The Leftovers - A Matter Of Geography - Review: "The World Spins On"

In the premiere episode of The Leftovers, 'Axis Mundi', we met the Murphy family from Jarden (Miracle), Texas - The father, John, mother named Erika and two kids, Evie and Michael. There were obvious (and not so obvious) parallels between the Murphy and Garvey families, who just so happened to be their new neighbors by the end of the episode. The two families meet and then mingle at John's birthday barbecue that same night where they learn quite a bit about each other. By the end of the night we get the sense there will be some friction and some sort of conflict between the two patriarchs.

In the second episode Sunday we get to see what happens immediately after the final moments of the season one finale. Last we saw, Kevin and Jill were walking up to their home as they are stopped by the sight of Nora standing on their front porch holding the recently discovered baby Lily. This is the moment where the episode picks up from, which I thought was a perfect place for the 'Garvey Family 2.0' to have their story start.

Kevin has gone through a lot, as we have seen from last season, and the craziness he occasionally experiences doesn't seem to be diminishing in any way. We see Kevin and his struggles as he deals with his own demons and the fallout from the Guilty Remnant 'Living Reminders' Night of last season's finale throughout this episode. This difficult period Kevin is going through, mostly in his mind is something he will need to address. And if he wishes to not crew things up with Nora, as Jill so aptly stated, then he needs to talk to her about it before events in his life spin even more out of control than they already have.

Nora is also a focus of the episode and I love the story that her former home is part of an MIT research location. This is where our newly formed Garvey family conjures up the money to move to the charming and highly desirable town of Jarden. One of the researchers tells Nora that the Sudden Departure could possibly happen again, which becomes the catalyst for Nora so desperately wanting to buy the only house available in town - she doesn't want to lose her new family like she lost the old one. Nora also seems to be in a better place emotionally compared to last season, especially considering it was Mother's Day (please check the Thoughts and Discussion section below) when she and Kevin formally adopted Lily.

When I finished watching the first season, I immediately thought to myself that it would be great if season two of The Leftovers showed us that the Sudden Departure could happen again sometime in the future. And it inevitably did, which we saw at the end of this season's premiere as well as in 'A Matter Of Geography' last night. This time, however, Kevin appears to be at the epicenter of the event. Could Kevin have something to do with the disappearance of Evie and her friends? Perhaps spiritually or otherwise? Is there a higher force that wants Kevin to stay alive?

If we play out what we know it goes like this - Kevin sleepwalks (which we have seen him do plenty of times in season one) his way to the pond. After arriving there (I'm sure it's possible that someone took him there, but Kevin walking alone is more likely), Kevin ties a cinder block to his leg and drowns himself. Sinking to the bottom the earthquake in Jarden begins and the water along with Evie and her friends disappeared. So, at approximately the same moment Kevin tries to drown and kill himself another departure occurs, but this time takes the water also. This reminds me of LOST when certain "candidates" could not commit suicide because the "island" wasn't done with them yet.

Th episode was another amazing hour for The Leftovers. After the premieres incredible ending, I immediately wanted more clues to what had truly happened, or at least another viewpoint of it and what other citizens of Jarden experienced. Well, what could be better than the second episodes ending, showcasing Kevin's sleepwalking and subsequent drowning only to be miraculously saved by the disappearance of not only Evie and her friends, but the water surrounding him? This episode seemed to want to put to rest last season's 'Kevin' of being a murderer and the fact that Patti's death still haunts him. From the lyrics Kevin is listening to in the Laundromat by Virus Syndicate, "better run and hide from the killer", to Kevin seeing the "Kills every time" product on the shelf at the hardware store, to Kevin seeing in the Laundromat the white shirts that 'disappeared', it was a constant reminder. Between Nora appearing emotionally better, Jill feeling "ok" (the complete opposite of her bitter and melancholic self of last season) and Kevin shedding his demons (well, most of his demons anyway), it's time for the Murphy's and the people of Jarden to experience what the world had over three years ago - that after loss - the world spins on.

Music from the Episode

- Kevin listens to Virus Syndicate in the laundromat

- 'Take It All' - Ruelle
Moving to Miracle

- 'Where Is My Mind?' - Pixies
Plays while Kevin is driving and doing other things.

- 'You've Got My Mind Messed Up' - Quiet Elegance
Kevin and Nora share secrets.

- 'Brave Drum' - The Catheters
Kevin listens to music in the tent.

- 'Burn' - Cody Crump
End credits.

Thoughts and Discussion

- I believe Patti stated it perfectly when she said we don't know if the Garvey's are part of the Murphy's story or the other way around

- Why is there an excess of babies to adopt? At first I thought it was because the parents disappeared in the Sudden Departure, but then remembered the SD was over three years ago

- It's funny to know that ATFEC (Alcohol Tobacco Firearms Explosives and Cults) still has a deep hatred for the Guilty Remnant. Lois Makepiece (great name) says, "So she killed herself. The world spin's on. Good Riddance, Patricia, we hardly fucking knew ye."

- Did you notice...when Kevin and Nora are formally adopting Lily there are several cubicles that 'Mother's Day' balloons. It must have been extremely difficult for Nora to go through that process knowing that it was Mother's Day?

- Did you notice...there is another reference to Australia in this episode. Kevin's dad says that he got out of the mental hospital and wants to start the world up again. He apparently wants to do this in Australia. Maybe he knows David Burton? That is who the wizard-looking man we saw living on top of the pillar in the premiere in the middle of town had Michael send a letter to.

- Why did the animals have to be quarantined?

- The musical montages in this episode are extraordinary. They are usually great in this series already, however, this episode has a really great score.

- Last episode we saw Michael go to a man's trailer decorated with Christmas lights to pray. This same man tells Kevin that he can help him with his situation. How does he know about Kevin?

- I would like to know what Laurie wrote to Jill in that letter Tom gave her

- I think there is a production error. Last episode when Nora was talking to John at the door, they both heard a loud crash that Nora dismissed to them moving in. This episode we find out it was Kevin hitting his head on the stove because of Patti. However, Nora didn't go to the door to meet John until AFTER this happened. Now we know why Kevin had a bandage on his forehead from the last episode.

- Did you notice...there a few Lost references in the episode. When Kevin is reading the history of Jarden in the museum there is a sentence that tells of the odds of Jarden having no departures at all unlike the rest of the world. They placed the odds at "1 in nine tredecillion". A Tredecillion in the US is a 1 followed by '42' zeros. Also, the town of Jarden was founded in 1848. Also, The Garvey's new home address is 420. Kevin says his dad was crazy for '4' years before he got better. Nora said they had '15' minutes before they had to go to the party. Nora's auction number is '114'.

Thank you for reading my Review! Please comment below so we can discuss the episode and the series together. I will have an Advanced Preview of episode three up sometime this week in the next few days so please look out for that. Have a great week everyone!

About the Author - Geo N

Geo N is from Detroit, MI. His favorite shows include The Blacklist, Hell On Wheels, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, LOST, The Leftovers, The Strain, Sons Of Anarchy, Sleepy Hollow and countless others. When he's not watching tons of TV, he enjoys reading, playing hockey, comic books, weightlifting, and writing. Thanks for checking out my post.

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