When Tom Perrotta’s 2011 novel The Leftovers was announced to be in development for HBO by Perrotta and Damon Lindelof, many eyebrows were raised, to say the least. While an impressively original and compelling novel, Perrotta’s book is not one that immediately lends itself to the screen. Or sets itself up for multiple seasons. The book, which functions as a study of the residents of a “perfect” small town in America dealing with the sudden Disappearance of 2% of the world’s population, asks questions about faith, organized religion, spirituality and humanity, and it answers very few of them. Perrotta never even comes close to answering where the Disappeared people have gone. It’s just not important to the book; the importance is what happens to the people they left behind. As demonstrated time and time again, though, piles of unanswered questions usually don’t translate to popular television.

But, somehow, Perrotta and Lindelof have managed to pull off a critically acclaimed series that is equally as beautiful, mysterious and emotionally jarring as the book. With Perrotta at the helm, the changes from book to screen still feel faithful to the source, something that is very rare for most film and television adaptations.

One of the show’s biggest changes is actually, in my opinion, one of its greatest successes. It’s something that elevates the show to an emotional level that even the novel did not reach. It is the character development of the town’s pastor, Reverend Matt Jamison.

Christopher Eccleston as Rev. Matt Jamison

During casting announcements for the show, the casting of Christopher Eccleston as Matt Jamison was one of the most controversial. After all, Eccleston was one of the Doctors, basically making him British acting royalty. And here he was, cast as a very small character from the book.

In the novel, Jamison is almost driven to madness by the Disappearance. As everyone around him claims that the Disappearance was actually the Rapture, he is devastated to think that he would have been left behind. He desperately tries to justify his righteousness by researching the sins of those who were taken and publishing them in a weekly tabloid. If he can prove those who were taken were not righteous, he can prove that it wasn’t the Rapture that happened. If the Disappearance wasn’t the Rapture, he can still believe himself to be a righteous man in the eyes of God. Thus, Jamison becomes a background character and the joke of the town. He stands on the street corners, passing out papers and yelling about the Disappeareds’ extra-marital affairs, struggles with addiction, fraudulent taxes, etc. While he functions as an interesting look into how a man who prides himself on faith is driven to madness by a blow to his sense of righteousness, Jamison doesn’t bring much more to the book as a character.

But the Jamison of the television show is a completely different character, thanks to the combined effort of Perrotta, Lindelof and Eccleston. Immediately, Matt is more accessible by being made the brother of Nora Durst, one of the shows main protagonists (brilliantly played by Carrie Coon in one of the show’s breakout performances). Also gone is Matt’s self-righteousness, something that made him very hard to identify with in the book. This Matt is giving and kind. He never judges anyone. He is one of the only people in town to show charity to the Guilty Remnant, the sinister Doomsday cult that begins tearing apart the town. He remains a loyal friend to Kevin Garvey as Kevin begins to lose his mind, and Matt is the only person Kevin can turn to after committing an unspeakable act. He is a tireless caregiver to his wife, Mary, who is in a vegetative state after a car wreck on the day of the Disappearance. This Matt never offers the self-righteous judgement of the character in the book. Instead, we are shown a man who is not only struggling with his ideas of faith, but also with his sense of humanity. And in a world that seems to have lost all of its humanity, this becomes a very dire struggle.

Matt really stands out in his two solo episodes, one for each season so far. The first, S1E3, sees Matt struggling to keep his church afloat amidst a dwindling congregation and financial troubles. The second, S2E5 (the latest episode to air in the ongoing season), follows Matt’s attempts to get his troubled wife home after a particularly trying day. If you’re sensing a pattern here, it’s because Perrotta and Lindelof are using Matt as a modern day interpretation of Job.

Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” -Job 1:8

In the Bible, the book of Job is the story of a wager between God and Satan. Satan bets God that even his most devout follower would curse him if life was not going his way. And so, by being the most faithful man on Earth, Job is rewarded with the worst trials of life. Job endures loss of property, financial ruin, and the loss of his entire family, but he never turns his back on God.

In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. -Job 1:22

Matt’s first solo episode introduces the idea of Matt as Job. Countless hardships are thrown his way. He hopes that people will return to the church in times of hardships, but the world seems to have lost its faith after the Disappearance. As the bank threatens him with foreclosure, a sign from God leads him to bet all his money at a casino. He wins enough money to save the church, but he soon falls prey to a violent man at the casino. In one of the most gripping scenes of the entire series, Matt is driven to his limits as he fights to get his money back. When Matt succumbs to the temptations brought forth by all of his pain, this episode becomes one of the most intense of the season. Yet, in the end, Matt is able to rediscover his faith despite overwhelming adversity.

This rediscovered faith comes in the face of such hardship that the audience feels an immediate and intense connection with Matt. We have been through so many trials with him, so much more than anyone else in Matt’s life would even know, that we hope beyond all hope that Matt’s humanity is spared. As we watch the people around Matt fall to despair and temptation, his continued struggle becomes a deep lying source of tension.

And that tension builds to a head in the show’s latest episode. Matt and his wife have moved to Miracle, Texas, the only town where not a single person was taken during the Disappearance. Because of this, the town has become a type of Mecca; people of all religions flock to Miracle in hopes of being spared from any possible future Disappearance. The border patrol is tight at Miracle, with violently impatient crowds camped out at the border hoping desperately for a chance to get in. Only people with resident wristbands are allowed to cross the bridge into Miracle.

Matt and his wife leave town for a doctor’s appointment, and a charitable Matt pulls over to help a stranded motorist. But the motorist beats Matt, steals his wristband, and leaves Matt and his wheelchair-bound wife stranded on the road. After Matt pushes his wife for miles to return to Miracle, they are denied entry without their wristbands. And so they are left stranded in the “wilderness,” the strange and threatening encampments of zealots and sinners outside of Miracle. Matt exhausts every option to get into Miracle, but there just doesn’t seem to be any legal way to return home. In scenes very similar to when Job’s friends beg him to turn his back on God for his own sake, Matt must refuse offers of help from friends and family that would compromise his virtue.

Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all of this Job did not sin with his lips. Job 2:9–10

As Matt is faced with more and more trials and temptations, this episode becomes one of the most intense internal struggles ever shown on television. The audience is so deeply invested in Matt’s humanity that it is truly devastating to see him begin to falter.