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[Frog-fu]

That was a great episode, maybe the best one yet.

 

[belushy]

I was curious about this too. Indiewire recap had this to say



Seems like a good explanation.

I thought about it after the episode, and considered that they were just lying to the people to "give them something to believe in" but I forgot about this detail.

 

[Baron Aloha]

Just watched the latest episode. This is probably the most improved show ever. I watched the first season because the idea intrigued me but I never really enjoyed it. I have really enjoyed this season. It really feels like a completely different show. I only hope it wasn't too late and folks give it another chance. I hear it hasn't done too good as far as the ratings go.

 

[Fenderputty]

I was curious about this too. Indiewire recap had this to say



Seems like a good explanation.

Ehhh, he gives his mom a long hug after she's gets out of jail.

Edit: upon rewatch he gives her a hug and then tells her to pull her shit together when she's still upset in the car. She's still crying after the hug and tell her son she wishes they would move.

They're going for placebo IMO

 

[Allforce]

Ehhh, he gives his mom a long hug after she's gets out of jail.

Edit: upon rewatch he gives her a hug and then tells her to pull her shit together when she's still upset in the car. She's still crying after the hug and tell her son she wishes they would move.

They're going for placebo IMO

Yeah but Laurie is quite clearly changed after that hug, at the group session at her apartment she has her own breakthrough and talks about things she's never told anyone before.

 

[Gordon Shumway]

Ehhh, he gives his mom a long hug after she's gets out of jail.

Edit: upon rewatch he gives her a hug and then tells her to pull her shit together when she's still upset in the car. She's still crying after the hug and tell her son she wishes they would move.

They're going for placebo IMO

Agreed..

 

[Saty]

s1.webmshare.com/jB0AW.webm

http://s1.webmshare.com/0g1Lm.webm

http://s1.webmshare.com/dXzAx.webm

Edit: hmm, they don't seem to be loading up using the wemb extension for GAF. Can anybody confirm?
Lemme try another host:

http://webm.host/cbbee/vid.webm

http://webm.host/21246/vid.webm

http://webm.host/da055/vid.webm

 

[Vert boil]

Why does Liv Tyler have a perfect landing strip while living with people who all look like they don't even bathe?

The sub-cult that she created has a treat yo self philosophy.

 

[Fenderputty]

Yeah but Laurie is quite clearly changed after that hug, at the group session at her apartment she has her own breakthrough and talks about things she's never told anyone before.

The hugs were instant and didn't require a pep talk after. He told her to pull her shit together for them and she did.

 

[metsallica]

After the roller-coaster ride [of mediocrity] that was last season I didn't have high hopes for S2. Starting the way it did, I prepared myself for the worst. After the shaky intro I have to say I've been riveted by every damn second of this show so far this season. Like, literally enthralled. I can't wait to see where it goes next and really hope it can keep up the momentum.

 

[Baroquemantic]

What an amazing episode! One of my favorites of the whole series. The beginning had me confused at first, but I liked that it was just Tommy being undercover and "saving" people.

Gotdamn that car crash and that Liv Tyler scene. I'm still not sure why she did it though. As a "fuck you" to his mother maybe? And I really hope Holy Wayne was legit and now Tommy actually does have a power. I really do wish that some people gaining abilities after the exodus is legit, but it's probably not. Winslow deserves a....win.

 

[Frog-fu]

Dunno if anyone posted the new opening song but here is full version if anyone is interested. I loved it from the jump and actually think it's as good if not better than the first.

 

[vpance]

Ehhh, he gives his mom a long hug after she's gets out of jail.

Edit: upon rewatch he gives her a hug and then tells her to pull her shit together when she's still upset in the car. She's still crying after the hug and tell her son she wishes they would move.

They're going for placebo IMO

Likely they already hugged long before this. And maybe it only works once? It might have been the whole thing that gave her the strength to talk again and start the ex-GR group. Believe.

 

[Dany]

552K viewers

fucking helll..

also in episode two, really liking this season.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

So Tom is:

A. kidnapped
B. tied up
C. menaced
D. undressed against his will
E. has a strange woman hop on top of him who then starts to initiate sex

and

he...just goes along with it? He even looked like he was enjoying it?

um...

Lindelof: Let’s treat this with real intention and not just say this is a scene where one character sexually takes advantage of another character. Let’s complicate it.

[...]

I think that what the audience decides to call what happens between Meg and Tom, I have no control over what they call it. And I don’t think that the show is particularly interested in how it gets defined.

wtf am i reading here?

 

[dead souls]

wtf am i reading here?

You expect coherence from Lindelof?

 

[Turin]

The show is actually entertaining this year. The decision to amp up the visual aesthetic was a good choice.

So Tom is:

A. kidnapped
B. tied up
C. menaced
D. undressed against his will
E. has a strange woman hop on top of him who then starts to initiate sex

and

he...just goes along with it? He even looked like he was enjoying it?

um...

All things considered, there wasn't much he could do about what was going on there. It's not inaccurate to say he was molested.

 

[Saty]

I think that what the audience decides to call what happens between Meg and Tom, I have no control over what they call it. And I don’t think that the show is particularly interested in how it gets defined.

Pathetic.
Of course he isn't interested in how it gets defined because he then might need to explain how the hell the GR still exists. Mass Breaking&Entering and no one gets arrested. GR leader rapes someone and won't get reported. Maybe it's a MO! Sexually assault men because they won't dare to go to the police and say that!

Another GR-focused episode and another complete failure to make anything out of it. No reason for this cult to exist, no idea why people are joining it or what they are getting out of it. It's just a cult for nutty people. So really, i don't care about Susan or what happened to her.

The publicist said it as clearly as possible. Laurie shows that she didn't completely bought-out of the GR when she lunged at him. It didn't help the guy only cared about telling her story in a way that sold the most copies.
And i really doubt it society needs to wait this long until someone tries to dig about the GR or produce investigative journalism pieces about it.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

No reason for this cult to exist

That's one of the things that I'm still struggling with. From Sepinwall's review:

When Laurie's potential book publisher asks her to explain exactly what the Remnant believes and why, he's acting as a stand-in for the many "Leftovers" viewers who didn't understand and/or like what all those chain-smoking ghouls in white jumpsuits were up to last season. And with Laurie finally able to speak — she speaks so much in this episode that you can feel all those words relieved to get out after being kept inside her for so long while she was under Patti's sway — we get some articulation of what they were up to, and why. The basic core, though, is what Patti told Kevin last season: the GR's members believe the world ended, and they're offended that the rest of the world is acting like that didn't happen.

they're offended that the rest of the world is acting like that didn't happen.

the rest of the world is acting like that didn't happen.

the world is acting like that didn't happen.

It is???? Because thus far, all I've seen people people do is wallow in their own misery and despair, like, 99% of the time. I haven't seen anyone acting like it didn't happen or trying to forget. (Okay, maybe a couple individuals here and there, but certainly not society as a whole.)

 

[Miles Quaritch]

Man, I thought Spartacus has bad merkins, but the one in this episode....

Terrible episode overall. Not sure why they've decided to focus on GR so heavily. That was easily the worst aspect of season 1 and this was their chance to break away from that bullshit and start afresh...

 

[Saty]

That's one of the things that I'm still struggling with. From Sepinwall's review:

That's why S1 was terrible. The fucking erected a statue to commemorate the Departure but the GR is acting like everybody forgot what happened. The GR aspect of this show continues to be nonsense.

 

[Karu]

It is???? Because thus far, all I've seen people people do is wallow in their own misery and despair, like, 99% of the time. I haven't seen anyone acting like it didn't happen or trying to forget. (Okay, maybe a couple individuals here and there, but certainly not society as a whole.)

While they might not be all that successful, I think opposed to the GR everybody else intends to move on. They go bck working, having family dinner, all that jazz. The GR refuses to do so completely, though.

Fake Edit: Sure, they erect a stature, but that's what you do. That's "normal procedure". The GR want to go two steps further and basically obliterate the status quo of living, becuase in their mind there is no way doing so. They are dead.

 

[Saty]

So a crazy cult. Who cares? How does it come such widespread. Why are people joining and what they are getting out of it? Why should i treat as anything other than crazy brainwashed people?

Their whole premise for existence is a lie. People didn't forget, the Departure is on their mind all the time. Even selling insurance for another event. Why do people who weren't affected by the Departure personally join the GR?

Ultimately, you wanna be that crazy person in his own corner who thinks the world ended? OK.
But the GR abuses people, hits people, breaks into houses, rape peoples. They should have been outlawed and thrown into prison already. In what society does a group like the GR does what it does without the authorities stepping in? This is one of the many questions about the GR that this episode had the chance to address but once again failed miserably to.

 

[CloudWolf]

Man, I thought Spartacus has bad merkins, but the one in this episode...

I'm pretty sure that wasn't a merkin. HBO generally doesn't really seem to use them.

 

[Napoleonthechimp]

I'm really enjoying this show.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

I'm pretty sure that wasn't a merkin. HBO generally doesn't really seem to use them.

Well damn.

 

[Karu]

So a crazy cult. Who cares? How does it come such widespread. Why are people joining and what they are getting out of it? Why should i treat as anything other than crazy brainwashed people?

Their whole premise for existence is a lie. People didn't forget, the Departure is on their mind all the time. Even selling insurance for another event. Why do people who weren't affected by the Departure personally join the GR?

Ultimately, you wanna be that crazy person in his own corner who thinks the world ended? OK.
But the GR abuses people, hits people, breaks into houses, rape peoples. They should have been outlawed and thrown into prison already. In what society does a group like the GR does what it does without the authorities stepping in? This is one of the many questions about the GR that this episode had the chance to address but once again failed miserably to.

I don't know if the show would be better for it, though. The big picture seems not to be the concern of The Leftovers. It's thematically sound and engaging, it prioritizes those elements over the logically sound questions like "Why do the GR exist in a world where they shouldn't?". Lindellof makes it quite clear (in interviews), that he chooses scenes, narratives and the likes on a radical "What do I want to tell"-basis. And if that excludes certain aspects to bring home a point or tell a story about the characters, scenarios, themes - so be it. It might be reckless and imperfect, but on purpose (Whether or not I overestimate Lindellof doesn't interest me, for example. His work speaks for itself.)

That's not everybody's cup of tea. That particular way of telling a story might be the work of a hack in your (generally speaking) eyes. But at that point i have to admit, that it resonates with me in such a powerful way, that I probably have to stop caring.

 

[Fenderputty]

... Believe.

See the placebo effect is already working!

 

[Dennis]

the GR's members believe the world ended, and they're offended that the rest of the world is acting like that didn't happen.

But the world clearly didn't end. Some people disappeared. Most people didn't.

And most people who remain are heavily affected by what happened.

The GR still make absolutely no sense and I don't find that so much intriguing as I find it incredibly stupid.

 

[RPS37]

Finally caught the premiere last night. Still loving that creepy depressing weird Leftovers vibe.

 

[Erigu]

So Tom is:

A. kidnapped
B. tied up
C. menaced
D. undressed against his will
E. has a strange woman hop on top of him who then starts to initiate sex

and

he...just goes along with it? He even looked like he was enjoying it?

um...

After all that and the gasoline shower:
"They make sense! They know something!"
... Oooo-kay?

No reason for this cult to exist, no idea why people are joining it or what they are getting out of it. It's just a cult for nutty people. So really, i don't care about Susan or what happened to her.

The publicist said it as clearly as possible.

Then again, he's an insensitive asshole, so y'know, those couldn't possibly be valid points he was making!
It's a bit like in Lost when the pricky Dr. Arzt commented (right before comically exploding) on how everything curiously seemed to revolve around just a few of the survivors, or in that extra episode where two doofuses were asking for answers: "c'mon, you don't want to be like those guys, right?"
I guess introducing stand-ins for critics and portraying them negatively is one way to deal with criticism. Just ask M. Night Shyamalan.


Anyway, funny Lindelof interview where he's actually asked why he keeps introducing mysteries if the idea (supposedly) is to not focus on those anyway:

Just playing devil’s advocate here: You don’t want to say "fuck you" to the audience, but in the new season, you are introducing even more mysteries that may or may not be paid off.

Damon Lindelof: What’s the question?

The question is, given your concern about that, why would you do that?

Damon Lindelof: Am I concerned about it?

Well you said you were at least trying to address it.

Damon Lindelof: What I would say is, the show is thematically about people trying to recover and/or find solace and/or feel better in a world that’s offering every reason not to. Ultimately, it’s a family show, and one of the fundamental themes of the first season was articulating this idea that family is dead, family is an institution that does not work. But the characters that we really care about seem to be fighting against that idea, and so the show is basically asking you to invest in that. At the same time, it does need fundamental tension and story, and I think that the second season of the show does offer that, as opposed to more slice of life episodes. Which, by the way, we will continue to do but there is an over-arcing story this season... And hopefully it’s satisfying.

It’s satisfying to me, but all I can do is continue to write the stuff that’s really interesting to me. And I won’t say that I’ve learned from past mistakes, because I would probably take issue with the fact that they were mistakes. But I have a self-awareness now that perhaps I lacked when I was telling stories five years ago. And that may or may not have influenced my storytelling. But I’m presenting the story that I’m presenting. I do so in lock step with Tom Perrotta and the other writers. This is not a process where it’s just me coming into a room and saying, "Hey, I had a really cool idea," and then I get to do that idea. We kick the tires of everything and anything. And if it makes it out of that room and onto the page and then makes it down to Austin without a lot of pushback, then I feel like we’re on to something. But whether or not this show is going to connect with a larger audience ever — that’s not its design. It doesn’t mean that that wouldn’t be thrilling if that happened.

You and I have talked about this: why do I do this to myself? And the answer is, this is what’s interesting to me. This is the story I’m compelled to tell.

... Uh-huh.
That sure was a lot of words just to say: "hey, I just like putting those mysteries in, it's my thing."

Summed up there:

the things that captivate me about storytelling – mystery, ambiguity, behaviors that are not always rational

No, dude. That's just you being lazy.

 

[DreamMachine]

After all that and the gasoline shower:
"They make sense! They know something!"
... Oooo-kay?



He said that because he has that "special" power now. So the leader of the GR wanted to have his baby to spread that special power.

kind of like how the original guy had kids with many women.

 

[ReturnOfTheRAT]

Tommy didn't hug Jill.

 

[Crud]

Tommy has no powers.

 

[ReturnOfTheRAT]

Tommy has no powers.

Yes. Laurie and Tommy are scamming the people they saved to stop them from going off the deep-end like the suicidal woman they failed with.

 

[Erigu]

Yes. Laurie and Tommy are scamming the people they saved to stop them from going off the deep-end like the suicidal woman they failed with.

... or are they?

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Tommy has no powers.

He does have a dick though, so at least that's one mystery solved!

 

[TheOddOne]

New episode today:

Season 2: episode 4 "Orange Sticker"

Spoiler

Nora awakens in the midst of an earthquake to find Kevin missing; the Murphys are left reeling after Evie's disappearance; Kevin returns home with no memory of the night before; an old enemy returns.

 

[Bloodrage]

Wtf no one watched this tonight? Another great episode. God this show.

 

[Goreomedy]

Really enjoying this season. Hated most of the first season, so I'm impressed with the turnaround.

Love the Murphys.

 

[Goreomedy]

Wtf no one watched this tonight? Another great episode. God this show.

It was really good. A bit too much music. The acting is good enough to carry those scenes, stop with the theme already!

 

[Gordon Shumway]

It was really good. A bit too much music. The acting is good enough to carry those scenes, stop with the theme already!

Spoiler

The fuck with that weird remake Grease song?

lol..

 

[~Kinggi~]

Wtf no one watched this tonight? Another great episode. God this show.

Its competing against the Walking Dead. Tough one for GAF. But yeah this season has been wonderful.

 

[netguy503]

He does have a dick though, so at least that's one mystery solved!

Tommy showed his dick in the pilot though. He's a very good looking man. Hope the tats are fake though. I don't remember them from the first season.

 

[Erigu]

A bit too much music. The acting is good enough to carry those scenes

But the writing isn't. Lindelof's over-reliance on the score isn't a new thing.

 

[KingKong]

Its competing against the Walking Dead. Tough one for GAF. But yeah this season has been wonderful.

you can say a lot of negative things about this show but at least its not Walking Dead

 

[Macattk15]

Never been rick roll'ed like that before.

 

[Bloodrage]

you can say a lot of negative things about this show but at least its not Walking Dead

Seriously, I didn't even know that show was still a thing. What year is it?

 

[CreepingFear]

Never been rick roll'ed like that before.

Ha ha, that's what I thought. A real life rick roll. Clever shit.

 

[ReturnOfTheRAT]

I had to tweet about the Rick Roll. I see that a lot of people were on the same wavelength.

I'm rooting for Kevin; I just hope to God he doesn't take Nora down with him.