Danny McBride is a comedy powerhouse noted for his unfiltered, blunt delivery. While his television series, such as "Eastbound & Down," "Vice Principals," and "The Righteous Gemstones," delve deep into quintessentially American themes of ambition, greed, narcissism, and toxic masculinity, McBride himself imparts minimal nuance to his characters. The emotions of a McBride protagonist are crystal clear, for he speaks his mind without any subtlety or hint of a complex inner world. This is not to imply that his characters lack the capacity for surprise; rather, they tend to articulate their thoughts in declarative, court-like mannerisms, insistent that everyone grasp their feelings at all times.
As Jesse, portrayed by McBride, returns home from a harrowing—or perhaps more aptly described as an exasperating—ordeal at Peter’s compound, where he and his siblings were held captive for ransom, he yearns for his family to recognize his transformation. This revelation cannot unfold with any semblance of normality; it must be as grand, flashy, and asinine as one of the Gemstones' Sunday sermons. The family emerges to find a fleet of gleaming new ATVs, commanding their undivided attention for a fleeting moment as Dad unleashes his oratory prowess. Jesse laments not sharing the ministerial spotlight after inheriting the mantle from his father. “I was a petulant little bitch about the System because it was a hit,” he confesses to Amber. “I feared it would divert some of your attention from me, but that’s a twisted way to think.” Then, with the pride of a peacock, Jesse thanks her for her patience and for shaping him into “the man I am today.” In this poignant moment, McBride appears to have scaled the heights of an invisible summit. He is a better man now—though he was already remarkably great.
Undoubtedly surpassing his own father, Eli Gemstone's refusal to satisfy Peter's $15 million ransom demand has left a sour taste in the mouths of his children. " quite a daring decision to withhold that ransom, Dr. Elijah Gemstone," Jesse remarks after their fleeting visit to the hospital emergency room. Eli, in his gentle manner, endeavors to elucidate that he presumed Peter was bluffing, reminiscing a Peter incapable of harming them. However, his offspring present a compelling rebuttal. Peter's past includes an armed robbery culminating in the fatal shooting of a security guard, an act more indicative of ineptitude than malice, yet rendering him perilous nonetheless. Moreover, the heavily armed Christofascist militia, loyal to committing violence with or without Peter's sanction, further escalates the stakes. Initially, the siblings dismissed their captivity as a mere joke, mocking and taunting Peter and his sons even while bound in a silo, yet they were justified in fearing for their lives. Eli's payment could have guaranteed their safety. So, why did he refuse? Eli's benevolent perspective hints that Peter and his sons could never harm their kin. "I suppose I still cling to the memory of the old Peter," Eli muses in his melodic drawl. Yet, when he speaks of the old Peter, he refers to a time before the Y2K crisis emptied his savings, shattered his marriage, drove him to murder a security guard during a botched bank robbery, and incarcerated him for years. Any rational individual would suspect the old Peter had undergone a transformation, especially considering his recruitment of a militia comprised of violent ex-convicts. However, it seems improbable that Eli was motivated by greed, as Jesse, his siblings, and their representative, Baby Billy, suspect. When Eli asserts he would have paid had he genuinely believed they were in danger, his sincerity appears genuine.
The more plausible explanation aligns with Eli's season-long aspiration: his hope that his children, having been ejected from the family's golden nest, would learn to collaborate and resolve their issues independently. Ironically, they could not have united without external intervention. Peter's timely abduction served as a fortuitous twist, as they had struggled immensely in Eli's absence and required divine intervention to orchestrate a resolution. Whether their unity will endure remains uncertain — Jesse relishes the opportunity to play the role of "victim" rather than the entitled losers who inherited their status — but Eli expresses genuine delight when they unanimously reject his explanations. "You're doing it," he says. "You're working together."
Yet, the Gemstones' woes persist, far from reaching their resolution. Peter and Chuck remain at large, aboard a U-Haul laden with dynamite and the ammonium nitrate fertilizer they illegally obtained from the Gemstone compound, thanks to the Montgomerys. Despite Peter's earnest attempts to maintain militia cohesion after his $15 million blunder, his efforts ultimately failed to prevent a rebellion, freeing him to proceed with Plan B without hesitation. Chuck's fluctuating loyalty to his father emerges as the sole glimmer of hope in averting a domestic terrorist act on the scale of Timothy McVeigh's. The former Peter, seemingly powerless to halt the new, rage-fueled Peter who is incandescent with fury every waking moment, no longer needs to cater to his followers' whims to protest statue demonstrators or contaminate the waters of liberal cities. He has everything he requires for his ultimate mission.
Before the Gemstone church's walls literally crumble into ruins, let us relish the demise of the unrequited sexual tension that lingered between Kelvin and Keefe. It once seemed as though the show intended to leave their homoerotic vibe hanging in the air indefinitely, amplified by their God Squad workouts and intense massages. However, Kelvin's liberation from the militia silo has granted him a fresh start, and it appears that his siblings and everyone else share his relief that this tension has finally been dissolved. Surely, this development will be met with approval within their Evangelical community, won't it?
