The Leftovers: It's a Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt World
May 15, 2017 9:39 AM - Season 3, Episode 5 - Subscribe

Convinced it is Kevin's destiny to be in Miracle for the coming seventh anniversary of the Departure, Matt Jamison impulsively heads to Australia in an effort to bring Kevin home.
posted by LizBoBiz (14 comments total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
Why Tonight’s Episode of The Leftovers Was Inspired by Matt Zoller Seitz is such a strange and wonderful conversation between critic Matt Zoller Seitz and Damon Lindelof.
posted by gladly at 10:30 AM on May 15, 2017 [5 favorites]


I don't know if this was on purpose or not, but it was weird that there seemed to be multiple shots of Lori where she interjects what she needs to say and then backs out of the frame, so we see a profile view of her face disappearing off the side of the screen. I wonder if that was supposed to mean something.
posted by LizBoBiz at 12:39 PM on May 15, 2017


I found the opening scene on the submarine so upsetting I wasn't sure I wanted to watch the rest, and an hour later I was angry-laughing at this show for being so goddamn good.

The one thing I wished--and shows do this all the time--is that Laurie had been *very* explicit with John about why she was so sure Kevin had hallucinated Evie. We know John is at least open to Kevin being somehow divinely handpicked and on some level believes Evie is alive. "Kevin is delusional" works without asking me to recall specifics of last week's episode, but "He sent me a photo, see? she's a woman of color with vaguely similar glasses and he's delusional" feels like it'd do a better job of saving John from painful doubt.

That said, I *definitely* didn't pick up on the prior appearances of/references to Burton, but the whole Perfect Strangers runner apparently sailed past me too, so thanks, Internet recappers.

The double meaning of the last line didn't hit me till about an hour later, and then I was angry-laughing again.
posted by jameaterblues at 1:36 PM on May 15, 2017 [2 favorites]


With the exception of one thing, this was a great episode. But that one thing is pretty big.

In real life, Laurie would have just whipped out her cell phone and said, "Look, this is the picture Kevin sent me of "Evie"" and she would have put everyone's mind at rest. It's what would have eased the mind of her husband and stepson, and it would have STFUed Matthew. But she didn't. Why? Usually, this show is smarter than I am, so if she didn't do that there might be a reason I'm not considering. And I don't rule out that even though when Kevin looked at the picture and it wasn't Evie, maybe it is Evie on Laurie's phone.
posted by Stanczyk at 3:31 PM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]


The Laurie thing was definitely WTF, but the show is fairly meticulous with details, so who knows.

Otherwise I loved this episode, though it will require a rewatch. Loved that lion finale!
posted by grumpybear69 at 6:26 PM on May 15, 2017


After reading the prayer the French sailor recites before launching the missile, as translated in that Vulture article above:

“God, Let this missile fly straight and true/ Let it find the volcano nest/ And let the egg there be unhatched/ So that this unborn beast may be destroyed/ Before it rises to destroy the world.”

I came up with a theory that he fired it straight in the air, and it came back down on the submarine, somewhere in the Pacific. He did that because he believed that after he pushed that button, God would handle it from there and use it to destroy what he feared.
posted by Stanczyk at 6:34 PM on May 15, 2017


I think the news reports indicated that it hit an uninhabited island.
posted by grumpybear69 at 6:38 PM on May 15, 2017


I wonder what happens to that poor pilot essentially stranded on Tasmania. Does he fly home to his family? Or will he be waiting there on the coming event.

I don't generally get worked up about meaning or cannon or theme on shows, nothing on Lost seemed unusual, not sure if I'm insightful or dunnig-krugerish, but this show really needs a good long essay with footnotes.
posted by sammyo at 9:07 PM on May 15, 2017


“God, Let this missile fly straight and true/ Let it find the volcano nest/ And let the egg there be unhatched/ So that this unborn beast may be destroyed/ Before it rises to destroy the world.”

He's got another whacky theory along the lines of the dog people, I suspect. I imagine his prayer is literal.

Anyone pay more attention than me to the bible verse Matt was reading before his cancer bled on it? I only noticed that it was about a lion.
posted by tracicle at 11:53 PM on May 15, 2017


“God, Let this missile fly straight and true/ Let it find the volcano nest/ And let the egg there be unhatched/ So that this unborn beast may be destroyed/ Before it rises to destroy the world.”


It sounds to me like the unborn beast etc that he's referring to is his own nuclear sub, or a similar launch facility that he wants to disable before it gets used in a more disastrous fashion.
posted by FatherDagon at 12:05 PM on May 16, 2017


For those who haven't seen it, the full translation of the French submariner's prayer (as translated by someone on reddit):

I'm the only hope
The last defense of a species about to go extinct
The "warlocks" warned us
These clairvoyant sages saw the truth
They said the creatures would come 7 years after the first ones were taken
7 years after the departure
We were blind of the gods
We are now on the edge of the ravine
On the edge of destruction
When this monster is born we are done for
Because this monster will be born to end us
7 heads and 7 flaming mouths
We have one last hope, the egg
From the warlock maps I found it
Hidden in a nest, in a volcano in the sea
Thank god for the technologie
The nuclear weapon
To break the fragile shell and melt the demons inside
God, may this missile fly straight and find the nest in the volcano
And hopefully this egg wouldn't have hatched yet, and let it destroy it before it destroys the world.
posted by Atom Eyes at 12:32 PM on May 16, 2017 [3 favorites]


Let us all remember Vigorous Hand Job Guy. Here is an interview with the actor who played Vigorous Hand Job Guy.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:36 PM on May 21, 2017 [4 favorites]


This also got up in my craw in the movie "Hail Caesar" with the Russian sub.

Hah! I'd just been watching this the other day and noticed that the Russian sonar is in synch with the similarly anachronistic flashing red light on top. Ping!
posted by Ogre Lawless at 3:11 PM on May 22, 2017


The Leftovers is just the best show if you are happy to take you where it wants to go. Because there is absolutely no guessable way we would go from last episode to a group overnight trip, amid a threatened nuclear apocalypse, on the Tasmania Melbourne ferry amidst an orgy of lion worshippers and a pugnacious God wandering the upper decks in a baseball hat. I note that the real Tasmania Melbourne ferry includes this in their FAQ: "Can Pets Travel On The Ferry Melbourne To Tasmania? - "Yes! There are pet kennels available on decks 3 and 5...Also note that certain wildlife pets are not allowed onboard."
posted by rongorongo at 10:56 PM on October 11, 2022 [1 favorite]


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