The Leftovers - Season 1, Episode 09: The Garveys at Their Best
Trailer
Tragedy struck when a global disaster caused 140 million of the population to vanish in an inexpiable manner. Now, a group of people living in Mapleton, New York deal with the tragic event and wonder what happened three years ago.
Great episode, and another example of how well the show excels when it deviates from whatever formula it's established for itself within these first 9 hours of television.
Many a time, I've accused this show of holding back, but this episode was a great big gift wrapped in sadness. This is the episode we've been waiting for.
"The Garveys at Their Best" answered many of the questions we've been itching to uncover since the pilot, while still introducing new, unexpected elements for development.
Even though we know that the world is about to come crashing down and ruin all their lives, it's actually great to see that all of the miserable characters were somewhat functional at one point.
Using frightening supernatural imagery to coax realistic emotional pain out of a cast of multifaceted characters, 'The Garveys at Their Best' took the series' concept and lived up to that promise. That terrible promise.
"The Garveys at Their Best" is, principally, a reconsideration of characters we believe we've come to know, and the hour's string of surprises nimbly steers between continuity and change.
The Leftovers took a wise leap backward this week. Initially, when I read the title of the episode, "The Garveys at Their Best," I assumed it was ironic, as our headlining family is at anything but their best these days.
Although the hour shows us exactly what its title promises - "The Garveys at Their Best" - it also reveals the cracks in the foundation of the family that probably would've broken it up even if the world hadn't been turned upside-down.
But Sunday's episode, as difficult as it was to watch, also struck me as our best insight yet into the inner lives of characters who have been frustratingly opaque for an entire season.
"Cairo" and "The Garveys at Their Best" have connected a lot of dots. The slow build of the series to this point has picked up speed, nicely setting up what looks to be an engrossing season finale.