Avengers: Infinity War explains a lingering mystery from HBO’s The Leftovers

The shocking conclusion of Avengers: Infinity War might just provide the most logical explanation yet for the Sudden Departure on HBO series The Leftovers.

Obligatory spoiler alert. If you haven’t seen Infinity War, what are you even doing here? Stay off the interwebs until you’ve seen it. It’s the one and only surefire way to avoid spoilers. They’re everywhere, my friends. Stay safe. Godspeed.

Poof. With a simple snap of his giant snausage fingers, Thanos just deleted half the population of the universe. It was a quietly devastating affair as all sorts of beings dissolved into thin air, including 50% of our beloved heroes. Black Panther, Peter Quill, Spider-Man, and so many more just ceased to be, their physical and intellectual prowess rendered useless in a horrifying instant.

To fans of the Marvel universe, this moment was a shocking tragedy. But to those familiar with the HBO seriesThe Leftovers, it was a hauntingly familiar sight. The Leftovers’ premise is relatively simple. It takes place in a world in which 2% of the population inexplicably disappeared in an instant. Called the “Sudden Departure”, the event has complicated ramifications that echo throughout the entirety of humanity.

As framed by the Sudden Departure, The Leftovers unfolded as a thought-provoking meditation on spirituality and morality. No one ever really expected an explanation to what happened on that fateful departure day – and the series never provided one – but Infinity War might have finally provided just that.

Thanos’ giant genocide at the conclusion of Infinity War directly echoed the Sudden Departure almost to a tee. While he snuffed out a full 50% of the population instead of the 2% depicted in The Leftovers, a large scale disappearance would certainly have been in the realm of possibility for anyone who held the awesome power of the Infinity Gauntlet.

Related Story: Are Those Deaths in Avengers: Infinity War Permanent?

Oddly enough, the end credit scene of Infinity War eerily mirrors the very first scene introducing the Sudden Departure in The Leftovers. A car careens off into a busy city street, leaving Maria Hill (Colbie Smulders) and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) scratching their heads. Helicopters veer off into skyscrapers, and there’s a general sense of chaos in the air. When Hill and Fury go to check out the car, no one is in it.

Infinity War and The Leftovers also share another indisputable connection. Actress Carrie Coon deftly portrayed the haunted Nora Durst on The Leftovers, but she also lends her distinctive voice to one of Thanos’ minions: Proxima Midnight. Yet, even though Proxima did all she could to help Thanos achieve his goal, she too disappeared in the sinister snap heard ’round the universe.

If this new information had come to light in the world of The Leftovers, the Guilty Remnant wouldn’t have had to feel so damn guilty. The Sudden Departure wasn’t some divine intervention. It wasn’t even performed by a God. It was an action bereft of any meaning except Thanos’ twisted and personal desire to cleave the universe in two, using nothing but a flick of his wrist.

‘Infinity War’ is currently playing in theaters nationwide. ‘The Leftovers’ Seasons 1 – 3 are available for streaming on HBO GO and HBO NOW.