best episodes of The Leftovers poster

When 2% of the world's population abruptly disappears without explanation, the world struggles to understand just what they're supposed to do about it. This is the story of the people who didn't make the cut.

3 Seasons
28 Episodes
Ended
Sci-Fi & Fantasy Drama
Cast & Characters
episode image International Assassin
9.6/10 (10518 votes)

#1 International Assassin

S2:E8

In the wake of Kevin's desperate decision to vanquish Patti, questions and answers emerge as the world adjusts to the repercussions of what comes next.

episode image I Live Here Now
9.5/10 (9341 votes)

#2 I Live Here Now

S2:E10

Kevin comes clean to a skeptical John about his connection to Evie's disappearance, as Miracle faces an unexpected threat on the fourth anniversary of The Departure. Season Two Finale.

episode image The Book of Nora
9.5/10 (9053 votes)

#3 The Book of Nora

S3:E8

Nothing is answered. Everything is answered. And then it ends. Series Finale.

episode image The Prodigal Son Returns
9.3/10 (7657 votes)

#4 The Prodigal Son Returns

S1:E10

An unexpected ally helps Kevin get out of a jam near the town of Cairo. Meanwhile, an elaborate Memorial Day initiative by the Guilty Remnant plunges the town of Mapleton into chaos. Holy Wayne grants a final wish, Tom copes with his new reality. Nora makes a life-changing decision.

episode image A Most Powerful Adversary
9.3/10 (6783 votes)

#5 A Most Powerful Adversary

S2:E7

Nora gives Kevin and Jill news they weren't expecting. Laurie makes a rash decision that affects the Garveys. Kevin deals with the fallout of Nora's news, and explores his options re: tackling his Patti problem head-on.

episode image The Most Powerful Man in the World (and His Identical Twin Brother)
9.3/10 (7043 votes)

#6 The Most Powerful Man in the World (and His Identical Twin Brother)

S3:E7

On a mission of mercy, Kevin assumes an alternate identity.

episode image G'Day Melbourne
9.2/10 (5963 votes)

#7 G'Day Melbourne

S3:E4

Kevin and Nora travel to Australia, where she continues to track down the masterminds of an elaborate con, while he catches a glimpse of an unexpected face from the past, forcing him to confront the traumatic events of three years earlier.

episode image The Garveys at Their Best
9.1/10 (6911 votes)

#8 The Garveys at Their Best

S1:E9

Kevin tries to suppress his bad habits while tracking down a marauding deer in Mapleton. Laurie receives not-unexpected news amidst a rising sense of foreboding. Tom connects with his past, against his better judgment. Nora has a job interview; Kevin Senior receives an honor.

episode image Certified
9.0/10 (5332 votes)

#9 Certified

S3:E6

Laurie Garvey, a former therapist, must become one again as she heads to Australia to help Nora and Kevin along their paths.

episode image No Room at the Inn
8.9/10 (5978 votes)

#10 No Room at the Inn

S2:E5

Rev. Matt Jamison takes his vegetative wife, Mary, outside Miracle to seek answers about her condition, but their lives take a dangerous detour when he is barred from returning to town. Racing to get her back into Miracle, he struggles to keep Mary safe from desperate tourists squatting just outside the town’s gates.

episode image Lens
8.9/10 (5595 votes)

#11 Lens

S2:E6

Some unexpected visitors get under Nora's skin, and she becomes preoccupied with a burning question about herself. Kevin's predicament becomes impossible to ignore. Erika finds an unlikely ally and reveals some haunting secrets.

episode image Two Boats and a Helicopter
8.8/10 (7455 votes)

#12 Two Boats and a Helicopter

S1:E3

In the face of dwindling church attendance and threats on his life, Reverend Matt Jamison continues to preach his gospel: that many who disappeared in the Departure were sinners and not saints. Matt’s campaign is detoured when he learns he may lose the church to foreclosure, forcing him to launch a desperate, last-minute plan to come up with the cash to keep it.

episode image Guest
8.8/10 (6263 votes)

#13 Guest

S1:E6

Nora goes to New York for the second annual Departure Related Occupations and Practices (DROP) conference, but discovers that someone else has her ID badge, so she searches the convention as a "Guest," and has encounters with a salesman, an author and a rogue attendee.

episode image The Book of Kevin
8.8/10 (5659 votes)

#14 The Book of Kevin

S3:E1

Three years after Miracle, Texas was overrun by the Guilty Remnant, Kevin Garvey has returned to his role as chief of police. Although he seems to have moved past the incredible events surrounding his “resurrection,” the Seventh Anniversary of the Sudden Departure is just two weeks away and many believe another apocalyptic event may come with it.

episode image A Matter of Geography
8.7/10 (5463 votes)

#15 A Matter of Geography

S2:E2

Kevin, Nora and Jill try to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of the Mapleton riots, but problems from the past keep resurfacing. The new Garvey clan finds a fresh start in the safety of Miracle. Nora makes an impulsive choice, while Kevin gets entangled in the Murphy family’s problems.

episode image Don't Be Ridiculous
8.7/10 (5008 votes)

#16 Don't Be Ridiculous

S3:E2

In her official capacity as fraud investigator for the Department of Sudden Departure (D.S.D.), Nora travels to St. Louis to investigate a possible scam that involves convincing the family members of The Departed there’s a way to see their loved ones again.

episode image It's a Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt World
8.7/10 (5299 votes)

#17 It's a Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt World

S3:E5

Convinced it is Kevin’s destiny to be in Miracle for the coming seventh anniversary of the Departure, Matt Jamison impulsively heads to Australia in an effort to bring Kevin home. Unfortunately, God gets in the way.

episode image Cairo
8.6/10 (5777 votes)

#18 Cairo

S1:E8

Kevin fears he’s losing touch with reality after inexplicably finding himself in a difficult situation involving Patti Levin, a leader of the Guilty Remnant. Meg loses control during another encounter with Matt; Jill confronts Aimee about her relationship with Kevin; Nora stands up to Laurie, and finds her privacy invaded.

episode image Orange Sticker
8.6/10 (5095 votes)

#19 Orange Sticker

S2:E4

In the midst of an earthquake, Nora awakens to find Kevin missing and her hopes of safety in their new town dashed. The Murphys are left reeling after Evie’s disappearance. Kevin returns home, but without his memory of the night before or his cell phone, which would link him to the missing girls. Meanwhile, an old enemy makes her return in an unexpected way.

episode image Ten Thirteen
8.5/10 (5188 votes)

#20 Ten Thirteen

S2:E9

A personal loss and subsequent pilgrimage to Miracle offer clues on why Meg embarked on her path as a Remnant crusader. After a fallout with Laurie, Tom seeks to reunite with Meg.

episode image Crazy Whitefella Thinking
8.5/10 (5287 votes)

#21 Crazy Whitefella Thinking

S3:E3

With the clock ticking towards the anniversary of the Departure and emboldened by a vision that is either divine prophecy or utter insanity, Kevin Garvey, Sr. wanders the Australian Outback in an effort to save the world from apocalypse.

episode image Axis Mundi
8.3/10 (5744 votes)

#22 Axis Mundi

S2:E1

Jarden, Texas was renamed “Miracle” after it was discovered that no one had departed. The town has since become a magnet for tourists and people who are convinced it is special and can keep them safe. Among the local families is the Murphys: the father, John, the mother, Erika, and their twins, Evie and Michael. While trying to protect his town from frauds and charlatans, John gets an ominous warning from a man who claims to have psychic powers. Soon afterwards, Kevin Garvey, Nora Durst and Jill Garvey show up in Miracle. This newly formed “family” left Mapleton to start over, but Kevin cannot seem to escape his past. The Murphy family and Kevin subsequently experience a mysterious event that will that change their lives forever.

episode image Off Ramp
8.3/10 (5246 votes)

#23 Off Ramp

S2:E3

Laurie and Tom Garvey’s work to rescue lost souls takes a toll on theirs. Laurie seeks to spread the word about the Guilty Remnant’s dangers, while Tom’s infiltration of the cult uncovers a whole new nest of problems.

episode image Gladys
8.2/10 (5513 votes)

#24 Gladys

S1:E5

Laurie’s resolve is put to the test in the wake of a brutal hate crime. After his latest initiatives to maintain the peace in Mapleton fall short, Kevin turns down an outside offer to rid the town of its problems. Matt brings his pulpit to the street. Meg takes on a new role.

episode image Pilot
7.9/10 (7496 votes)

#25 Pilot

S1:E1

Three years after millions of people – some 2% of the world’s population – vanished into thin air, residents of Mapleton, NY weigh the pros and cons of a “Heroes Day” tribute to the local “Departed.” Attempting to maintain a sense of normalcy in his strained community, police chief Kevin Garvey faces additional challenges at home with his daughter, Jill, who’s lost in a cloud of apathy with her friend Aimee, and son, Tom, who has gravitated to a cult led by the charismatic Holy Wayne. Also of concern is a silent, white-clad group of chain-smoking men and women called the Guilty Remnant, who team up in pairs to stake out people and places around town. As tension in Mapleton escalates, the lives of Laurie, an unexpected member of the Guilty Remnant, and Meg, a recently engaged young woman, converge.

episode image Solace for Tired Feet
7.9/10 (5218 votes)

#26 Solace for Tired Feet

S1:E7

After learning his father has escaped the psychiatric hospital, Kevin orders an APB to track him down. Jill attempts to break an endurance record. Holed up in Indiana, a disillusioned Tom makes an unsettling discovery.

episode image B.J. and the A.C.
7.6/10 (5543 votes)

#27 B.J. and the A.C.

S1:E4

A holiday display goes wanting, sending Kevin scurrying to find out who is responsible. Tom and Christine run into trouble at a hospital and on the road. Kevin retrieves a surprise detainee from a neighboring police station, and receives unexpected visitors at home. The Guilty Remnant put its stamp on the holiday season.

episode image Penguin One, Us Zero
7.4/10 (6134 votes)

#28 Penguin One, Us Zero

S1:E2

In the wake of a series of disturbing encounters, Kevin pays a visit to a therapist. Tom finds himself in a precarious situation with Christine, a favorite of Wayne’s. A frustrated Meg is asked to part with pieces of her past. Jill and Aimee tail Nora Durst, who became a local celebrity when her entire family disappeared in the Departure.

Cast & Chracters

character image Kevin Garvey

Kevin Garvey

Actor: Justin Theroux
character image Laurie Garvey

Laurie Garvey

Actor: Amy Brenneman
character image Matt Jamison

Matt Jamison

Actor: Christopher Eccleston
character image Tom Garvey

Tom Garvey

Actor: Chris Zylka
character image Nora Durst

Nora Durst

Actor: Carrie Coon
character image John Murphy

John Murphy

Actor: Kevin Carroll
character image Michael Murphy

Michael Murphy

Actor: Jovan Adepo

The highest rated episode of The Leftovers is "International Assassin" (S2E8) with a rating of 9.60.

This episode received 10,518 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Penguin One, Us Zero" (S1E2) with a rating of 7.40.

This episode received 6,134 votes.

The highest rated episode is "The Prodigal Son Returns" (S1E10) with a rating of 9.30.

This episode received 7,657 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Penguin One, Us Zero" (S1E2) with a rating of 7.40.

This episode received 6,134 votes.

The highest rated episode is "International Assassin" (S2E8) with a rating of 9.60.

This episode received 10,518 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Axis Mundi" (S2E1) with a rating of 8.30.

This episode received 5,744 votes.

The highest rated episode is "The Book of Nora" (S3E8) with a rating of 9.50.

This episode received 9,053 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Crazy Whitefella Thinking" (S3E3) with a rating of 8.50.

This episode received 5,287 votes.

Name Department Job
John Paino Art Production Design
Jordan Jacobs Art Art Direction
Jonathan Haynes Camera Second Assistant "C" Camera
Albert Berger Production Co-Executive Producer
Carly Wray Production Co-Producer
Damon Lindelof Production Executive Producer
Eugene Kelly Production Executive Producer
John Blair Production Co-Producer
Michael Ellenberg Production Co-Executive Producer
Mimi Leder Production Executive Producer
Patrick Somerville Production Supervising Producer
Peter Berg Production Executive Producer
Reza Aslan Production Consulting Producer
Ron Yerxa Production Co-Executive Producer
Sarah Aubrey Production Executive Producer
Tom Perrotta Production Executive Producer
Tom Spezialy Production Executive Producer
Victoria Thomas Production Casting
Max Richter Sound Original Music Composer

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