The Leftovers: “Off Ramp” Review

“They like my book.”

Let me kick off this review by confessing that I wrongly assumed that this episode, “Off Ramp,” would be my least favorite of the initial Season 2 episodes. We’d met the Murphys, caught up with the Garveys, and now we were going to head back into the gaping, moping maw of the Guilty Remnant to discover what happened to both Laurie and Tommy after the Season 1 finale. Not that I didn’t anticipate this chapter being good, because, well, it’s a great show, but Laurie and Tommy were never the brightest, shiniest parts of Season 1.

As it turns out, “Off Ramp” was my favorite of these first three. Nora may still contain a fighting inner spirit/fire, but she’s “okay” right now. She’s figured out how to move on and what she needs to feel safe. She’s not the fascinatingly damaged gal that she was last year. Now it’s time for Laurie to step forward as the show’s unhinged heroine and scatter her wonderful angst all over the joint. Which, in the case of “Off Ramp,” meant trying to save members of the GR while simultaneously exploiting them for her own book purposes. While – ahem – also burying and repressing her own emotions about the ruin and heartache she put her own family through. And it was amazing.

Of course, Laurie had lines back in Season 1. There was her famous “JILLLL!,” but then there was also the awesome “The Garveys at Their Best” which showed everyone pre-Departure. Here though, we got a terrific look at what a proactively determined (and often deranged) person she is as she broke into her landlord’s house to steal a laptop, freakin’ drove through a pair of Remnants (“They won’t jump out of the way”), and then got arrested for attacking and choking a book publisher when he not only belittled her life experiences but also inadvertently forced her to face a lot of feelings she was trying very hard not to confront.

Amy Brenneman was wonderful here, playing someone who thought she could rescue members of the Guilty Remnant who were having second thoughts and place them back with their families in some sort of instant fix. The type of instant, no-questions-asked forgiveness she herself longed for from her own family. Seriously overlooking the fact that the Guilty Remnant not only attract people who were deeply traumatized by the Departure, but also those who were already in serious mental and emotional distress. Many of these people were either deeply depressed because of the huge tragic world event, or they were already in need of serious treatment and the Departure made it much harder for them to recognize and address their ailments because everyone, all of a sudden, was experiencing an existential crisis.

“Off Ramp” was dynamically directed by Carl Franklin, who also helmed last season’s “Guest,” as jazz drums were frequently used to spotlight Laurie’s desperation and buried fear. Plus, Max Richter’s beautiful score, which now instantly triggers a tremendous amount of feelings in me the moment it strikes up, returned in a big way. There were flashes of it in the first two episodes, but “Off Ramp” really seemed to solidify the fact that this music is tied to themes of the first season. Many of which were at the heart of this installment.

Chris Zylka’s Tommy, even as obviously messed up as he was here, was also a stepped-up/souped-up more interesting version of the character this go around. Tommy’s Season 1 arc with Wayne and Christine was good, but because the series started with Tommy already being away and involved with a cult, his story always felt like it was missing something that would enhance our emotional investment. Same for Laurie too, right? Though she even started out more in an antagonistic role as a member of the GR.

Here however, Tommy and Laurie sort of united as the Garvey outliers. The wallowers. Those who are almost determined “not to be okay.” And Laurie was even almost using Tommy here, by sending him into the lion’s den. Despite lip service paid to other options regarding recusing people. Either way, Tommy also buried himself within this new “job.” Between saving lost souls and booze, he was not in a good place. Which made the big reveal at the end even more intriguing. The twist that he now has Miracle Wayne’s hugging powers. Be it a real thing or, you know, a contrived con for the sake of helping people. I mean we the audience don’t even know, for certain, how genuine Wayne’s abilities were. So it could truly be as easy as just telling people you can absorb their pain.

Oh, and the Meg/Tommy scene, where she quickly, silently boned him right before threatening to set him on fire was pretty damned disturbing. It was a next-level mindf*** as well as an indication that Meg’s now risen through the GR ranks to become someone who could not only arrange that sort of thing, but also talk whenever she felt like it.

More talk of Australia here too, as there were several points during the episode that spoke of someone outside of Perth who claimed to be immortal. Also, and this is worth noting, I think. As much as the Gulty Remnant stand for outright nihilism and angst, we did get some very brief insight into their belief system. After Laurie was pushed by the publisher for context, she explained “They believe the world ended.” Simple, yes, but also illuminating. As in, the GR don’t think it was a warning or that another Departure may happen someday. Or that humanity is now doomed. They think that everything that’s happening now, all life, is false. Some sort of delusion or dream. The world is over and everything that’s going on now isn’t real.

Finally, that scene with the mother driving herself, her husband, and her son to their deaths was devastating. The combination of the violin music (last heard during the fire in the Season 1 finale) and the fact that this ending was so much worse than the one I anticipated (her leaving and/or suicide) made for a hugely powerful moment.