Courtesy of HBO
We are at a point in television where enough shows do weird episodes that it’s impossible to compare (Twin Peaks, Legion, etc.). But there was something surreal, honest, hilarious and, yep, weird about this episode. For example, a naked French submarine officer fires a nuke at an island and yes it goes off; a man who believes he’s God throws a man off a party boat in the middle of the ocean (the party is basically a lion-worshipping orgy); the event is witnessed by Matt (Christopher Eccleston) but nobody believes him when he tells everyone what happened and so he confronts “God,” fights “God,” and, downcast, asks “God” to cure him. It’s actually a very sad scene. And then, once the boat docks, “God” is about to be arrested for murder (throwing that person overboard), but a splinter group among the orgy participants releases the captive lion from the boat and it races over, tackles and, shockingly, eats “God” in the parking lot. “That’s the guy I was telling you about,” Matt says. Even among Leftovers episodes, that stands out. — TG