Heck, HBOs official synopsis for the finale, The Book of Nora, is Nothing is answered.
And then it ends.
I simply have too many questions: What happened to Nora?
Credit: Ben King/HBO
What happened to Laurie?
Will the world end?
Are we done with the penis jokes?
(Or be burnt to a crisp and dumped into the harbor.)
Tracking down and confronting Drs.
Eden and Bekker a second time was apparently all Nora needed to get the green light she wanted.
Back then, he called her the bravest girl on Earth, and he insists the title still applies.
Matt isnt feeling so brave himself.
But at least hes going back home soon, back to Mary and Noah.
Inside the orb, the procedure begins.
Did Nora yell for help?
Did the scientists halt the procedure?
We know she survived.
The penultimate episode certainly recalibrated the shows final arc as a love story.
Like Kevin in his novel, Nora is also tempted to escape.
Not long after she gets home, she decides its time to flee before Kevin can find her.
But its too late.
Hes at the door, smiling at her.
The beard is gone, and hes older.
Time has been good to him, though, and hes thrilled to see her.
No apology, no Thank God youre alive.
Hes in Australia on vacation, and he couldnt believe it when he recognized her riding her bicycle.
Which is crap since Nora knows that Kevin approached the nun about her but Kevin isnt caving.
Hes committed to this ruse.
Ifit is a ruse.
I mean, hes so committed to it that it calls into questioneverything.
(UFOs flying out of split-open heads!)
Once hes gone, she bikes to the nearest phone booth and calls her therapist: Laurie.
Laurie didnt kill herself in the Melbourne harbor after all.
Nora hangs up after Laurie says, half-amused, Same time next week.
Back at home, Nora locks every door and window and settles in for a hot bath.
The dance in town isnt just some hoedown.
Its a wedding, and when Nora arrives, its already well under way.
Are we in some parallel alter-world?
I dont want him to be lying to her like this.
She cant believe his strange amnesia, and calls him out on specific events from their courtship.
Nora keeps prodding Kevin with questions that might trip him up, but he parries her time and again.
(Chiefs age is useful to estimate how much time has passed.
So if weve traveled a linear timeline, 16 years have passed.)
Start over, untainted by our past misdeeds, says the groom.
Cheek to cheek, she questions him again: How did you find me, Kevin?
Nora has had enough I cant do this… because its not true and she leaves him standing there.
Noras night is not done.
Though its late, the nun is still awake.
In fact, shes had company (and it wasnt Father Brian).
Boy, that groom really knew what he was talking about.
Nora warns her not to sell that sunny crap to her.
Im not trying to sell you anything, responds the nun.
Its just a nicer story.
Fired up, Nora calls the nun on her midnight guest, but she calmly denies any impropriety.
The nun sidesteps Noras accusations and offers to pray for the safe return of the birds.
Dont waste your breath!
yells Nora, practically stealing aslogan from the Guilty Remnant.
Its tempting to reflect on this scene and make drastic conclusions about howThe Leftoversreally feels about religion.
But screaming at a nun and accusing her of having sex with a biker is probably bad karma.
On her bike ride home, Nora wipes out when her bicycle gets tangled in the scapegoats beads.
Nora and Kevins world lost 2 percent of the worlds population, approximately 120 million people.
But on the other side, their losses were staggering: 98 percent or about 6billionpeople.
It wasnt easy, but she reached Mapleton and found her family.
They were all smiling, she says, when she describes spying on her children from afar.
They were… happy.
And I understood that here in this place, they were the lucky ones.
In a world full of orphans, they still had each other.
And I was a ghost.
I was a ghost who had no place there.
And that, Kevin, is when I changed my mind.
She found the scientist who invented the radiation machine and had him send her back.
She lived alone, kept in touch with Laurie, and doubted that Kevin would ever believe her story.
Why wouldnt I believe you?
He puts out his hand, and she takes it.
Outside, the lost doves return.
What do you believe?
Theres a lot to dissect.
What had Nora screamed right before the radiation procedure was to begin?
Occams razor might poke some holes in Noras story…
Nevertheless, I choose to believe she went through.
Why would I doubt the feasibility of her tale?
Is that the closure she needed?
Because everything weve seen of Nora contradicts that decision.
Even Lauries decision seems at odds with Noras.
The power and pain of a mothers love drove Nora for three seasons.
Dont get me wrong, I still love the ending.
Its an ending, well earned and well told.
Life (usually) goes on, and if youre lucky, theres someone there with you to love.
And then it ends.
