Speaking as a fairly resolute non-fan of Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta‘s The Leftovers (HBO), I have to admit that last night’s episode, “Guest,” wasn’t half-bad — the first episode that didn’t leave me irritated or pissed off. Out of the blue I felt suddenly fascinated and even entranced by Carrie Coon‘s “Nora Durst”. I’m telling you right now that I like Coons much, much more than Justin Theroux‘s glum, unshaven, often inarticulate Kevin Garvey, Mapleton’s local sheriff. I’m telling you right now I would be totally down with The Leftovers becoming The Nora Durst Show from here on. (Which of course won’t happen, although it looks like Durst and Garvey will be going out soon.) “Guest” was pretty much all about Durst, who lost her husband and both her children to “the departure” and who works for the Bureau of Departed Persons or whatever the fuck it’s called. She has two bizarre encounters in Mapleton (including a really strange one involving a prostitute, a loaded gun and a bulletproof vest) and then she attends a departure-related conference in New York City as a panelist and discovers some loon is impersonating her. Lots of strange things happen including a scene that results in Durst making out and grinding away with a combination of a fake corpse and a love doll. This is the first big-time role for Coons, who hails from the Midwest and who recently married playwright/actor Tracy Letts.