The Leftovers Episode 2: Penguin One, Us Zero Recap

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Josh Wigler and Antonio Mazzaro review episode 2 of the HBO series, The Leftovers entitled: “Penguin One, Us Zero.”

Josh mentions he may have liked this episode more than Antonio. But both agree that the premiere was interesting and they were both cautiously optimistic that the show was going in the right direction… but they’re not a thousand percent sure.

Antonio clarifies that he really likes this episode overall but he feels like a lot of the story didn’t really unfold. He thinks this is a Kevin-centric episode. He feels like it is covering not much ground.

What Josh likes about this episode is that it gives a few answers to certain things and starts raising some new interesting questions such as:

Is Kevin Garvey a maniac or not? Is he imagining things?

Josh still thinks that the jury is out even with that ending and even with the fact that the mystery man reveals himself at the Garvey household. He likes that because it’s a really compelling angle for the character and that draws him into Kevin a lot more. He’s really interested in Nora, who is being tracked by Jill Garvey and Aimee and he’s curious to know what she’s up to. He’s weirded out by Wayne Gilchrest and thinks he’s a looneytune. All in all, Josh is very intrigued and thinks it’s an action-packed episode. He likes how this episode answers last week’s ending.

Josh and Antonio are also pondering on whether Kevin is a looney or not. Josh asks Antonio if he prefers calling the mystery man as is or the big bald A-hole. They decide on calling him the BBA. Josh is happy to see the BBA as an important character. He thinks he is interesting, has personality, and has pizzazz. It’s hard for Josh to say whether or not he is real or if Kevin is imagining him because of the mental illness that’s in the Garvey genetics.

Wayne’s story got heated in this episode. Josh really wonders what is going to happen next. Is the insanity over? Are we building up to another interesting event? Antonio agrees with Josh. Josh really thinks Wayne may be “in the know” and him making out with a dead dude is just insane and this gives Josh the pause. Tom’s character is interesting too and it tells us that he’s definitely going through a lot of stuff. Josh is not on Team Wayne for now and Antonio thinks the same too. Josh also thinks someone is definitely going after Wayne.

Josh asks what Antonio thinks about Wayne “using teenage Asians to recharge his batteries.” Antonio says this is not good and Wayne should just get on the Internet. Antonio thinks there is something untoward going on and that Christine is a witness. But other than that, he doesn’t think Christine is special. Josh thinks the same too. Josh also thinks Tom is on the wrong team. He finds it hard to sympathize with Tom and he wonders what drove him to Wayne’s crazy embrace.

Antonio feels good about getting a sense that these people from the Guilty Remnant are trying to leave behind all of the guilt that they felt after October 14 by freeing themselves of possessions that reminded themselves of other people.

Josh is curious what drove Liv Tyler into the arms of the Guilty Remnant. Josh thinks Laurie joined the Guilty Remnant because of Kevin’s unfaithfulness.

Antonio is intrigued with another character, Nora Durst. He wonders why she always carries a gun in her purse. Josh thinks Nora is working directly with Christopher, which is interesting. Antonio thinks Nora has a gun in her purse because she thinks she’s being followed by people.

Josh thinks Aimee is a definitive character on the show. Josh is curious why Aimee was a part of Kevin’s dream in the first episode. Antonio says Kevin is having some interesting dreams including him stepping on a tooth. Josh thinks Kevin definitely has a reason to be anxious.

To cap it off, Antonio feels that we’re wasting time watching Wayne on the show because of how he was introduced this week. Other than that, Antonio is all in on the show and he’s interested in seeing the rest of the stories. Josh also thinks that Wayne has to start connecting to the show pretty soon. Josh doesn’t want to eject Wayne out of the story yet but he sticks to his critique from last week, which is, he wishes that there was a little bit more humor on the show just to break up the doom and gloom that’s going on. Both Josh and Antonio agree that they’re having a good time watching the show.

The Leftovers Review: Recap of Episode 2, “Penguin One, Us Zero”[/caption] Become a patron of Post Show Recaps