The Leftovers: “Lens” Review

Excuse me, but do you have a moment to talk about the demon Azrael?

The Leftovers continued its hot streak this week with “Lens,” further spotlighting how much the changes in cast, location, and method of storytelling have helped make Season 2 such a moving, invigorating experience. Everything has been firing on all cylinders  this year and the scattered way each character has been presented to us, and the way information has come our way, has even helped change the minds of critics who weren’t on board with the show during its freshman season.

We all know Carrie Coon is excellent, and we know that she stole a great deal of the show back in Season 1, but “Lens” was Regina King’s time to step forward a bit and contribute to the drama. Not that Nora didn’t have some great material this week, but King’s Erika was pretty much the final main Season 2 character in need of deeper examination. And after King’s big Emmy win for ABC’s American Crime this past summer, I think we also wanted to see her spread her wings here as well. And soar she did.

The final scene between Erika and Nora, featuring Nora coldly resuming her old place as a post-Departure auditor (using stolen questions containing some sort of new algorithm) was crazy good. With Erika believing that she may have inadvertently “wished” Evie away during her own quest to leave John, and Nora determined to prove that Evie’s situation wasn’t supernatural.

Of course, left to her own devices, Nora’s a flip-flopping wreck when it comes to knowing what to think about the Departure in general. Granted, she’s thought Evie’s disappearance was a hoax to begin with, but when it comes to her own family, and even herself, Nora’s still a mess. The scientists back in the Season 2 premiere seemed to have permanently stuck a bug in her brain about how very specific things may be the cause. Like her old home (so she moved). Or even…her own self, which was this week’s callous theory. The fact that Nora may be someone – a “lens” – that causes others around her to vanish. Like her family. Like Evie.

So what a great moment it was to hear the very official woman on the phone, who sent the very official scientist all the way down to Miracle, abruptly start to sound officially bats*** by suggesting that Nora was Azrael in human form. That was a vey fun twist. And also this show’s way of mocking Departure theories in general. Even ones that it’s come up with itself.

Erika meanwhile, secretly feeling guilty, had to attend a giant town-wide fundraiser designed to raise money for continued search efforts. During which she snapped and called everyone out, even John, for being superstitious sell-outs. Despite the agreed-upon credo that allows John to kick the crap out of anyone claiming divination. And it was all because Erika was letting her own superstition about Evie’s situation eat away at her from the inside.

The tension between the Murphys and the Garveys – or, more accurately, Nora and John – was already present at the top of the hour. Stemming from John’s refusal to sponsor Matt last week. And that was enough to cause Nora, on a whim, to hurl an early morning rock through John’s window. But by the end, it was Erika hurling a stone – both resenting Nora’s attempt to disprove Evie’s Departure and also having probably ascertained who broke their window in the first place.

Another wonderful thing that happened in “Lens” was Kevin giving a full confession to Nora about seeing Patti. I’m really glad he’s chosen the honest path because anything else would, I feel, lead the show down a more predictable path where Kevin self-destructs and ruins the new life he’s made for himself. Though I am curious, since we didn’t see her, why Patti didn’t want Kevin to tell Nora. What do these visions expect from their hosts? They want to talk all the time, non-stop, and they want the host to engage, but then they also somehow don’t want anyone else to know they exist? That seems like a heavy ask. How does Patti expect Kevin to function? I would have assumed that Patti, because she demanded so much attention, would’ve loved for Kevin to share his big secret with Nora.

Just a few built points here at the end to round things out:

• Hey, Matt’s out of the stocks. That was fast. And he seems to be thriving out there in “Outer Miracle.”
• We got an answer both about the pie and about who Virgil might be (Erika’s dad?). And we know that he was the man John went to jail for almost killing.
• The buried birds in boxes bit was also explained.
• As was the goat killer and the woman who’s always in her wedding dress.
• Looks like Tommy taking a leave of absence will get addressed on a future Laurie/Tommy episode.
• COUNTRY VERSION OF THE LEFTOVERS THEME!