Certified (The Leftovers)

"Certified" is the sixth episode of the third season of the American supernatural drama television series The Leftovers, based on the novel of the same name by Tom Perrotta. It is the 26th overall episode of the series and was written by supervising producer Patrick Somerville and co-producer Carly Wray, and directed by Carl Franklin. It was first broadcast on HBO in the United States on May 21, 2017.

The series is set four years after the "Sudden Departure" – an event which saw 2% of the world's population (approximately 140 million people) disappear and profoundly affected the townspeople. The previous season featured the characters moving to the town of Jarden, Texas, where no one vanished during the Departure. In the episode, Laurie arrives at Australia, intending to help Nora and Kevin in their missions.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.770 million household viewers and gained a 0.3 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received universal acclaim, with critics praising Amy Brenneman's performance, sense of closure, directing, score, pacing and emotional tone, with some naming it among the series' best episodes.

Flashback
Two years after the Departure, Laurie (Amy Brenneman) tends a therapy session for a woman who lost her baby in the Departure. The woman is frustrated that Laurie does not offer anything, with a distracted Laurie just saying "I don't know". Alone at her house, Laurie decides to commit suicide by using pills, leaving a note behind. However, she changes her mind and throws them up. Seeing GR members outside, she puts on white clothing and meets them, wanting to join.

Present day
Two timelines are intercut: In Australia Laurie meets with Kevin Sr. (Scott Glenn) at his new house, wanting to help in his plan for Kevin (Justin Theroux). And in flashback we see her earlier experiences with Nora (Carrie Coon) and Matt (Christopher Eccleston).

In flashbacks: Laurie helps Nora and Matt spy on Drs. Eden (Katja Herbers) and Bekker (Victoria Haralabidou) from a van outside their house. Nora and Laurie have a fight inside the van over Laurie’s lighter just as the doctors leave. They decide to follow the doctors to the ocean, where their machine is held at a truck parked on a highway.

Instead of alerting the DSD, Nora wants to enter the machine, determined to be reunited with her family. Laurie protests, as she is convinced her pain will not be erased, persuading her to report it to the DSD. Nora stands by her decision and Matt stays with her, with Laurie leaving them.

In the present: Laurie arrives with Kevin Sr. and his group as preparations are readied for Kevin's death. She talks with John (Kevin Carroll), Michael (Jovan Adepo) and Grace (Lindsay Duncan) about their new lives. John wants Kevin to meet Evie to tell her he loves her, Grace wants to know what happened to their kids and Kevin Sr. wants to know Christopher Sunday's chant.

During dinner, Laurie drugs their meals, causing Kevin Sr., John, Michael and Grace to fall unconscious. Laurie meets with Kevin, admitting to drugging them as she wanted to talk to him before his death, wanting to say goodbye. She confesses that she was pregnant seven years ago, with the baby disappearing during the Departure. She explains she did not tell him, as she felt they already had Tom and Jill in their lives. While confused, Kevin understands her decision. He confesses that he is not afraid of dying, he is actually very curious about his role. Laurie goes, leaving her lighter with Kevin.

Based on advice Nora gave her, Laurie decides to go scuba diving despite an incoming storm. Before doing it, Jill (Margaret Qualley) and Tom (Chris Zylka) call her about a childhood memory. She ends their call by telling them she loves them. She then dives in, leaving her fate unknown.

Development
In March 2017, the episode's title was revealed as "Certified" and it was announced that supervising producer Patrick Somerville and co-producer Carly Wray had written the episode while Carl Franklin had directed it. This was Somerville's fourth writing credit, Wray's first writing credit, and Franklin's fourth directing credit.

Viewers
The episode was watched by 0.770 million viewers, earning a 0.3 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the Nielson ratings scale. This means that 0.3 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode. This was a 17% decrease from the previous episode, which was watched by 0.919 million viewers with a 0.4 in the 18-49 demographics.

Critical reviews


"Certified" received universal acclaim. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 9.77/10 for the episode, based on 17 reviews. The site's consensus states: "'Certified' lays the groundwork for The Leftovers' series finale with a smartly constructed, surprisingly funny episode -- and a poignant farewell."

Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode a perfect "masterpiece" 10 out of 10 and wrote in his verdict, "'Certified' was, ostensibly, a Laurie-centric episode, featuring a fantastic performance by Amy Brenneman, but instead of pushing her outwards as the show's once self-exiled ghost, it drew her into everyone's lives as she interred her own broken psyche into everyone else's craziness and seemed to find a macabre peace in all of it. A breathtaking chapter that, for the most part, was a sly, devilish comedy."

Joshua Alston of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A" grade and wrote, "Ultimately, it's the best hour of television in a season that has been full of high points, including last week's Matt-centric lion sex boat murder mystery. Amy Brenneman has delivered amazing work throughout the series, but in season two she ceded the spotlight to Carrie Coon and Regina King, and even Liv Tyler to a certain degree. This episode is the tribute the actress and the character both deserve, and it's replete with beautiful images from director Carl Franklin. This is one of the episodes people will name when they're talking about how wonderful this show was, and almost none of those fond memories will sound like the episodic logline."

Alan Sepinwall of Uproxx wrote, "'Certified' is an enigmatic episode to match its heroine — even the title could be read as either referring specifically to Laurie’s dive certification, or to the colloquial term for someone who's mentally ill." Jeff Labrecque of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "In 'Certified', Laurie faces a reckoning. She's built a new life for herself with John, but the cracks caused by the Departure never healed."

Sean T. Collins of Vulture gave the episode a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "What an extraordinary show." Nick Harley of Den of Geek wrote, "Whether her loved ones were able to provide enough meaning for her life remains to be seen, but something tells me Laurie will resurface from the water. The real question is whether or not Kevin will."

Matt Brennan of Paste gave the episode a 9.4 out of 10 wrote, "What she cannot do, with that forlorn glance back at Nora and Matt, or that tearful farewell to Kevin, is shake the fear — the one we all share — that it adds up to much less than she'd hoped, and as such 'Certified' counts as The Leftovers' most sorrowful hour, a headlong dive into one woman's confrontation with meaninglessness itself." Noel Murray of The New York Times wrote, "Kevin Garvey, Jr. and his friends and family - and, possibly, Lindelof and Perrotta - are feeling no small sense of urgency, as well as the impulse to do something significant with the time they have left."

Accolades
TVLine named Amy Brenneman as an honorable mention as the "Performer of the Week" for the week of May 27, 2017, for her performance in the episode. The site wrote, "Perhaps stupidly, we didn't realize that, when The Leftovers' Laurie said goodbye to ex-husband Kevin in 'Certified', she was doing so as much because she was planning to end her own life as expecting his suicide mission to succeed in killing him. Nonetheless, we were shattered by Amy Brenneman's performance, a master class in subtlety and restraint that only hinted at the emptiness that had for so long haunted her character. At the time we didn't get the full meaning of her reply when he said he wasn't scared of dying: 'Then I'm not scared, either'. But looking back and seeing the weight of Laurie's heartbreaking decision reflected from her portrayer's eyes, we're all the more bowled over by the depth of Brenneman's performance."