That was the intention imo, look at all the different responses

holy **** me too!
in fact I didn't even think about it until I read your post.

lol.

gotta say I'm pretty impressed with the finale, I was pretty sure it was gonna be a huge letdown but they really nailed it.

I'm choosing to believe that there was nothing in the finale beneath the surface that wasn't as it appeared

Great finale, great series. Goes into my top 5 all-time dramas along with Sopranos, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and something else I can't think of right now.

There's gotta be plenty of overlap in likeability between Leftovers and Six Feet Under

The goat scene killed me too, but not like you. I was busy laughing my ass off at the very rough day poor Nora was having. Busting her ass having to break out of her own bathroom. Doing the face plant off her bicycle. Then sliding back down the hill had me cracking up for some reason. Was sobering when she took all the sins from the goat and put them on herself.

Yeah she was having a very Matt-like day.

Definitely, both are in my Top 5 although the finale of SFU is still tops for me, maybe the best single episode of television I've ever seen.

I dont know I fn love 6FU but I might give the edge to the Leftovers finale. I need to process it awhile, though. It's at least in the conversation.

I also think the Big Love finale was very good, but not on the level of these 2.

Seemed like a partial apology for the Lost ending. Lindeloff does another series about people finding each other again in the end, but at least sticks a short explanation about the big mystery in there. That said, I really liked it.

Both tremendous series finales with very annoying old age makeup.

And I'm not even really joking, if I had to have one nitpick about the Leftovers finale, it'd be that. Because Co.on and Theroux are so good with the expressive parts of acting but that old age makeup really does get in the way of some of those moments.

I got the impression Nora said stop as well.

I like the theory that she didnt go through with it that i read on the last page

I watched the episode twice and while I have many tl;dr reasons why I lean in the camp of "Nora made the story up" for thematic reasons - one interesting thing I caught on second viewing is the difference of how when we see Nora in the pod at the beginning, sure sounds like she's about to say something that starts with S (I think a lot of people's mind, like my own, went to STOP!!). But when she retells the story to Kevin, there is a brief flashback of the moment in the question and the cut is made a split second before, so that it appears no word was about to be said, but rather she was just taking a breath. Gotta think that's a fairly deliberate editing choice.

Yeah agree, the 2nd version was her telling of the events (which she had changed in her mind so that she never yelled "stop"). She was a skeptic by nature and didn't really believe the machine did anything but vaporize people. But she was caught between her rational mind and her all-consuming desire to see her kids and know they were OK. So she yelled stop because she didn't want to kill herself... but then invented the alternate story that she went through with it and her kids seemed happy, in order to be able to live with it.

Seems like a metaphor for belief in the afterlife in general... the way many rational, skeptical people don't believe in the afterlife, but then if they lose a loved one (a child especially) they end up having to believe in it, in order to go on living themselves. Religion (especially belief in the afterlife) as a necessary delusion, which was a main theme of the show I guess.

There was a point in the episode (I forget when) when she was adamantly declaring that she doesn't lie. That makes me think that at the end she actually was lying.

interview with Lindelof:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/the-lef...ling-the-truth

Lying like when she accused the nun of lying.

You could actually play it the other way, too. That she had this realization of her family having moved on - where ever they are - beforehand and that's ultimately why she backed out. We see the flashbacks to her kids as she's walking up to the pod. And it's like, ok, what's the absolute best case scenario (from a rational, scientific standpoint) in terms of what this machine does to me? And she kinda lays it out at the end - some world exactly like our own only they're there and we're here. But even in that instance, it's like a monkey's paw sort of wish, because it's been so many years, and in that world, her kids are the lucky ones, and she has no place there.

It's like even her fantasy world wouldn't work out. So she dismantles the fantasy and becomes a recluse and tries to find some peace. And it's a nice connection with Kevin, who we just saw destroy his own fantasy world last week. I mean, that place he blew up with nukes probably doesn't actually exist, but do we "believe him" that he had that experience and his own realization? Well, sure. And that's the important part of Nora's story that he believes.

In fact, you could watch that last scene with the idea of like, Nora telling Kevin she was afraid he wouldn't believe her - but not the part about a fantastical sci-fi odyssey, but instead the part about where she moved past her children. "Why wouldn't I believe you? You're here." Whatever Nora went through in reality or not, this is where she is and it's where she belongs. And that's the part he believes.

It's at the very beginning when the scientist says she doesn't believe Nora. "I don't lie!"

I mean, the entire episode is chock full of lies/made up stories. The doves who can't actually fly to all corners of the globe, the nun's denial about the man having been there, Nora going by Sarah and claiming to not know a Kevin, Kevin's story about having met Nora only once in Mapleton, etc., etc.

"I'm not trying to "sell" you anything, it's just a nicer story" is certainly an important line.

yeah, basically where i was at with it. just never really bought the Kevin & Nora thing to the degree that they wanted. Kevin trolling himself via Patty felt correct. Nora "joking" that they were in a toxic codependent relationship felt correct. most/all of the awful things they said to each other in the hotel room felt correct. so what changed? not much from what i saw.
(save for some you don't know what you got 'til it's gone blah blah)

really think that the 2 extra episodes really would have helped.

along with those things they could have spent significant time building up the Kevin/Nora relationship in order to earn and sell the ending.


finale was fine, but it coulda/shoulda have been so much better imo. reminds me of the Mad Men one, which kinda makes sense given that DL seems to be a big fan of that show.

Damn, a John Murphy episode would have been great

and felt necessary actually. his whole season was something something Evie, would have been helpful to get inside his head more. Michael too. his whole season was standing in the background looking worried.

More I've thought about it the more it does actually seem like a really well done finale, just one that didn't tug at my emotional heart strings like prior ones might have and so it left me with an initial feeling of disappointment

The Matt/Nora goodbye was very well done, the build up to Nora getting zapped was solid, and the final scenes with Nora/Kevin were good especially if you have the viewpoint that they were both damaged people who needed to create a myth to allow them to let go and move on from the crazy **** that happened.

Nora likely has never told her story to anyone, and prob does so thinking Kevin will reject her like she rejected him and his dying/resurrection stories.
But he doesn't, and he chooses to believe her which finally allows her to move on.

Could have done without all the bike riding scenes back and forth but whatever.

The bathroom scene was interesting if u view it as implying or hinting that Nora tried to escape get out of the pod.
Not 100% sure what the birds coming back was symbolizing.

Kind of ****ed up that Laurie let Kevin waste years randomly searching Australia for a supposed ghost when she knew Nora was alive the whole time. Figure 2 weeks vacation times what...20 years...almost a year spent searching for someone everyone has told you died.

Random Note:
Is that town having that many weddings that Nora can make a living selling doves?

so if nora was lying, then matt knew she backed out, and presumably even though they went separate ways, maybe they stayed in touch and thats why she didnt go to funeral? just trying to parse it out.

I would assume she told Matt to tell everyone she went thru and is dead/gone. She's not religious and they said there good byes in person so not sure why she would need to go to his funeral.