‘Sorry for Your Loss’ Season 2 finale ends with Leigh and Danny still broken as memories of Matt become nightmares after confronting Nina
Spoilers ahead for ‘Sorry for Your Loss’ Season 2 finale: 'I'm Still Here'
The season finale of 'Sorry For Your Loss' turns up two worthy bookends as Leigh Shaw (Elizabeth Olsen) deals with the aftermath of Danny Greer's (Jovan Adepo) revelation about Matt Greer's (Mamoudou Athie) crush on his colleague Nina (Khalilah Joi). The episode also sees the welcome return of Amy (Janet McTeer) as Jules (Kelly Marie Tran) prepares for her trip to Vietnam.
In the beginning of this season, Leigh was aching to "consciously dream" about Matt again. Even her first romantic getaway with Danny was interrupted by a (welcome) vision of Matt. To Leigh, being with Danny has been a way to "share" her memories of Matt (and grief over losing him).
All of this is up-ended with Danny telling her about Nina in the last episode. After Leigh confronts Nina who tells her Matt made her feel "special" and she feels a "hole" left behind by Matt in her life, just like Leigh, she erupts in a rage.
Later, she vents to Drew, her editor, that she hates Nina, hates Matt, hates herself, hates everyone. The episode then tiptoes into the horror genre as Matt comes to her in a nightmare where she has been replaced by Nina at the dinner table and in all the lovey-dovey couple pictures.
Nina is his "special one" rather than her. In a weird way, it is like losing Matt all over again. As Leigh screams silently, Matt looks directly at her and says, "I'm still here." Her heart pounding, she goes downstairs to find comfort in familiar faces only to hear her mom, Amy, telling Jules she is going to sell the house.
Amy, who has been on a journey of her own and freed from the responsibility of being the eternal caretaker, says it is a necessary step for them all. "I built a nest and never let you both grow up all the way because I didn't want to be alone," she tells them, as both of them look a little horrified at losing their safety net.
But for Amy, the nest is a cage that has kept her trapped all these years. Jules has bought a one-way ticket to an indefinite stay in Vietnam. She is finally dealing with "her issues" as Tommy (Briana Venskus) wanted her to. So she, in a way, does understand what her mother is doing.
For Leigh, who is still adjusting to the idea of Matt being attracted to someone else and coping with losing Danny as a friend and lover, Amy's decision couldn't come at a worse time. She is waiting for the next "bad thing to happen".
So when Jules invites her to come along with her to Vietnam, she agrees. The visual bookend sees Amy hugging her daughters, bidding them farewell, just like her daughters bade her goodbye in the season premiere. But when their taxi pulls away and has gone a few meters, Leigh sees a vision of Matt in front of the car.
She gets out of the car and runs away from this vision of Matt (rather than towards him like she has been all season). When she reaches her mother, she dry-heaves and blubbers the words, "Matt won't leave me".
It is the second emotional bookend of the season, as it comes to a close. While both Amy and Jules have grown as people, Leigh is still broken, just like Danny. In an emotional one-to-one, Danny reaches out to his own mom, who is helping him shift back to his apartment.
He knows his behavior has meant he is left with no friends and no Leigh. He tells his mother that like his fractured fist, at first, he was doing fine after Matt died -- right up to the moment when the delayed pain kicked in.
For both Danny and Leigh, who were closest to Matt, the journey through and out of grief will take a little longer.