me wonder if I missed something in a previous episode.  I wonder if I am to recall what Laurie said to Patty before everything changed, or if that is an off screen event.  Should I know who Neil is?  On the other end of that are seemingly basic questions that do not receive an answer.  Were those actually Kevin's shirts he got from the cleaners?  If not, why can't he find them?  Did the GR sneak into his house and take them?  I thought, based on last week's B&E and their progressing to painting things white, like newspaper boxes, that they had stolen people's clothes and perhaps were replacing them with their own white garb. 

Animal imagery, prominently featured in the pilot, has taken a back seat.  I expect it may stay there long enough to forget about it, only to reappear in the finale.  Biblical imagery has taken center stage, particularly in the last two episodes featuring the Christmas story of Wayne's baby and then a New Testament-ish stoning and possibly martyrdom parable.  I wonder if the first two episodes have a decidedly Old Testament bend.  Could it be that the event should raise give people on Earth awareness and consciousness as the tree did for Adam and Steve?  That is probably a stretch, which is why I haven't seen that posited yet. 

Questions

1. Why and how did these people disappear?
1. Not likely to be explained
2. Why did these particular people disappear?
1. Not likely to be explained
3. Where is Mapleton?
1. Upstate New York
4. Was Mapleton especially hard hit?  
1. It does not appear so, the GR is a national organization and the citizens appear to be affected just as much by the residual results of the disappearance as the disappearance itself (intact families torn apart, a car accident due to the driver disappearing)
5. It seems like they are missing more than 2 percent based on the reactions.
1. Hmmm.  Unsure
6. It would also help explain the next question
7. Why is the cult in Mapleton, and not elsewhere?
1. It is elsewhere, Past Me.
8. Why does the cult choose smoking as a reminder?
1. Mortality?
9. What is the cult's end game? 
1. Perhaps to constantly remind people of the disappearance
10. Who is Wayne and why does he merit all this money, security and reverence?
1. Wayne is a magical child molester charlatan who claims to have some sort of healing powers
11. What did Wayne do for the congressman?
1. Made his pain go away
12. Why does Wayne want the girl protected? 
1. She has his baby
13. What is the grace period?
1. Probably a figurative term.  Past Me is an idiot.
14. What else has the cult done to piss off the town, besides stalk and be creepy?
1. Buy up people's properties.  Break in their houses.  Take stuff.
15. Why did Liv  Tyler change her mind?
1. Unknown.
16. What does the dream with the pig in the hood of the car mean?
1. ????
17. Why did those people jump off the building in the son's flashback?
1. Not explained yet.  
18. What has happened with the dogs?
1. Did they go stray and then adapt to survive?
19. Who is the guy shooting dogs and what does he know about them?
1. I think he gave a name but I cant remember it.  At least we know he is not a ghost.
20. What is the symbolism with the deer and why does that image seem so familiar to me?
1. Is it Hannibal I'm thinking of?
2. Probably an episode 10 thing, but too oblique for me to discern.
21. Why did the deer tear up the Garvey kitchen?
1. ????
22. And how did Kevin know to suspect the deer? 
1. ????

New questions

• How and when will Nora's gun fire?
• How has Wayne convinced people to do his bidding?

Tyrant - A Scene

Maybe it is too facile to say that Tyrant is an inverted Homeland*, or The Godfather** in the Middle East** or a variation on Mr. Chips to Scarface***.  A few episodes in though, it seems like a quick and easy way to describe the show.

* An American returning to American from the Middle East after becoming one of them and a Freedonian returning to Freedonia after living his life as an American.

** The youngest brother is pulled into the bad news family business after having a life in a legitimate profession with his blonde wife

*** The descent of a really nice guy into villain-hood.

There hasn't been as much time yet to paint all the shades of gray we're used on cable television to but we're getting there.  The advent of the nominal revolutionary leader being a poseur douchebag is one of my favorite additions to the show.  Yeah, they're facing a terrible dictatorial dynasty, but this other guy sure sucks too.

A scene between the American ambassador and the president brought a few things to look forward to.  The tete-e-tete precedes the apparently imminent crackdown of protestors in the square *  To this point, the new president has been shown to be reckless and emotional and dangerous, while the ambassador has been shown to be a sell out, happy to take in the luxury his position provides him by looking the other way constantly.

* Message to dictators: Fill in your squares.  They are bad news for your regime. - The Daily Show

Jamal, the president, takes the temperature of the United States on the violence he's about to impart.  He's accepted the nominal decrying but wants to know there's no actual consequences for it.  The ambassador is astonishingly honest with him (and the viewer) that whether they kill 50 or 500, the wrong individual, such as a cute co-ed, could bring unwanted attention and serious reprisals from the United States in order to comply with public opinion.  It is a great example of realpolitik. 

The threat of taking away the American strategic presence with their naval base is very real, as Jamal points out.  But it's not as strong as he thinks, as the ambassador responds that the lease on the base is with the government, not the family.  It's not an ideal situation for the Americans but it is an out for them, if the situation becomes dire.  The ambassador finally shows a bit of integrity and willingness to speak to Jamal (or previously, his father) truthfully. 

From here, it will be interesting to see how Jamal weighs the threat of American pulling its support and how the ambassador continues to function, and what his motivations and end goal are.


 

Emmy nominations - Directing

The other category besides writing that is closest to a "best episode" category is direction.  The shows overlap much with the writing category with the episodes abutting their writing nominee counterparts in two cases.

Felina
One episode, Breaking Bad's "Felina" overlaps, and is the only one to do so.  Does that make it the default choice for best episode?


I won't rehash "Felina" again.  Instead, here are the other directing nominees that were featured on I Don't Own a Television.

Best Direction
"Farewell Daddy Blues"
Boardwalk Empire
When this aired, I called it possibly Boardwalk Empire's finest episode.  The Season Four finale executed a lot of what made "The Children" so good for Game of Thrones, probably because these two shows have a lot in common.


"The Watchers on the Wall"
Game of Thrones
A big, singularly focused, episode with lots of action, effects and battle sequences.  I think there is a lot more to the episode than bashing people in the head with swords and axes, which is what elevates it to a higher level.


"Who Goes There"
True Detective
This no doubt largely got the nomination for the six minute unbroken chaos shot as Rust's undercover business goes pear shaped.  There's a reason this made the Internet explode Monday morning.

Fargo
I did not post about Fargo because it was airing at the same time as Mad Men and Game of Thrones, and three shows would simply have been too much.  That said, Fargo, while it submitted in the miniseries categories, could just as easily have held its own as a regular series.  The three best seasons this year were Breaking Bad, Fargo and True Detective and there's no wrong answer as to which came out on top.

Fargo featured two in the directing category "The Crocodile's Dilemma” and "Buridan's Ass" as well as having "Crocodile's Dilemna" in writing, giving it the "Felina" overlap.  While the competition is much easier in the miniseries category (getting harder each year though) the nominations are noteworthy, much deserved and could easily have happened in the series category. 

"Crocodile's Dilemma" is the premiere and it wouldn't be right to discuss it further.  "Buridan's Ass" left me thinking immediately that this is up there with "Farewell Daddy Blues" and "Secret Fate of All Things" and "Ozymandias" as the best episode of the year.  I will forever have the snowstorm with the drums soundtrack implanted in my brain. 

Others
Also featured for writing and directing: "Chapter 14" - House of Cards (Season Two premiere)
Get real.  House of Cards is fun adn I love it, but it's pulp and it's clearly not in the top tier.

Also featured for directing:"Episode 1 - Season Four" - Downton Abbey

All that said, the Emmy voting process is rather unfair and insane

Emmy Nominations - Writing

While I lament the lack of nomination for Pedro Pascal, I am rather pleased with some of the nominations for writing and directing.  There is no Emmy for best episode, so these categories sort of combine for that honor.  Here are the nominees that have entries on here.

Writing

"The Children"
Thwunk

Game of Thrones Season Four episodes were often about moving storylines and characters into place, while punctuating it with a big scene.  The nature of drawing source material from three books, plus the content of that material, plus original material, plus breaking ten episodes made this the natural way to plot the season.  And with a cast of a billion or so, filmed across many continents, it's not surprising we don't see some characters for a week or two.  Given that, this season didn't have as many fun character development scenes like Season Two's Arya and Tywin scenes (though Tyrion's and Jaime's in the dungeon were pretty good).  "The Children" was a great blend of plot, character, source material and original material, all pulled together to move the story forward and perhaps for the first time end on an oddly hopeful note.

"Ozymandias"
Look upon my works, ye mighty and despair

I had occasion to visit Percy Bysshe Shelley's grave in May, and it says a lot my first thoughts go to Breaking Bad.  All of Walt's work, manipulating, lying, ego puffing and violence comes crashing down as gets caught, is responsible for the death of his brother in law, is rejected by his wife and son and loses most of his money to boot.

"Felina"
Blacker than night were the eyes of Felina wicked and evil while casting a spell
...
Back in El Paso my life would be worthless, everything gone in life nothing is left 
...
Maybe tomorrow a bullet may find me
Once everyone caught up on this show, it made this episode the event of the year.  The only competition would be the "Reigns of Castamere" but that would be considered the previous "season".  Walt seeks redemption to the fullest extent possible, able to put aside his ego for a minute to ensure some fraction of his money gets to his children via uber-Heisenberg methods.  Always one to hold a grudge, Walt goes to settle some scores and in his last moments before taking the bullet that would allow him to escape before the coppers ever get him, he saves the life of the show's conscious.

"The Secret Fate of All Things"
Time is a flat circle
Featuring 1995, 2002 and 2012 storylines, the episode both closes and reopens the Reggie Ledoux/Dora Lange case.  We've sensed we're not getting the whole picture and it's confirmed when Marty and Rust go full unreliable narrator as they relate the Ledoux compound firefight.  Mixing in some rambling/Nietzsche and making as good of use as one can of different literary devices, we get as many questions as answers in these sixty minutes.  Even more impressive, this follows "Who Goes There?" and delivers after expectations are raised incredibly high.

To choose is to choose a favorite child or pizza topping.