Chris Sheridan
The following recap contains spoilers for The Righteous Gemstones S4E9 “That Man of God May Be Complete” (written by John Carcieri, Jeff Fradley & Danny McBride and directed by Danny McBride).
At the outset of the series finale of The Righteous Gemstones, Vance Simkins (Stephen Dorff) is more livid than usual following his loss of the Top Christ-Following Man award and subsequent apprehension by the event’s security, drunkenly storming into the Cape & Pistol Society’s quarters to confront Jesse (Danny McBride). They argue, but Jesse taking a swipe at Simkins being an orphan is the last straw for his rival: Simkins drops the yellow handkerchief on Jesse’s foot, which by Cape & Pistol Society custom means they must duel. Simkins chooses Pastor Brad as his back-up, and when Jesse fails to get anyone to volunteer to be his, Eli (John Goodman) steps up, standing with his son.
At the lead-up to the duel, Jesse is getting nervous. Eli tells him that he doesn’t have to do this, and that they can both just quit the Society altogether, but Jesse refuses to back down—Simkins insulted Kelvin, and is building churches in Gemstone territory. Not only that, backing down would give people no reason to believe that he’s special and better than them. Eli counters that Jesse has always impressed him with his devotion to family, and that he’s a better father than Eli ever was. The duel commences, and when Simkins’ shot wildly misses, he starts attempting to dodge, begging Jesse to spare him. Jesse deliberately misses Simkins, declaring that he doesn’t need the Society to prove he’s an impressive person. It’s one’s actions that count, and he and Eli leave that dumbass cult for good.
Kelvin (Adam DeVine) and Keefe (Tony Cavalero) have finished the treehouse. It’s a magnificent treehouse, and our boys couldn’t be more excited. Keefe notices a storm brewing in the distance and suggests that they head home, given that the Devil’s piss frightens Kelvin. Kelvin says that that doesn’t scare him anymore, much like spiders in the toilet and the old lady puppet from Mister Rogers…and even marriage. And right then and there, Kelvin proposes to Keefe! Kelvin and a teary-eyed Keefe jump up and down delightedly before kissing. It’s so wholesome!
As a newly-walking BJ (Tim Baltz) and Judy (Edi Patterson) take apart BJ’s dancing pole (accompanied by a hilariously heavy-handed euphemism for handling a penis in a sexual manner), BJ admits that he still misses Dr. Watson. Realizing how much the service monkey meant to BJ, Judi shelves her rivalry and takes him to Dr. Watson’s new companion. When Dr. Watson ignores BJ, Judy bends down and delivers some hard but profound words to her enemy, appealing to their mutual grief over losing a mother and insisting that BJ loves him. Dr. Watson leaps onto BJ’s shoulders, affirming their love for each other, and Judy informs Dr. Watson’s disabled veteran that the monkey is coming home with them.
Eli sits down with Lori (Megan Mullally), who gives him a box of mementos, one of which is a letter Aimee-Leigh wrote to her when Lori divorced Cobb. Despite breaking up with Eli, Lori admits that Aimee-Leigh must have been watching over them, leading them together, and to helping each other out. They part amicably, although awkwardly. Later, Eli takes the envelope out of the box but can’t quite bring himself to open it. He goes to the church and sits at the piano to reminisce, but is abruptly cut off by his kids barging in to give him their support, given that his “dipstick still works,” to have relations with other women, whether it’s Lori or someone else. They enjoy a group hug, and Eli comments on his concerns for Corey’s well-being, given that Lori had stated that Corey’s marriage has been damaged with the grief over Cobb’s death. They decide to invite Corey to Galilee Gulch.
On the set of Teenjus, Baby Billy (Walton Goggins) basks in the admiration of his cast and crew following his survival of the events of last week. As the shoot commences, Baby Billy gets back to work. “Work, work, work…” Baby Billy flashes back to when he told Aunt Tiffany (Valyn Hall) that he had to work before it was all gone, to which she asked if that’s all that matters to him. He flashes back to kissing his wife on the forehead, to holding his children, to Sola (Kerstin Schulze) carrying his children away, to Tiffany packing his favorite dish even though he’s the only one that likes it. And in that moment, Baby Billy has the revelation that his family matters more than his work, and shuts down the shoot.
At Galilee Gulch, the extended family hangs out with Lori. Even Pontius (Kelton DuMont), with his arm around Gideon (Skyler Gisondo) is there, seemingly having been warmly reacquainted with the family. Corey (Seann William Scott) comes down the stairs wearing a Michael Jackson coat facsimile and does some smooth moves of his own. He suggests selling his extravagant suit to Kelvin for $7 million, but backs off from parting with the apparel, asking for $7 million straight-up to purchase Cobb’s Gator Park. After all, he killed Cobb to save Eli, so he deserves the money. The mood quickly turns sour when Lori objects to Corey asking for money. Jana (Arden Myrin) tries to gently interject and Corey screams at his wife. That’s enough for Jana, and she finally steps up to Corey to renounce his verbal abuse and calls it quits.
Going upstairs, Kelvin glances down the hallway to see Aimee-Leigh disappearing through a doorway. He enters the room, but finds only Corey’s bag, containing a gun and the gold-plated Bible, with Corey’s name added to the list of owners on the front page. Corey surprises him, and, tucking the Bible into the back of his pants, Kelvin has a brief, tense conversation with Corey before rushing out to his siblings to show them the relic. Corey, appearing once again, reveals that Cobb had stolen the Bible and gifted it to him for covering his burglary in “Interlude IV.” He further reveals that he and Cobb worked together to assault and even kill Lori’s boyfriends.
I.
F*CKING.
CALLED IT.
(at least mostly).
I do feel validated for having suspicions since S4E5 “You Shall Remember.” Wasn’t entirely on the money, but Corey definitely didn’t pass the sniff test. However, I do need to own my dismissal of Cobb’s involvement, as Lori was right about Cobb’s post-divorce toxicity. Corey tells them to keep the Bible and walks away, and the siblings debate about whether to spill the beans on Corey’s confession. Worried that Corey is about to take his own life, they go back inside the lake house, and Judy is suddenly felled by a bullet from Corey. As their former friend fires again, Jesse and Kelvin run for cover.
Corey cranks UB40’s “Red Red Wine” and continues to hunt Jesse and Kelvin through the lake house. While he looks under the bed, Kelvin attempts to surprise Corey from behind the curtains, but Corey is faster and shoots Kelvin, who collapses. Finally, Corey approaches a door in one of the rooms and fires three rounds into it, sending Jesse to the ground from behind the door. Corey confesses that Jesse was like a brother to him, preparing to deliver a killing shot into Jesse’s head, but the gun is empty. He briefly exits the house to reload.
The siblings are all still alive, and drag themselves into the hallway, trailing blood, to come together. They’re certain they’re all going to die, and Jesse’s gun is upstairs, where none of them have the strength to reach it. But you know who can reach it? Dr. Watson! The savior monkey brings down Jesse’s bag, where he retrieves his gun, and as Corey re-enters with an assault rifle, Jesse manages to shoot Corey in the temple.
The Gemstone kids make their way to a still-alive Corey, who apologizes and begs them to pray with him. What follows is a genuine and emotional appeal from each of the Gemstones to God, coming from places of genuine pain each of them have experienced, from grief to doubt to selfishness, asking God to guide them to be better people, and to guide Corey to salvation. As they conclude the prayer, Corey has finally passed away. It’s an absolutely excellent scene, and all four of the actors completely sell the emotion.
Some time later, below the treehouse, Eli is officiating Kelvin and Keefe’s wedding (FINALLY!). Following the ceremony, everyone joins the dance party as Eli, Martin (Gregory Alan Williams) and Baby Billy watch. Baby Billy has a rare wholesome moment with Eli. He comments that everything that happened may have soured things between him and Lori, but Eli remarks that things are good, with no bad blood. “Well go get you some happiness, Eli,” responds Baby Billy. “You ain’t dead yet.”
As things wrap up, we hear Aimee-Leigh narrating the letter she wrote to Lori. As Eli looks joyfully at everyone dancing together, Aimee-Leigh speaks about closure, and the importance of friends and family. As the music starts to build, we see the families embrace each other, Baby Billy taking responsibility for his children, the gold-plated Bible being enshrined in the church, and Pontius presumably being a central figure at a Christian-focused skateboarding summit. She talks about the importance of Jesus’s love, and how it can find us through the ones we love. When we let pain consume us, she says, we can lose the ability to embrace the light…so let go of the pain. Jesus’s love will always be there, and no matter how much distance can come between Aimee-Leigh (the lynchpin of love and care across the entire series) and her loved ones, she’ll be there too. I’m not ashamed to admit that I shed a few tears at this monologue, right there along with Eli reading the letter.
Somewhere in Florida, as Eli prepares to set off on his boat, Lori surprises him by showing up and asking if Eli needs a first mate, someone to point him in the right direction when he gets lost. Eli glances skyward before looking back to her with a smile and a cut to black.
A lot of the first half of this season seemed like “B” plots looking for an “A” plot, but the last few episodes kicked things up a notch. While I think it didn’t quite nail the setup, it absolutely does so for the landing. The series finale is funny, thrilling, soulful, and, most important of all, satisfying.
That being said, this is one of the weaker Righteous Gemstones seasons, but a weaker season is still part of one of the best comedy series currently on offer, and I still absolutely recommend it. I’ve said it before: it’s a savagely funny series that puts people who act differently publicly than they do privately on blast, but shows those characters progress from greed and self-service to genuine love. It’s a careful balance that the writers absolutely accomplish—extremely R-rated comedy with surprisingly heartfelt themes of family and forgiveness. Danny McBride and Co. have done it again.
The Righteous Gemstones airs on Sundays on HBO at 10pm ET, and is streaming on Max.
