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Midnight Mass Book VII: Revelation
49 Plays3 months ago
We've made it to the end, friends. Revelation is the haunting finale of Midnight Mass, and it does not hold back. Crockett Island is burning, faith is cracking wide open, and every character we've been following is forced to face what really matters when the end finally comes.
In this episode, we're breaking it all down- the shocking choices, the heartbreak, the moments of quiet beauty, and the unforgettable closing scene. We talk about who found redemption, who couldn't let go, and why this ending sticks with you long after credits roll. We discuss the fates of our central characters, and how Mike Flanagan closes the story with both devastation and hope, as only he could do. Listen here, now, on Fans o'Flanagan!
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Fans of Flanagan'
00:00:01
Speaker
Welcome to the island where the nights are long. The miracles are suspicious. And the blood is definitely not wine. We're your hosts, Laura and Noah.
00:00:13
Speaker
This is Fans of Flanagan. We know it's late. But it's time for Mass. Midnight Mass. Midnight Mass.
Diving into 'Revelation', the Final Episode of Midnight Mass
00:00:30
Speaker
Welcome back to Fanzo Flanagan. I remembered to do the intro this time. i'm Noah. I'm Laura. I'm right on time. Good job. And this time we are diving into book seven, Revelation, the final episode of Midnight Mass.
Current Watches and Listens
00:00:45
Speaker
But before we get into that, Laura, are you ready? and i am not. You're not ready? What have you been watching?
00:00:56
Speaker
Nothing special. Not nothing special, but nothing like that interesting. I've been binging the UK version of Ghosts still. It's still entertaining.
00:01:09
Speaker
Nice. little bit of a Matlock. I think it's on Paramount. It's got... Oh no, what's her name?
00:01:20
Speaker
Kathy Bates. kathy I was like, I saw her face and couldn't remember. yeah She's amazing. And so I'll kind of go back and forth between those But that's about it. So nothing too noteworthy.
00:01:34
Speaker
Okay. Have you um been listening to Oathbringer at all? I have. How far are you Not very. I have 43 hours left.
00:01:52
Speaker
That's not even a quarter. Oh, no. It's maybe like an eighth. um But I have, and that's that's with like ah concerted effort to listen to every day.
Podcast Recommendations
00:02:08
Speaker
There's a ah podcast I like that I can talk about. Okay. Okay.
00:02:13
Speaker
It is so cool.
00:02:17
Speaker
Is it Fancy Flanagan? Is it that one? It is. Have you heard of it? Oh my gosh. people They're so fun. um It's called the Magnus Archives.
00:02:28
Speaker
I'll show you their thumbnail. The Magnus Archives.
00:02:33
Speaker
I am looking them up right now. Just look up a ah description. It's so well done. It's kind of episodic, but it also has like a storyline that kind of everything connects and it runs all the way through the series and it's spooky and it's so it's really well produced. I like it a lot.
00:02:55
Speaker
I think you would enjoy it. Okay. And there's tons and tons of episodes.
00:03:04
Speaker
So if you want something to binge... Let me see how many episodes does it have.
00:03:13
Speaker
It's got 368 episodes to date. amazing Yes. if i ever i love binging podcasts and I'm caught up on both of mine. So it sucks having to wait a new week.
00:03:29
Speaker
When you start this one, let me know what you think because I think it's fantastic. Also Radio Rental with Rainn Wilson. That's another of my top favorites.
00:03:41
Speaker
I see here. Yeah. And there are some awesome stories on Radio Rental. Like sometimes I'll just go back and re-listen to some.
TV Shows and Movie Interests
00:03:53
Speaker
But yeah, that's about it for me. Okay. um Not much has changed for me. i We just finished watching the main episodes of Love Island.
00:04:06
Speaker
um And we still need to watch the reunion.
00:04:11
Speaker
<unk> hard which we'll probably do tonight. So after that, I'll be free.
00:04:17
Speaker
And I think we'll, we'll start diving into lost fully and maybe watching some movies here and there. Cause I, I've just, I've been really bad and not watching any movies. I haven't gone to the theater cause it really hasn't been anything that I'm interested in.
00:04:30
Speaker
Right. um um I'll probably go see caught stealing, which is the new Austin Butler movie.
00:04:39
Speaker
What about nobody too? I didn't see that one. i With Bob Odenkirk. That's in theaters right now. I wasn't as invested. if I have time, then I'll go. But I've been really busy with schoolwork and everything.
00:04:54
Speaker
I liked the first one so much. I want to go see the second. Yeah, it was fun. it's The John Wick style movies are always... or as They're entertaining. They are.
00:05:05
Speaker
Yeah.
00:05:08
Speaker
I've been listening to...
00:05:12
Speaker
Oh, I can't remember what it is. It's the second book in the second trilogy of Red Rising. and Dark Age. That's the name of the book.
00:05:23
Speaker
Okay. i've been That's what I listen to. i go on my morning walks. And so I'll listen to that as I'm walking around my little neighborhood.
Music Preferences and Nostalgia
00:05:33
Speaker
Nice. Nice.
00:05:35
Speaker
But something we haven't really talked about before, and since none of us have really been watching anything lately, is music. Like but what kind of music we listen to. And so lately, I've been listening to a lot of ah Rufus Dussault.
00:05:50
Speaker
I don't know if I'm saying that right. um I don't know where they're from. Let me look up and see if I can find them where they're from. Because I don't think they're American.
00:06:06
Speaker
About. Can I go to about?
00:06:11
Speaker
Oh yeah, they're from Sydney, Australia, which makes sense. Oh, nice. But it's sort of like an electronic sort of vibe. I've been really getting into them.
00:06:22
Speaker
Nice. One of my favorite brands bands just recently released a new single called Vampire Bat. The band is Glass Animals.
00:06:33
Speaker
And I've been listening to a lot of Billie Eilish, oddly enough, lately. Oh, yeah. She's got a lot of good stuff. She really does.
00:06:42
Speaker
especially what was the song that I can't stop listening to happier than ever. I've been really listening to that song. That one's a good one, but her, her new album's really good too.
00:06:58
Speaker
So cool. What about you? What kind of what kind of stuff do you listen to? You know what? I've been on like podcasts and audio books and TV shows for so long that I've kind of been out of touch with the music scene.
00:07:15
Speaker
So all of what I listened to when I was very actively listening to a lot of music is from the early two thousands, which is funny because like, I didn't know anybody else that was listening to the same things I was, but now their music is like everywhere on social media.
00:07:33
Speaker
So I loved the white stripes. Oh, okay nobody else liked white stripes, especially their elephant. Um, album and I think the one that came before that too but their music is all over the place on TikTok and Instagram which I think is so funny because I'm like was I just ahead of everybody there's there's a lot of music around that time that is Seven Nation Army was my favorite album yeah that is sort of having a resurgence a little bit
00:08:11
Speaker
Yeah. Oh no, that was on elephant.
00:08:17
Speaker
Yeah.
00:08:21
Speaker
Yeah. Which I think is really cool. Like Jack White is just a phenomenal musician. He has been in a few different groups.
00:08:31
Speaker
um And then ah the other, can't remember who else I was listening to back in the day.
00:08:40
Speaker
Little bit of Green Day, some Rage Against the Machine. hard to remember. You know, i'm going to say something that might get me canceled.
00:08:54
Speaker
oh um I was never a huge fan of Green Day. It was just the one album that like blew up and I was like, this is cool. I was not a 90s Green Day fan. It was just that one album that blew up in 2003, 2004-ish.
00:09:11
Speaker
American Idiot? Yep. Adele. Ooh, yeah.
00:09:20
Speaker
Adele hits. Yeah.
00:09:25
Speaker
Absolutely. I'm looking at my playlist. David Bowie. I've been a fan of David Bowie since the 80s. But you kind of have to, right? It's David Bowie. And Queen, of course.
00:09:36
Speaker
Some of Billy Joel. So...
00:09:45
Speaker
there's there's this young teenage band that I've, I've seen a couple of their videos on Tik TOK. think their band name is like true blood or like young blood or something, something like that.
00:10:00
Speaker
And they're all like early teenagers, but they're in a band together and they all play music and ah like good music. And some of the old, like,
00:10:12
Speaker
I hate saying this, but some of the older music from like the and the early 2010s and having that
00:10:18
Speaker
and having that that aging experience where like, Oh, okay. The kids are going to be all right. They listen to good music. They play good music.
00:10:29
Speaker
I think we'll be all right after all. We have hope for the future.
00:10:35
Speaker
They're playing like gorillas and. Oh yeah. I like that. I like that group too. And like two door cinema club. right
00:10:46
Speaker
There is. Yeah.
00:10:50
Speaker
been obsessed
00:10:54
Speaker
i'll have to send you they're real uh because it's not safe for the air for our platform um but it's drew 5000 they take they take
00:11:11
Speaker
They take like rap songs for like, and I i don't listen to a lot of hip hop and rap anyway. But then they turn it into kind of like old timey music.
00:11:25
Speaker
Mm hmm. But it makes it better, respectfully. Like, I will go back and listen to the original song. I'm like, okay. oh You know these guys? I think I do. Like the old kind of like... um These guys? Yes, I love their videos.
00:11:43
Speaker
They're so It's my favorite. I've been obsessed. Like when I knew it. Yes. yes
00:11:52
Speaker
yeah I love the little ad-libs that they do. They'll add it. It's so good. It's so good.
00:12:03
Speaker
When I need like a boost, I just go listen to them.
00:12:10
Speaker
No, it works. It really works. And I don't know why. It's just great. Did you see the one where they were in a Rolls Royce? I don't think so. So good.
00:12:22
Speaker
That's funny. Yeah, they're great. I'm like, I feel too old to be in this.
00:12:31
Speaker
I don't care.
Analyzing Midnight Mass' Final Episode
00:12:36
Speaker
Well, I think we're ready to move into the bulk of the episode. Here we go. All right.
00:12:43
Speaker
Before we get into the story arc breakdown, you have any notable notables? I think I'm just going to throw them in as we go.
00:12:55
Speaker
um Nothing significant enough that I felt like I need to bring up right now. Obviously, there's really no more foreshadowing because we at the end we're at the Everything's being revealed. This is revelation.
00:13:13
Speaker
so I think we're just going to have discussions as we go. All right. um I counted four. ah sorry. For sure, three, maybe four jump scares in this episode.
00:13:30
Speaker
I counted one, but also I was not, I was really focused on the story again. Yeah. But one for sure. So.
00:13:41
Speaker
i One for sure. i think we have the same, the same one. Probably. i can concede the other. Oh, can think of another one. Yeah.
00:13:54
Speaker
We'll get there when we get there. One of my other notes was I loved the opening shot that we had of the chapel. um If you really look at it, it's not
00:14:10
Speaker
perfectly angled. The chapel is slightly tilted. i don't i don't know if you can pull it up. i think I will. Okay. Cause maybe I want to see if I'm not crazy and there's something there.
00:14:26
Speaker
It's at,
00:14:30
Speaker
well, it's at a minute and 10. A minute and 10. Okay. Like that whole entryway is tilted to the left. And I really enjoyed that detail.
00:14:46
Speaker
Oh yeah. Interesting. Yeah. I love the framing of it. It's just a little askew. It's just a little askew, just a little off. I love the blood surrounding the doorway too.
00:14:59
Speaker
It's a powerful visual for sure.
00:15:04
Speaker
I
00:15:08
Speaker
had another one. Just one more, I think.
00:15:15
Speaker
um I was screaming and um at Lisa and Warren, and it's a trope that I hate so much in movies. Why did they not take the gun?
00:15:29
Speaker
It was right there in front of you. Pick it off the ground. You're not wasting any time getting it. just get the gun. And I, it happens so much in movies.
00:15:42
Speaker
It's so annoying that it's, you're not going to waste any time getting it. It's right there in front of you. Take it with you.
00:15:50
Speaker
It really bothers me.
00:15:54
Speaker
Right. so yeah I think think that's all I had for notable notables. Um,
00:16:04
Speaker
Oh, I also have a potential plot hole, but I can bring it up later. And we can discuss that. Maybe I did too, but I can't remember.
00:16:17
Speaker
can't remember what it was, but I remember sitting there going, wait a minute. So we'll see if I can get my memory jogged. It'd be fine if we had the same one. It would be funny.
00:16:28
Speaker
All right. So we started off with exposition. We begin in the aftermath of the massacre at the church in episode six. And this is where I have the first jump scare. The opening shot is outside of the church um and in at night.
00:16:47
Speaker
And it's got the title card of Revelation, Midnight Mass. And then boom, all of a sudden, Mildred jerks up awake. And it just was like so sudden. And like noise kind of enhanced it. So that was my first drum spear.
00:17:08
Speaker
I won't contest that. All right. Yeah. Most of the islanders have now been turned into vampires and the few survivors, Aaron, Sheriff, Hassan, Warren, Niza, Annie, and um Sarah.
Survival Strategies in Midnight Mass
00:17:23
Speaker
Did I give you one? I believe I got everybody. um Struggle to figure out a plan for survival. We move into the rising action.
00:17:36
Speaker
um Bev confronts
00:17:40
Speaker
She really goes to Sarah's house because she's like, we haven't finished our discussion. Or is it, I think, at Aaron? It was Aaron's house. Okay. and She's like, Aaron, we haven't finished our discussion. I want to talk. And they she throws a Molotov cocktail into the house.
00:17:55
Speaker
And that was my second jump scare. That one got me. That was my jump scare. Yeah. I did not. That was like that was a proper jump scare. Yeah. I was not ready for that at all.
00:18:08
Speaker
I don't know if someone was in the middle of a monologue. Yeah. Aaron was like talking, it was either Aaron or Sarah was talking like really passionately about what they were, what they needed to do or what they were going to do next, which I've forgotten because all of a sudden it comes through the window and it's really startling.
00:18:27
Speaker
I saw a meme on Reddit about this series. It was like every character for the midnight mass and it's a screen grab from the Incredibles of Syndrome.
00:18:38
Speaker
And it's like, you slide dog. You got me behind a walkie. It just made me laugh. It's so accurate.
00:18:51
Speaker
um So she ends up confronting them. Annie sacrifices herself and lets the others get away by, she slices her own neck and it Um, and so Bev and st starch feed on her while everyone else escapes on the back and they begin working to burn every boat.
00:19:08
Speaker
So they can't leave the Island because they figure out pretty quickly that they're going to have to get off. Um, and in order to prevent that from happening, they've got to burn every boat. And so at this point, their goal is not survival. and It is, um, what did I put?
00:19:28
Speaker
yeah, it's to prevent contagion, not to survive is what I said.
00:19:35
Speaker
Um, and Pruitt starts begin to realize that maybe he was wrong and he's having that discussion with Mildred, um, which would have, what a great scene, by the way. Um, that's great.
00:19:49
Speaker
There's so many great monologues in this episode.
00:19:55
Speaker
Uh, then we move in to the climax. I know it seems like a'm moving quickly, but a lot of this takes a, like has a lot of screen time to develop and we can dive further into what happens and,
00:20:12
Speaker
the thematic explanations all of them. But in the climax, uh, the vampires start coming together at St. Patrick's because the sun is going to be coming up shortly. And Bev is like, everyone's going to, uh, meet here at the chapel. Cause that's the only building left that hasn't been burned down.
00:20:34
Speaker
And, um, she starts turning away those that never came to mass. And, um, now want a handout is in her eyes is what is happening and in the middle of this happening sheriff the sheriff aaron and sarah start burning saint patrick's and the rec center and this moves into the following action or um the I believe right when Aaron gets attacked by the angel, after that, we move into the falling action.
00:21:11
Speaker
And as Don approaches the vampires, including the newly turned um Islanders gather on the beach or not, sorry, the beach.
The Climax and Resolution of Midnight Mass
00:21:21
Speaker
They gather at like in the middle of the town.
00:21:23
Speaker
They're not supposed to fight where they're kind of over near the church. Yeah, they might be. mostly um They start singing hymns as the sun starts coming up.
00:21:35
Speaker
Father Paul, or as we know, a Monsignor Pruitt sit together as the sunlight finally reaches them um and they burn away. way And in the resolution, we see Erin sacrificing herself.
00:21:52
Speaker
slashing at the angel's wings to prevent it from flying away, giving the sun a chance to destroy it. Um, and her inner law inner monologue overlaps with this moment, which,
00:22:03
Speaker
So excited to talk about that. um On the boat, Lisa tells Warren that she can no longer feel her legs, indicating that the miraculous healings from Pruitt's blood have faded and life is returning to its natural order.
00:22:21
Speaker
And the series closes with quiet acceptance. The island is gone. The experiment of Father Paul's misguided faith is destroyed. And the survivors are left to live on with the lessons of what happened.
00:22:36
Speaker
And that is the story arc for this episode.
00:22:43
Speaker
um I want to say when Erin's sacrificing herself, I don't know if you saw the remade Nosferatu.
00:22:56
Speaker
But it felt like a scene. do you want me to spoil it for you? Yeah, because I'm not going to watch andt watch it. I've seen enough clips that I'm like, I don't need to. but Spoilers for everybody who... Those are visuals that I don't want.
00:23:10
Speaker
yeah um there's ah suppose for anyone who hasn't seen this frat yet and doesn't want to be spoiled even though the original has been out for ah century at this point
00:23:25
Speaker
but that that moment where erin guides the angel's head to her neck as she's ripping its wings was very um, similar to the ending of Nosferatu as Lily Rose Depp's character,
00:23:44
Speaker
um is serving herself up on a platter for the vampire in order for it to be distracted enough that it's not realizing the sun is rising.
00:23:57
Speaker
interesting. And she she does kind of the same thing because Ms. Frotu raises his head up towards the window and she guides his head back down to continue feeding on her neck. And it's it was very, very similar image-wise and sort of like sacrificial.
00:24:15
Speaker
themes so I thought that was interesting um what do you want to dive into first I love Father Pruitt's exposition as he's sitting with Mildred and they're talking about with their regrets or he's talking about his regrets and then he talks about his motivations and then we understand why he did what he did I love the first thing that he says to her is, did it hurt you?
00:24:45
Speaker
Yeah. And she's like, yeah. Yeah, it did. Yeah, it did. Yeah. Oh, that was so good. You want to talk about more about. um His just overwhelming. He has that.
00:25:00
Speaker
What was. The inciting incident that kind of instilled that fear of death in him.
00:25:09
Speaker
He was talking about traveling. He was, um I want to say somewhere in South America and it was the waterfall and it was just, it was thundering and he thought about death and he quotes a scripture that says or something that God feels every death. Even the sparrow. Even the sparrow.
00:25:31
Speaker
Right. And he linked the waterfall and that together. And it's like, is this what God god hears all the time?
00:25:44
Speaker
Right. I mean, I love the phrase, a deluge of death. Yes. Because it is accurate. Things are dying all the time, but it's part, even though it's part of the natural order, it can't be easy.
00:25:59
Speaker
for God the Father to like have to let things, his creations suffer. And so I think that instilled in him this fear of death and then just the regret of not stepping down from his position in the church to make a family with Mildred.
00:26:21
Speaker
he realized how cowardly that was. Yeah.
00:26:32
Speaker
And he's like, i should have I should have been down there with you instead of watching you from up here. it was heartbreaking. It's really sad. Yeah.
00:26:43
Speaker
And I like how when he's talking about all of that, he's like, I think he's trying to say,
00:26:55
Speaker
I think at first hes he he says something like, if you want an answer that I was trying to convince myself that what I was doing was right by being bringing the angel over here, it's that because he was trying to silence the roar of death so God can hear his prayers or something like that. Because that was part of story. Yeah.
00:27:16
Speaker
God hears like a waterfall of death. He's how can he hear my whisper of a prayer kind of thing? um And he's like, but really, if you asked me what the reason was, it's because he didn't want Mildred and Sarah to die.
00:27:30
Speaker
Right. um
00:27:33
Speaker
And I loved her juxtaposition, her practical, her practicality. She's like, that's what's supposed to happen. We're supposed to fade away.
00:27:45
Speaker
and she lives her life, you know, Sarah, she lives her life and we're supposed to be gone. That's what's supposed to happen. So I wonder if he also kind of wanted to like recreate and start over with them.
00:27:59
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. Right. I think if he doesn't mention that explicitly in this episode, i think it's pretty heavily implied that he. It's pretty obvious. Yeah.
00:28:10
Speaker
even Even though he knew what was happening was wrong and wanted it to end, he I think he still held on hope that they were going to be able to have a new beginning.
00:28:23
Speaker
He's still a little delusional about everything. oh More selfish. Selfish adding to the delusions of what was actually happening versus what how he wanted it to happen.
00:28:39
Speaker
Yeah.
00:28:41
Speaker
i felt ah real another parallel to Star Wars. Okay. yeah
00:28:49
Speaker
And how Anakin's turn to the dark side, it was because of his fear of death as well. So I thought it was kind of, it's just a fun little connection that I made. Cool.
00:29:05
Speaker
I think I mentioned last time, none of it, none of it has a permanent place in my head.
00:29:13
Speaker
The intricacies of of the Star Wars and what his motivations are. aside I'm not saying it was good. It was well done. I'm just saying it reminded me of that.
00:29:29
Speaker
For everyone saying that their favorite Star Wars movie is um was it Revenge of the Sith? I don't understand you. I don't get it. I really don't, but hey, good for you.
00:29:44
Speaker
It's fun.
00:29:47
Speaker
Not for you, though. Sorry.
00:29:53
Speaker
ah Another thing that he said that that
00:29:59
Speaker
made everything the um all the more tragic was it never felt like a sin to be a father to Sarah and to be with her. It never felt like a sin to him. And I think he said something else that I wanted write down.
00:30:12
Speaker
I forgot, but it...
00:30:18
Speaker
it was like, yeah, I don't think it's a sin to love and to have a family and everything like that. And I really enjoyed that. And he's like, I would have thrown it away if you would have asked me to.
00:30:33
Speaker
And she's like, I know that's why I didn't or something like that, which is so stupid. But she was already married at that point. So it would have. Yeah. Very scandalous.
00:30:45
Speaker
But Sarah had a good life. She had, you know, loving mother, loving father. I'm glad she learned at that that very last moment that he was her biological father. And you kind of see it click in her head, like all the things, oh, all of that makes sense now, you know?
00:31:07
Speaker
Mm-hmm. ah Yeah, I love that moment where she's in the chapel, like pouring the gasoline everywhere. i say chapel. I don't know if that's what they call it.
00:31:18
Speaker
ah She's pouring the gasoline everywhere and he walks in and he's like, good. Good. Good. he's like, and before he leaves, he's like,
00:31:31
Speaker
I want to tell you I'm so proud of you. And I'm like, I'm sorry that i never told you or something like that. Right. Yeah. In that moment, it feels like she's always known.
00:31:43
Speaker
at least that's how it's played it out
00:31:48
Speaker
I don't know if she had a him always knew, but I think in that moment she realized, you know, because we can go back to the episode where they're at the potluck, right? And she's like, he's always staring at me.
00:32:01
Speaker
He's always staring at me, you know? And she's in that reference. It's your pastor that's staring at you. And then she's realizing, oh, he's my dad. Yeah. Yeah, but it's a really tender moment when he's like, I've always been so proud of you. i love you so much.
00:32:17
Speaker
And I wish I could have gotten to know you better. And she's like, oh, my gosh. Oh, yeah. Got it. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, me too.
00:32:27
Speaker
And then she shot. by Sturge by Sturge and again Pruitt still still hasn't fully understood the lesson hasn't been learned yet and he tries to save her by feeding her his blood right and she rejects it she spits it out so cool and she's just let me die she's like I don't want this anything but this yeah yeah and
00:32:59
Speaker
I guess we'll continue on with, with that family, the final shot that we get of them on, it's on this like little bridge over like a Creek or something.
00:33:11
Speaker
Right. And he takes off his color and throws it in the water and he's just sitting there with Mildred. he's just a dad sarah and He's just a dad. And um
00:33:25
Speaker
Nothing is said. And that that's the moment that got me in the episode. I wasn't, I don't know if I had cried through any of the season, but that, that moment got me because it's nothing is said explicitly, but I feel a theme of forgiveness in this episode, um like a sub theme.
00:33:48
Speaker
um
00:33:51
Speaker
i he He realized his mistakes, not just, bringing a vampire to the town, but of, of not like having a, like becoming a family and he's, he's, he's asking forgiveness.
00:34:12
Speaker
Um, again, not explicitly. never does that, but he, but he gets that forgiveness, I think from Mildred, from Sarah, from others. And it's that, okay, now I can be at peace.
00:34:27
Speaker
And I think that's where his reckoning comes into. I think the entire spell has been broken when his daughter dies.
00:34:36
Speaker
And then he's not doing what angel wants anymore at all. He's completely free. He's, he's,
00:34:45
Speaker
he understands now like what he did. And so there's that reckoning and yeah, that forgiveness at the end. And it broke my heart when Mildred was talking about her favorite spot.
00:34:58
Speaker
She's like, she loved that spot with the bridge over the creek. And i was like, Oh my gosh.
00:35:04
Speaker
Cause it doesn't matter how old your kids get. They're still like, you're literally, you know, they're still, you're I'm good. Be okay. You'll be okay. Okay. Yeah. Sorry.
00:35:16
Speaker
no it's That was a really emotional moment. It was a great moment. That's the only one that got me. Yeah. yeah If that one didn't get you, I'd be worried about you. It's really powerful. And then it's just them. It's just their like little family at the very end doing the right thing.
00:35:37
Speaker
Finally, he's doing the right thing.
00:35:41
Speaker
And Oh, I liked when they were walking away with her and he just knocks the candles over and he's the one that burns the church. Yeah. But he still atones for his mistakes.
00:35:55
Speaker
Yes. I think that was an important part is... yeah, he may be forgiven, but he still made mistakes. Um, he still caused all of this really, and he's got to, to kind of pay for it, but he, i think that was the price.
00:36:18
Speaker
yeah Yeah. But he accepts it. Right. With, with, with humbleness and meekness and, um,
00:36:27
Speaker
peace. I think is what I wanted to say. So, What do you want to talk about next? um That moment where Bev is trying to create the prophecies and revelations.
00:36:50
Speaker
ah When she and Sturge are outside of Aaron's house and she starts quoting the scriptures from revelations about how a third of everything is going to be burned and the trees and the grass and the people, everything's going to be burned.
00:37:03
Speaker
And so she's, instead of like, You know, what the prophecies really are is like, what is going to happen? She's making it happen. She's twisting it and manipulating it in this specific scenario.
00:37:16
Speaker
Because she's like, this is revelation. So this is what has to happen. And she makes that decision. Everything has to be burned except the safe haven of the church and the community center. Now we get to force everybody to come there. And she's still keeping that control.
00:37:30
Speaker
As we see later, she's deciding who gets to go in and who doesn't.
00:37:38
Speaker
Um, and that ended up being their complete downfall in the end, which is fantastic. Exactly. If she hadn't forced her control, then maybe, maybe they would have made it um
00:37:58
Speaker
Oh, I was going to say something. But yeah, that's that's who she is. like That's her character. it's It's anyone that you've ever come and met that uses religion as a weapon.
00:38:10
Speaker
And specifically where she uses scripture to justify her actions or what is happening. And she can she twists throughout the entire series. She twists scripture to fit her needs.
00:38:24
Speaker
to She uses it. To make herself feel better. as a justification, as a pacifier, as and you know an exp explanation of ah justification and and as, I don't know what the other reason I was going to give.
00:38:40
Speaker
It's gone for me. But yes, she uses it and she twists it to her own her own means for her own reasons. Oh, as a weapon. She weaponizes scripture. So she uses it to justify, to weaponize, and now to manipulate.
00:38:54
Speaker
And if there wasn't any instance from the entire series that...
00:39:01
Speaker
didn't make it clear that that's what she was doing. I think the most notable moment is when Pruitt is like, I'm done. We made mistakes.
00:39:12
Speaker
We're not doing this anymore. And she uses the scripture as a weapon on him and saying, um don't call anyone on earth father, but me, like the father your father in heaven or something like that. I'm like,
00:39:25
Speaker
Okay. But then why were you giving him, why were you basically um treating Father Pruitt as, again, I'm not using the right words. I want to say God, but that's not what I mean.
00:39:40
Speaker
um But she's elevating him. He's the authority figure on that island in that church community. And we see that the inner workings of her mind in that moment where she says, you are my final test of faith. I didn't think it would be you, but it totally makes sense. And then she's quoting scripture.
00:40:02
Speaker
And we see that the whole time she thinks she's the main character. Mm-hmm. She is she's thinking all of this is revolving around her. She's completely selfish. Everything is about her.
00:40:15
Speaker
Everybody else is just a side character in her big story here. That that he's going to be her test of faith. This is all about her.
00:40:27
Speaker
But I like that moment where he stands up to her when she's kicking out the one man. Yes. Yes. And father finally is like, he says no to her.
00:40:40
Speaker
That's, I think maybe that's a moment where he sees who she is truly. Um, Because she she, you know, never had turned against him before, but that in that moment he sees who she really is and he defies her, which she did not like.
00:40:58
Speaker
And that's when she turned on him and said, you're the one that's pretending to be God. How dare you? yeah And very important quote where he says, all are welcome or this isn't really God's house.
00:41:12
Speaker
right and and she's over there trying to limit who gets in who gets who doesn't right and he was still on board with like trying to save the people and that's the moment when he walks in and sarah's pouring the gasoline over everything he has that realization that oh this is over we're done uh-huh this is the end and he's like you know what yeah that's the better choice for this to just end Well, since we're already talking about Bev, I want to talk about her in this episode specifically.
00:41:44
Speaker
um one of One of the early moments is when she's she threw she throws the Molotov cocktail inside Aaron's house. What?
00:41:58
Speaker
what I said Bortles, if you've seen The Good Place. No, I haven't. Oh, never mind. If you know, you know. It's ah it's a Jason thing.
00:42:09
Speaker
hey I've heard it's a good show. It's so good. Yeah. But I already know the twist. Oh. Yeah. Yeah. I don't want to deviate too much, but I actually guess actually guessed it right before, like a few scenes before they revealed it.
00:42:27
Speaker
Yeah.
00:42:32
Speaker
I was like, what if it's, oh, it is. And then they were like, it is. And I was like, oh. oh Oh. Cool. Wow. Dang it. Okay. Anyway, back to Bev throwing fire for Sturge, making Sturge throw.
00:42:46
Speaker
Yeah. He stays her lackey for so long and it's so frustrating. He's got no backbone. Just as culpable as she is because he just does what she says and it makes me so mad. Mm-hmm.
00:43:04
Speaker
It might be me. No, it's my dog. Oh, okay. I had this little pitter patter and I was like, what? It was my dog.
00:43:15
Speaker
Um, anyway, and Annie goes out to talk to her and she says something like, I need you to hear this. You're not a good person. And it's just yeah so simple and it doesn't, you wouldn't expect it to have that sort of edge or that like the, like that it cuts the way it does, but it works so well because that's,
00:43:42
Speaker
i don't I don't know if that's who she's tried to be, but like that's her justification for herself. It just exposes how insecure she is, and she tries to cover it up yeah with being in charge, with being this pious volunteer teacher everything she puts herself in the community to be.
00:44:06
Speaker
and got if um and she And he says, God doesn't love you more than he loves anyone else. And it's oh it hits so much. and i But i I can see sort of how Bev is thinking.
00:44:21
Speaker
Because...
00:44:24
Speaker
if he loves everyone else equally as much as me, what does that mean for me? If he loves the murderers and the rapists and the sinners as much as he loves me, who does that make me?
00:44:38
Speaker
She equates it to being on the same level yeah as them. right Yeah. And she's like, I'm not a sinner. don't do that. i'm a I'm a woman of God. And it's it's like... it's It's such a good moment because it never says anything.
00:44:53
Speaker
It never explicitly says that, but that's what you take away. I love that for her character. and I think it's she's one of the best written characters of the show. People like that that are deeply insecure and overcompensate for that by presenting themselves a certain way.
00:45:11
Speaker
um For example, ah people that have narcissistic personality disorder, i'm not saying Bev is, but people that do. if you If you see them, like really see them, they can't take it.
00:45:27
Speaker
Mm-hmm. They can't handle it. And that's what, that's, that's kind of what it reminded me of when Bev, when Annie was like, you're not a good person. Like, she's like, I see who you really are. And Bev can't take it because she spent her whole life trying to cover up who she is at her core.
00:45:46
Speaker
Yeah. Not trying to change yourself, but trying to cover it up. Right. And per and projecting onto other people and controlling them.
00:46:00
Speaker
And it's the acceptance and it's the humility that would...
00:46:07
Speaker
Oh, what am I trying to say? No, I know exactly what you mean. Keep going. Yeah. It's it's and the accepting of, hey, I'm a flawed person. And the humility being like, i I make mistakes that enables you to have that love or...
00:46:26
Speaker
It doesn't let you receive love, but it makes you more willing to forgive yourself and forgive others. And to change and improve. If you're not humble enough yes yes to realize what's wrong, you're not going to change. And that builds up.
00:46:44
Speaker
And then you be kept so you become someone like Bev. And the only time she says, I'm sorry, I'm not perfect, is when she's about to say something completely demeaning to the person she's talking to.
00:46:56
Speaker
okay I may be wrong, but...
00:47:09
Speaker
i'm trying to piece together what that ending shot of her really, really means for her character and what that resolution means. oh Because she looks over... want talk about that. I don't know if you want to talk about it right now while we're on the subject of Bev.
00:47:26
Speaker
We can talk about now because she looks over at the sheriff at um at his son who are praying together towards the sun. And she looks at them and she just starts crying and sobbing and then she tries to dig into the ground.
00:47:43
Speaker
but and Please talk about it. i think I think she really tried to meet her end with courage. I think she tried. She's standing there on the on the coastline. She knows the sun is coming up. I think she's really trying.
00:47:55
Speaker
But in the end, her cowardice is revealed. And she is trying to, like you said, dig and hide. And I can't remember if it like showed all three of them together in the same shot. But it really is implied that she's kind of close to where they are.
00:48:10
Speaker
but um there's There was one shot, I think, that showed them. Okay. In the same one. Because remember looking over and seeing them. I know she, yeah, it doesn't matter either way.
00:48:23
Speaker
um But there in Revelation in chapter six, verses 15 through 17, it talks about the sinners at the very last day when it's the second coming, which this, these moments where the sun is coming up is, is,
00:48:41
Speaker
a parallel to that. You know, what are you going to do when you're confronted with your demise or your death or, you know, what kind of a person are at the end? It says they're going to hide themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains.
00:48:54
Speaker
And they're going to say to the rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sit us, sit us on the throne from the wrath of the lamb.
00:49:05
Speaker
So in her last moment, she knew she was about to meet her maker and she was not going to
00:49:13
Speaker
every, every, you know, thing she covered up with all her justifications and her reasons and her piousness and her pride is stripped away. And she realizes this and and she realizes who she really is. And she's a coward because she realizes, oh, I'm not a good person.
00:49:33
Speaker
All of that's exposed. This is it. So. And something that's coming to me now is here is a man and his son that she has ah terrorized this entire season by calling them terrorists, um, saying, just demeaning them at every, every opportunity that she can.
00:49:55
Speaker
oh she really goes after him this last episode. the out Yeah. She's like, you're no man of God. That's what she thinks. Like she, he's not a man of God. that kind of thing. And here he is with his son faced with death and he's praying to his God.
00:50:13
Speaker
Right. and And they're together. in with a piece Yes. And she's not, no one too. No, she's she's got no one. She's not praying. shit Like you said, she's trying to hide herself.
00:50:25
Speaker
Right. And that last verse on there says in 17 for the great day of his wrath has come and who shall be able to stand. most of the rest of the town is able to stand and face it together.
00:50:45
Speaker
But yeah, also she was completely alone. Nobody was with her. Nobody. Nobody is with her. Yeah, nobody. Yeah.
00:50:54
Speaker
And I...
00:50:57
Speaker
I don't know if we we want to move into the sheriff and his son. Um, I guess we can, cause they're there. They feel like secondary characters and not much going on, but, um,
00:51:08
Speaker
No, they do have a lot of notable things. ah but Yeah, the moment where, oh, what's his son's name? Ali, i think. Ali, mm-hmm.
00:51:20
Speaker
Where he realizes what that his mistakes were wrong and he sides with his dad and gives him where and throws like the the lighter into the into the rec center.
00:51:31
Speaker
Yeah. I think he was the one pouring the gasoline, too. No, it was the sheriff. I thought he was helping him. I thought he was helping him. Or he wasn't? No.
00:51:42
Speaker
And I don't think he attacked anybody either. i don't remember. i don't i don't think they specifically showed anything.
00:51:53
Speaker
yeah I remember he was like walking around, kind of watching everything happening. And then he saw his father.
00:52:03
Speaker
because they they shot him they shot him then Bev just shoots him twice while he's like talking right yeah it was messed up yeah um what other characters we want to talk about want to save Aaron for the end um
00:52:27
Speaker
you want to talk about like the townspeople as like one I was going to say like the collective, like the mayor and his wife, along with the townspeople. I think they all, oh that moment between Sturge and the other altar boy. Yes, I was going to say that.
00:52:43
Speaker
ah It's that thing of acceptance of, yeah I made a mistake. did We did bad things. And he's like, yeah. And then the ah the one father who was, who he was like, it was heartbreaking. He's like, I don't know what's happening. somebody Can someone just tell me what's happening?
00:53:00
Speaker
I think I killed my wife. I killed my boys. And then Bev mocks him. That was, it was so sad.
00:53:12
Speaker
And it was just kind of like, he was representing everybody who didn't know what was going on. Mm-hmm. um and Sturge, poor guy, he's like, well, he was nice to me. You know, so that's, because Bev was like, why did you bestow this gift on him? He's like, well, he's a nice guy. She's like, only if you had been coming to church, you would have known how to save your family.
00:53:36
Speaker
Just twisting that knife. oh It's heartbreaking. It's so sad. Yeah. And then I think the mayor and his wife came to their own like reckoning. Mm-hmm.
00:53:51
Speaker
And I think that last moment when they're like, where's Lisa? We need to go find her. I think they, they wouldn't have hurt her in that moment. Like they were about to in the church at the very beginning. Yeah.
00:54:05
Speaker
Yeah. As a collective, the town was able to realize we made mistakes and we, we own up to it, but we're going to, we're going end this together with everybody.
00:54:19
Speaker
We're going to have a community of love and and until the end, I guess. Right. When they were singing together at the end, I couldn't hold it together. ah ah couldn't.
00:54:35
Speaker
And I didn't. and it's it's It's a really good hymn, too. it's a beautiful hymn. Um, and I don't know what they did, but they poured some extra juice into into that hymn and we just made it so heartbreaking. Yeah.
00:54:54
Speaker
Yeah. I like the, uh, the one character I don't think we've ever talked about. He's the one that plays the organ. He's just kind of like always, anything i like that guy. I don't know why. I thought he was the altar boy's father, but then it felt like I don't think he was. Sturge was the altar boy's father. i don't know. No, because the altar boy, i can't remember the character's name. He said he killed his parents.
00:55:19
Speaker
But, you know, I think Sturge was involved in the church a lot. And so, you know, you have like a kinship. Yeah. Yeah. And he's like, you okay, kiddo? And I'm like, oh.
00:55:30
Speaker
Yeah. He's like, I think i I killed my parents or something. I did some bad things. Yeah. Yeah. ah they get me again it's not the way you think the end of a show was gonna go but it's the way it needed to and i'm glad it's a huge pet peeve of mine at the end of a movie or a show when the most logical thing is for that main character or or something needs to be dead and then they like save him somehow
00:56:03
Speaker
It makes me so mad because I'm like, can you just be brave enough to like, let them be dead? Which to be fair, they did do in that, uh, that with the last Marvel Avengers movie, like they let Tony Stark be dead. And I was like, thank goodness.
00:56:22
Speaker
Not because I want him to be dead, but because that's what makes sense for the story and makes the rest of it so meaningful. Yeah.
00:56:31
Speaker
And makes the sacrifice a sacrifice instead of finding some way to like save him and do the fluffy, happy ending. I'm glad they didn't. I think it was, this was it The Edge of Tomorrow? It's got Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, where it's like the time loop, Groundhog Day time loop with aliens and tech.
00:56:48
Speaker
Such a good movie. And in the end, he's dead. And i for a moment, I was like, are they actually going to let him stay gone? cool No, then he comes back and I'm like, what's the point?
00:57:02
Speaker
Exactly. It was so annoying. But with this show, it's not, like I said, it's not the way you would expect a typical, which this is not a typical show.
00:57:13
Speaker
It's not typical Hollywood at all. It's not the way you would expect, because you want people to be saved. You want a happy ending. but you don't get it here because that's not what can happen.
00:57:27
Speaker
It is in the two kids that survived. I'm glad there were, you know, I'm glad the kids survived. Yeah. Yeah. There's more i want to talk about.
00:57:38
Speaker
with that but that comes with the themes yeah um we can wait two more characters i want to talk about very briefly are riley's parents i think ed and annie yeah think his name was ed i think so i love that they meet up pretty early in the episode and um
00:58:01
Speaker
they don't They both don't want to to harm anyone else. they They both feel the hunger, but they don't want to harm anyone else. And Ed says, it isn't impossible to resist.
00:58:12
Speaker
It doesn't change who you are. Who you are, yeah. And in that moment, it felt like a very cynical thing for Mike Flanagan to be saying that almost most people are willing to kill and hurt others.
00:58:29
Speaker
like her others um I just think that's sort like a ah cynical way to look at the general population because you only have a few characters that didn't do that.
00:58:40
Speaker
And I don't know if that's something that Mike Flanagan is trying to say or if it's just something specific to the story and he he had to write it in the story. So I don't know what you think.
00:58:52
Speaker
I think they wanted to give some exposition as to why some people fed into the frenzy and some people resisted it. um Do I think that most of that population is is murderous at heart?
00:59:05
Speaker
No. I think they really just didn't know what was going on and they did not have the tools to combat it until... it was kind of over like given that another opportunity. I don't think they would have fed into that because I think most of them are good at heart, especially when they, you know, met their end with that grace and unity.
00:59:26
Speaker
um But I think that Riley's parents kind of had that heads up from, from Aaron, from Aaron.
00:59:37
Speaker
Okay. And Sarah. Okay. So even if it didn't save them in the way that we were thinking as the audience, it probably did save them morally.
00:59:50
Speaker
Correct. Yeah. Right. Which ah just came to me. Right. there's there's Humanity has... We don't have to be taught violence.
01:00:03
Speaker
No. And you're going to see that when you have a toddler someday. Yeah.
01:00:15
Speaker
A lot of parents are like, I don't know why my kid is hitting. We've never behaved that way. it's and It's not something you have to teach a kid. You have to civilize your child. Okay. So if you look at most of the Islanders as toddlers in this moment, they weren't expecting to be thrust into this. They're going off of the instinct that comes with it.
01:00:39
Speaker
And the ones that really resisted it, Of course they have a strong moral character, but you can't say that the whole island didn't. Right. And so you could also give it to, is give it, um, Nope, I lost it. Okay.
01:00:58
Speaker
My apologies. It was the perspective of that character. i think, I don't think he was talking about most of the population. I think he was really talking about the ones that like leaned into it more okay respectfully. Cause if you look at them, like they're a bunch of toddlers,
01:01:14
Speaker
then it kind of makes sense, you know, but then when they kind of settle they're like, Oh my gosh, what have I done? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Their consciousness awakes. Right. Is that a reflection on humanity as a whole? Maybe because there is such a thing as mob mentality and most people do fall into that in certain situations.
01:01:35
Speaker
And it does take a strong moral character or compass to go opposite of that, you know, to fight against that because it's real easy to fall into it.
01:01:47
Speaker
So, yeah. appreciate that. Because that's how I kind of thought about it. And i now I agree with your viewpoint on what happened.
01:02:02
Speaker
I forgot to mention the other two jump scares that I had. Okay. But when the vampire or the angel, I guess, is what we've been calling them this entire season.
01:02:13
Speaker
Because that's what, yeah, that's what they called them. Yeah. He bursts into that one house and the through the top floor window. Okay. And they're screaming, and the woman runs out for help.
01:02:27
Speaker
And ah couple seconds pass because she sees the other people feasting on other people, and she sees our main group. And um she starts running towards the main group.
01:02:40
Speaker
i I thought it was a jump scare when the angel descends on that woman and starts feasting on her too. All right. all right I don't know if you remember that moment. I do remember that moment. i don't i don't remember but being kind of like a jump scare, but okay.
01:02:53
Speaker
I can get rid of it. you think. if You fold that easy. My goodness. Oh, my word. All right. not saying it scared me. I'm just saying. i wasn't i wasn't arguing.
01:03:09
Speaker
um and then the other one that i'm willing like i thought might be i don't know if you thought but when lisa and warren are hiding um from everyone else they go into the house that the angel's been hiding in the entire season um and we see the angel feasting on some woman and there's like a it's that same woman that he had just picked up yeah ah there was that musical sting Yep.
01:03:35
Speaker
That was, I don't, I don't know if you would count that as one. Cause I honestly, yeah. way da Okay. I do.
01:03:44
Speaker
I guess we have our four or the three since I'm just a wimp. You said it. Um,
01:03:53
Speaker
you said it ah
01:04:01
Speaker
um
01:04:04
Speaker
I think we have one character left to talk about.
01:04:08
Speaker
and We got to talk about Aaron. Okay. And I think this point we kind of have to talk about some of the themes of the episode because a lot of what happens to her and what she says is very thematic.
01:04:23
Speaker
So um
01:04:26
Speaker
she was initially going to be the one to kind of confront Bev and and let everyone escape, but then You would think. Yeah. Yeah. And he was like, noll I'll do it. You take everybody else.
01:04:39
Speaker
There's a lot of things that would have been a conventional way for it to go as far as how it was set up. And then it does the opposite. Did you think that she was going to survive when you first watched this?
01:04:51
Speaker
she was go I don't remember what I thought the very first time I watched it. No, I don't remember.
01:05:00
Speaker
there's There's certain tropes that happen in TV shows and movies that kind of give you a clue if somebody's about to die. you know And one of those is making plans for the future as soon as somebody talks about, after we get through this, I'm going to have this house and this garden and I'm going live peacefully ever after. I'm like, that person's about to get it.
01:05:19
Speaker
Yeah, you're going to die. Yeah. Yeah. I didn't do that here. And then obviously Aaron is, you know, the antithesis of Bev. So you would think that it would be kind of a little bit of a showdown between them, but instead it's mama bear Annie that steps in and takes over. Yeah.
01:05:41
Speaker
I think the only thing we can really talk about is her monologue at the end or that, that she has where she's bleeding out and she, her mind goes to that moment where she's on the couch with Riley, but it's a different conversation.
01:06:00
Speaker
It's completely different. And it's the scene is played out. Like she's, putting her her mind in that memory so she doesn't have to experience what's happening right um and she talks about i'm going to be doing a horrible job because i can't remember specifically what she says but she's talking about god and what now she thinks god is and what she thinks death is and death is going back to the cosmos.
01:06:34
Speaker
You're becoming ah part of something again. you're go she does mention going home. Yeah. Um, she's like, I am energy.
01:06:47
Speaker
There is no self. You are part of the universe. And again, it's not explicitly said, but heaven is just returning to the whole becoming one again. but I, I really enjoyed that.
01:07:00
Speaker
Um, that idea that she had and she was talking about, um,
01:07:11
Speaker
I thought I had something to say about that. I'm i'm running blank straight out. While you you remember, I'll expand on it a little bit. It's the same kind of theory that it says in scripture, we are from dust and unto into dust we shall return.
01:07:26
Speaker
this Like we are created from existence and we will return to existence, right? But she's likening it unto the stars. We're made of the same material that stars are made of. And so that's where I'm going.
01:07:39
Speaker
So it's not like a completely atheist view, but it also is incorporating more um than it was before of of Riley's point of view. And he Riley's talking about continuing a purpose and feeding the earth.
01:07:52
Speaker
My physical body is feeding the earth and I continue on that way by being, you know, incorporated into the next living things. And so she's going along that same kind of point of view where it's not just going to heaven and, you know, living happy days. ah in wherever you know up in the sky or you know people's conventional view of what heaven is um but i liked that was a very long monologue it was beautiful was really beautiful and like juxtaposing that with the horror of what was happening to her is very unsettling
01:08:30
Speaker
But it was made tolerable by those cuts to her conversation with Riley that she's now having, you know, new with him. And I think he was he was there with her, you know.
01:08:45
Speaker
yeah I really like that. It made me feel, think of um Buddhism about, I feel like it incorporated some of that, those beliefs. I think it's Buddhism about being reincarnated. and that's, that's sort of what she was getting at.
01:08:59
Speaker
Like light. So that would be more of like a Hindi, like reincarnation, like literal reincarnation of like the spirit coming into a new vessel. Or do you just mean like being out there part of everything again in your next stage?
01:09:14
Speaker
Again, just it's not a strict yeah comparison. It just made me think of of that, of that's what life and heaven is, is just it what she says. I think it's like a just dreaming over and over again or something like that.
01:09:30
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Like life is, Life is the dream. And now she's waking up from it and she's not going to remember, you know, you don't remember your dreams. And so I'm going to wake up and this will all be a dream and it will fade.
01:09:43
Speaker
So, and the peace and acceptance in that, that this is just for now and I'm going to move on and everything will be, you know, better. I think. Yeah.
01:09:57
Speaker
i That's what I feel. Yeah. thats That's what I feel like she was trying to get. Yeah. I was trying to get it across. And again, she's like taking Riley's point of view.
01:10:10
Speaker
When he was dying, he had taken Yeah. in his experience when he died. And also like his, ah just flashing back to his monologue where he's talking about the worms and the earth and returning into the earth. He didn't get to do that.
01:10:30
Speaker
That was taken from him. He didn't get to, his body didn't get to be buried or be useful in the earth again because he burned up in the boat.
01:10:42
Speaker
Hey, his ashes could have fed the fish, you know? fish eat ashes? I don't know.
01:10:49
Speaker
There are probably some nitrates in the ashes. i don't know.
01:10:58
Speaker
um and we can We can use this to kind of segue into the themes of this episode and
01:11:07
Speaker
I'm going to try to do only for this episode, but a lot of them are just repeats from the entire series. Um, but like mortality and acceptance of death, um, her entire monologue is death. It's not an ending, but a return to the greater whole.
01:11:23
Speaker
And she accepts mortality with peace. Um, and it contrasts the vampires desperate clinging to eternal life, but really it would be a half life. Um, it wouldn't be a whole one.
01:11:35
Speaker
Um, and the islanders him on the beach on the in the on the island shows a spectrum of acceptance some terrified some serene um but just kind of reflects humanity's response to death you know the unknown what happens after but mortality becomes a gift because in the final line of the episode lisa says that she can't feel her legs
01:12:07
Speaker
Um, so she loses her miracle healing, but it symbolizes life is restored to its natural order. Um, yes. And it's hopeful. Cause she's like, says it with a smile and she's smiling. Yeah.
01:12:19
Speaker
Yeah. Um,
01:12:25
Speaker
I feel like this show was tragic. This was a tragedy. Yes. But it ends with hope. It ends with a little bit of hope. Yes. Because life continues on.
01:12:36
Speaker
the There were two that were able to escape. But it was a tragedy, I think feel like. Another thing...
01:12:46
Speaker
that I've sort of touched on is love as redemption and forgiveness. Um, Father Pruitt and Mildred's final embrace centers. Love is the true guiding force, not miracles or power.
01:13:00
Speaker
Um, Paul lets go of his, and Paul Pruitt, let's go of his ambition and accepts love as enough. Um,
01:13:13
Speaker
And Aaron's sacrifice is just a strategic, but it's
01:13:20
Speaker
motivated by love for, i guess, life of like humans in general. And she's willing to sacrifice herself in order to prevent others from meeting the same fate.
01:13:36
Speaker
And, oh, by the way, that reminds me, our plot hole, Shouldn't she have not died? i was just thinking about that. I think with the extent of the damage, like remember when father Pruitt got shot, it took him a while to be, to restore.
01:13:53
Speaker
like it took a while.
01:13:58
Speaker
I think with how soon
01:14:04
Speaker
the angel dies, she didn't have time enough to recover. i but But it looked like she had died, like on one of the final scenes. It looked like she stopped breathing or something. Which she probably did.
01:14:17
Speaker
But then if he had stayed alive, if Angel was still around, she would have like been restored because that's what would have had to happen. She dies all the way and then she's restored just like everybody with the poison or the shooting or the...
01:14:29
Speaker
you know what have you like when Bev got shot she doesn't just regenerate she dies you're right my bad and then it takes time to come back yeah but she didn't Aaron didn't have that time because the angel demon was then killed by the sunlight yeah okay
01:14:50
Speaker
that makes me feel better um Because I thought that too. I'm like, okay, is she going to come back? No? No. Okay. Yeah.
01:15:00
Speaker
there's A cool visual with like all of her. Oh, that was so cool. Like the makeup. The special effects. It had to have been like CGI because like the tendons, like everything in her neck was exposed. And I was like, oh my gosh.
01:15:12
Speaker
And she's like swallowing and it moves too. I'm like, that is so wild. It was cool. It was kind of cool. It was kind of cool. Yeah. Is there anything you else want you want to talk about thematically?
01:15:29
Speaker
don't think so. I think you covered things pretty well. Very well.
01:15:37
Speaker
um they really did set it up. Oh, this one for the kids that survived um Warren and Lisa, they set it up like they were going to die, that they weren't going to make it.
01:15:49
Speaker
When the adults were, you know, burning the boats, they're like, do you think the kids made it? And they're like, I'm going to say they did. We're never going to know. We're never going to know if they did. So I'm just going to say, yes, they made it, which conventionally would mean that they didn't make it And then when the kids were talking, when they were burning, I think they burned boats too, right? Like everybody was just out there burning boats. Maybe.
01:16:13
Speaker
um
01:16:16
Speaker
When they were, you know, out there far away from the town, and they were talking about like, things they were going to do next, you know.
01:16:27
Speaker
that too like is usually an indicator but they're not going to make it. So I like that it goes against that because it makes it more tragic, you know, when you have the character that's like, I've got all these plans and you want them to survive because you want them to go and live their life, but then it just makes it more impactful when they're killed off. So I understand like why that happens, but it's such a trope now that you can almost expect it.
01:16:54
Speaker
So I like that this kind of went against that. typical grain that you would usually usually have but i'm glad that they got to survive yeah um i was gonna say that i when i was first watching this i was expecting everyone to die sorry i wasn't expecting everyone to die i was right
01:17:18
Speaker
I didn't know that everyone was going to, obviously there was going to be death involved, but I think with Warren and Lisa surviving, they just kind of represent a new beginning. The island burning to ashes echoes like biblical imagery of judgment, but also of like purification and then yes from ashes, something else is able to grow and rise.
01:17:47
Speaker
Which that's probably exactly what judgment is like in a biblical level is a cleansing.
01:17:54
Speaker
Yeah. We'll never know.
01:17:58
Speaker
The imagery when they're in the boat and the ashes start to fall was really powerful too, because that was their people. That was their ashes of their family and friends and neighbors.
01:18:16
Speaker
Remember, we are um dust. and best We came from dust. Yeah, we came from dust. That's where we return. can Ash Wednesday. ah
01:18:33
Speaker
Yep. I want to end the thematic. I can't. I can't. escape go
01:18:47
Speaker
Anathematic part of this episode, but just kind of saying that true faith means humility, love, acceptance of morality, not the denial of it. Yes.
01:19:01
Speaker
And I've got some questions for you. Woohoo. First question. Who is the main protagonist and why?
01:19:11
Speaker
Who is the main protagonist? And why? Oh, that's why is that?
01:19:22
Speaker
there's no there's no right or wrong There's no right or wrong answer. I know, but like,
01:19:29
Speaker
because at first they set it up to be Riley. Mm-hmm.
01:19:34
Speaker
And then it's kind of Aaron. Mm-hmm.
01:19:39
Speaker
But then it's kind of Annie. And then it's Father Pruitt. Mm-hmm. So I don't know if there would be, because who does it center around? Most of the time it centers around Father Pruitt, aside from Riley.
01:19:53
Speaker
So if it can't be Riley because he's gone, you know, just over halfway through, then it has to be, you know, Father Pruitt.
01:20:08
Speaker
Especially at the end when, you know, the antagonist is is bev for sure
01:20:18
Speaker
um ah the definition of protagonist is ah a central character in a story who drives the plot forward by pursuing a main goal facing significant obstacles and often undergoes a character change or growth and because of that I think Father Pruitt is the main character. i've seen i I totally Googled it.
01:20:42
Speaker
but like I need like i need like a definition in front of me to really apply. yeah because Not that I didn't know what a protagonist was, but it's okay. Who fits the definition ah most?
01:20:56
Speaker
At first it would be Riley, but you're right. It's Father Pruitt. I think it's Father Pruitt. I've seen cases made for Erin as well, but the problem with her is the same one as Riley in my eyes, is that it doesn't feel like there's a good point of motivation.
01:21:15
Speaker
like there's right What goal are they pursuing? They're just kind of living. They're just kind of surviving. oh And I think Father Pruitt's obstacles...
01:21:30
Speaker
Yes. And his main goal is what makes him the main character. In the summary on here, ah strong, let me see. They are typically involved in some form of struggle and their decisions and actions are what propel the story forward and give it direction and coherence.
01:21:46
Speaker
Mm-hmm. a strong protagonist often experiences an emotional or mental change or a coming of age as they navigate challenges and learn new things throughout the story.
01:21:57
Speaker
Mm-hmm. And the only one that fits all of those is Father Pruitt. Mm-hmm. I think it's really interesting too because he had a
01:22:09
Speaker
sort of mutual relationship with the antagonist. Correct. um Whether you choose that as the vampire, which I don't, or Bev Keen.
01:22:20
Speaker
It's Bev Keen. I'm going to hold on to that. Absolutely. I mean, that happened. It happens in other movies where you're, you're the protagonist's cohort becomes the antagonist. Iron Man one, bring it back to Marvel.
01:22:35
Speaker
You want to bring it to Star Wars? Well, Star Wars too. ah Except the protagonist became the antagonist. And then became the protagonist again. Correct.
01:22:50
Speaker
So i I do believe it's Father Paul. It's not Riley at all. Right. But I like that it sets it up to be Riley at first. It's just breaking all the conventions.
01:23:02
Speaker
Exactly. is exactly why this is such a masterful series. And it's it's a lot of fun to watch because you're it's like through his eyes. So we don't have all the answers, which is ah really good storytelling.
01:23:14
Speaker
Yeah.
01:23:20
Speaker
right. Let me look at my other questions.
01:23:26
Speaker
I had another one.
01:23:34
Speaker
I'm sorry. i swallowed wrong. ah Father. Are you new here? Yeah. This is just a little bit. I've been doing this for 26 years. i think i' would have learned how to swallow by now.
01:23:49
Speaker
I know, right?
01:23:52
Speaker
So Father Paul and Mildred chose to spend their final moments together, not in prayer or repentance, but in love. How does this ending change or complicate your view of Father Paul's character?
01:24:04
Speaker
Discussing that we just. Or all this after discussing that he's the protagonist. Yeah. How does it change my view? It makes me like him more.
01:24:16
Speaker
gives him some redemption. In my point of view. Because he goes through the whole.
01:24:25
Speaker
His beliefs were were challenged. And he he changed from the beginning of the of the season. yeah He changed to realize. As soon Soon as he saw his daughter pouring gasoline, all of his priorities shifted to her.
01:24:45
Speaker
Bev's refusal to accept responsibility or humility makes her one of the most despised characters. ah In her final moments, she is not redeemed. Why do you think the show denied her redemption?
01:24:58
Speaker
And I guess in a two-parter,
01:25:03
Speaker
if if this were real life do you think she could have been you think she
01:25:12
Speaker
i'm trying to ask this in a way that promotes discussion because i if i say do you think she deserved redemption the answer is no i think that's whether she deserves it or not is under her control okay I don't know what driving force would ah or what point would, where it would cause her to want to change because I think that happens as she was dying.
01:25:46
Speaker
So she didn't have time, you know, there wasn't, there was, I don't know what would have had to happen to, to have her change. Do you think in the same sort of way that happened with Pruitt, if she would have been able to accept I was wrong, um I was a bad person.
01:26:07
Speaker
I think she had leaned into it so long that only the thought of meeting her maker would propel her towards wanting to change for redemption.
01:26:20
Speaker
In a self-
01:26:24
Speaker
preservation. Okay. She's so centered on self and pride that the only thing that would drive her to want redemption would be destruction.
01:26:42
Speaker
But at that point, it's too late because you're being destroyed.
01:26:48
Speaker
At least in her mortal life, you know, that's a theology that
01:26:54
Speaker
isn't really clear in this, in the show. So
01:27:01
Speaker
I had a question on the tip of my tongue and I've forgotten it.
01:27:06
Speaker
Do you have any questions? Nope. Nope. I think it's time for Corey's comments. I think you're right.
01:27:16
Speaker
No, but on that same note, there are some people where the only thing that's going to shock them into ah or out of selflessness would be the threat of destruction.
01:27:34
Speaker
Like your actual existence.
01:27:41
Speaker
Okay, here we go. cory Also, I have a blooper for Corey's comments.
01:27:49
Speaker
So let's do the let's do the let's do our take two first. And then if you're interested, I'll play the blooper. I am interested. Okay, you better put that in. i will We will do a bloopers special.
01:28:10
Speaker
During the last episode, it was, um i thought it was going to keep going on, to be honest with you. I thought there was a couple more. i thought maybe they would have but no, they accepted their fate.
01:28:25
Speaker
And I appreciated that. I am glad that the priest did come to his senses.
01:28:35
Speaker
You know, in Revelations, when it says the evil will, like, hide themselves from God. Yeah, that they want like, bury themselves in rubble. Yeah. Yeah.
01:28:47
Speaker
The lady tried to bury herself in rubble. She's, yeah, she, that's, yeah. She knew she was evil in the end, i think.
01:28:59
Speaker
i think when you come to your final moments, you find out who you really are, oh and she did yep she died alone the way she should have died because she was vile i thought it was cool how that What's her name?
01:29:23
Speaker
With the girly hair, the one that had a pregnancy that was gone. Erin? Erin. Yes, Erin. Yeah. I'm glad she had the strength at that last moment to cut the wings of that beast.
01:29:41
Speaker
That was amazing. The one thing that I didn't like, though, is that what but what's that young girl's name? the Yeah.
01:29:52
Speaker
yeah I thought that was lame that she wouldn't have stayed healed. thought that didn't make sense. Okay. I think she should have stayed healed. Just on like a biological level, if she was able to be healed, she should have stayed healed.
01:30:10
Speaker
I was
01:30:15
Speaker
very glad how the town came together in the last moment. They had been a close town to begin with, and they died together. And I thought that was awesome.
01:30:34
Speaker
um They kind of all had a collective ris like reckoning. Yeah, they did. Didn't they? They all kind of knew and that last moment that song, Nearer to God, is a very...
01:30:49
Speaker
good song and it was really relevant at that moment for everybody that was sad though how we learned of the priest and that one lady's relationship yeah in the very last episode i kind of wished that would have been known earlier
01:31:15
Speaker
but when you re-watch it if you ever do you'll see it's it's
01:31:21
Speaker
Like once you know it's really obvious. Sure. With all these other moments.
01:31:30
Speaker
Yeah. Is this your second time rewatching it? I think this is my third or fourth. Oh my gosh. Yeah. At least my third. All right.
01:31:47
Speaker
Well, thank you. And that is the end.
01:31:54
Speaker
and
01:31:56
Speaker
I think it was tired. His heavy breathing was bending me. I'm like, oh my gosh.
01:32:08
Speaker
Sometimes I catch myself doing that. I'm like, why am i heavy breathing right now? I'm not exerting myself.
01:32:19
Speaker
Or I'll just be like, I don't know what it is. I'll be so focused on something. Maybe it's a man thing. And so focused on something. So I open my mouth and I just breathe through my mouth.
Bloopers and Episode Editing
01:32:31
Speaker
I'm like.
01:32:35
Speaker
I'm going to say it's a man thing.
01:32:39
Speaker
Are we doing the blooper or is that going to be offline? Yeah, I have no idea what it, I can't remember. But we can. We can do the blooper. I think he was trying to be like, okay, we'll see.
Reviewing Episode 7 of Midnight Mass
01:32:53
Speaker
Episode seven.
01:32:59
Speaker
Midnight mass episode seven.
01:33:13
Speaker
and so You gotta pace this up, buddy. I am. I'm pacing it.
01:33:22
Speaker
Okay.
01:33:26
Speaker
During the last... Okay.
01:33:35
Speaker
That's funny. There you go. He's very unserious.
Series Recap and Audience Engagement
01:33:40
Speaker
Well, thank you guys for joining us one more time for this season of Midnight Mass, the final episode.
01:33:47
Speaker
Yes, thank you. We will be doing, I think, a recap, right? I think that's what we said. Absolutely. Yeah. We'll talk about the entire series. Process all of this. Yeah. Yeah.
01:34:00
Speaker
Are we doing anything else for that episode just like a recap? ah well we' but We'll workshop it and we are open to suggestions. So hit us up on fansoflandigan on Instagram.
01:34:11
Speaker
I think you can leave like comments on like Spotify now. Oh, cool. Yeah. I'll have
Thank You and Goodbye
01:34:17
Speaker
to figure how to check Spotify.
01:34:21
Speaker
Let me see see if I can see any right now on the episodes. Live. Well, thank you everybody for joining us. We will see you again next week. Bye. Bye. bye
01:34:41
Speaker
The Lord is the Son of God.