It’s Leftovers, Interrupted as Season 2’s premiere invites us into the Murphy household.
By Matt Fowler
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode follow…
Even with all the change-ups we knew were headed our way in The Leftovers’ sophomore season (cast, location, etc), I don’t think any of us expected a brilliant, sideways premiere like “Axis Mundi.” Which not only contained a brand new title sequence and an opening segment featuring a primitive cave dweller trying to survive on her own with a newborn, but also a solid 35-minute start with a totally different family – the Murphys.
I’m not going to delve into mysteries and clues and so on with regards to The Leftovers’ supernatural happenings. Is there a connection between the cavewoman, the hawk, the tremors, the epilepsy, the spring, and the entire Departure event? Probably. But I’m not going to sort through it. Not with this series. I feel like the toe-tapping Iris DeMent track, “Let the Mystery Be,” that now stands as the new opening song was chosen for a reason. Not only does it warn us not to get sucked into the vague mystical elements, but it laces this season with a touch of ironic juxtaposition. Whereas the first season may have been very heavy and on-the-nose with its towering, booming title music, this one undercuts the depression in a tongue-in-cheek manner.
Does this mean Season 2 won’t be as heavy-handed and depressing as Season 1? Perhaps. And trust me, I’m not complaining about Season 1. But the show’s now set in a small Texas town that suffered “zero departures” – one that people from all over the globe, from all different backgrounds and beliefs, flock to in order to be salvation-adjacent. Also, we left the Garveys themselves at a sort of crossroads back at the end of the Season 1 finale. One that could easily lead to a happier future for Kevin, Jill, and Nora.
But let’s talk Murphys for a minute. The Garveys do show up eventually, as the family moving in next door to the Murphys, but only ever through the prism of our new hosts. They don’t get their own solo moments. Stuff’s going on with Kevin, for sure. He had that weird pause in John’s kitchen. He’s got a fresh bandage on his forehead. It’s easy to imaging that they’ll always be drama with that guy. But “Axis Mundi” mainly focused on John (Kevin Carroll), the town’s unofficial watchdog.
As a firefighter, John and his fellow flame jumpers keep tabs on everyone in town, often dispensing harsh justice to those they feel are out to corrupt. Or out to take advantage of people’s unwavering worship of the “magic spot” they live in. This take-no-prisoners service he provides is supported by wife Erika (Regina King), a doctor, and perhaps also his secretive choirgirl daughter Evie (Jasmin Savoy Brown). Evie’s charitable, devout twin brother Michael (Jovan Adepo), on the other hand, may hold reservations about his father’s side work.
An aside here. How hilarious was it that Perfect Strangers star Mark Lynn Baker actually faked his departure? Remember, in Season 1 we learned that the entire cast of that show had vanished. Now we discover that Baker used that as an excuse to go into hiding. A very funny callback. And one that’s even funnier when you consider how Darius McCrary – Baker’s fellow ABC TGIF-er from Family Matters! – was also in this episode as an actual character and not himself. He played the palm reader, Isaac, who got tossed through a window while his house got torched.
I hung on every word and moment of this premiere. It all just sung out so brightly and crazily. A few moments even felt Final Destination-ish. You know, when John started actively considering Isaac’s warning and feared putting his hand into the garbage disposal. A horror movie beat that, simply put, works ever time. And then there was the pie on the doorstep. The cricket. Erika’s buried box with a live bird inside. Evie’s naked romp through the woods with the other girls. The guy in the center of town who lives up on that mini-tower. How quickly the local Reverend cut Matt Jamison (Christopher Eccleston) off when he began to talk about his wife, Mary. Little, wonderful things that all worked to lavishly texturize the amazing, baffling world the show’s created.
In fact, after enough time had passed, I didn’t even expect to see the Garveys at all in the premiere. And I was totally fine with that. I was on board with the Murphys. Granted, it was easy-ish to assume that nothing bad would happen to John himself. Even with Isaac’s warning. His kids were the target here, naturally, and it’d just be a matter of which one fell to tragedy. In the end, it was confident mysterious Evie, who’d made such a huge impression with only a small amount of screen time. Evie seemingly vanished with all the water in the local spring, though instead of a “departure” it looked like a giant crack had opened up in the ground and sucked everything down into it.
And then Fern Jones’ soft “Let Tomorrow Be” played over the closing credits, once again layering this season with a bit more whimsey. It actually reminded me of how a lot of Boardwalk Empire episodes ended – with a big violent and/or tragic moment and then an old song that felt perpendicular in tone.
And while this wasn’t the Garveys’ episode per se we still learned some things about them via their interactions with John and his family. Kevin, Nora, and Jill seemed to be making it all work. Obviously, they made the big decision to drive down to Texas and begin anew. And with baby Lily to help care for, Jill now seems spirited and well-adjusted (and perhaps attracted to Michael). Nora too (except for the Michael part). I expect the missing pieces behind all this to get filled in after the premiere, but I liked catching up with them in this unexpected way.
“Axis Mundi” was a riveting piece of Peak TV. When you hear about shows shaking things up and changing a lot going into extra seasons, it’s natural to feel worried. Though The Leftovers is a different case really since there was no second book to base a second season on. Author and EP Tom Perrotta helped Damon Lindelof shape Season 2, though I have no idea if this is the book he’d have written if he actually committed to a sequel novel. I will say that what’s happening here doesn’t feel like a re-tooling, despite all the changes. Nothing feels forced due to course-correction. It feels natural to the story and, most importantly, to the world that Season 1 helped create.
Either way, this is the type of premiere that only works when you have a show that’s so firmly rooted in good writing and acting like The Leftovers is. With a clear sense of itself. Yes, including all the riddles and happenstance.
