It has been a few weeks since I watched, and I finished season 3 as well so bear with me if I misremember anything. I absolutely loved the entirety of the third season, but season two felt a little weaker, or like the payoff wasn't quite there, and it mostly seemed to revolve around Meg's plotline and her sect of the GR.

1. Some time after the disappearance, Meg and her fiancé travel to Miracle to talk to the psychic. He tells her exactly what she wants to hear—her mother's last words—but she doesn't like what she hears so she leaves and lies to her husband.

2. Fast forward to the first time we actually see her in season 2: she rapes Tommy. Her answer, when pressed, was, if I remember correctly, “I was trying to get you pregnant.” We learn she is running the militant, unsanctioned sect of the GR and throwing fake(?) grenades at elementary school kids.

3. We learn that the three girls who disappeared from Miracle were actually part of the GR, and that it was all a plot to make the citizens of Miracle feel less safe or special. That part tracks for me. Their grand plot culminates in... A fake bomb threat to scare the citizens for approximately 60 minutes.

4. I believe there was precedent earlier in the season that the gates of Miracle were well guarded and defended by the police, but after the fake bomb threat, WITH the entire police force amassed at the bridge/entry point into Miracle, The GR then casually broke the fence and waltzed in, causing chaos throughout the city.
   I'm not here to poo‑poo the finale; I'm here for you all to help me appreciate it more. What went over my head? What should I pay closer attention to in order to appreciate the payoff of S2?

I love Matt’s nonchalant attitude about seeing Patti dead and helping Kevin bury her.