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The Righteous Gemstones’s Redemption Song
In the end, the religious satire was less interested in condemning the family for their sins than in testing the limits of forgiveness.
Eli’s running small-time preachers out of Locust Grove to expand the Gemstones’ empire, Judy’s embezzled more than $1 million from the church, and Gideon’s blackmailing Jesse with a secretly taped video of his father doing cocaine, watching a married friend sleep with a sex worker, and basically being a hypocritical dumbass. There was euphoria in how the three tackled the show’s quirks, like the Gemstones’ propensity to add an s on the end of words that didn’t need it: “a Youtubes”; “We growns, Daddy”; telling their father they’re impressed he “can still do cums.” Goggins sprinted toward “the actor of his generation” accolades on the strength of the absolute insanity and physical gusto he brought to Uncle Baby Billy. A scene in “To Grieve Like the Rest of Men Who Have No Hope” in which Vance and Jesse are trying to big-dick each other, twirling their fingers self-importantly to direct the fellow members in the Cape and Pistol Society marching in a circle around them, is a perfect example of how delightfully stupid this series’s creative team could render the rituals of those who believe they’ve been chosen by God.
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