Those who tuned in to "The Leftovers" season 2 premiere were treated to a seemingly unrelated opening sequence. If you were one of those who asked what it meant, executive producer Damon Lindelof would be proud of you.
Watch out for spoilers below.
In the first season, 140 million people from around the world disappeared without a trace in an event called "The Sudden Departure." For Lindelof, the characters on the show may not know why it happened. But equally important is their search for its meaning.
"The first 10 minutes of this season are really purposefully designed for the viewer to be asking the same question that the characters on the show are: What does this mean. Why is this here? What am I supposed to derive from this?" he told TV Guide.
Of course, "The Leftovers" season 2 show runner won't be revealing this but he does want viewers to argue about the premiere's opening scene.
Lindelof also teased that the opener could be used again later in the season.
"By the end of the season, hopefully the debate won't be over whether it was necessary or not, but the debate will be what it meant," he told Vox.com, adding, "A theme we're really interested in exploring as storytellers is when you ascribe meaning to something."
Lindelof pointed out parallels in the season 2 premiere's opening scene with what's happening in "The Leftovers" plot.
"An earthquake to a woman in that era is the same as the Sudden Departure is to us in ours. Absent explanation. It can only be perceived as an act of mythic reality, but who is to say that it wasn't?" he said, as quoted by Vox.com.
Catch "The Leftovers" every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET. Season 2 returns with episode 2, "A Matter of Geography" on Oct. 11.
