The season 2 premiere of "The Leftovers" saw Kevin Garvey (Justin Theroux), his girlfriend Nora (Carrie Coon) and his daughter Jill arriving at Jarden, Texas. The town became famous because it was not affected by the Departure, which killed 2 percent of the world's population in season 1. During the first few minutes of the premiere, the episode focused on the town and its citizens, particularly the Murphys, played by Regina King and Kevin Carroll.
It wasn't until toward the end of the episode when the Garveys were shown on screen. In an interview with TVLine, executive producer and co-creator Damon Lindelof said that the second episode will be a flashback to their journey to Texas.
"The second episode is purely through the point of view of the Garveys, and it will start prior to the moment when we see them arrive in Miracle," Lindelof explained. "The audience deserves some of the math that led them there."
In the episode titled "A Matter of Geography," Kevin, Nora and Jill try to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of the Mapleton riots, but problems from the past keep coming back to haunt them. The new Garvey clan finds a fresh start in the safety of Miracle, where Nora makes an impulsive choice and Kevin gets drawn into the Murphys' problems.
It looks like Kevin left some of his problems in New York only to find new ones in Texas. And as the series has moved to a new location, expect that the show's entire theme will slightly change into something a little less dark and a bit more hopeful than the previous season.
"[In the first season], the characters didn't know what to do to feel better. Now I think they're all much more specifically drawn towards, 'What can I do to put this behind me? How can I love again? How can I trust again?'" said Lindelof.
Episode 2 of "The Leftovers" season 2 airs on Sunday, Oct. 11 at 9 p.m. on HBO.
