User Reviews

This episode is simply stunning, from the beginning to the end. I have no word to describe Ecclestone's performance,he deserves at least an Emmy nomination. Overall, all the acting is fantastic. I won't spoil, but there is at least a couple scenes that broke my heart and made me tear up... and that end scene... i have stared at my TV at least five minutes. Maybe my favorite episode of my favorite series of this year. If you haven't already watched this episode, you should do it right now. And if you haven't already start watching The leftovers... man... you know what you have to do. Maybe this show won't give you all the answers but the emotional impact is unmatchable. 10+/10

When the episode starts, in the scene where Matt goes to the supermarket, we can see a goat go by behind them. Clearly this was intentional, because in the end the goats cause an accident.

It was for this reason that I searched for the meaning of the goat since I did not remember it well. The goat represents the "sinner who will not be saved." This is why the man who steals Matt's bracelet dies, and the boy survives because he is not a sinner, he is simply unaware of what he was doing.

But... is Matt a sinner? Is it because he got Mary pregnant and that's why God made him go through all that nightmare that we saw throughout the chapter? And just because he believes that he is a sinner so he decides to take the place in the guillotine? For God to forgive him for his sin? Wow. A very deep chapter indeed. Very well done.

I was in doubt between 8 and 9, but the "Laughing With" song by Regina Spector pushed me to 9.

This episode is fantastic. It focuses on Matt and his wife Mary and is SO good! Matt is one of the best characters and he really shines in his role. "No Room at the Inn" is another proof for the awesomeness of season 2 and the series as a whole.

The first 3 minutes are just amazing and so well-written. It shows Matt's daily routine and his passion and love for his catatonic wife. This episode offers some controversial topics and intense scenes. Especially the situation with Mary and Matt being outside the town really kept me on the edge of my seat.

The ending is perfect and so metaphoric. I love the music and Matt's firm determination. He is a great actor and puts "The Leftovers" on a level of pure perfection. Season 2 is a masterpiece and will always be!

So there's a large disparity in the reviews in here...I guess it comes down to who you are and how you go about your life.

Matt is either an idiot or an uncompromising badass. Its either lazy writing to drum up conflict or an affirming tale about love of truth and family.

Personally, I cant stand preacher characters...except for Matt. The way he was introduced in season 1 lays the groundwork as a character for this story to be pulled off. To rip off song lyrics "He would do anything for love...but he wont do that". He loved his church in season 1, and loves his wife and baby in season 2. He's willing to go to extraordinary lengths for those that he loves...but he wont give up his convictions. He'll stop to help people, he'll walk miles, he will plead and beg...he will be silent to John Murphy in order to get in, but he wont let John get away with being an unrepentant jackhole.

I guess it comes down to where you draw the line for what you will do...most people would certainly cowtow to John; but as someone who would hope to not do that in that situation, I think Matt's a total badass. And he isnt preachy about it either...he just has a strong set of morals and wont bail HIMSELF out for them. So its a dumb story if you'd never hold on to those morals in a similar situation.

Is there SOME hyperbole in order to drum up drama? Well, yeah...havent you watched this show before? But I see much less because I could see myself going close to as far as he did (Id probably have kept my mouth shut to John until AFTER I got back in; then Id tell him to pound sand).

Every once and a while, a long form show that is humming along at a pretty high level suddenly presents us with a special episode that sets itself apart as the equivalent of a classic short story.Such was the case,in their first seasons, for the RICO episode in Better Call Saul and the Who Goes There episode of True Detective.In the somewhat problematic second series of The Leftovers, with its occasionally annoying use of the ghost of Patti as a kind of conscience to Kevin, and plot twists where the latter keeps dying and then returning to life, this episode centering on preacher Matt and his love for his catatonic spouse was a welcome break and pulled off the especially remarkable feat of giving us a modern day Christian parable that was actually compelling instead of heavy handed.Matt, like his favorite Bible character Job, suffers harrowing ordeals including an attempt to be a good Samaritan that goes bad and a decision to put himself into the stocks in the waiting area as a noble gesture and to teach a lesson to his new congregation.The soundtrack samples on this show are eclectic, ranging from spirituals to the Pixies to opera to rap but here the repeated use of Schubert,s Heilig, Heilig from his German Mass is particularly haunting.

Wow. Fantastic performance by Christopher Eccleston, but performances have never been a problem for this show. This episode in particular showed MASSIVE cognitive lapses that I can only attribute to writers wanting to paint the picture of Matt as the bible's Job. And you know what? Job's actually a terrible story about blind faith that leads to people doing terribly self-destructive things in the name of "God".

What really robs the story of it's brain cells are key questions; 1) Matt gets his wristbands stolen from a father and son who use them to get into town. So security just lets anyone in and scans a wristband with no further verification or name matching system? 2) Matt manages to get in to the visitor center to try to get a temporary wristband. Apparently there's no system in place to look up people who belong there. Matt's driver's license means nothing? 3) The visitors center agent says Matt needs a sponsor to get back in who's lived there for at least 6 months (for plot reasons) so Nora and Kevin can't help so they get the crazy firefighter father who then refuses to help. WHY wouldn't Matt have just called the pastor at the church who previously sponsored him??? 4) After Matt gets kicked out again, Nora and Kevin manage to sneak him in through their trunk that the gate agents inexplicably just decide they're too busy to check even though that's THEIR ENTIRE GODDAMN JOB?? 5) Conveniently on the road, they spot the early father and son who robbed Matt had gotten into an accident and the father died. Matt, being the idiot Job personification that he is, gives his wristband to his vegetative wife and tells Kevin and Nora "Please take care of her", so he can walk out of town with the boy (even after the boy handed Matt back the wristband). WHAT??!!! You're just gonna DUMP YOUR VEGETATIVE WIFE WHO IS ENORMOUS BURDEN ON YOUR MENTALLY FRAGILE SISTER AND HER NEW FAMILY AND NEW BABY JUST LIKE THAT?? 6) Matt/Job/Biggest Idiot, takes the boy out of town and runs into crazy Black firefighter dad and says "I don't want your wristband... and this boy needs help." Matt carries on into the Burning Man-esque shanty town just outside of Miracle to put himself on a guillotine type restraint to free another man.

I know this whole thing is written as some kind of "Oh look at all the suffering I'm enduring for my wife because I have faith in God" episode, but it is without a doubt one of the DUMBEST episodes I hope never to see the likes of in this series again.

So far this season has particularly been examining miracles, whether there's any truth in them and now, just how much people will do for them. Matt believes his wife's baby will only survive if he makes it back to Miracle but the reason he's in this situation in the first place is because a man stole his wristbands to get to the place himself. It brings the subject go light: sure, faith and belief in these things can have a positive effect on you spirit, but the things it'll make you do...

Soon after Matt falls victim to the brutal things people will do because of faith, he starts doing these things himself. To get back to Miracle, he hits a man hard enough to make him fall. Later, he almost leaves the boy alone, his father dead. It's not surprising Matt feels the need to enter the stocks to repent. The story feels too similar to episode three of the first season in some ways-yes, it is making a different point-but it's still Matt going through ordeals that make us feel sorry for him.

My wife keeps asking me why do I watch this show since I can't stand the writing and it seems to take liberty with story lines that go nowhere. Still, I must say that I enjoyed this one. The movement of the story is so fluid and the desperation to get back in and learn how important being "in" is rings home true to anyone in similar circumstances. The acting was also superb, in my opinion. I will not spoil the end but it give rise to many inner questions of self sacrifice, love, religion, and guilt. I wonder if anyone out there truly can look at the series and say that they fully understand it but this was a good episode.

Pointless, illogical, draining.

Characters actions make no sense. Nothing progresses.

What happened in this episode, first we found out that the reverend's wife is pregnant. Well they have been trying for 10 years, and nothing, but first night at Miracle she wakes up, they have sex and boom, a miracle happens. Okay, after that the reverend got attacked by a man and his wristband was stolen. Now, come on. Is a wristband all you need to enter this town? How come when it is scanned the real owners' name does not come up, or a photo of the wristband's owner? If this is not the real purpose of wristbands what is? This is just lazy writing. Okay, after that the reverend got in the town but the visitor center rejected him. How and why? Dont they have a record of who is residing in town? Actually the reverend was mentioning that there is a identity thief in town, and no one takes him seriously. In a town where security is everything. Come on. Okay after that, a man says "He will die if you don't go in." We don't see him again, who was this man, why was he there, how did he know... And so many questions more. Okay, after that the reverend got deported from the town but finds a way back in. In the back of a trunk? Really? Is it this simple? Just lazy writing at its best. And surprise surprise... The identity thief dies in a car crash in this town where everybody is safe. A car crash? Really? Even a myocardial infarction would be more reasonable. Lazy. And guess who is first to the scene of accident? Yes of course, the reverend and Kevin and Nora. So, they got their wristbands back. Okay, after that, guess who arrives to the scene of accident second? Yes, the furious firefighter. The man who gets aways with breaking and enterings, arsons, assaults... Who is this guy? Even the punisher hides from law time to time. Why does not anyone ever report this guy? Okay after that, the reverend suddenly decides to leave his wife, he gives his wristband to the thiefs' child and goes out of camp to punish himself. Why, what for? This is just getting worse than Lost. So many questions and no answers. Just lazy writing.

As I watched this episode I could not believe how lazy the writing is. You really need to switch your brain off while watching. As posters have mentioned previously, there is so much in this episode that does not make any sense whatsoever. For example, Do you expect us to believe that despite all the security to get into Miracle, the wristband is the be all and end all? There is no checking on whether the wristband is with the correct person? Crazy! The character of Matt makes so many stupid decisions so as to progress the story but in reality it affects the believability of the story. I really like this tv series. It's got a lot going for it but this episode was simply ridiculously stupid.

I am officially out. This show had some intriguing ideas but this episode is the final straw. Just like the worst parts of 'Lost' where the writers just threw everything at the story board, the same mistakes are made here. Jamison isn't making some great sacrifice, he's making idiotic decisions to uphold his sanctimonious and deliusional self-image. Mary is his responsibility and he dumps her on his sister who already has a newborn look after and runs away. It's no great sacrifice, it's idiocy.

I'd heard so much praise for this show and I must say beyond some parts S1, it's not worth your time

All in all this show is ludicrous & nowhere near as clever as it thinks it is.