Sorry about the audio quality at the end. KZfaq, copyright strikes, you know how it is.

I think you also missed another major point. The ending is about a role reversal between Kevin and Nora. Nora has to (possibly) go through an unbelievable scenario much like Kevin, like you stated. But Kevin also had to go through having someone depart. Remember, Kevin didn’t actually have anyone depart. But when Nora forces herself to depart leaving Kevin, Kevin much like pre-departure Nora refuses to believe their beloved are gone. This is why Kevin scours Australia to reunite with Nora, much like Nora scours the world for answers and opportunities to reunite with her children. The ending is about two people not only conquering their demons, but also understanding each other’s via. similar experience. That is why this time around, Kevin says he believes Nora’s story. Unlike Nora who could not believe Kevin’s. I think it would probably safe to say that if her story is true, she probably believes kevin’s story now. Which would explain why she was ashamed to reunite with him. She believed he would never believe her, because when the roles were reversed, she didn’t believe him. And Kevin who judged Nora for the way she was acting after the departure, has now experienced it himself, and understands how impossible it is for someone to just “accept it and move on”. Just like Nora he couldn’t accept it and wouldn’t stop until he found answers. It’s about two people gaining a complete understanding of one another by experiencing each others pain. Becoming one, in a sense.

The title of Kevin's romance novel should be, "the most powerful man in the world & the bravest girl on Earth."

One of the most underrated shows ever.

When this series ended, I felt as if a piece of my soul had gone with it, I do not know, it was weird, I just felt very sad.

The Leftovers is fantastic and got shafted by GoT at the Emmys.

This show isn't underrated as in better than people seem to think, it's more unappreciated. Not enough people talk about or even know about it, it's an incredible show.

She's Schroedinger's Nora. Until we open the box she simultaneously went to the other place and didn't.

Watching The Leftovers literally ripped out my Soul and left an empty shell. I now live in the other World......Amazing

I feel like you may have missed a vital feature of Nora's baseball story: she's struggling to understand why she grew up to *become* that usher, metaphorically squashing beach balls with her intolerance for other people's self-comforting delusions (or failures to play according to the common "rules" of reality). But it came with a subsumed guilt-- that hatred for the usher turned inward on herself, and she couldn't reconcile it because she didn't understand "why anyone (including herself) would want that job." Then Laurie revealed the reason, because as a psychologist she understood it: people just making up alternative realities for themselves, and pulling others into them, is disruptive, it's "fucking chaos"-- someone *needs* to do that job, even if they're hated for it. Laurie pointing out the nobility in it conferred forgiveness, and that's when-- IF we assume Nora made up the story about crossing over-- she found a tolerable frame for making up those comforting fictions: it's "okay" if it's just for you, and you don't expect or ask anyone else to "play along." It's "okay" if, should you share it with someone else, their choice to believe it or not believe it has no consequences for anyone else-- only for your relationship with them. Nora shared her story with Kevin without any expectation, she'd made peace with being apart, so IF her story was a lie... well, his choice to believe or disbelieve wouldn't harm either of them, so that made it "okay" either way. That said, I believe Nora too. Because keep in mind, this IS a world where millions vanished; a world where Kevin *was* dead of poison, buried and cold, was shot, was drowned (twice), and came back each time; a world where supernatural shit actually goes down, so a transdimensional teleportation machine isn't *that* much of a stretch. I think a feature of that world is that metaphors can express IN reality, hence why symbolism is so abundant in these weird events-- I don't believe that makes the events fantasies so much as it makes the in-world *reality* fantastical, prone to manifest things subjectively. So, arguably, on close examination, everyone who departed seems like they may have been "wished out of reality," even if only for an instant, by someone close to them (a woman Kevin was cheating with, a fetus Laurie didn't want, a kid with sweaty palms maybe, a family that was annoying Nora, a crying baby, etc). To quote Holy Wayne, "wish, granted." Then, whereas Kevin wants to "escape" his fear of vulnerability in intimacy-- okay, when he dies he'll literally escape to an underworld where he can work to resolve that issue by dealing with the condition/preemptive-nuclear-strike-key in his heart, and return, or he can retreat and stay dead. Then you have Nora, who sometimes feels unmoored from reality and is sometimes treated by technology like she isn't there; she obsesses over knowing what became of her family, so in this world of wishes collapsing into reality, I think she did go to them. And once she made her peace she was able to find a way back. It does "work," IF the departure and the underworld and the "other side" are just metaphors for loss and escape and obsession with closure (all of those manifestations of grief more broadly)... but if the Sudden Departure really did happen, if metaphors can become interweaving subjective reality in Leftoververse, then the "delusions" can be "real" too. Without detracting from them AS metaphors. Anyway I fucking love this show and even after multiple rewatches it's still revealing layers to me ❤️

One of the few shows I cannot let go. Max Richter's score, the writing, the acting, the finale-spectacular.

I believe she went through and came back, it contradicts with the realism of this show otherwise. But with Kevin's immortality moments I figure, I can leave some room for Nora to have supernatural events happen to her too. And the split realities can make sense within the story. Especially given the last episodes title "The Book of Nora". Which of course is playing in on our faith in her story. I just never believed Nora to back out of it, her conviction seemed so strong and her mind seemed so set. Of course she could have changed her mind but she sold it so well. But maybe I'm just believing because I too want to be happy like Nora. And this ending is by far a happier one then one where two mentally ill people delude themselves into continuing their toxic relationship with fabricated stories for how they got there. I believe Kevin died and came back and I believe Nora went through and came back.

The beachball scene gave me all the feels

This was an amazing story. The Book of Nora is the perfect ending to an emotionally charged series. Everyone involved in bringing this to life I want to thank because it touches on so much that people do to survive day to day in the face of heartbreaking events. Fantastic, just fantastic

Fascinating stuff, man. I love watching people break down The Leftovers. One of the best shows I've ever seen.

I think an even deeper analysis of the beach ball at the baseball game story is her own employment - she *became* the guy going around and popping everyone's proverbial beach ball, which leads to her asking Matt (paraphrased from memory), "Why would someone choose to do that for a job!?"

Thank you. Usually after watching shows I find out I got the "correct interpertation". Upon watching this analysis, I felt slightly embarrassed that I actually thought she really did go thru to the otherside. But then it dawned on me that I believed IT because I WANTED TO believe her. And that actually made me cry. But it quickly turned to tears of laughter when I realized that's why the show was so damn good.

i just finished the show and this is best explanation out there in youtube for the ending and the whole series... LEFTOVERS IS MASTERPIECE

The story with Grace and her children and the missing shoes is one of the saddest stories ive ever heard. It was heartbreaking to hear in the show and to imagine if it really happened. I choose to believe Nora went to the alternate universe and on the other earth 98% of the population disappeared. The small detail about how pilots are a rarity makes it seem real. Even if Nora didnt go through, thats probably still actually what has happened. Not having an answer of what happened to the missing people would feel like the show never ended.

How much soul and heart can you put in one show? this is incredible achievement of art

Another significant thing about Nora's story is that one of the things holding back their relationship is Nora's grief about her children. She's not able to let them go and Kevin's last words to her are "go be with them". Her inability to let them go prevents them from having a healthy relationship. By telling Kevin that she has gone to see them and voluntarily come back, it lets him know that she's ready to be with him more fully.

I loved all the characters for different reasons. They were so rich, human, and complex. Including Patti!!

We have to go back!

JumptheShark, I think you did a great job with this. Seeing those scenes again, with often brilliant narration from yourself (the beach ball scene. I never fully got it until now), brought it all back for me, and underscored how truly great this show was.

Listening to your great analysis of the series and its beautiful ending, and reading all the thoughtful and interesting comments below confirms what I believed about the series: that it is one of the best, if not the best, pieces of creative writing, stunning audio-visualization, and outstanding interpretations that I have seen. I am on my third viewing of the entire series (this time picking episodes at random) and I still find surprising and illuminating elements in each episode. That a work can elicit such intelligent and passionate responses from us, the public, is proof of its quality.

This and Mr Robot are probably the most underrated TV shows ever

Fantastic job! I really enjoyed watching your POV on the ending. Made me love the show more

Best analysis of the finale I’ve seen so far ! Keep up the good work !

I watched this whole series in one sitting last year (a late-comer, I know). It is one of the most compelling and haunting television series I've ever seen. It remains with me, in some sense, still. I can't put my finger on why it affected me so, but I loved it - the characters, the actors' interpretations, the writing (of course). Such a beautiful, thought provoking piece of television that deserved much more recognition.

Amazing work man, this is the best insight analysis I've seen in a while. Keep up the good work.

Fantastic editing, sound, theory, everything! Subscribed

Best thing about the Leftovers is every time you talk to someone about it - you see it in a different light!! For me, Nora's baseball story was about - why not let everyone use that Machine, why be so picky about who can and can't (that the 2 women trying to prevent her were was the "usher/s" in a sense). And Lori's response was (in light of it basically being a suicide machine) was "because it would be f%&king chaos".. Then Nora said "same time next week?" which I believed to be a nod to Lori about committing suicide too.. Either way, the BEST thing about this show was how you yourself depicted it as an individual - TRUE ART!

This is the best analysis so far on this show, thank you so much man.

I believe she did go to the other side. It gives the viewer and Nora and understanding of the show's biggest mystery, expands the world, and gives Nora a more believable reasoning for not returning to Texas. If she didn't go through with it, it seems odd that she would just live in solitary for 15 years in Australia. Whereas living on the other side for some years then coming back, she would already feel alone, guilty, and believe Kevin had already moved on. Also just the parallel of Kevin crossing over to another world as well.

I just discovered this masterpiece in 2021 and it shot up to the #1 spot in my all-time favorite series ever. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I miss this show so much!! Thanks for the nostalgia!

man i loved your explanation for the ending and characters analysis very good job (y)

God damn, The Leftovers. Your analysis here captures so much of what I love about this show. It was so fiercely intelligent and creative, examining the big questions about life, faith, and ourselves through such an inventive narrative and remarkable characters. I don't think there will ever be another show like it. And that's okay. Thank you for making this.

you're officially invited to any movie night at my place. :) brilliant wrap up of one of my favorite shows; thank you.

Thank you for making this. It was perfect.

excellent job with this video. This might be the greatest series I have ever seen.

i always play your video on repeat when am working, god i love this video so much

Your video, is great, I really enjoyed watching it, great analysis. I gasped in front of my screen when you made me realize in both Lost and The Leftovers, they "have to go back" twice to properly sort out what was going wrong with their lives. I would love a crossed analysis video of Lost and The Leftovers as it's full of dialogue between the two shows.

What a great and unique breakdown of one of my favorite shows and one that is so overlooked by so many. I have watched it thru twice and learned more both times. I have been thinking about a third go around. Well done sir.

Just watched this series and I gotta say I'm surprised it hasn't been brought up in top 5 of all time conversations. This is up there without a doubt.

This video is insanely good. Congratulations on the great analysis

This is great analysis on one of my favorite shows ever. Thanks

Dammit, tears again. Damn you, The Leftovers. Beautiful bastard.

This video is absolutely amazing for so many reasons. Thank you.

Well done! Now I want to rewatch the series

"Ours is not to ask why, but to do or die" Human nature is to question. Left without answers, troubles us.

Contrary to most reviews, I believe that the 'Leftovers' are the 2% who vanished. Indeed, If you pay a closer attention, all the people that departed were not being paid attention to at the very moment they disappeared, and no one was LOOKING at them: the baby crying for his mom in the back seat while the woman argues over the phone, the lonely and apparently distraught woman under the sheet that Kevin was having sex with minutes before, Nora's family sitting in silence and her children crying after she yelled at them while turning her back to them and just focusing on her phone call, Laurie and Kevin's unborn child - that none of them wanted and that she kept a secret from everyone - who disappears from the screen while she turns her head away, the grown-up handicapped son who probably thought he was a burden to his elderly parents, the teenage girl holding hands in the circle with Jill and Tom (I had to rewind and see again who had disappeared, because she hadn't even been clearly shown on the previous scene!). That's why I think this show is about acknowledging the REALITY of the others, of their needs, their pains, their dreams, their attention for love and care. Their simple PRESENCE. This show is about someone screaming : "Look at me! I'm here, I exist! I'm REAL, not an illusion! Take me as I am". But we prefer to create our own beliefs, religions or cults to face our deepest fears, and which drift us further away from one another and from the harsh reality of the human condition. So in my opinion, the 2% that erased themselves from the surface of the planet is an allegory which implies that all that actually matters is the 'here and now', and that our common disregard to other people's existences eventually leads to delusion, helplessness and lack of purpose. It is about accepting life as it is: deprived of sense.

This video made me cry :( this show means a ton to me

This show really hit my soul hard. It’s depth and emotion are rare in a series and I cannot wait to watch it again.

Emily Doran Excellent analysis. Thank you. Also, the idea that Nora did make it to the other side and came back parallels Kevin’s going over, as presented below by Spazz, makes logical sense and a awesome ending! If nothing else, it presents an awesome idea for an alternate ending.

Another piece of evidence from the penultimate episode is that the book President Kevin reads is different than the book that Assassin Kevin wrote. Each book was written yearning for what the other half had in a sort of "the grass is always greener" juxtaposition. Bearded President Kevin's book, as read in this video, ends with him finding happiness in solitude after escaping. When Dean read Assassin Kevin's book, it displayed he yearned for the opposite. "The water endlessly stretching to the infinite horizon as he contemplated the impossible distance between them, but he would not stop until he found her." To me, this illustrates that not only was he killing off the world that he was escaping to, he cut the heart out of and killed the part of him that was fleeing. The heart/yearning of that aspect of him held the literal key to destroy his world of escape and Kevin used it to find Nora again.

Well done. Some much needed insight here. Thanks

Just getting to rewatch this show. After learning more about storytelling themes and arcs and such. The Leftovers has a clear theme finding purpose after a worldwide event. Every character strives to find purpose. The antagonist strive for this and so do the main characters. Kevin's purpose isn't some greater save the world purpose its love with Nora.

Brilliant show. I’m definitely rewatching

You did a great job with this video, my man

This review really gets it. Thank you for sharing that point of view.

Ok so I'm French (but I understand) , imbelivable, just I love your explanation for Nora, this show and Nora's arc is really meaning for me, thank you man, i overfeel this. Really great job from France I love You.

Great vid! I didn't consider the possibility that she may not have gone to the other side so that adds a whole new perspective for me!!!

Very interesting analysis. Absolutely incredible show

Nora travelled. It is a fact. The whole show was a leap of faith for me, so I choose to believe Nora. It is the first show in which I didn't try to understand what happened, but to let myself go within the narrative and suffer with each episode final. This show is a rollercoaster of emotions, that is the best way to describe it

After watching the leftovers i wanted to cry out loud for my life But i didn't because nobody would have believed that I'm crying just for the show

I like to think that, as vieweres, we are not supposed to know what really happens, wether she goes to the other world or it's just a story. We decide to believe her or not.

Wonderful analysis of the two main arches of this TV-novel.

That was great. SUBSCRIBED. Shit, i might already be subscribed. I love this type of "Mental chess."

To me it seems as if they were all existing in a simulated universe, very similar to a combination of the Sims and Second Life. Their world is a diverse mixture of characters, some autonomous, some NPCs programs, and possibly participants from 'our reality' immersed in the simulation. You had cowboys hanging out with Buddhist monks, nuns mingling with pagan revelers, cops milling about the town dealing with circus clowns, party people and a variety of animals. Strange, random events occurring, changes in the environment and landscape. People who were supposedly dead or killed, RESPAWNING multiple times, some of which had different personalities and memories. A glitch in the matrix or a moderator/programmer altering the parameters of the simulation at will perhaps? Think about the scene in the after life purgatory hotel, where Kevin had to CHOOSE a set of clothing in a closet that would determine what his role would be in THAT simulation, that is straight out of the gaming world, like GTA.

Dude. Phenomenal breakdown thank you

Dude, great job with this.

Nora really went to the other side, it happened! Don’t take my flimsy hopes away arghhhhh

I Miss this Show.😞

2 people being completely honest with each other but never understanding each other🥺

Really fantastic review ♥️

this show still haunts me to this day

Amazing job, dude. Great watch

Nora not going through with it would mean that she decided to stay in Australia, go off grid for about 15-20 years, severing ties with Matt and Kevin. It would mean that Laurie knew about it and never told Kevin. It would be too sad. This is not an uplifting show, but I found so much solace in this finale, that, me, just like Kevin, I decide to believe in her story

Just completing my first (Leftovers) marathon. Could you imagine if ALL television could be this good?

Brilliant life has a way of going to work on you and I can’t imagine this happening. It’s tough enough as it is. I cried so many times watching this series

I'd love it if they made another series about the departed and their life following the event!

Absolutely brilliant!

The Leftovers is a top 10 show of all time. Absolutely amazing. Also, probably has the best score of any show ever.

Fantastic analysis of the ending thank you so much boom subscribed

I agree the ending on this show was PERFECT. Honestly, I hadn't considered your explanation (which makes so much sense) that Nora made the whole story up about using the machine to go to the parallel universe - see was that convincing. I found the whole show to be enjoyable but when a great show ends like this it is SO satisfying. Thanks for your great analysis.

Some very interesting points, even a few I don’t agree with. As someone who believes Nora’s story, the only way I saw her achieve happiness was having something return to her to make her feel whole. It’s why the final shot is so powerful as the birds return, symbolizing that maybe this will stick. Kevin returned to her after years and years of never having something like that happen. She needed Kevin to believe her tale because that would validate what she had been seeking for so long. I also took the “beach ball at the game” story differently, even though I’m fascinated with how you broke it down. To me, that story does highlight how Nora’s point of view is more narrow than she understands, but the entire thing is more about Laurie. She has spent her life trying to keep order until everything broke down and she couldn’t anymore. She tried again by joining the Guilty Remnant, and it all imploded again. Then, as she started feeling some stability (family returning into her life), she realizes that there’s truly nothing she could do to fix those around her (hence her final exchange with Kevin... we’re all gone). She is the man who deflated the beach ball, trying to keep order, but the world that exists by this point has long left order by the wayside. She’s ready to end it all until she gets a call from people who returned in her life, her kids. She, like Nora, was striving for loved ones to come back to her, and that phone call convinced her that, even if she can’t make everything normal again, she can still find happiness.

Hold up.... there is a third option. Nora is not lying when she tells Kevin about the other world where the departed are. She died and went over to the other side when she was put into the machine. What she saw were her family content and already having moved on (just as Kevin is able to meet people who are already dead when he crossed over). All of it is true, but just like Kevin, Nora wasn't willing to die yet so she didn't stay there... The test the scientists gave wasn't to find an answer, it was to see if she truly wanted to die or not (which she didn't). She had attachment to the living (mainly Kevin) and so she came back despite the great effort it took and that it meant leaving her former family behind and moving on. Hence why it is Named "the Book of Nora" to mirror what Kevin had experienced 3 times before and caused his friends to write the new gospel about him. Both of them cheated death because they know they are meant to be intertwined and can't be separated. When she returned she was afraid still and spent the years in Australia because of uncertainty. Then she told just as she'd experienced without lie but without the full truth to match Kevin's truth.

Good thinking here on the themes. I've not seen the whole series mainly the second one. So I cant write much . Though I enjoyed this and two other psychological interpretations of a modern cults and a 'love story', plus more. As much a Greek tragedy of self-belief and self-destruction. I like that you look at Nora more though. And both of the main couples delusions. Kirby on the tube also made a comprehensive in interpretation in three parts! Yes this soulful hero/antihero Kevin, the saviour or messiah myth, with Jungian analytic psychology with the archetypes , the persona and the shadow and the disappearance 'rapture' or 'fall' of garden of Eden /Jarden is great . Both yours and Ks are like complimentary video thesis aware of much of the primal myths of chaos, loss and order. Much use of the symbolic and allegory is rich. The director of 'Lost' work is far more engaging this time, as a credible town replaces an incredible island. The chaser has caught up more with the chased.

Funny, it never occurred to me that Nora's story was made up, but it makes sense. The one thing that bothered me with the ending was that her explanation of what happened--that her family went to this sort of alternate universe--was just an explanation. We didn't get to see it happen. I remember feeling at the time that everything was wrapped up too quickly, as if the series needed to be ended right away. Your explanation of the ending makes much more sense in the context of the whole story arc. Looks like I will have to watch it again with a different understanding--which will, of course, fit in with this strange Covid Pandemic time. I just wanted to add how the hauntingly beautiful music added so much to this story--and that it became the soundtrack of a personal tragic event that happened to me during this time.

I didnt know there was a third season! You did a such a great job that not only did I kinda cry, but I still want to watch the final season *** I believe Nora went through with it, Nora's death wouldn't cause anyone chaos, certainly doesn't seem like her disappearance did, but again I haven't watched it, so viewing it might change .... Me? Lol ***

I created vivid false memories of her trip to other side. Thanks for reminding me of the truth.

Loved this review. Loved these characters. Loved this series.

Incredible analysis, and great editing of the clips. I cried almost the whole time watching this. You pieced together so many things about Kevin and his relationship with Nora that I never did, but I think the Nora analysis was perhaps incomplete. In the "beach ball at the baseball game" analogy, Nora was likening herself to the usher that deflated the beach ball. Like the usher taking the fun away from those fans, Nora's work for the past 7 years was debunking claims that people had departed. Nora, reflecting back on the usher, asks rhetorically, "Why would he want to do that job? ...Why would anyone?" Laurie understood Nora was drawing a parallel between herself and the usher and that her question was rhetorical, but Laurie answers anyway, and in the context of the usher, in order to comfort Nora. This moment was so important because this is when Nora decided there was no turning back - that she would never ever return to being that metaphoric "nasty usher" again - that she was 100% committed to going inside that machine - that whatever life she had, she was leaving it all behind. What drove her to this crucial point? (1) She broke up with Kevin, (2) Her only sibling was terminally ill, (3) She had no parents or children (in this dimension), (4) She hated being known and recognized as the woman who lost her husband and all her children to the departure, (5) seven years after the departure, she was still unable to heal, and now (6) she despised the person she had become. I believe perhaps more-so than an opportunity to cross over to the other dimension, Nora was motivated by an opportunity to kill herself discreetly in a way that would not be labeled as a suicide. What happened inside the machine is obviously up for debate. If her scream was to stop the procedure, did a fear of dying overcome her? Did she fear her family would not miss her on the same level she missed them? Did she realize, at that final moment, that she did not have to travel to the other dimension, nor did she have to die, in order to leave her current life behind? Kevin was likened to a messiah because he cheated death so often. However, perhaps ironically, it was Nora that was truly reborn. While the audience desperately wants to know if Nora traveled back and forth between dimensions, I agree with the creator of this video that this fact is inconsequential to the story. Her rebirth is the same either way. As well, it would be equally important to Nora in either case that Kevin believes (and accepts) her. One possibility is that Kevin says he believes her, but he actually doesn't. If, in this scenario, it is just a fantasy of Nora's, then Nora could recognize that Kevin doesn't truly believe her, but be ok with that because him saying he believes her shows that he will happily live out the fantasy with her, and that he's committed to doing whatever it takes to not mess up the relationship again. (I think I probably got this idea from watching the video, but maybe I've expounded on it and/or stated it slightly differently.)

Many comments say how this show is underrated. The thing is, most people seem just to not be capable to understand it. To understand the meanings, the actual narrative that goes beyond plotpoints. I dont think they even understand how to understand these kind of concepts. This maybe sad, but you cant change it. And thats why it will never get the attention it deserves. Its a philosophic masterpiece and my favorite show of all time.

I'm thinking of writing my own article about the show and its ending for the third anniversary of the finale coming up in June. That said, one line from Nora's final monologue that I have not seen anyone scrutinize, and, to me, gives her story away as being a false narrative, is that when she supposedly sees her children in the other world and describes her own daughter as "a girl, maybe 11". There is no way in hell that Nora Durst, having been obsessed with the loss of her kids, marking anniversaries of the departure year after year, and being a meticulous investigator for the OSD, would use the word "maybe" in that context. She knew, and knows, exactly how old her kids would have been and she would be marking their birthdays every year so as to never forget. That line feels to me to be a betrayal of her character if it were a true account, and something that she made up that simply sounded good for Kevin, and herself, to hear and to use to cope.

What a show.

Probably the explanation I've heard. Nice work.

Thanks for this perfect video. ❤️

Such an excellent essay on such underrated and beautiful show. Subscribed.