The Leftovers returns to HBO this Sunday, and if you've seen the preview for Season 2, you know that we're going to be visiting a new place with new faces. Specifically, our heroes will leave Mapleton behind and seek refuge in a town that experienced zero losses in the Sudden Departure. Why was Miracle, Texas spared on The Leftovers ? People in this world flock, or more appropriately make a pilgrimage, to this town looking for answers and salvation. Is there something significant about this Texas haven, or is it another dead end?
According to the official HBO press release for Season 2, "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." The press materials also inform us that Jarden is a true anomaly. It is the only town on the planet to experience zero departures. From a literary standpoint, I think it's pretty easy to figure out where the Leftovers writers got that name from for the HBO series. Here's a handy grammatical formula of my best guess:
Jarden = Jardin (Garden) + Eden
The word "jardin" in French and "jardín" in Spanish means garden, yard, or just an enclosed space. So, yes, that definitely points to some divine reasoning for the town being spared. One of the family members that the Garveys encounter in Jarden is even named Evie. We are meant to believe that this is some kind of heavenly paradise. Could this be a chosen town? There has been a lot of weirdness on The Leftovers, but not a whole lot of hope.
However, not to be a downer, but what if it means nothing at all? What if it's just a statistical probability? If two percent of the world's population disappeared, there has to be at least one town that stayed completely intact, population-wise. That's not improbable, is it? I haven't been stellar at math in a while, but I think that checks out. That also seems to gel with the themes of the show. Remember how Eccleston's character set out to prove that there was no sinful or sinless separation between the Departed and the not? The town of Jarden and Miracle National Park probably only raises more questions.
Images: Van Redin/HBO; Giphy
