The Leftovers: "Don't Be Ridiculous" Review

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Nora Cursed.

By Matt Fowler

Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

I loved the first season of The Leftovers, but I know it had a polarizing heft to it. It was pretty grim and esoteric and that didn't sit well with some. In Season 2 though, the show clicked in a way that few predicted and became, arguably, the best TV of that year. Part of the creative success came from added elements of levity.

From the folksy, changed-up opening credits to Kevin's time in the afterworld hotel (and resurrection-worthy karaoke), the series had evolved into a show that could be both soul-crushing and beautifully weird. Weird in a way that worked as a wonderful chaser for some of the doom and gloom.

Now, in Season 3, the show is in such a marvelous and confident place that it can take something that was a running side joke, about the Perfect Strangers cast departing except for Mark Linn-Baker (who tried to fake his vanishing), and blend it into the drama in a freakin' amazing way! Not only does the title of "Don't Be Ridiculous" come from Perfect Strangers, but the opening credits now sport that show's old iconic TGIF lineup theme song. Which, in a way, brings the credit sequence itself into the story, creating a whole new meta-tapestry. IT WAS AMAZING!

"Don't Be Ridiculous" was a Nora-centric episode with, I suppose, a bonus epilogue at the end down in Australia involving an ill-fated "Kevin," some overly fanatical women, and Kevin Garvey, Sr. This was a phenomenal chapter that answered a few questions we had after last week's premiere (Lily, Erika, Nora's arm, etc) while also deftly steering us into the show's home stretch in the land down under.

Nora and Kevin are happy, but neither of them are okay. Maybe they are, relatively speaking, but when either of them alone they're still living within their relative traumas. Whether it's Kevin with that plastic bag over his head or Nora breaking her own arm to cover up a cover-up tattoo, the two of them are in a fragile place. Even with the two of them embarking, at the end, on an Australian expedition, Nora's secretly going because part of her is tempted to take the rogue scientists up in their offer to "depart" her so she could be with her kids.

Of course, she also might want to find them and expose them as frauds, but part of her is still longing for what she's lost. She could find some peace when it was her and Kevin with Lily and Jill. But with Lily now back with her mom and Jill away at college, Nora doesn't have the distraction of a new full family to draw her out of her torment.

Nora was back in her fantastically damaged and feisty mode this week, bitter at locals (and her brother) who were attempting to deify the Tower Man after he died from a heart attack (Brett Butler returned here as her Season 2 character) while also raging against strangers trying to take advantage of her grief. Also, technology began to slowly turn on her in physiologically aggravating ways (something Nora actually has in common with Carrie Coon's Season 3 Fargo character, Gloria - hmmmm). Everything built up and bottlenecked in a breathtaking way - all leading to that rad, transcendent scene where Nora and Erika trampolined to "Protect Ya Neck." Holy hell, this show is stunning. We may not have gotten a Perfect Strangers-style "Dance of Joy," but this did just fine.

Leftovers leftovers:

• The episode was written by "Lonely Donkey Kong and Specialist Contagious," who many assume are creators Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta. But who knows? Also, is the Perfect Strangers theme sticking around for the rest of the season or was this just a one-off because due to a specially themed episode?
• It was great to see Mark Linn-Baker get a meaty scene in the midst of this. Part of the joke behind the Perfect Strangers gag was that, well, those actors didn't really go on to do much beyond that show - making the background gag a somewhat snarky, yet loving, Easter egg. So for Linn-Baker to actually get to join the story here, in a pretty pivotal part, was nice. I also liked the bizarre parallel of both Nora and Mark being a "1 in 4" situation.
• We know how Nora and Kevin get to Australia now, but does that mean we're leaving everyone else behind? Of course, it would be silly for everyone to somehow head there, now at least, but with our main two characters leaving it does make you look at everyone else's scenes and wonder "is this the last time we'll see them?" Was that Jill's send off? Was Tommy's conversation with Nora about Lily his last hurrah? It's doubtful, but you never quite know what direction the show will go in.
• The somber piano version of the the Perfect Strangers theme was a remarkable touch.
• How do the Australians know about the Kevin prophesy this early? Assumedly, it's because of Kevin Sr., unless that scene too was some type of flash-forward. If it is due to Kevin Sr. though, why do they only know cursory information?

The Verdict

Carrie Coon was especially awesome this week in an episode where Nora was targeted, once again, by suspicious scientists looking to take advantage of her grief. The inclusion of Mark Linn-Baker and the incorporation of a series gag about Perfect Strangers helped create a splendidly odd chapter that perfectly showcased The Leftovers' unique tone and themes.

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