The Righteous Gemstones’s Redemption Song

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Prepare yourself, as I’m about to reveal plot details from all four seasons of “The Righteous Gemstones,” culminating with the series finale titled “That Man of God May Be Complete,” which made its debut on HBO on May 4.

Throughout the four seasons of “The Righteous Gemstones,” viewers came to expect several consistent elements: male frontal nudity, humor centered around butt-related jokes, frequent bursts of physical comedy from Edi Patterson’s character Judy Gemstone that could make you laugh so hard your face might ache. Additionally, as the series progressed, it began to incorporate more emotional depth. Unlike many other shows, cliffhangers aren’t common in Danny McBride’s TV universe. Instead, each season concluded with a family-focused montage that grew increasingly sentimental over time – a shift that gradually moved the comedy away from its original satirical tone and transformed it into the most heartwarming and tender series that McBride has ever produced.

When we cling too tightly to pain, we lose our ability to grasp happiness. Often, grasping happiness seems unattainable. So let go.

The show titled “Gemstones” never aligned with traditional megachurch Christianity as portrayed in the series, due to the frequent depiction of the main characters criticizing religious leaders, embezzling funds, using drugs, and belittling the less fortunate, while maintaining an air of righteousness. However, the show’s exploration of the prosperity doctrine and its negative impacts often took a backseat to a deeper affection for its flawed characters. They were self-centered and power-hungry fools, yet they were our self-centered and power-hungry fools, the best among many because of their vulnerability and care for each other, despite it taking them well into adulthood to learn that hugging one another was acceptable. Among the series’ frequent examination of various American subcultures such as professional wrestling, monster trucks, timeshare resorts, “Gemstones” had its most direct interaction with modern American Christianity through its promotion of forgiveness and advocacy for second chances, even for those who didn’t deserve either. McBride’s television shows have consistently shown grace towards their complex male protagonists, but “Gemstones”‘ relentless forgiveness of its characters’ transgressions resulted in a softening of its initial impact.

In 2019, the series “Gemstones” debuted with a more biting and critical tone. It portrayed conservative, capitalist Christianity as a pervasive issue in America, symbolized by the dysfunctional Gemstone family. Eli is seen manipulating local preachers out of Locust Grove to expand the Gemstone empire, Judy is exposed for embezzling over a million dollars from the church, and Gideon uses blackmail tactics against Jesse using secretly recorded videos showing his father’s drug use, infidelity, and hypocrisy. Critics label the Gemstones as swindlers, which seems fitting with Kelvin’s description of their contemporary strategies: “As capitalism falters across America, we step in, establish churches inside abandoned big-box stores.” Uncle Baby Billy is even more forthright in expressing the Gemstones’ relationship with God, stating that their new church, housed within a former Sears, offers not only slacks and power tools but also Jesus.

Gideon perceives money as a corrupting influence that has insidiously penetrated his father, Jesse, who he views as a “complete fraud,” causing decay within their family’s heritage. When the blackmail plan disintegrates, Jesse expresses remorse for his shortcomings as a father and they reconcile. To make amends, they collaborate on building water pipelines in Haiti. Despite their efforts to mend relationships, the Gemstone clan’s money-making enterprise continues thriving: their megachurch maintains its popularity, while Uncle Baby Billy is earning money by selling $60 sketches of his claimed heavenly visions after being struck by lightning. However, they were still unknowingly consuming from a tainted chalice, symbolizing ongoing issues within the family.

In its third season, the television show “Gemstones” underwent a shift in focus. No longer portraying the Gemstone family as antagonists bullying small-town ministers, they were frequently shown as underdogs instead, providing McBride, Patterson, and DeVine with opportunities to depict complex characters. Instead of embodying solely privileged wickedness, they showcased a mix of bombastic and pathetic traits. For instance, in season two, McBride’s character, Jesse, is portrayed as desperate and unimpressive, particularly effective when playing cool-seeking characters.

In the second season, the Gemstone kids became envious of the Simkins siblings being orphans because they believed it made their rival preachers more appealing. Throughout the series, various Gemstones found themselves in dangerous situations multiple times, including in season four when Eli and Baby Billy were held captive by Lori’s ex-husband, Cobb (Michael Rooker), and faced threats of sexual assault.

Only occasionally did the Gemstones return to outright villainy, such as when they avenged attempted murders on the Lissons (justified in the show as self-defense) or burned down Vance Simkins’s new church (also arguably justified due to his hateful homophobia towards Kelvin).

In Jesse’s view, the Gemstone family isn’t being cheered on to amass even more wealth, a contrast he draws with the Simkinses. Originally, the show delved into how megachurch culture fosters self-praise and greed, but this theme became implicit. Instead, the focus of Gemstones shifted to exploring the depths of forgiveness, a question to which the answer was always “more.” The Gemstone elders and their entitled children were shown grappling with issues of faith, from Eli breaking Kelvin’s thumbs to Uncle Baby Billy pursuing television stardom. Despite their flaws, such as Jesse sabotaging Amber’s marriage-counseling product or Judy cheating on her husband BJ, they were all ultimately forgiven. The show invites us not to celebrate the wealth of these characters, but rather to empathize with them, as they are often their own greatest adversaries.

It’s fascinating to see how Gemstones consistently elicited empathy amidst the silliest sitcom on television. McBride, Patterson, and DeVine embraced every exaggerated element the show presented, effortlessly dismantling them. For instance, the characters’ habit of adding an s to words such as “a Youtubes” or “We growns, Daddy,” or expressing their admiration for their father’s ability to “can still do cums,” were handled with a delightful absurdity. The show’s accolades for Goggins as the “actor of his generation” stemmed from his unparalleled insanity and energetic performances as Uncle Baby Billy. The series boasted actual jokes, ludicrous physical comedy scenarios, daring action sequences, catchy tunes, and a keen understanding of how blocking can enhance humor. A scene in “To Grieve Like the Rest of Men Who Have No Hope” where Vance and Jesse are attempting to outdo each other, twirling their fingers ostentatiously while directing the Cape and Pistol Society members marching around them in circles, exemplifies how cleverly the creative team could make the rituals of the divine-believers appear foolish.

In the Gemstones series, the exploration of how faith can be distorted among its believers raises persistent questions that are central to McBride’s work in Eastbound & Down and Vice Principals: If we believe ourselves to be chosen by God for a special purpose, what transgressions can we escape? For instance, Kenny Powers from Eastbound described his comeback as “the story of a raging Christ figure who tore himself off the cross and said, ‘My turn now, cocksuckers.'” And if we’re convinced of our own exceptionalness, how many times can we forgive ourselves for those mistakes?

The series initially portrayed Elijah Gemstone (Bradley Cooper), a murderer, fake preacher, and Confederate conscriptee, as embodying the family’s self-aggrandizing nature. However, much like his contemporary descendants, Elijah was granted mercy by the show, avoiding execution by the Union Army and being given another chance to become a true man of God. This theme is mirrored in the finale, where it appears as though the Gemstone children may be killed off, only for them to recover and preserve their status and power within the church.

Instead of Eastbound & Down and Vice Principals providing mere fleeting consequences for their characters, Gemstones seems to avoid any lasting impact or humbling experiences for its characters, Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin. Unlike Kenny Powers, Neal Gamby, and Lee Russell who faced significant setbacks and learned valuable lessons from them, the Gemstone family’s continued prosperity and divine belief in their ordainment seems to shield them from any meaningful consequences or growth. This disparity is particularly noticeable after the season-one blackmail attempt in Gemstones, where no characters appear to be affected by their experiences in a way that promotes personal growth or change.

In the opinion of the Gemstones, the appropriate method to handle such characters was to focus in closely, delving so deeply into the family’s psychological makeup that the series transitioned from a satire about Christianity to a depiction of grief. As BJ (Tim Baltz) puts it in season two, “It all stems from pain, doesn’t it? Seems like maybe a Gemstone trait?” Despite much discussion on how Gemstones mirrors Succession and its reverence for ‘Daddy’, or how McBride’s enraged male leads reflect a specific type of resentful man who feels entitled to more, the underlying message that often gets overlooked is that the show’s internal tragedies are rooted in characters failing their loved ones. By considering it through this perspective, Gemstones emerges as deeply touching: Aimee-Leigh’s ghost serves as a moral compass for the family, unable to intervene; Eli and the Gemstone children grieve not only the woman they lost but also the individuals they could have become if she were still alive. Are they doomed to be self-centered because her impact is no longer present, and because they’ve inherited Eli’s thirst for power instead of her more virtuous faith? Would her presence have moderated their belief that every action they take has God’s approval?

In this context, “Gemstones” was a series exploring the persistence of grief and the solitude that accompanies possessing everything except the person we yearn for most deeply. It also delved into instances where our belief in something greater than ourselves, whether that’s faith in God or family, can bring solace beyond what wealth and power can offer. The reason Corey finds peace as he dies in “That Man of God May Be Complete” is not due to their wealth but rather the promise of forgiveness and redemption embedded within their prayer.

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2025-05-05 08:13