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The Best Episodes of The Leftovers

Every episode of The Leftovers ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of The Leftovers!

Binge this in 1d 3h•Peaking at 9.6/10

When 2% of the world's population abruptly disappears without explanation, the world struggles to understand just what they're supposed to do about it. This is the story of the people who didn't make the cut.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    The Leftovers Season 2 Episode 8 - International Assassin
    9.6/10(11742 votes)

    #1 - International Assassin

    S2:E8

    In the wake of Kevin's desperate decision to vanquish Patti, questions and answers emerge as the world adjusts to the repercussions of what comes next.

    Director:Craig Zobel
    Writers:Damon Lindelof, Nick Cuse

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  2. The Leftovers Season 2 Episode 10 - I Live Here Now
    9.5/10(10148 votes)

    #2 - I Live Here Now

    S2:E10

    Kevin comes clean to a skeptical John about his connection to Evie's disappearance, as Miracle faces an unexpected threat on the fourth anniversary of The Departure. Season Two Finale.

    Director:Mimi Leder
    Writers:Damon Lindelof, Tom Perrotta

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  3. The Leftovers Season 3 Episode 8 - The Book of Nora
    9.5/10(10089 votes)

    #3 - The Book of Nora

    S3:E8

    Nothing is answered. Everything is answered. And then it ends. Series Finale.

    Director:Mimi Leder
    Writers:Damon Lindelof, Tom Perrotta, Tom Spezialy

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  4. The Leftovers Season 1 Episode 10 - The Prodigal Son Returns
    9.3/10(8397 votes)

    #4 - The Prodigal Son Returns

    S1:E10

    An unexpected ally helps Kevin get out of a jam near the town of Cairo. Meanwhile, an elaborate Memorial Day initiative by the Guilty Remnant plunges the town of Mapleton into chaos. Holy Wayne grants a final wish, Tom copes with his new reality. Nora makes a life-changing decision.

    Director:Mimi Leder
    Writers:Damon Lindelof, Tom Perrotta

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  5. The Leftovers Season 2 Episode 7 - A Most Powerful Adversary
    9.3/10(7420 votes)

    #5 - A Most Powerful Adversary

    S2:E7

    Nora gives Kevin and Jill news they weren't expecting. Laurie makes a rash decision that affects the Garveys. Kevin deals with the fallout of Nora's news, and explores his options re: tackling his Patti problem head-on.

    Director:Mimi Leder
    Writers:Damon Lindelof, Patrick Somerville

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  6. The Leftovers Season 3 Episode 7 - The Most Powerful Man in the World (and His Identical Twin Brother)
    9.3/10(7825 votes)

    #6 - The Most Powerful Man in the World (and His Identical Twin Brother)

    S3:E7

    On a mission of mercy, Kevin assumes an alternate identity.

    Director:Craig Zobel
    Writers:Damon Lindelof, Nick Cuse

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of The Leftovers

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  7. The Leftovers Season 3 Episode 4 - G'Day Melbourne
    9.2/10(6522 votes)

    #7 - G'Day Melbourne

    S3:E4

    Kevin and Nora travel to Australia, where she continues to track down the masterminds of an elaborate con, while he catches a glimpse of an unexpected face from the past, forcing him to confront the traumatic events of three years earlier.

    Director:Daniel Sackheim
    Writers:Damon Lindelof, Tamara P. Carter, Haley Harris

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  8. The Leftovers Season 1 Episode 9 - The Garveys at Their Best
    9.1/10(7598 votes)

    #8 - The Garveys at Their Best

    S1:E9

    Kevin tries to suppress his bad habits while tracking down a marauding deer in Mapleton. Laurie receives not-unexpected news amidst a rising sense of foreboding. Tom connects with his past, against his better judgment. Nora has a job interview; Kevin Senior receives an honor.

    Director:Daniel Sackheim
    Writers:Damon Lindelof, Kath Lingenfelter

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  9. The Leftovers Season 3 Episode 6 - Certified
    9.0/10(5877 votes)

    #9 - Certified

    S3:E6

    Laurie Garvey, a former therapist, must become one again as she heads to Australia to help Nora and Kevin along their paths.

    Director:Carl Franklin
    Writers:Patrick Somerville, Carly Wray

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  10. The Leftovers Season 2 Episode 5 - No Room at the Inn
    8.9/10(6572 votes)

    #10 - No Room at the Inn

    S2:E5

    Rev. Matt Jamison takes his vegetative wife, Mary, outside Miracle to seek answers about her condition, but their lives take a dangerous detour when he is barred from returning to town. Racing to get her back into Miracle, he struggles to keep Mary safe from desperate tourists squatting just outside the town’s gates.

    Director:Nicole Kassell
    Writers:Jacqueline Hoyt, Damon Lindelof

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  11. The Leftovers Season 2 Episode 6 - Lens
    8.9/10(6134 votes)

    #11 - Lens

    S2:E6

    Some unexpected visitors get under Nora's skin, and she becomes preoccupied with a burning question about herself. Kevin's predicament becomes impossible to ignore. Erika finds an unlikely ally and reveals some haunting secrets.

    Director:Craig Zobel
    Writers:Damon Lindelof, Tom Perrotta

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  12. The Leftovers Season 1 Episode 3 - Two Boats and a Helicopter
    8.8/10(8221 votes)

    #12 - Two Boats and a Helicopter

    S1:E3

    In the face of dwindling church attendance and threats on his life, Reverend Matt Jamison continues to preach his gospel: that many who disappeared in the Departure were sinners and not saints. Matt’s campaign is detoured when he learns he may lose the church to foreclosure, forcing him to launch a desperate, last-minute plan to come up with the cash to keep it.

    Director:Keith Gordon
    Writers:Jacqueline Hoyt, Damon Lindelof

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  13. The Leftovers Season 1 Episode 6 - Guest
    8.8/10(6903 votes)

    #13 - Guest

    S1:E6

    Nora goes to New York for the second annual Departure Related Occupations and Practices (DROP) conference, but discovers that someone else has her ID badge, so she searches the convention as a "Guest," and has encounters with a salesman, an author and a rogue attendee.

    Director:Carl Franklin
    Writers:Damon Lindelof, Kath Lingenfelter

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  14. The Leftovers Season 3 Episode 1 - The Book of Kevin
    8.8/10(6141 votes)

    #14 - The Book of Kevin

    S3:E1

    Three years after Miracle, Texas was overrun by the Guilty Remnant, Kevin Garvey has returned to his role as chief of police. Although he seems to have moved past the incredible events surrounding his “resurrection,” the Seventh Anniversary of the Sudden Departure is just two weeks away and many believe another apocalyptic event may come with it.

    Director:Mimi Leder
    Writers:Damon Lindelof, Patrick Somerville

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  15. The Leftovers Season 2 Episode 2 - A Matter of Geography
    8.7/10(5989 votes)

    #15 - A Matter of Geography

    S2:E2

    Kevin, Nora and Jill try to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of the Mapleton riots, but problems from the past keep resurfacing. The new Garvey clan finds a fresh start in the safety of Miracle. Nora makes an impulsive choice, while Kevin gets entangled in the Murphy family’s problems.

    Director:Mimi Leder
    Writers:Damon Lindelof, Tom Perrotta

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  16. The Leftovers Season 3 Episode 5 - It's a Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt World
    8.7/10(5817 votes)

    #16 - It's a Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt World

    S3:E5

    Convinced it is Kevin’s destiny to be in Miracle for the coming seventh anniversary of the Departure, Matt Jamison impulsively heads to Australia in an effort to bring Kevin home. Unfortunately, God gets in the way.

    Director:Nicole Kassell
    Writers:Damon Lindelof, Lila Pyock

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  17. The Leftovers Season 1 Episode 8 - Cairo
    8.6/10(6371 votes)

    #17 - Cairo

    S1:E8

    Kevin fears he’s losing touch with reality after inexplicably finding himself in a difficult situation involving Patti Levin, a leader of the Guilty Remnant. Meg loses control during another encounter with Matt; Jill confronts Aimee about her relationship with Kevin; Nora stands up to Laurie, and finds her privacy invaded.

    Director:Michelle MacLaren
    Writers:Curtis Gwinn, Carlito Rodriguez

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  18. The Leftovers Season 2 Episode 4 - Orange Sticker
    8.6/10(5601 votes)

    #18 - Orange Sticker

    S2:E4

    In the midst of an earthquake, Nora awakens to find Kevin missing and her hopes of safety in their new town dashed. The Murphys are left reeling after Evie’s disappearance. Kevin returns home, but without his memory of the night before or his cell phone, which would link him to the missing girls. Meanwhile, an old enemy makes her return in an unexpected way.

    Director:Tom Shankland
    Writers:Damon Lindelof, Tom Spezialy

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  19. The Leftovers Season 3 Episode 2 - Don't Be Ridiculous
    8.6/10(5484 votes)

    #19 - Don't Be Ridiculous

    S3:E2

    In her official capacity as fraud investigator for the Department of Sudden Departure (D.S.D.), Nora travels to St. Louis to investigate a possible scam that involves convincing the family members of The Departed there’s a way to see their loved ones again.

    Director:Keith Gordon
    Writers:Damon Lindelof, Tom Perrotta

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  20. The Leftovers Season 2 Episode 9 - Ten Thirteen
    8.4/10(5686 votes)

    #20 - Ten Thirteen

    S2:E9

    A personal loss and subsequent pilgrimage to Miracle offer clues on why Meg embarked on her path as a Remnant crusader. After a fallout with Laurie, Tom seeks to reunite with Meg.

    Director:Keith Gordon
    Writers:Damon Lindelof, Monica Beletsky

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  21. The Leftovers Season 3 Episode 3 - Crazy Whitefella Thinking
    8.4/10(5766 votes)

    #21 - Crazy Whitefella Thinking

    S3:E3

    With the clock ticking towards the anniversary of the Departure and emboldened by a vision that is either divine prophecy or utter insanity, Kevin Garvey, Sr. wanders the Australian Outback in an effort to save the world from apocalypse.

    Director:Mimi Leder
    Writers:Damon Lindelof, Tom Spezialy

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  22. The Leftovers Season 2 Episode 1 - Axis Mundi
    8.3/10(6281 votes)

    #22 - Axis Mundi

    S2:E1

    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. Among the local families is the Murphys: the father, John, the mother, Erika, and their twins, Evie and Michael. While trying to protect his town from frauds and charlatans, John gets an ominous warning from a man who claims to have psychic powers. Soon afterwards, Kevin Garvey, Nora Durst and Jill Garvey show up in Miracle. This newly formed “family” left Mapleton to start over, but Kevin cannot seem to escape his past. The Murphy family and Kevin subsequently experience a mysterious event that will that change their lives forever.

    Director:Mimi Leder
    Writers:Jacqueline Hoyt, Damon Lindelof

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  23. The Leftovers Season 2 Episode 3 - Off Ramp
    8.3/10(5756 votes)

    #23 - Off Ramp

    S2:E3

    Laurie and Tom Garvey’s work to rescue lost souls takes a toll on theirs. Laurie seeks to spread the word about the Guilty Remnant’s dangers, while Tom’s infiltration of the cult uncovers a whole new nest of problems.

    Director:Carl Franklin
    Writers:Damon Lindelof, Patrick Somerville

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  24. The Leftovers Season 1 Episode 5 - Gladys
    8.1/10(6075 votes)

    #24 - Gladys

    S1:E5

    Laurie’s resolve is put to the test in the wake of a brutal hate crime. After his latest initiatives to maintain the peace in Mapleton fall short, Kevin turns down an outside offer to rid the town of its problems. Matt brings his pulpit to the street. Meg takes on a new role.

    Director:Mimi Leder
    Writers:Damon Lindelof, Tom Perrotta

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  25. The Leftovers Season 1 Episode 1 - Pilot
    7.9/10(8285 votes)

    #25 - Pilot

    S1:E1

    Three years after millions of people – some 2% of the world’s population – vanished into thin air, residents of Mapleton, NY weigh the pros and cons of a “Heroes Day” tribute to the local “Departed.” Attempting to maintain a sense of normalcy in his strained community, police chief Kevin Garvey faces additional challenges at home with his daughter, Jill, who’s lost in a cloud of apathy with her friend Aimee, and son, Tom, who has gravitated to a cult led by the charismatic Holy Wayne. Also of concern is a silent, white-clad group of chain-smoking men and women called the Guilty Remnant, who team up in pairs to stake out people and places around town. As tension in Mapleton escalates, the lives of Laurie, an unexpected member of the Guilty Remnant, and Meg, a recently engaged young woman, converge.

    Director:Peter Berg
    Writers:Damon Lindelof, Tom Perrotta

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Best Episodes Summary

"International Assassin" is the best rated episode of "The Leftovers". It scored 9.6/10 based on 11742 votes. Directed by Craig Zobel and written by Damon Lindelof, Nick Cuse, it aired on 11/22/2015. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "I Live Here Now".