The Leftovers - Off Ramp - Review: "Who Wants A Hug?"

The first two episodes of The Leftovers showed us both sides of the two families that the series will focus on this season - the Garvey's and the Murphy's. The town of Jarden experienced their version of the Sudden Departure and as a result Evie, and her two friends, disappeared plus Kevin was found tied to a cinder block lying on the bedrock where the event took place. The water in the pond is gone, Evie and her friends are gone, Kevin is sleepwalking again, as well as, hallucinating Patti - the mystery begins.

Episode 3 of this season focuses on Tom and Laurie and what they have been up to since the events of the finale last season. Two of my favorite episodes from last season were concerned with only one character at a time; Reverend Matt's, 'Two Boats and a Helicopter', and his sister Nora's, 'Guest', were great episodes showcasing two interesting characters. I have read that Damon Lindelof enjoyed that type of storytelling so much that he plans on doing more episodes like those and episode three is basically Laurie's and Tom's time to shine. I'm certain this will not be the last we see of them either.

Laurie, with the help of Tom, has slowly been gathering newly recruited Guilty Remnant members to see if they convert them back to the real world. Tom would pretend to infiltrate the GR as a member and seek out the most vulnerable recruits. The person we see getting the Laurie/Tom treatment is Susan, a newly recruited GR member who seems to be just like Laurie - a wife and mother who just wanted to find meaning in a meaningless life. Tom says it best near the end of the episode though when he says to Laurie that the GR is giving them something to believe in and hold on to while him and his mother offer them nothing to fill the void in their lives.

It takes nearly the entire episode for them to come to this realization, but the payoff at the end is what made this episode one of my favorites. I have always wondered since the death of Holy Wayne last season if that story line could have more life in it and, sure enough, there was a little bit of Holy Wayne resurrected in the episode. Chris Zylka gave an outstanding performance as his character Tom reveals what truly happened in Holy Waynes' final moments. Apparently Holy Wayne knew he was going to die the following day and knew his newborn child would be taken care of by Kevin and/or Nora. Wayne had met Nora in last season's 'Guest' when he 'hugged' her, but could that have been when he knew her future plans and where she would end up? Or, did Wayne know Tom's stepfather, Kevin, would be a better match and ask Tom to place the baby at his doorstep for Kevin to find? Either way, I'm glad that Wayne's story is not finished yet and Tom will carry on the tradition of relieving everyone's pain through the magic of his embrace - 'who wants a hug?'.

I love Laurie's story line this episode and hope we get to see more of her. That was such an intense scene when she went into Viktor's house to steal the laptop back and her time at the publisher's office. You can see she still holds a lot of emotion for the cult she called home for so long. Having her snap at just right moment was perfect. It's clear that she knows she screwed up her relationship with Jill. This is even more evident as we see her wistfully staring at the mother playing with her little girl (who looked like she could have been a young version of Jill).

The episode was brilliant and played out the story line in a similar fashion as most episodes for this series - it began with a slow build to ever increasing intensity and then with a final flourish that is part cliffhanger and part climax. It is for this reason and many more that The Leftovers is one of the best series on television. It is only three episodes into its sophomore season and I can only imagine how amazing the remainder will be, especially as we get closer to the finale.

Music from the Episode

- 'Where Is My Mind' - Maxence Cyrin
Tommy with Guilty Remnants/Laurie writing her book

- 'Jesus I'm Calling' - Tangled Eye
End credits

- 'Spoiler' - Hyper
Lori steals back her laptop and runs over GR Members

- 'Leave your love' (Justin Faust Remix) - Young Summer
In the Boutique, where Laurie stands in front of the mirror

Thoughts and Discussion

- Did you notice...Susan and Tom walk past a 'Departure Insurance' agency

- Did you notice...there were two references to Australia in this episode - that makes at least one reference in each of the episodes this season. The first one is a news item remarking about David Burton (remember this is the man that the Pillar Man had Michael send a letter to in the premiere) and the possibility of him being resurrected. It states that a man previously believed dead emerged from a cave in Wanneroo outside of Perth. David Burton claimed he was just in a hotel before walking out of the cave covered in 'mozzie' (mosquito) bites. What's going on in Australia?

The second reference this episode is when the publisher that Laurie goes to see remarks about "some wing-nut in Australia who says he went to the other side and can't die".

- It was great to see Megan again even if it was in that kind of a scene.

- The music in this episode is excellent as it is each week. I loved how Laurie and Tom got a montage using 'Kevin's Theme' from last week except this time "Where Is My Mind" is performed by Maxence Cyrin without lyrics.

Thank you for checking out my Review! I apologize for it being a little short this week, but things have been crazy lately. Hopefully, very soon, I can share some really really cool news with all of you! Please comment below so we can discuss the episode and season further. Also, keep an eye out for my Advanced Preview of episode four, which I just received a few days ago. 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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