3B — Thursday, January 4, 2018
the b-side
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Arguably 
no 
other 
show 
reflected the uncertainty that 
pervaded 2017 quite like “The 
Leftovers.” Then again, “The 
Leftovers” was never about 
certainty to begin with. It was a 
miracle the series lasted so long, 
given its dismal ratings. But 
what the show lacked in strong 
viewership, it made up for with 
an incredible ensemble cast, 
poetic cinematography and bold 
storytelling. The third and final 
season took “The Leftovers” to 
even greater, more ambitious 
depths, shifting the setting from 
small-town Texas to the plains 
of Australia and intensifying the 
character arc of disgruntled cop 
Kevin Garvey (Justin Theroux, 
“The Lego Ninjago Movie”). 
This 
season, 
in 
particular, 
raised even larger issues of how 
to search for meaning in a world 
on the brink of destruction.
As the seventh anniversary 

of The Sudden Departure — the 
day in which two percent of the 
global population disappeared 
— approaches, Kevin wrestles 
with a Messiah complex when he 
is called upon to save the world 
from an impending apocalypse 
of 
Biblical 
proportions. 
Meanwhile, Kevin’s long-term 
girlfriend Nora (Carrie Coon, 
“The Post”) considers a path 
that could lead her back to her 
family, all of whom were victims 
of the Sudden Departure. The 
friction between the couple’s 
destinies catalyzes a deeper 
exploration of what it means 
to come to terms with our own 
mortality and how to find peace 
in finality. 
In eight solid episodes, “The 
Leftovers” succeeds in giving 
Kevin and every other character 
much-needed 
closure. 
And 
while most of the season was 
heavy on drama, there were 

some lovely moments of levity 
(e.g. a strangely hilarious penis 
gag in the surreal penultimate 
chapter). Some episodes made 
some daring aesthetic choices 
— A-ha’s iconic, upbeat “Take on 
Me” plays toward the end of a 
particularly gloomy scene. Other 
episodes placed an assortment 
of characters in odd situations — 
a trip on a hedonistic cruise ship 
challenged Matt’s (Christopher 
Eccleston, 
“Doctor 
Who”) 
vehemently 
religious 
views. 
However, these unconventional 
detours felt earned in how they 
helped unpack and resolve each 
character’s inner turmoil when 
facing the unknown. As 2018 
begins, we can only trust that 
a show like “The Leftovers” is 
enough to restore our faith in 
humanity.

— Sam Rosenberg, Senior 
Arts Editor

Top TV Series: ‘The Leftovers’ a standout of the year

HBO

FILM

1. “The Leftovers”

Twenty-seven red dicks spray-
painted on teachers’ cars, an 
honor student eyewitness, a clear 
motive and an untrustworthy alibi. 
This is the case the school board 
of Hanover High School makes 
against notorious troublemaker 
Dylan Maxwell (Jimmy Tatro, 
“22 Jump Street”), leading to 
his expulsion. The new Netflix 
mockumentary show, “American 
Vandal” — released in September 
2017 — follows a high school 
journalist, 
Peter 
Maldonado 
(Tyler Alvarez, “Orange is the 
New Black”), in his compelling, 
cinematic quest to prove Maxwell 
innocent. Through the successes 
of Maldonado’s journalistic and 

directorial efforts, the case of 
who drew the dicks becomes a 
nationwide social media frenzy, 
with hundreds of thousands of 
people talking about Maxwell. 
The infectious nature of the 
documentary within the show’s 
fictional 
public 
mirrors 
the 
captivating effect that the story 
and series itself have on its real-life 
viewers.
With its steady climactic twists 
and realistic characters — crafted 
through authentic dialogue and 
logical 
intrinsic 
motivations 
— “American Vandal” delivers 
an-edge-of-your-seat 
viewing 
experience. Although shows in 
the high school realm have the 

tendency to err on the side of 
“Degrassi,” “American Vandal” 
delivers a much more serious, true-
crime feel. “American Vandal” 
capitalizes on the satire through its 
mockumentary-style filmmaking. 
If the crime had been swapped 
with one less humorous — say, there 
was a dead body discovered instead 
— this series would completely play 
out like a true crime piece. At the 
end of the day, this line the series 
cleverly maneuvers between light 
and dark is the factor that really 
sells “American Vandal” as the one-
day binge series that it is.

— Sofia Lynch, Daily TV/New 
Media Editor

2. “American Vandal”

In April of 2016, Donald J. 
Trump was the presumed winner 
of the Republican presidential 
nomination and a TV adaptation 
of Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel, 
“The Handmaid’s Tale,” had just 
been ordered. Though seemingly 
unrelated events, “The Handmaid’s 
Tale” became a vital commentary 
on the shocking nature of our future 
president and a cautionary tale of 
what could happen if we accept 
such disregard for our rights and 
laws without revolt. Just in case you 
were completely cut off from pop 
culture, the Internet or society as 

a whole for the better part of 2017, 
here is some background: “The 
Handmaid’s Tale” is a dystopian 
story in which an oppressive 
patriarchal group reigns over a 
distorted version of the United 
States. Women are stripped of their 
rights and any who are fertile are 
considered handmaids, forced to 
reproduce to preserve the lineage 
of the government.
It is a horrifying tale, yet one that 
reflects on the web of manipulation, 
power 
and 
abuse 
that 
has 
become all too familiar in our 
contemporary headlines. The show 

could not have come at a better 
time and, unfortunately, its motifs 
and messages become increasingly 
more relevant as our time under 
this administration progresses. 
Despite the handmaids’ ultimate 
rebellion at the end of the season, 
there is an ever-looming promise 
that the war is never won. Still, 
at the core there is always hope 
and a constant reminder: Nolite te 
bastardes carborundorum (don’t let 
the bastards grind you down).

— Samantha Della Fera, Daily 
Arts Writer

3. “The Handmaid’s Tale”

Ah, “Stranger Things.” The 
Duffer 
Brothers’s 
(“Hidden”) 
gorgeous, 
hilarious 
and 
terrifying ’80s homage burst onto 
the scene this year in its second 
season. Chances are high that 
the series — which permeated 
through, 
well, 
pretty 
much 
every element of pop culture 
from 
mid-October 
through 
November — was something 
you breezed through on Netflix 
during a cozy, bed-confined 
week around Halloween. The 
fact that “Stranger Things 2” 
became such a quintessential 
aspect of our collective Fall 2017 
consciousness speaks to the 

series quality and its downright 
lovable cast.
Led 
by 
15-year-old 
Finn 
Wolfhard (“It”), the show’s cast 
consistently wooed us with their 
chemistry and sheer charm. 
Starring 
alongside 
Wolfhard 
are his longtime pals Gaten 
Matarazzo (“The Blacklist”) and 
Caleb McLaughlin (“The New 
Edition Story”), both picking up 
right where the show’s debut 
season left off to win over our 
hearts again. Only this time, 
the show’s talented cast does 
it against tougher odds, as 
“Stranger Things 2”’s second 
season strikes a markedly darker 

and more frightening tone.
Our 
nightmares 
of 
the 
so-dubbed “shadow monster” 
and 
a 
demonically-possessed 
Noah 
Schnapp 
(“Bridge 
of 
Spies”) may fade, but our love 
of this charismatic, nostalgic 
group of characters will never 
subside. In a year ravaged by 
chaos stemming from polarizing 
figures, “Stranger Things 2” 
provided 
us 
with 
a 
much-
needed sense of calm through 
its universally acclaimed and 
appreciated cast.

— Connor Grady, Daily Arts 
Writer

5. “Stranger Things 2”

However 
disappointing 
HBO’s summer Sundays were 
in the “Game of Thrones” 
department this year, season 
two of “Insecure” made up 
for it. The fabulous Issa Rae 
— creator, actress, writer and 
personal style icon — came 
back with more confidence 
and attitude than ever before 
in a glorious trainwreck of bad 
decisions. Not uncommon for 
comedies, 
“Insecure” 
came 
into its own in its sophomore 
season. The show found its 
groove with key additions to 

the 
sparkling 
cast, 
honing 
in on a unique voice in the 
writers’ room and soaring the 
storytelling to an all-time high. 
Reeling from a break-up, Issa 
tries to do the “adult thing” in 
season two, but she’s a little 
more damaged than we last 
saw her. Painfully prone to 
overthinking (then again, who 
isn’t?) and saturated with the 
raw awkwardness that initially 
intrigued viewers, our leading 
lady shines as she struggles 
to 
figure 
her 
directionally 
challenged self out. This was 

a season of failed hoe-tations, 
rapping 
mirror 
pep 
talks 
and putting out some not-so-
metaphorical fires. But through 
all 
the 
cringe, 
“Insecure” 
quickly climbed up the ranks of 
2017’s best series and promised 
to keep delivering incredibly 
heartfelt, funny and relatable 
stories. Rae has curated a voice 
that is able to cut through the 
clutter and there’s no telling 
how far she can go.

— 
Danielle 
Yacobson, 
Managing Arts Editor

6. “Insecure”

Top Episodes In Review

“Master of None” has this 
sublime quality; it effortlessly acts 
as a storyteller of the deeply-rooted 
battles of our generation. The 
Emmy-winning “Thanksgiving,” 
written by Aziz Ansari (“Parks 
and Recreation”) and Lena Waithe 
(“Dear White People”), shares 
a 
coming-out 
story 
spanning 
decades 
of 
family 
dinners, 
earnestly based on Waithe’s own 
adolescence. In this 30-minute 
masterpiece, Denise’s (Waithe) 
exploration of her true identity 
is at first repressed by delicate 
pink dresses and a conservative 
Black family instilling in her the 
“proper” way to dress and behave. 

But with her best friend Dev’s 
(Ansari) unending support and 
pop culture’s increasing liberation, 
Denise progressively embraces all 
that she is and prompts her family 
to do the same.
What makes this portrayal all 
the more monumental is the raw 
racial and cultural representation 
necessary 
for 
the 
gradual 
processing of Denise’s revelation. 
Throughout the episode, Dev 
and Denise — two minorities — 
sit anxiously in Denise’s room, 
hopeful once again that Denise’s 
identity will not cause any strain 
on this year’s Thanksgiving. In a 
similar way, Denise’s impassioned 

mother remains skeptical towards 
Denise’s sexuality — not out of 
hostility, but out of concern that 
being a black female lesbian 
will triple the odds against her 
daughter.
Ultimately, this episode tops 
the list because of its honesty 
— in acting, social commentary 
and intimate undertones. With 
a nuanced narration of a real-
life occurrence, “Thanksgiving” 
invites us to journey along the path 
of self-evolution in search of a point 
where things are largely alright.

— Morgan Rubino, Daily Arts 
Writer

NETFLIX
1. “Thanksgiving,”

Despite what meets the eye, 
“Big Little Lies” is far more than 
just another HBO thriller with a 
star-studded cast and high levels of 
intrigue. Nuanced and emotionally 
commanding, the series reminds 
us that even those with seemingly 
ordinary lives can be privy to some 
pretty groundbreaking secrets.
Centered 
around 
a 
recent 
murder 
investigation 
in 
the 
innocuous town of Monterey, Cali. 
“Big Little Lies” leaves viewers on 
the edge of their seats for a majority 
of the season — neither the murder 
victim nor the perpetrator is 
revealed until the very last episode. 

The whodunit suspense is one of the 
series’s greatest strengths, along 
with the fierce, snide and albeit 
sometimes satirically humorous 
portrayals of three rich, white, 
suburban mothers who are not as 
unassuming as they may seem. 
The leading ladies — Madeline 
(Reese 
Witherspoon, 
“Legally 
Blonde”), Celeste (Nicole Kidman, 
“Lion”) 
and 
Jane 
(Shailene 
Woodley, “The Secret Life of the 
American Teenager”) — captivate 
with 
tenacious 
performances 
and dynamic portrayals of some 
weighty social issues including 
domestic abuse, rape and deception. 

Those real-life controversies are 
never glossed over or abridged, 
shaping 
the 
series 
into 
an 
influential commentary on gender 
bias and female politics. The series 
features a highly comprehensive 
and intimate soundtrack, which 
compliments each dramatic twist 
and turn soulfully and sincerely. 
With an unapologetic, deep-seated 
and highly impassioned storyline 
and character lineup, “Big Little 
Lies” is most definitely one series to 
invest your time and conscience in.

— Morgan Rubino, Daily Arts 
Writer

4. “Big Little Lies”

“Master of None”

2. “The Book of Nora,”
“The Leftovers”

Read more online at 
michigandaily.com

Every TV show deserves a 
happy ending — even one as grim 
and ominous as “The Leftovers.” 
Thankfully, 
co-creators 
Damon 
Lindelof (“Lost”) and Tom Perrotta 
(“Little Children”) delivered a finale 
for “The Leftovers” that was equal 
parts immensely satisfying and 
devastating. A clear-eyed, near-
perfect culmination to a clear-eyed, 
near-perfect season, “The Book 
of Nora” felt transcendent in its 
writing, acting, direction, music and 
cinematography. Not only did it offer 
some plausible answers to the many 
ambiguous existential questions 
posed throughout the series, but it 
also gave the show’s arguably most 

afflicted character Nora Durst 
(Carrie Coon, “The Post”) a hopeful, 
redemptive sendoff.
So many striking, poignant 
moments 
populated 
the 
last 
episode: Nora and her brother 
Matt 
(Christopher 
Eccleston, 
“Doctor Who”) exchanging their 
final goodbye, Nora methodically 
sauntering toward the dimension-
switching portal, a reunited older 
Nora and Kevin (Justin Theroux, 
“The Lego Ninjago Movie”) slow-
dancing to Otis Redding’s somber 
“I’ve Got Dreams to Remember.” 
But nothing came remotely close 
to the last ten haunting minutes, 
in which Nora gives a monologue 

worthy of a standing ovation. She 
presents Kevin with an explanation 
to the show’s core calamity: What 
happened to the two percent 
of the world’s population that 
disappeared? 
Kevin, 
though 
deeply heartbroken from years of 
separation, reaffirms her story with 
three beautiful words: “I believe 
you.”

— Sam Rosenberg, Senior Arts 
Editor