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The finale of The Leftovers‘ trailblazing second season airs Sunday, December 6 and by goodness, you really need to catch up. After an uneven season debut in June of 2014, Damon Lindelof‘s supernatural drama completely overhauled the show by changing geographic locations, updating its opening credit sequences, and adding some stellar new cast members. These changes allowed the show to blossom creatively, and evolve into the TV miracle that is Season Two.

Set in the fictional town of Mapleton, New York then Miracle, Texas, The Leftovers follows the aftermath of the sudden and unexplained loss of 2% of the world’s population. On October 14, 2012, 140 million people across the globe inexplicably vanished into thin air, leaving those behind, “the leftovers,” to wonder not only what happened, but why they were spared — if they are even considered the lucky ones. Centered around the dysfunctional Garvey clan, the series aims to solve what happened to 140 million characters we haven’t even met through conflicting ideas of humanity, faith, mental illness, and what it means to be family. It’s gritty, it’s moving, and yes, Justin Theroux is very easy on the eyes, but what makes The Leftovers so gosh darn brilliant isn’t how its sophomore season turned things around for the profound, but how chillingly real Lindelof’s alternate reality feels.

Even if the first season didn’t do it for you, this second effort is more than worth your while; sadly, though, it’s almost over. Below is a handy cheat sheet on what you need to know and how to catch up on the show before Sunday’s highly anticipated finale. For those of you who are very far behind, there are some mild spoilers below.

Who are these people?

To spare you some time, all you need to know about Season Two is that The Garveys — Kevin (Justin Theroux), his teenage daughter Jill (Margaret Qualley), his girlfriend Nora (Carrie Coon), and their adoptive baby, Lily, have ditched Mapleton for Miracle, Texas (aka the only town in the world spared of any departures on October 14). Since Nora’s reverend brother, Matt (Christopher Eccleston), already lives in Miracle, her and the Garveys are able to get into the exclusive suburb and start anew. Almost. Kevin has unanswered, spiritual ties to Guilty Remnant leader, Patti (Ann Dowd), who killed herself at the end of last season. Even though she’s dead and gone, her ghost still lingers. Being that mental illness runs in his family, however, both he and the audience are unsure of Patti’s realness. In case you need a refresher on the GR: they’re a worldwide cult who don white, smoke cigarettes, and stalk those who refuse to join. They believe that the world ended and to carry on as usual is the most selfish crime one can commit. They also really like to mess with people who lost loved ones.

What’s with The Murphys?

When The Garveys arrive in Miracle, they’re invited over by John (Kevin Carroll) and Erika (Regina King) Murphy, who live a picturesque life of faith and acceptance. We soon find out, however, that this blissful, beautiful family has a few buried secrets of their own. Without spoiling too much about The Garveys’ mysterious new neighbors, all you need to know is that the Murphys’ oldest daughter, Evie (Jasmin Savoy Brown), suddenly disappears. This sends the peaceful, perfect town of Miracle into an existential frenzy, calling into question whether The Sudden Departure was, in fact, the only departure. Speaking of which…

What is “lensing” and what’s geography got to do with it?

Remember back in Season One when Nora’s husband and two children departed at the kitchen table? Now, this isn’t a major spoiler if you have yet to see, but in Season Two, a bunch of research students buy her old house for $3 million to study these events. Where the first season failed to give us any reason whatsoever for the disappearing of 140 million people, Season Two aims to solve the show’s greatest mystery with science. There are a couple of theories. One is of geography, which could explain why three people seated in the same vicinity all vanished. The other theory is that of lensing. According to the the Department of Sudden Departures, there are certain individuals, or a singular individual, responsible for the world’s largest tragedy. These people, who are just like you and me (but potentially possessed by demons — not kidding) are vessels for carrying out evil and making others, well, disappear. Think what happens when you look at an anthill through magnifying glass in the sun and you have the gist.

Where are Laurie and Tommy Garvey? And Liv Tyler?

When our cult-crazed mother and son were reunited at the very end of last season, they ditched their respective followings — the Guilty Remnant and Holy Wayne — in hopes of starting their own self-help group. Using Tommy (Chris Zylka) to poach vulnerable members of the GR, Laurie (Amy Brenneman) uses her psych background to get members back on their feet. But like most situations involving The Garveys, things don’t quite go according to plan, leaving the two dead broke and Tom raped by new Guilty Remnant leader, Meg Abbott (Liv Tyler).

Is Kevin really crazy?

Is Patti a figment of Kevin’s imagination? Does he really want to die? Did he have anything to do with Evie’s disappearance that night? We don’t exactly know anything for sure. Though Lindelof could very well pull a Lost on us and have this all be a figment of anyone’s imagination, the good thing is that if we were to accompany Kevin to the very depths of his mind, we already have a taste of what it would be like: sweaty and brooding. But in all seriousness, if you’ve suspended your disbelief thus far, you know that no diagnosis in the world can categorize how the mind will cope with the loss of 140 million people, even if — particularly in Kevin’s case — you didn’t physically lose anyone close to you.

[Catch up on The Leftovers on HBO Now and HBO Go]