As the image above suggests, this episode is woefully light on Christopher Eccleston. That said, it’s still interesting, diving deep into one of the big players in the ensemble while also further expanding the world of the show.
Nora attends a departure-related conference in Manhattan. Although she’s dreading it, she’s a panelist, so she’s obligated to go. So for two days, she gets out her house and away from the emptiness left behind by her departed husband and children. But once she arrives, Nora realizes a mysterious person is trying to claim her identity at the conference.
Much like episode 3’s heavy focus on Matt, today is all about Nora. We see her at her work, we see the crushing grief of her everyday life (she buys groceries for a family of four every week, even though it’s just her now, continually throwing out the old unused food to make way for the new,) and yes, we see her get out of town and into a setting that’s wholly focused around the departures.
Beyond the eeriness and mystery of it, it’s interesting to see Nora robbed of her identity at the conference. Everywhere she goes at home, she’s “Nora Durst, the woman who lost her entire family on October 14th.” It’s a tragic notoriety that clings uncomfortably to her, but at the same time, she’s not afraid to play that card when she feels entitled to it. At the conference, where people don’t know her and the name badge marking her as a “triple legacy” has been stolen, she’s suddenly without those eternal pitying looks. In one sense, it’s freeing – it allows her to briefly choose who she is, and she gets unfiltered opinions about the depatures from people, views they likely wouldn’t say to her face if they knew her situation. But on the other hand, she’s lost the automatic leeway and benefit of the doubt that comes with being someone who lost more than most, and she doesn’t fully know how to move through the world anymore without it.
The conference itself offers more chances to look at the state of this world. In addition to learning a bit more about Nora’s work interviewing prospective depature-benefit recipients about their lost loved ones, we also get more into other aspects of how society has changed since the disappearances. I appreciate when shows take time to look at the nitty-gritty implications of their larger-than-life premise (who do I have to talk to to get an MCU miniseries set during the Blip?), and while The Leftovers’ take on this is a bit thin and scattered for my taste, it drops some interesting nuggets.
Since we spend so much time in this episode following Nora out of town, most of the main cast isn’t present today, but there are a couple guest-stars of note playing conference attendees. First up is Billy Magnusson, who I’ve seen in several things but who I mostly appreciate for playing Rapunzel’s Prince in the film version of Into the Woods. Also making an appearance is Tom Noonan. Though I couldn’t place him at first, I knew he was one to be wary of the second I saw him, and with good reason – he was the supremely-creepy Tall Man on 12 Monkeys.
As I said, very little Christopher Eccleston today. He makes a brief voice-only appearance via a voicemail from Matt. So, not a whole lot to mention about his performance here.
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