* Discussion of the final episode.
The Leftovers. I have to say up front that I did not fall in love with The Leftovers like many others did. I didn't like the fact that nearly every episode left me emotionally drained. I honestly wished that the series had explored other areas. Now I'm not one who argues that it should have explored why 2% of the world population departed. In a way, that would have made this show too science fiction (as if the final episode wasn't part K-PAX). What I do wish it had done was deal less with personal dynamics and more with the larger picture. For example, I wish the show had delved more into the structure/purpose of the Guilty Remnant. Yes, they were there to make people remember. But how was it set up? Did they have some other hidden agenda? They briefly explored this topic when Meg met with the leadership before traveling to Miracle, but I wanted so much more of that. We also know that the FBI was concerned about the group (as well as with Holy Wayne). To me, that's the intrigue. I do sort of see why people would be drawn to the Guilty Remnant, but did the leadership believe the same as the followers or was this ultimately just a manipulation of emotions for some ulterior motive (such as was explored in Kevin's afterlife visions -- though Patti was dead so I'm not sure that political power was their true motive)?
So now to Nora and the final episode. Did she lie to Kevin about the whereabouts of the 2%? Essentially, to me, Nora's story was taking the last 3 seasons (might be off a little here) of Fringe and condensing it into a 5 minute reveal. She was able to crossover to a parallel universe.
I initially totally believed her. Kevin died a number of times and had visions of those who had died: Evie, Dean, Patti, Meg, Wayne, etc. This represented, in my mind, some sort of Purgatory. So why couldn't Nora get some closure on what happened to her family? Why did I initially believe her? When watching the scene of her in the event chamber, I swear that her last word was "Yes." It wasn't "Stop!" Then it cut away. Well, done deal, she did it. She was acknowledging in her final word that she believed what the scientists told her.
Yet, certain things started to bug me about her story. I read articles about the episode that threw out some doubt and so now I am starting to doubt.
The event chamber: in those last seconds, her eyes appear to betray a look of fear. Kevin was always resolute in his death scenes. So even if she yelled out "Yes," did the scientist (or Matt) stop things just as a precaution and Nora then decided to quit?
No flashes of her seeing her children: We know what Kevin saw, because we saw it. There is no similar scenes with Nora. On the other hand, during the "Last Supper" we learn that Laurie is Judas, not Doubting Thomas. Are we, the audience, Doubting Thomas? Maybe we just need to have faith that Nora is telling us the truth. Of course, why shouldn't we just have faith that Kevin experienced what he said he experienced without it being shown to us?
Her story: she states that Mapleton is still functioning. Yes, there are a lot of abandoned homes, but the lights still work and people still live there and her family appears to be happy. It is almost like that world is an idyllic parallel universe (though people do have their questions).
This is where I am perhaps over-thinking and may be totally off base at the same time. We have 98% of the population disappearing in a split second. So I'm thinking a significant number of people must have died immediately after. Planes must have fallen from the sky. Buses/trains must have crashed. Hospital patients on the operating tables must have died. There must have been mass car collisions. Prisoners must have starved to death. I would think there would be even more suicides in this universe than in the universe we've followed over the last three seasons.
Then we have larger issues. What about nuclear power plants? Would there be enough people around to properly shut those down? Governments would have collapsed. Could people just live their lives with no government structure? And I'm not talking about big government, but just basic government such as police, road repair, water, etc.
And what are the chances that her family would still be in Mapleton after 7 years? Maybe 2,000 people were left in Mapleton. The total population in the US would drop to around 6 million. I would half suspect that the world would either turn into The Walking Dead (without the zombies)/Mad Max or that people would move to larger population centers so that enough skill sets could be harnessed so that society could continue with as much modern conveniences as possible. Nora's world does not represent the Walking Dead/Mad Max so then does it make sense that people would stick around their empty cities? Wouldn't that just feel a touch creepy having all these empty homes.
Yes, I read somewhere that throughout the three seasons, Nora was the most likely to be honest and truthful. Yet, her story just seems too neat.
So yes, I wish to believe her story, but I'm leaning towards her not being honest with Kevin and that this story was concocted as a way to ease Kevin's pain of wondering why Nora had just left him.
