Meg has never been a happy, complete person.

Her character has remained somewhat of a mystery, at least more of a mystery than any other characters, throughout the entire run of The Leftovers. I'd like to think that's because she died in the book on which it was based when Laurie killed her for the Guilty Remnant cause midway through. 

Well, in The Leftovers Season 2 Episode 9, we learn she was in Miracle, Texas, before it was all the rage for everyone else we know. She was hunting down an elusive secret her mother took with her to the grave.

Ironically, learning that secret, and probably that it was so pointless to have cast such a wide net that took up so much of her time in the hopes of learning something profound, may have sharpened her course into the nasty piece of work we know today.

As with most things concerning Meg, secrets remain. She's impossible to read. But she also drags forward to her others who want to be with her, even Tom. 

I mentioned in my review for The Leftovers Season 2 Episode 3 that I could feel Tom being pulled toward Meg, even if he wasn't exactly sure why. He kept looking at the people surrounding her, half loving them and half hating them. 

When the two of them had a moment to talk, he said he understood why she had a message for him and why she poured gasoline all over him, but didn't understand why she fucked him. Yes, that's the term he used. He didn't use rape, and I felt a little vindicated by that. Tom didn't feel raped, or he would have noted it. There is something going on with these two; whatever it is, he feels her brand of terrorism is more honest than his mother's attempt to disengage the Guilty Remnant by way of deceit.

Whether that sentiment will remain after what he saw in trailer outside Miracle remains to be seen.

The day before the Sudden Departure, Meg's mother suddenly departed by way of a regular ol' death. As Isaac said, that made it no less traumatic, but by the next day, nobody cared about her and her mother because of the Sudden Departure. In an instant, the pain caused by a normal death became less important. A blessing, in fact, because you at least knew where your loved one went.

People can be real shits.

So Meg, a young woman who was already on the edge, snorting coke just to get through a diner lunch with hier mom, make it her life's work to discover the elusive last words her mother yearned to tell her. Whatever they were, she hasn't shared them. Not with her fiance Nathan nor with the audience.

But she was obviously changed for the worse by her experience. Take an already fragile person and pile on top a bit more and you crack. Meg wants to make the world pay. I'm not sure she's really interested in making them remember the departure, like her cohorts. That's why her methods are so different.

Miracle must have stuck in her mind since she first visited. Did she trade numbers with Evie? Have they been in contact all this time? Obviously we will find out as her plan unfolds. That all of the people we know are in Miracle is a mere coincidence, it would seem, that she's targeted it. Or, it could have come to a head when they moved there.

She plans on doing something with the bridge into Miracle, and while my first thought it that they are going to blow it up, why would she tell Matt that they should have done something themselves but were waiting for her? How will they get to Miracle without the bridge? In or out, for that matter? 

It seems we're about to find out, and that will give us the basis for our third season. Either everyone will be trapped in Miracle or outside of it. Flustering the town and throwing them into turmoil to see what it's like for the rest of the world must be a part of her plan, but why would Evie and her friends go along with it? They're now part of the Guilty Remnant, even writing on their tablets. 

Understanding Meg has never been my strong suit, and we will roll into the finale shrouded in mystery. Kevin will be in trouble for her death, but now we have proof she's alive. Somehow that makes the situation a little more dire. 

Where do you stand? What are you expecting from the finale? How well do you know Meg? Can you predict what lies ahead? Share your thoughts with me!

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.