The Leftovers: “No Room at the Inn” Review

The “Virgin” Mary

Man, I guess it wouldn’t truly feel like a season of The Leftovers without an episode chronicling the ongoing crucible of poor “One Step Forward, Two Steps Back” Matt Jamison. Season 1’s “Two Boats and a Helicopter,” which came just three episodes into the series and dropped most of the characters who we considered to be a part of the main core cast, was a standout. And “No Room at the Inn” was as well. Though, I suppose, it wasn’t as much of a revelation as our first encounter with Matt’s rough, weary life as this show’s own stand-in Job.

No, “No Room at the Inn” (taken from the biblical hardship/inconvenience that placed the Virgin Mary in the manger instead of a comfy bed) wasn’t going to match the overall greatness of “Two Boats in a Helicopter” if only because this was our second go round with Matt’s exhausting, punishing life. So, bottom line, it’s not a new tale. We’ve run this emotional gauntlet before. But this episode still was able to take Matt’s new Miracle/Jarden situtation and turn it into something uniquely awful – while also being sadly sweet and beautiful.

First off, I applaud the decision pick up Matt’s story after Mary’s “awakening.” We heard Matt tell Nora about how Mary had snapped out of her trance during their first night in town, though he left out the part where they had sex. “Fell asleep in each others’ arms after talking for hours” was, I believe, his story. When we met Matt at the top of this one, he was in the midst of slowly driving himself into a lapsed-faith funk by Groundhog’s Day-ing the same rituals over and over again with hopes of repeating that blessed day. With the Bellamy Brothers’ “Let Your Love Flow” standing in wonderfully here for “I Got You, Babe.”

Us not seeing Mary’s waking moment meant that a cloud of doubt now hung over Matt. And with Mary now pregnant, everyone was narrowing their eyes at him. And for good reason. And we might have been tempted to doubt Matt as well if we weren’t all witnesses to his unwavering love and devotion to her. His doting. His faith. So while it’s possible that he got lonely and took advantage of his comatose wife, it’s unlikely. More probable is him possibly imagining her waking up. A delusional state. One that we saw a bit of here after Matt got clobbered with a wrench and then heard Mary speaking to him.

Though it’s probably a safe bet to just take him at his word as it’s more likely that this show is punishing him somehow for having a brief moment of honest happiness.

Matt went through so much in this chapter that he even he began taking the “easy road,” if we’re still okay seeing it as such. He broke down in anger and got into a fight. He broke an oar over a man’s back for $500 (and was that Brett Butler as Sandy?). He compromised here and there, fearful that his unborn child (a son, if we’re the believe the clairvoyant man in the Visitor’s Center detention area) would die if Mary stayed outside of Miracle for too long. In the end though, he stood confidently in front of John and stuck to his story. Knowing how crazy it sounded, but also knowing that he was willing to sacrifice his own reputation, and place in the town, for the safety of Mary and child.

Christopher Eccleston once again shined here as Matt. And while I still don’t know what kind of American accent he’s doing (I’m assuming it’s just called “the best he can”) his performance is always strong enough to carry us through the misery. A palpable pain that, even as a member of the audience, feels physically taxing. Watching Matt get his wrist broken for his wristband. Seeing him push Mary for miles and miles, over grass and rocks, hunched over so that he can use his forearm to push. Seeing him get washed out of the storm tunnel. And then finally, locked up naked in some stocks as a form of both mercy (for the man he freed) and punishment (for himself, perhaps just beating God to the punch here).

One thing “No Room at the Inn” also had going for it was humor. The Leftovers has learned a few new tricks since Season 1 and there were some definite moments of levity here, despite the crushing heaviness. Hearing “Let the Love Flow” again toward the end when Matt and Mary washed up out of the tunnel was really quirky. As was Matt’s phone ringing “Hallelujah” right as he dropped it into a toilet he’d just used. Granted, these were still bad things that were happening, but they also helped give the proceedings a bit of a “just another day in the tortured life of Matt Jamison” vibe. As did the use of Regina Spektor’s “Laughing With” at the end.

The thing about Matt – especially in this episode – is that he very often he finds himself in the clear. And then he does one more thing and everything falls apart. Like pulling over to help that stranger. Or getting into a fight with the guy in line. Or confronting John about his hatred for Miracle. Each one of those events derailed Matt’s efforts considerably. Also, once Kevin left, we knew it wouldn’t be long before Nora went out looking for Matt. So Matt could have also stayed put and not gotten himself and Mary almost drowned. But I get it. He was desperate to get Mary back home.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention what a rough, admirable gig this is for The West Wing’s Janel Moloney. As the occasionally blinking Mary, she certainly has her challenges. We saw her speak for a few moments here, though – as mentioned – we didn’t get to see her big speaking scene with Matt during the night she woke up. I imagine it would be very difficult to not react to things. Even moments like when Matt was reciting Yeats to her in the trunk.

Oh, and if you’re curious about what moment made me tear up (as something always does not his show), it was when the little boy held up the wristband to Matt, to give it back after his father had died in the crash. Yeah, that ruined me a little.