Star of The Leftovers, Justin Theroux, has spoken about the show’s “satisfying” series ending.
The Leftovers is truly one of the more bizarre series on TV; coming across as something between Lost and a Stephen King novel, this HBO series has enraptured its small fan base from day one.
The first episode of its final season arrived this week, and has truly set out its stall for another beautifully macabre set of episodes.
With all the mysteries contained within the series, and more questions being posed in the third season premiere, it’s going to be quite the task for Damon Lindelof and team to pull off something satisfying.
But this is just what we can expect according to Justin Theroux, who plays the shows tragic hero, Kevin.
In an interview with Collider, he answered a number of questions about the series and just what fans can expect going forward.
When asked about how he felt when reading that his character would die for the first time (spoilers, Kevin has died multiple times in the show), he said:
“The only time it really worried me was in that one episode where I drink poison and die. In the script, it was like, “And he is dead. Really dead. Dead, dead, dead.” So, I called Damon [Lindelof] and was like, “Am I really dead?” And he was like, “No. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.” And I was like, “How?!” And then, I just got used to dying, knowing I would come back.”
It’s been known for some time that Lindelof – who has said not to expect any spin-offs from the show – has never had any intention of answering just why all those people disappeared at the start of the series.
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And Theroux himself was asked about his thoughts on finding out the answer to the show’s central premise.
“Well, he’s definitely never going to give the answer to that question, nor could he give the answer to the question about the meaning of life. I think he takes pleasure in giving these people very specific problems that force them to look in the mirror and ask themselves these questions. But the overall question, he’ll never answer. I don’t think he was being cagey and coy. He was just like, “That’s not what interests me. That’s just the motivating factor that gets us to these other questions, in this very heightened way.”
Finally when asked about how he feels regarding the show’s ending, and if they managed to pull it off, he answered with a resounding yes.
“I’m totally satisfied, and I’m not saying that to tow any party line. I really think they knocked it out of the park for the end. At the end of Episode 7, you’re like, “How will they wrap this all up in one episode?” But Damon, Tom and the other writers did something that was very cool, in the vein of zigging when you think you’re gonna zag. When I got that script, I was like, “Oh, my god, this is the last script. What’s it gonna be?” I dug in on page one and I was like, “Wow, this is interesting and very beautiful.”
There is certainly a lot to cover in these final episodes, but with what has been provided so far, audiences will surely have a lot of faith that The Leftovers can deliver just the type of ending Theroux has described.
Originally published April 18, 2017. Updated December 16, 2019.
