Fascinating yet depressing, the second season of HBO’s The Leftovers even better than the first. As watchers of the series know, season one focuses on life in Mapleton, New York, in the aftermath of the Sudden Departure, an event in which all but 2 percent of the world’s population simply vanished into thin air. The main focus was on the Garvey family, Kevin (Justin Theroux), his wife Laurie (Amy Brenneman) his daughter Jill (Margaret Qualley) and son Tommy (Chris Zylka). As the season ended, Kevin was coming home from saving Jill from the scorching hell left for the Guilty Remnant. There waiting for them, was Nora (Carrie Coon), Holy Wayne’s abandoned baby and the possibility of new life.
As season two opens the new family has taken up residence in a town known as “Miracle” Texas, where no departures took place. A sanctuary for some and a tourist traps for others, the new town means the introduction of new characters. While the Garvey’s still get plenty of screen time, as do the rest of the Guilty Remnant, including Patti (Ann Dowd) and Meg (Liv Tyler). Naturally, there are several interesting, occasionally odd new neighbors. The Murphy’s, John (Kevin Carroll) and Erika (Regina King), fit the bill on both counts. John is a fireman with a serious psychotic tendencies and Erika, a doctor, spends a lot of time cleaning up his messes and when not doing that, she tries to bring birds back from the dead by burying them in the woods. Their son Michael (Jovan Adepo) is deeply religious and a perfect match for Jill. the polar opposite, daughter Evie (Jasmin Savoy Brown) is a real “wild child” who suffers from epilepsy. The people in Miracle are just as unusual if not more so, than those in Mapleton.
Created by Lost mastermind Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta, it should come as no surprise that not everything is easy solved and there are some genuinely puzzling moments. With that said, the strong performances by all involved is a definite strength of the series, making you care about the characters no matter how strange or convoluted their situations might get.
Presented in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio, this 1080p transfer looks terrific. The overall look of the series is rather drab, but what color there is pops quite well. The lush greens of the woods are a particular standout. While the image suffers from the rare moment of blurriness, this likely has more to do with the filming process than the Blu-ray transfer. Detail is plentiful, delivering fine close-ups. Overall, it’s hard to imagine this series looking any better than it does here.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track delivers The Leftovers frequent use of The Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?” wonderfully, which is as important as anything, because music sets the tone for the show. Dialogue is clean and clear throughout and atmospheric sounds—barking, birds, cars, etc.—are sharp and nimble. There are a few scenes throughout the season when the soundtrack is able to show off its impressive bass.
English SDH, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish subtitles are included.
Unfortunately, there are no extras, although an UltraViolet Digital Copy is available.
