Whereas the first two episodes of the series followed protagonist Kevin Garvey, "Two Boats and a Helicopter" shifts perspective to focus on the character of Matt Jamison, an Episcopalian priest causing controversy around the town of Mapleton following the Sudden Departure.
In the years since the Sudden Departure, Reverend Matt Jamison spends much of his time defaming members of the Departed he finds to have committed sin, placing posters around Mapleton exposing the individuals' sordid pasts.
While Matt views this as a noble effort to separate the innocent from the guilty, his actions court frequent controversy from the town's residents, and his church attendance has begun to dwindle.
While going to collect it, Matt gets the idea to acquire the rest of the money by gambling it at a nearby Indian casino, which was frequented by a "sinful" departed relative of one of his congregation members.
On his way back to town, Matt sees two members of the Guilty Remnant being pelted with stones by the passengers of a nearby car.
While unconscious, Matt experiences a series of surreal visions charting moments of his past: his cancer diagnosis, his parents burning alive in a house fire during his childhood, and the car crash he and Mary suffered on October 14, which left her in a vegetative state.
Patti Levin, the GR's local leader, is seen removing the lettering from the church's sign, and makes prolonged eye contact with Matt.
[2] In an interview with Rolling Stone regarding the episode, Eccleston elaborated on his interpretation of Matt's character: ...it seemed pretty obvious to me that a man of God, one who's been left behind in something akin to a Biblical rapture, that there would be a lot of dramatic potential there.
The critics' consensus reads, "Gripping and unpredictable, "Two Boats and a Helicopter" focuses on a single character for its duration, and the result is one of the series' best episodes to date.
Ambrosio additionally praised the brief scene depicting Laurie staking out the Garvey household as "simple and understated" for what it reflected about the character, as well as Max Richter's score, which he called "angelic" and "haunting."
[5] Saraiya pointed to the likely significance of Matt having missed his payment by three days (partly owing to an injury that rendered him unconscious), given that the resurrection of Jesus occurred over the same time period.