Beyond the nice character turn, the episode was also structured nicely: multiple times throughout, we’re shown Laurie washing her car by hand, but we aren’t told why. At first, I thought it might have something to do with her new resolve to help those who have been coerced by the Guilty Remnant, but only when she revs her engine at the two Guilty Remnant members standing in the street did it become clear she has been spending her nights running them over in her car, which she then washes in an attempt to remove the blood from her fenders, hood, and windshield. This outlet for her rage is what lets her be so calm and in control in her group therapy sessions, and is a great way to indicate how traumatic her time with the GR was for her (it also provides some irony - she chastises Tom for referring to GR houses as "hives," insisting the GR is made up of people, not insects, but she's the one treating them like bugs to be squashed). As much as it might be a release for her to kill the GR, it’s probably not very healthy for her, considering that she also attacks the obtuse publisher when he pushes her to tell him how the GR make her feel. Although, given the outburst of rage she directs at him, perhaps he was right about her manuscript not revealing how the GR makes her feel. She probably tried to prevent such wild feelings from entering into her writing, just like how she tried to prevent them from entering into her therapy.
I’ve also been enjoying the season’s structure as a whole, where episodes repeat some events from previous episodes, but from the perspective of a different set of characters. It was especially effective in the second episode, where there was a lot of overlap between Kevin, Nora, and Jill and their new neighbors from the first episode. The format slowly but surely fills in the blanks about why certain characters are behaving slightly oddly, answering questions we might have in due time, but not in a way that would interfere with the story of the characters featured that week. Somewhere down the line I anticipate we’ll see a Matt episode, for instance.
Overall, this season seems to be off to a fine start. The Leftovers has quickly become one of my favorite dramas on television (and perhaps even my favorite), capable of lighthearted moments, like in episode 2 where Kevin and Nora tell each other and Jill their secrets, but also incredibly dark and dreadful moments, and moments of intrigue and mystery, all underlined by strong writing and acting.
Other thoughts:
- Speaking of dark and dreadful, the scene where the not-quite-recovered Guilty Remnant member kills her whole family -- despite her poor husband’s attempts to stop -- her was superbly chilling.
- As much as I enjoyed this episode, I was not terribly thrilled to see that Tom has become the new Holy Wayne. However, this might be largely because Tom and Holy Wayne were the most undercooked parts of season 1. Given adequate screen time, perhaps Tom can become a more compelling part of this season than he was in the first. On the other hand, I don’t want excessive amounts of Tom to take away screen time from the rest of the Garveys. We shall see. At the very least, letting him reveal that he is the new Holy Wayne is probably healthier for his character than his secretly infiltrating Guilty Remnant cells and extricating disillusioned members, not only because it means he'll no longer have to confront the aggressive nihilism of the GR on a daily basis, but because it also decreases his danger of being found out by them (although it increases the danger of his becoming another target of the federal government, who seemed to have it in for Wayne last season).
- I think the show continues to find just the right balance between strong character stories and intriguing supernaturalisms. Kevin’s dad has turned into the skid and accepted the voices (and in this episode, we learn he’s started some sort of cult in Australia). Meanwhile, Kevin is still haunted by (corporeal?) visions of ghost Patti, and is still prone to conducting elaborate and perhaps malicious actions in his sleep. So far, both the “Kevin’s nuts” theory and the “Kevin’s the fulcrum for whatever the hell is going on in this world” theory are still in play, and I enjoy the way the show plays with the ambiguity. I also enjoy Kevin’s attempts to negotiate the two possibilities, mainly by denying them both. His earbuds in episode 2 are clearly a way of blocking out Patti and any other voices he might be hearing, even though at first he just seems to be blocking out baby Lily’s screaming. While he’s concerned with what’s causing all of this, it’s not because he wants to figure out why it’s happening, but more because he doesn’t want it to screw up the life he’s trying to build with Nora and Jill. That's the kind of character work that makes all of the supernatural stuff compelling (which was also sporadically true of Lost as well).
- Hey, Meg reappears as the new queen of the Guilty Remnant. Not quite sure what was going on when she has sex with the captive Tom, although a strong possibility is that she somehow realizes he’s acquired Holy Wayne’s healing powers, and wants for herself (or her child) whatever mojo Wayne spread to all of his offspring (like Lily). It also made me think of this scene from Futurama.
- Lots of Fight Club homage going on lately: both the second and third episodes each feature The Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?”, as did a late-season episode of Mr. Robot. At least it’s a catchy, go-to tune for indicating a character’s possible insanity.
- Finally, I absolutely love the new opening title sequence, which are not only beautiful, but capture what this show is about much more effectively than the overwrought play on Renaissance paintings in the first season's title sequence.
UPDATE Sepinwall has a very interesting alternative view of Holy Tom: he thinks it's all show for the benefit of the therapy group. I hope he's right, as that seems a better fit.
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