Jesus Christ what a phenomenal hour of television. I'll come clean, going into this episode I really thought I was going to find it overrated, but I was so wrong on so many levels. As hard as it is, if I had to try to encompass this behemoth of a character study into one phrase, it would be: 'An Anxiety-Inducing Masterpiece'. Seriously had my heart going for the majority of the runtime (along with my mum's), and it was also somehow able to match this blinding intensity with deep themes, symbolisms and fucking masterful character work. To be honest, I'm struggling to find the words to explain how much I adored this episode, but as I'm resident yapper on this platform, I'm gonna damn well try.

You know an episode is fucking incredible when there is symbolism in its fucking title. For those who don't know, the parable of 'Two Boats and a Helicopter' details a man trapped on a rooftop during a flood who repeatedly refuses rescue from a passing rowboat and a helicopter, claiming that God will save him. When he drowns and confronts God about why he wasn't rescued, God replies: “I sent you two boats and a helicopter — what more were you looking for?”  This parable and its story beautifully parallels the events of the series up to this point, as it encapsulates the theme of faith versus doubt, questioning the nature of divine intervention and human interpretation of events, and the idea of whether events are random or orchestrated by a higher power. Just fucking unbelievable, I seriously can't believe the writers are intelligent enough to have THIS level of symbolism in a literal episode title.

Speaking of parables, the one in which Matt reads in the introductory sequences was also rife with beautifully rich thematic value and symbolism. It has Matt addressing his sparsely attended group of church-goers with a parable about a boy who desires attention and later develops cancer, along with a girl named Emily who is in a coma. I'm now going to discuss both of these characters; the boy and the girl, in depth.
The Boy: The parable begins with the story of a boy who craves attention. This desire for attention can be interpreted as a metaphor for humanity's innate longing for significance, recognition and understanding. The boy's quest for attention mirrors the human desire to ascertain the truth behind the 'Departure', but also that want for a purpose and reason, an internal conflict that Matt himself struggles with throughout the episode. However, the parable takes a very dark turn when the boy is stricken with cancer. This sudden affliction represents the unpredictable and uncontrollable nature of suffering in human existence, a direct parallel to the very unpredictable, yet life-shattering, Departure incident. This specific point, for me, mirrors the fragility of life, and highlights how we shouldn't crave materialistic/useless things (such as attention), but rather, live our life with belief and perseverance, before we are inevitably confronted by our own mortality.
The Girl: In direct contrast and juxtaposition to the boy's struggle with cancer, the parable introduces Emily, a girl who is in a coma. Emily's condition symbolizes an instance where she exists in a state between life and death. This is an obvious parallel to the 'Departed', as this seems to be their state, also, from what we've gathered. Also, just as Emily hovers between consciousness and unconsciousness, the characters in the series navigate through a marginal space where the boundaries between reality and illusion blur, such as for Kevin.
Overall, just a stunning introduction to one of the most engaging episodes I have ever witnessed.

Another key moment in this episode for me was Matt's encounter with Nora. Like I said in my last review, in these early stages of the show, it is crucial to implement characterisation for our core cast, and this scene certainly delivered on that front. Matt's interaction with Nora fosters this sense of connection and empathy between them, as they both grapple with the existential questions raised by the Departure. Their brief encounter serves as a moment of human connection amidst the chaos and uncertainty of their respective lives, despite how drastically different they are as people. However, the most crushing and impactful moment in this scene is Matt's revelation that Nora's husband was, in fact, cheating on her when he was 'departed'. This highlights Matt's firm sense of belief in what he does, because his refusal of the money from Nora in order to continue pinning up his posters which out the 'Departed' for who they really were, emphasise his intense determination and refusal to give in to society, no matter how much it tries to stop him. At the beginning of the episode, Matt gets beaten senseless by someone angered by his flyers, yet he persists. And now here, Matt is encouraged by Nora, who is obviously very close to him, to give it up, and just take her money, but his harsh revelation highlights his determined and unrelenting attitude to chase what he believes is right. Just simply amazing character work for both of them, in short.

Another remarkable use of symbolism in this episode for me was that recurring motif of a pigeon. We see pigeons appear in three separate instances in the episode, all in three very different situations, and I'm going to, again, go through them one by one:

1. One Pigeon Outside the Church: When Matt first sees just a single pigeon outside his church, it symbolizes the desolation and isolation he feels in his role as a reverend post-Departure. The lone pigeon mirrors Matt's own solitude as he grapples with maintaining his faith and preserving his church despite dwindling attendance and financial struggles. The solitary nature of the pigeon underscores Matt's sense of abandonment and alienation, highlighting the existential loneliness that lingers over his life. Another more minor point, just as the pigeon stands steadfast outside the church, Matt remains committed to his beliefs throughout the episode, refusing to succumb to anything. The lone pigeon serves as a reminder of the enduring power of faith and the possibility of finding strength in this solitude.
2. Two Pigeons Inside the Casino: The sighting of two pigeons inside the casino introduces a sense of conflict and duality to Matt's narrative. The juxtaposition of the pigeons (that reminder of his faith and pure nature) within the confines of the casino—a symbol of temptation and moral ambiguity—represents the internal struggle Matt faces as he grapples with his faith and confronts the allure of worldly distractions, and underscores the binary choice Matt must make in order to save the church - risk it, or not? The presence of two pigeons serves as a warning of the moral crossroads Matt finds himself at, where he must quickly navigate between right and wrong in pursuit of his goals.
3. Three Pigeons on Top of the Streetlights: Bit of a shorther point here. The number three holds significance in religious symbolism (which there is a lot of here), representing the Trinity in Christianity and the concept of completeness and divine perfection. The presence of three pigeons thus symbolizes a moment of spiritual enlightenment for Matt, as he gains a deeper understanding of his purpose and the path forward, having now had a spark of an idea, as seen by his frantic reaction to looking at his Jesus painting (will talk about this in a second).

Now, just as I said, I'm going to make a quick point on the Jesus painting in Matt's house. The illuminated Jesus painting serves as a beacon of light amidst the darkness that surrounds Matt both physically and metaphorically. As Matt lies on his bed, consumed by despair and uncertainty, the sudden illumination of the painting breaks through the darkness, symbolizing the possibility of hope and salvation even in the bleakest of circumstances. The contrast between light and darkness underscores the transformative power of faith for Matt personally, and the potential for spiritual enlightenment to get rid of the shadows of doubt and despair.

Now, I gotta talk about that casino scene. I see this as the cathartic climax of the episode. We've watched this man who we just met fight tooth and nail to save his church for about 40 minutes now, and (for me) we couldn't be more invested at this point. And boy did Lindelof know how to play with my emotions here, because I was LITERALLY on the edge of my seat through the whole sequence. The intensity, the cinematography, the lighting, the soundtrack, the pacing; everything was literally done perfectly, and this scene served its purpose so well, as my mum and I genuinely audibly cheered when that last ball landed in red. Truly a phenomenal climax, but it wasn't even over yet.

The scene which proceeds the casino win was agonising, I won't lie. It's so obvious to everyone (but Matt apparently) that the guy who talks to him afterwards is trying to rob him, but Matt can't see this, probably because he's on such a high. And after he's been beat up for the second time that day, he decides he's not going to just take it, he's grown since that first beat down, and he beats the living shit out of the robber. It's a brutal scene, which ties into that theme of moral ambiguity really well; Matt won, but at what cost? Perhaps the cost of a life.

And then that whole coma scene was phenomenal. The sequence of tragic memory after tragic memory, masterfully foreshadowing a new addition to Matt's tragedy in his impending loss of the church, is incredibly beautiful but also heartbreaking. It spells out his backstory in a wonderfully simplistic way and outlines to us as an audience why he turned to faith, seeing how cruel the world has been to him. I also just simply love dream sequences, so this scene was just awesome for me personally.

And that crushing final revelation. It was just so heavy. After getting us so very invested in this random pastor's story, he loses it all after all the turmoil he went through. It's absolutely gut-wrenching, and it really solidifies our connection to Matt as viewers, because we've embarked on this journey together, and we now feel invested into his character as an audience. And the irony in that it was Matt's attempted aid of a Guilty Remnant member that sent him into a coma in the first place, and now it is that very same group which has taken away his life now, the thematic merit is incredible. I guess you don't 'get what you give', when all is said and done; the world's just too cruel for that simplicity. Overall, just a wonderfully poetic way to tie up this incredible one episode character study.

And I can't write a review that shatters the character limit without mentioning Eccleston's phenomenal performance. The way he portrays his range of emotions is so well done, so skilful, it was genuinely amazing, and definitely a standout in an episode chock full of standout moments.

Overall, an absolute powerhouse of an episode, genuinely one of my favourite of all time, and one that has made me unbelievably excited for what to come