For the fifth hour of its final season, The Leftovers gives Matt the spotlight. Here’s all you need to know about tonight’s episode.
Can you believe The Leftovers only has four episodes left? I can’t either, nor can I imagine life without this wonderful show. While Damon Lindelof and Tom Perotta surely put a lot of thought into figuring out how much time they needed to finish their story, the world they created feels big enough to accommodate a full last season. There’s no way they couldn’t have squeezed in an episode about Jill in college.
Regardless, our time with the Garveys and friends is coming to an end.
As you can guess from the title, this week’s episode will focus on everyone’s favorite preacher, Matt Jamison. Here’s the official synopsis from HBO:
"Convinced it is Kevin’s (Justin Theroux) destiny to be in Miracle for the coming seventh anniversary of the Departure, Matt Jamison (Christopher Eccleston) impulsively heads to Australia in an effort to bring Kevin home. Unfortunately, God gets in the way."
Matt has always been The Leftovers’ trickiest character (and that’s saying something), which may be why both of his episodes rank among the show’s best. Alternately reckless and myopic in his devotion, he often displays a callous disregard for other people, even as he claims the moral high ground. In season 2, he dragged his comatose wife through hell on earth, and it’s ambiguous as to whether he raped her. That we feel any sympathy for him is a testament to the show’s humanity.
In other words, “It’s a Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt World” is bound to be a treat. Like usual, it’s hard to know what to expect. But I have a feeling that Matt is somehow associated with the explosion that has grounded all air travel in Australia, because of course, he is.
Check out the live stream information below:
Date: Sunday, May 14
Start time: 9 p.m. EST
Episode: “It’s a Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt World”
TV Channel: HBO
Live Stream: HBO Go | HBO Now | Additional resources
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Nicole Kassell, who did a marvelous job with last season’s Matt-centric episode, “No Room at the Inn”, returns to direct. Lindelof and Lila Byock wrote the script.