A Quickie: Matt's Revelation (The Leftovers)

The Leftovers is a weird show. Stuff happens that makes you just scratch your head. It's also a show that is a little hard to get into but well worth the effort. Today's post will focus on the character of Matthew Jamison.

After the episode "It's a Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt World", I wanted to dive into Matt's character. Specifically Matt's belief in God.

In the Beginning

Matthew Jamison is an Episcopal priest. He lived in Mapleton, New York with his wife. After the Sudden Departure, Matt found himself harassed by the Guilty Remanent. A mysterious group that is intent on making people remember those who were taken during the Sudden Departure.

Matt and Mary, his wife, were in a car crash during the Sudden Departure. This left Mary in a comatose state with Matt looking after her. His love for her never wavered during this time.

Matt eventually made his way to Miracle. The first night there Mary woke up and they did the do. During the second season there is debate among characters if she actually woke up. Some people dismiss the event by thinking Matt was so horny that he violated his wife.
By the end of the second season of The Leftovers it's proven that Mary did wake up that night.

In Miracle

Matt eventually finds out that when he and Mary had sex, she became pregnant. The amazing, miraculous thing about that was she was never supposed to have kids. It was supposed to be physically impossible for her to become pregnant and yet she had.

This was one reason Matt believed Miracle was a special place.

Another thing that made Matt think there was something special about Miracle is the fact that Kevin Garvey has come back from the dead multiple times. For those who haven't yet watched The Leftovers: I warned you that this was a really odd show.

By the time Season 3 of The Leftovers starts, Matt has become obsessed with the story of Kevin Garvey. He believes that Kevin is Jesus, basically. He even writes another part of the Bible dedicated to the man that can come back to life.

This obsession ends up driving away Mary. She doesn't like how Matt doesn't let her cross the city's border for fear she will go back into a coma. Now while this makes sense from a story perspective, I'm just annoyed that after we finally get to see Mary act she leaves the show.

Matt and God's Conversation

Kevin goes with Nora to Australia. He does this because she's doing some investigative work. To Matt this is not good news as the new 'Jesus' needs to be in Miracle on the 14th. He is able to convince two people to come and the third, the ex-wife of Kevin, joins along without Matt's invitation.

Their trip is made harder by the fact of an explosion going off, the scene of why the explosion occurred involves a naked guy and yes you get to see his penis a lot. Matt's group are able to join a private boat where Matt meets a man that goes by the name God.

During their main conversation, at which point Matt has God tied up, it's revealed that Matt is actually sort of selfish in his obsession about Kevin. His selfish streak can be seen to start when he was young. Back then he didn't like how much attention Nora, his sister, was getting. So, being a child, he prayed to God to get the attention he desired.

And as his life went on he did things for his own ends. He did things to get attention. I know some religious people that do use their beliefs for selfish ends. Their beliefs might merely be to get told they're good people. Their beliefs might merely be to feel better than others.

This episode reminded me of the actual world in that respect.

Unrelated to Matt's revelation is something that the characters in this episode didn't pay attention to. David Burton, the man that goes by the name God, was mysteriously resurrected and healed of all wounds in a cave. It might be that by the end of the season/series Kevin will visit that same cave to do his own resurrecting trick.