Hell Bound Outreach
I’m a big HBO fan and I find few things more satisfying after a long week than the opening sequence; a dark screen clicking to life to reveal snowy black & white static as the HBO logo emerges along with an angelic choral hum of “ahhhhhh…”, before it all fades to black. Entire blog articles have been written about the magic of this five second sequence known as the “static angel” within the industry.
We never had HBO at my house when I was a kid, but some of you grew up hearing your pastor refer to the channel’s letters as an abbreviation for Hell Bound Outreach, which deep down brings me even more enjoyment watching it.
Of course nothing lasts forever and you may have heard the news that HBO will soon be rebranded as Max. This seems like an error in judgement on the part of network executives, but we’ll see what happens.
And of all the streaming services HBO is my favorite. They consistently produce content I enjoy (Succession, Barry, The White Lotus, Girls, True Detective, GoT, and many more.)
Even Better than Rodeo Porn
Maybe you haven’t watched all the shows I mentioned above, but I found each of them to be infinitely more enjoyable than Yellowstone, which seems to be the lowest common denominator of today’s average show watcher.
To be fair, we were watching Yellowstone back in 2019 before most anyone else, and the first couple seasons were pretty good, but when we accidently watched season 3 completely out of order and didn’t even realize it, we knew there might be a problem with the storytelling.
I also recall that season 3 was when the show began to introduce what my partner refers to as rodeo porn; five minute clips of dudes riding horses in circles and doing cute little horse riding tricks while country music blares in the background, randomly inserted into show and providing absolutely no insight into why Beth is such a miserable human being or why a sweet, handsome, big-hearted murderer like Rip would fall so deeply in love with her.
Now that we’ve lost a few more subscribers by bashing America’s favorite show we can get into the meat of today’s post.
Jennifer Aniston’s Boyfriend Misses Out on The Rapture
A few years back we discovered a series on HBO called The Leftovers, which follows a group of characters in the aftermath of a global event where 2% of the world's population has mysteriously disappeared without explanation. The event is referred to as "The Sudden Departure."
Everyone is perplexed, particularly the Christians.
And as you might imagine people come up with all sorts of explanations for the sudden disappearance of friends, family, and neighbors. Some take it to the extreme by forming cults or recreating the exact circumstances of the day the disappearance occurred, so as to prevent future disappearances.
Each of the show’s three seasons is unique and surprising, with its own tone and feel. By the end we’ve found ourselves in a completely different place from where we started. The show is very comfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty; leaving the viewer with a certain level of tension as it navigates the mystery of what’s occurred and what might be next.
Justin Theroux is one of the lead stars of the show, and he’s fantastic. My previous exposure to him was limited to the grocery store checkout-line tabloid headlines as Jennifer Aniston’s boyfriend, but he’s far more than that. Theroux is one of the most talented actors working today.
You Might Hate It
The show seems to be polarizing, meaning you’ll likely either love it or hate it.
But I think this type of show matches well with the typical deconstructionist. It’s not spoon-fed, mainstream TV. The characters seem very real, despite their unreal circumstances. At times it’s messy and chaotic, as creativity often requires.
To be clear, The Leftovers doesn’t have anything directly to do with deconstructing, although I do believe it’s right up a typical deconstructionist’s alley.
The Sudden Departure is the catalyst that forces the characters on their journeys. For many of us there were catalysts that sent us on our own paths of trying to understand the world and what we really believe.
In the series the characters attempt to make sense of the Sudden Departure in various ways. Some double down on legalistic religious cults. Some turn to science for answers. Others become nihilistic.
And we see the characters deal with grief and suffering, mirroring the emotional journey many undergo during deconstruction.
The show even takes a shot at exploring what might be waiting for us after we die, and even though their vision of the afterlife is so wildly absurd it shouldn’t work on screen, it actually does, incredibly well. But the shocking part of the show’s vision of the afterlife is not so different that what some mystics have taught: we all get the Heaven we want, and someone else’s Heaven might look like Hell to you.
The Fun is in the Search, Not the Conclusion
The finale of the series is beautiful and well worth the wait for those who get there. I found it very satisfying.
The characters who arrive at a sense of resolution or acceptance in the aftermath of their journeys do so in ways that are very different from what they originally sought.
But some characters never find certainty. And some choose destructive paths in their need for answers.
And while a few of the characters even discover the answer to the show’s biggest mystery, why all those people vanished, in the end that's not really the point.
Just like real life, it’s those characters in the show who move through the mystery with grace and love who seem to be the most fulfilled in the end.
The same is probably true for us.
If we’re doing it right, the search will probably be even more interesting and rewarding than any conclusion.
And even more importantly, getting answers to life’s big questions, even questions about God, or purpose, or what happens after we die, probably isn’t the point of this life.
Make the world a little better for someone else today and remember to enjoy the mystery!!❤️
One of my favorite HBO shows of all time. Good write up.
Thank you for the informative write-up. I had been hearing good things about this show, and your comments have finally tipped the scale. I'm going to take the plunge.