Who's Coming Back Next Season?

Let the countdown to a second season of mind-numbing misery, frothing dogs, angsty teens locked in refrigerators, cold sweats and night terrors, silent anger, and stories with no closure begin. With the Season 1 finale of The Leftovers finally upon us, it only makes sense that we should already be looking ahead to Season 2 of The Leftovers . Why? Well, because, if we've learned anything about the show as of yet, then we're probably going to have a lot of questions that overflow into the next season. If we're being honest, there's no way in hell that we're getting complete closure from Season 1's finale. It's just not going to happen. There are way too many questions to be answered. (Seriously, what's up with those freakin' dogs, and, more importantly, will Jill ever smile again?).

Although we know that that The Leftovers has officially been renewed for a second season, we're still in the dark when it comes to which cast members are coming back and which will get the axe (of course, we can assume that we'll get some of those answers in the finale). But who should actually continue on with the maybe-Rapture saga? Sure, everyone has a place in the story, but which stories do we actually care about? Here's my take on who should stick around for another season and who should mysteriously vanish:

You can't leave yet — you've got some explaining to do.

Kevin Garvey

Oh, you sweatpant-wearing, beer-guzzling cop — you can stick around for as long as you want. Basically, if you don't like Kevin Garvey, then The Leftovers probably isn't for you. He's just as clueless as we are, but we're able to figure out what the hell is going on thanks to him (because when he stumbles across something, we stumble across something). Plus, he can't leave yet because we seriously need to figure out what's going on with his hallucinations and blackouts.

Laurie Garvey

Man, oh, man. After that penultimate episode where we found out that one of the two-percent of people who vanished was her unborn child, well, things got even more real. Laurie has consistently been someone who pulls at the viewers' heartstrings, and that's definitely a character that needs to stick around in this fucked-up fictional world.

Nora Durst

Yeah, Nora definitely needs to stay. She's on a mission to be happy again and she'll do anything to achieve that, which means that she's got a whole lot more crazy to show us. Who knows, maybe she'll tell Kevin about her little I-like-to-pay-call-girls-to-shoot-me secret.

Dean

Dean should probably stick around, mostly because we know pretty much nothing about him, and he knows pretty much everything about everyone else. Also, he seems to be the only person that knows what's up with those dogs, and that's definitely a question that needs to be answered.

Kevin Garvey, Sr.

Garvey, Sr. might be crazy or, and this is a big or, he might have some weird connection with The Departed, which means that he could possibly shed some light on the entire show.

Jill Garvey

I can't believe I'm saying this, but Jill has finally grown on me. Sure, I definitely wanted to punch her in the face every time she whined or gave a cold shoulder to her dad, but underneath all of that angst, she really cares. Plus, if she leaves, Kevin will have no one except I-Want-To-Sleep-With-Your-Dad Aimee, and that's no good.

Eh, maybe you should stick around.

Matt Jamison

I've definitely had enough of Matt preaching at everyone and making his flyers, but he's a good side character to have on the show. At least he has some explanation about what happened to The Departed, which is much more than I can say about anyone else on the show.

Bye-bye, see ya never.

Meg Abbott

Sorry, Meg — you and your pearls need to say goodbye. Although she might have been necessary to keep around because she was basically the only Guilty Remnant speaking, her story isn't that compelling and she hasn't really done anything noteworthy. Sure, we know she misses her mom, but doesn't everyone else have that same problem?

Lucy Warburton

Lucy's just a pain in the ass. She never let's Kevin do anything, and she always thinks she's right. What fun is that? And now that she's broken up with Garvey, Sr., she really doesn't have a place in the story.

Aimee & Co.

Ugh, I love the Prius boys, but they're pretty useless when it comes to the plot. Now, if we're talking about comedic relief, they should most definitely stay. And for Aimee? Well, she needs to get her shit together. The good news is that it seems like she's joined the Guilty Remnants so I guess that means we won't have to listen to her talk anymore.

Wayne & Co.

Honestly, Wayne seems like he's on his death bed. The man's given one too many hugs, and now every time we see him, he's all sweaty and delusional. Someone better explain why his hugs are a cure-all, otherwise, he and his pregnant groupies can hit the road.

Tom Garvey

Oh, woe is me. I joined a cult and now I'm a part of some weird pregnancy thing that's being orchestrated by a man who has magical hugs. Buck up, Tom — no one needs to hear your complaining. Unless he brings some big wow factor to the finale, I don't really see the point of him on the show.

Wait, can you come back from the dead real quick?

Patti Levin

After the flashback episode, it was revealed that Patti was seeing Laurie for therapy before The Departed vanished, and she basically said that she could feel that something horrible was about to happen. Her character just had so much more to tell us, and it's a shame that she, you know, stabbed her own neck. However, considering that the show is pretty wonky, who says that she can't come back from the dead?

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