Eli and Baby Billy reconcile with the ghosts of their pasts in the penultimate Righteous Gemstones
The past and the future collide in penultimate episode of season two, “The Prayer Of A Righteous Man.”
TV Reviews Baby Billy
Eli Gemstone and Baby Billy are haunted by their pasts—Eli by the cover-up of Glendon Marsh’s death and Baby Billy by running out on his son Harmon—and “The Prayer Of The Righteous Man” finds both men grappling with their pasts as the new generation looks to the future.
There is a joyous aura surrounding Eli that we’ve only caught twice prior to this season: When he’s carrying on with his old friend Junior, and way back in 1993 as he compares wrestling promotion to running the church. As he hobbles around his home, still recovering from the attempt on his life, he praises his children who finally put aside their differences and came together as he lay near death. Since the onset of this season, Eli has been coming to grips with his own mortality, and being gunned down has put a fine point on it. Jesse expressed as far back as the premiere that Eli should be planning for retirement and that he, the eldest son should be taking over as head pastor. While Eli was out of commission, Jesse got a taste of it and realized that maybe he wasn’t ready to take on the responsibility.
Jesse and Martin’s scheme to lure the cycle ninjas out of hiding was a success and they’re now sitting in police custody, but there are still no clues as to who sent them. But the situation helped Jesse prove himself to his father. Eli is proud of his boy. Eli saw Jesse come into his own as a leader, but he explains to Jesse that it is just not his time yet. Eli is stubborn, strong-willed, and still has something to prove—like father, like son—but he does offer a concession. Looking back at his own aspirations to build the Gemstone stadium back in 1993, he wants Jesse to succeed as he did and offers up the money to go in on the Lissons’ timeshare. In coming to grips with the past, Eli begins looking towards the future, but first, he’s got to come clean with his own sins. He reveals to the children that he covered up the death of Glendon Marsh not only to protect Grandaddy Roy but to avoid any negative press. Eli lifts a decades-old weight off of himself, but he won’t be free of his past until he comes clean with Junior, who he still believes ordered the hit.
But this week’s cold open reveals that Junior’s relationship with his father is not what it has appeared to be. In a flashback to Memphis, 1993—presumably a matter of weeks before Glendon came to Eli with the suitcase full of cash—Junior whines to Glendon that it’s time for him to retire and let him take over the family business. Junior’s relationship with his father mirrors both Eli and Jesse’s. They all have had aspirations to expand and grow and met with obstacles along the way. Junior wants to sell off the gambling operation and reinvest that money into the wrestling organization which has fallen on hard times.
Glendon is still stuck in the ’70s, bringing in ancient gimmicks and Junior is looking to take on the WWF. Glendon allows Junior to sell off his video poker machines, but after making quite a bit of money, Glendon rips off his son and heads to Rogers to meet up Eli. It changes the perspective on Junior’s arc throughout the season. Junior wasn’t looking to avenge his father’s death, in fact, he thinks that Eli helped him abscond with the cash to Bolivia. Was Junior simply looking to make amends with an old friend or was he planning on killing Eli, but for different reasons? Eli—unbeknownst to the kids—makes his way to Memphis to settle things with Junior and confesses that he covered up his death, handing over Glendon’s pistol to his old friend. Eli was the son that Glendon wanted, and Junior has been jealous of Eli for years. The two men make amends, and Eli promises to get Junior the money that Glendon ran off with, but Junior reveals that he was not behind the attacks, meaning that the culprits are still out there.
Elsewhere, after a pitiful performance at the old-folks home, Baby Billy is having a sad sandwich when he’s visited by the ghost of Aimee-Leigh Gemstone. Aimee-Leigh is the conscience of the Gemstone family, even in death. Eli frequently reminds those around him that meeting Aimee-Leigh changed his life and set him on the right path. She always encouraged her brother, Baby Billy, to do the right thing—even if he rarely listened—and tried to instill that pure goodness in her children. So many of the integral family meetings happen in front of her bust in the compound’s garden. From a certain point of view, it would appear that Aimee-Lee, despite her best efforts has failed. Eli resorted back to the violence of his past, Baby Billy ran out on another wife and child, and the kids? Where would we even start?
Since Billy hit the road after B.J.’s baptism, I’ve wondered if he was on the path to redemption, to visit his estranged son Harmon. In a family of selfish, unsavory characters, Baby Billy is arguably one of the worst; always scheming, always up to no good. But it just felt like his current situation with Tiffany and the unborn Lyle awakened some guilt in him, and that he was looking to reconcile. When he’s visited by the ghost of Aimee-Leigh, she reveals that he’s so close. He was looking to visit his son, but got cold feet and sidetrack by another scheme as is Baby Billy’s way. Billy is frustrated because, even in death, Aimee-Leigh is right.
And Billy does make his way to Harmon in a sequence that features Walton Goggins showcasing the dramatic acting chops and sly comic timing that has made him a favorite of compelling television since The Shield. It’s a sad, funny, touching scene as he asks Harmon (Macaulay Culkin) for forgiveness and, typical of Baby Billy, it appears it’s more for his sake than the child that he ran out on. Even when apologizing, Baby Billy is selfish, looking out for number one. He explains that he needs Harmon’s forgiveness so that he can move on. Harmon only wants one thing, to punch Billy with an open fist and Billy obliges.
While the older characters are reconciling with their past, the Gemstone children are focusing on the future. There is a newfound camaraderie between the three of them. Kelvin does away with his God squad while Judy leans into her maternal instincts taking in Aunt Tiffany. Judy puts a fine point on it, stating that the thought of Tiffany leaving made her “gooch pucker.” Jesse, who has spent this whole season looking to take over for Eli admits that he isn’t ready but he’s excited about the big step he’ll be taking getting involved in the Lissons’ timeshare.
But everything is not wrapped up just yet. Whoever attempted to kill Eli is still out there and the episode ends with a thrilling jailbreak. The cycle ninjas are out and they’re going to finish the job.
Stray Observations
- Stellar performances from Walton Goggins and John Goodman this week. Since the beginning, they’ve been my two favorite actors on the show: the pathos Goggins brings to the Baby Billy character, and the matter-of-fact, confident way that John Goodman confesses his sins to Junior.
- “You’ve been a better friend to me than I was to you.”
- “Why don’t you save it for your heavenly homeboys!?”
- “Why don’t you just get outta here? Rattle some chains or walk through some walls. Just leave me alone.”
- Jennifer Nettles brightens up any episode with an appearance as Aimee-Leigh Gemstone.
- “You and Queef have been such a help.”
- Could Amber be behind the cycle ninjas? It’s farfetched, but the scene when she mentions to Jesse that they should have wired money to the Lissons while Eli was laid up suggests that she had plans in place. Eli shares a moment of newfound maturity when he says that he wasn’t trying to do business deals while Eli was on his deathbed.
- Who killed Thaniel Block? Junior admits that the journalist visited him before his untimely death.
- “These are ninja midgets, they are huge in Mexico.”
- Harmon believing that Baby Billy turned into a cat: a nod to Eric Roberts’ performance in A Talking Cat!?!
- “Meow, meow, son.”
- “That ain’t like daddy to miss a photo op with a poor people family.”
- The jailhouse breakout at the climax is reminiscent of the “man in black” escape at the end of Halloween 5: The Revenge Of Michael Myers.
- HBO getting all the Culkins on the payroll.
- “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” Matthew 6:15
92 Comments
There’s only 9 episodes this season? BOOOO!BTW, I hope Fallout doesn’t mean the end of Baby Billy.
Season 1 was nine as well, as were both seasons of vice principals. Ofc I could go for soooo much more gemstones.
Yeah I see the virtue in leaving ‘em wanting more but damn, this show is always over a bit before I want it to be.
He’s got such a limited role, I’d be surprised if they don’t work around his schedule.
Is the Culkin hiring a nod to people calling Gemstones a low-rent Succession?
It could also be a nod to Saved!, or maybe they just like Macaulay Culkin
I say the Lissons are behind the hit. They can’t get that Gemstones money if Eli is around to squash their deal with Jesse
I’m pretty sure this episode more or less confirmed that Martin Imari is the mastermind behind the hit on Eli.Which, honestly? Good for him.
I’d be disappointed if so, setting the trap and offering to pay off the bikers to turn on their benefactor is too big of a misdirect to the audience if he’s actually behind it.
I may have misinterpreted that scene.That said, I feel like this season has done enough seeding around his legitimate reasons to resent the Gemstone clan that it would be a satisfying explanation—not the obvious answer but not completely out of left field.
For sure, I can totally see him going against the kids but I think he still has strong relationship with Eli.
Yeah, I was sort of assuming there would be additional revelations, like some minor incident in the past or some sort of disagreement about where things are going with the church as part of any big reveals.
We still have that loose thread about why the reporter was looking into Tammy. Could be that Martin was mixed up in something with her.
Tammy? Do you mean Aimee-Leigh?
Oops, yes
Haha, Tammy Faye Bakker on the brain, I take it.Anyway, while I don’t think it has anything to do with Martin, the Aimee-Leigh/Thaniel Block (the reporter) angle is where I’m leaning now, although there’s no obvious suspect. The Block story has been lingering in the background too long; it would be strange to just drop it. And whoever killed him killed several other people and burned the house he rented down as well; they seem like they might be people with professional skills at this. Unfortunately, we still have no idea who those people are or what their motives are, as far as I can tell.
I thought they were pretty clear that the threat to badmouth Aimee-Leigh was just an attempt to goad Eli into participating in the story/interview. But yeah, I would have liked to see them give a little bit more attention to the massacre in the first few episodes. This season would have really benefitted from having, like, 20% fewer subplots. Especially with only nine episodes.
Yeah there’s no way Martin would order a hit on Eli. One of the big points of the flashback episode is the development of their loyalty and trust.
How so?
Really? What confirmed it for you? I agree Martin is a suspect, but nothing in particular stood out to me.I may now be on board the amber did it train.
What from this episode gave you that impression?
Maybe, but he pretty much came up with the plan to draw the cycle ninjas back to them so that they could be on the attack this time. Would he really intend to put his own men in that kind of danger? It would certainly help to keep suspicions off him though, if he’s playing some 4D chess or whatever, willing to use his own men as pawns.
Why does it have to be the black guy? You sound racist with your comment
What?
I doubt it. The resort thing they’re trying to open is gonna cost 100s of millions of dollars to create. You’re not gonna be sending a squad of hitmen to kill someone over 10 million. Well, you could, but why? 10 million doesn’t even cover the operating costs of such a place.
Are they actually planning on building the resort? I’m thinking that they plan on paying off whoever they owe money too and then skipping town without building a resort.
I suppose anything is possible in a tv show. I’m not seeing it, though. The Lissons aren’t some Baby Billy-type figure selling holy water on QVC, they headline a huge mega church. Something akin to a Joel Osteen. They could just release a book, “The Lissons of Life”, “Lissons of the Bible”, etc. and make 10 million in sales in a couple months.I think it would make more sense for it to be someone in or close to the Gemstones family. That or one or more of the other pastors Eli met with in the first episode, like dude with Gumby legs.
Exactly! The resort is a GRIFT, people. The Lissons have zero intention of building that thing. I knew this watching Lyle totally overreact when Jesse told them they didn’t have their $10 million share. $10 million is a drop in the bucket as an investment for a resort of that size and scale, and Jesse and Amber only met one other investor at that gathering in Texas (Joe Jonas) who was “investing” a similar amount. Bullshit. The whole thing is a scam. What I don’t get, yet, is why the reporter had to die, who the other two people were that got aced along with him, and why the Lissons resorted to such dire means to try and clear the way for Jesse to have access to the money. My best guess is they ripped off someone scary who is coming after them, so they need the money fast.
But if the Lissons can get Eli out of the picture and Jessie running the show, they could bleed the Gemstones for much more than just 10 million.
Agreed, the comment from a couple weeks ago “I looked on wikipedia, you’re worth $600 million” makes me think they see Jesses as a large and easy “line of credit”
But why? What in the show has given the impression that the Lissons are con men? (Yes, yes, I know. All pastors are con men, but you know what I mean)I just got the impression that the Lissons are out of touch, and Jesse not having the 10 million was them going “wait! Are you a poor? We can’t associate with the poors.” The same way the Gemstones looked at the family with the $50,000 check and were all “look at dem poor people,” a person with 100s of millions is gonna see your lack of not having 10 million as an oddity.But I’m just spitballing here. I guess it could be them.
The reason I’m leaning toward Lissons is that they inherited everything, they didn’t make any of their fortune. They talked about “retiring” the patriarch, and I assume they’re just as dumb as Jesse and have blown most of their fortune/aren’t making enough to replenish it and owe money to some less than savory people?
This! This is why I thought it was them from the start. When they were talking with Jesse and Amber, they even complained about how Eli was selfish like all the other boomers in not dying or otherwise bowing out of the way for the younger generations. Lisson’s father was the same way, which had me thinking at the time that they may have had a hand in his passing as well.And remember that when the cyclists first struck they were going after the bus that was supposed to be carrying Eli, but which Jesse and Amber took for themselves. Once they saw that it was them and not Eli, they started shooting but deliberately aimed high so as not to hit them when they hit the floor. Even the police chief said they weren’t the most competent assassins because they couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn.That’s because the cycle ninjas were under orders to only take out Eli, and to leave Jesse and Amber alone. They might have even had radios in their helmets to call for instructions after seeing that it wasn’t Eli. There was a lag between when they saw Jesse and Amber, and when they started shooting.The only thing I’m not sure of is how the murdered reporter fits in. Although he may have dug up some dirt on the Lissons before going to Rogers to investigate the Gemstones. Possibly it was even dirt about the resort development, and they had him taken out first.
100%
The Lissons seem like the most obvious suspects at this point since their only role in the story so far has been to ask Jesse for money and then almost violently overreact when he doesn’t come through, but because of that, I feel like the odds that they actually did it decrease the longer they draw out the revelation. Martin has no motive to target Eli first (though it’s not impossible they could give him one). Harmon is a possibility, but he’s kind of a late in the game introduction, so I think Amber is Suspect #1 right now, particularly if you assume she staged that shooting to make herself look like an invaluable badass.
Yeah, Amber is high on the list right now… mostly because no one else seems to have the proper motive.Martin, it seems, has an incredibly close relationship with Eli and Eli seems to respect him implicitly. He clearly loathes the children (who wouldn’t), but that’s not a reason to try to kill Eli… nor would it directly benefit him any more than quitting would.The Lissons, while clearly desperate for funding and seemingly running a con on Jesse, don’t seem to have enough motivation to kill Eli over the money. There’s no guarantee that Jesse would still follow through on the deal, particularly after losing Eli and having to try to maintain the Empire in transition… I just don’t see it as a practical choice.Amber, on the other hand, is getting painted as more and more ruthless and calculating as the season drags on. Specifically, her push to take over while Eli was ‘sickly’ and her regret that they didn’t send the money to the Lissons while they had the chance. She’s desperate, scared that Jesse might not become the head of the family if/when Eli leaves, and I think this all comes back to the Lissons making them feel small for not having $10 million on hand and it re-igniting her purpose for marrying Jesse (power and money).
The problem with Amber is she knew that Eli had been transferred from the hospital to the compound. If someone who knew that was happening was behind, why send the Cycle Ninjas to the hospital? Maybe she wanted to take out Jesse, but it seems like he doesn’t actually own much anything, so she wouldn’t be set to inherit a fortune; she’d only lose whatever standing she had with Eli and the church.
Good point! I didn’t think about the hospital hit, and agree it makes her a less likely suspect (or at least smart enough to not raise suspicion, as only a couple people knew about Eli getting moved).
My guess is Amber is working with the Lissons to get Eli out of the way. Amber wants the payoff even more than Jesse, and she’s ruthless is enough to try something like that.
I don’t think so, I think the whole timeshare thing is setting up some season 3 stuff, like it’d be far more interesting to see that huge investment tank and see how that affects the family, but that sounds like a multiple episodes arc.
You be right. I watched episode 2 again, and at the Lisson’s ranch, when Jesse asked about the kids singing in white, Lyle said he runs a group (Lisson’s Angels IIRC) made of “street kids” etc. That’s where he got the cycle ninjas.
Your use of “penultimate” really freaked me out until I confirmed HBO had already approved Season 3.Here’s hoping the A.V. Club makes it that long.
Av club is a broken shell of its former self, but what is going on?
Look up about their moving to LA and how they screwed over a bunch of staffers.
AV bloggers are unionized, I’m sure they’ll be protected, right? I mean, why else they be paying dues all this time?
Thanks to the union, I believe they were able to get a nice severance.
Unions can’t dictate the business decisions of employers. I unironically wish they could, though. And as someone else already mentioned, because of the union, the staffers that G/O media royally fucked over at least got a decent severance.
I just noticed that they haven’t published anything in almost 8 hours, they might be done for already.
Yeah, I definitely thought “Oh shit! Was it Amber?” during that exchange with Jesse
I don’t think Amber would have been the target of her own attack.
Good point. Though she may not have known when they were going to strike and remember, Eli was supposed to be on that bus, not Jessie and Amber.
And didn’t Amber not want to get on the bus but Jesse insisted? I’m kind of on Team Amber-Did-It now.
That part was what I wasn’t sure of. Might have to watch that episode again to see if Amber has some kind of hesitancy.
Would the ninjas have stopped shooting once they saw it was Amber not Eli? Unless maybe they don’t know she hired them.
Possibly. I think your latter explanation would be most likely— they were just told to hit the bus, not exactly who was on it— and maybe with a side of “once you start shooting up a bus with two people on it, it’s probably bad opsec to leave them alive.”It might be a little farfetched, but without much information or an obvious suspect, we’re kind of grasping at straws here. I think the best theory I’ve heard so far is that it’s somehow connected to the reporter and the people who killed him and burned the house down, although we still don’t know who they are or what their motives are.
The problem with the Amber theory is she knew Eli wasn’t at the hospital, but instead it was filled with lots of heavily armed men. Maybe she wanted Jesse gone (but that doesn’t make any sense since he doesn’t really own anything so she’d be left with nothing), but it’s too much of a stretch to think she planned on Jesse firing the mercenaries before the Cycle Ninjas showed up.
Right, that was supposed to be Eli’s bus. If Amber was behind it she may not have known they were going to strike that night.
Do we think Baby Billy has been seeing his sister the whole time? Maybe since he got struck by lightning?
Baby Billy has a baby?
Baby Billy’s baby wears a bib….Dame Judy Dench…..Dane Cook.OK, it’s showtime!
This episode breezed but wow a lot happened. The confrontation between Eli and Junior was terrific.
Goodman has been giving the performance of a lifetime this season, and this episode in particular.
This recap mostly skipped over Kelvin bearing the cross (!) and kicking his Power Team out of the compound.I have a theory that Kelvin is actually able to call upon the power of God to work miracles in moments of great crisis – just like he did at the Satanic club in season one, when he and his friends were invisible to police as they made their escape. Keef recognizes this power in Kelvin (certainly no one else does) and that’s why he remains devoted no matter what.
I like this theory. It fits with the fact that he’s the oddball of the Gemstone kids. (I mean, they’re all odd, but he’s differently odd.)
seems true that divine intervention does exist for them.
How about DeVine intervention?
I mean, it may be obvious because its a cliché, but he *did* pray so hard Eli woke up just last episode… And Billy’s visions of Aimee put a real fine point on the fact that the spiritual realm is both real and close-by in this universe.
Agreed, I think Kelvin will eventually take over the church in the end because he’s the only one that seems to be devout with his religion and able to build a congregation (even if it’s currently a congregation of one adult man and many children).You also missed another miracle: He brought Eli back, after swearing fealty to God at his bedside.
Heh, it’s funny because I remember when I wrote up season 1 I called Kelvin the “true believer” of the kids, but the two “miracles” from the last two episodes really kinda hammer that home in a way even I certainly didn’t expect.
I think it’s more likely the cross was hollowed out or something so it didn’t weigh much.
Still waiting on the G.O.D. follow-up. It can’t have been just a one-off. So that’s where I think the money leads. Thought this episode was a nice breather headed into the season finale. The two men make amends, and Eli promises to get Junior the money that Glendon ran off with, but Junior reveals that he was not behind the attacks, meaning that the culprits are still out there.I enjoyed that this didn’t go where I was expecting. I for sure thought Eli was going to get shot by Junior, and when he didn’t…and Junior just sort of shrugged? I loved that. It’s good shit. I knew he wasn’t behind the motorcycle ninjas, but y’know, he’s also kinda petty. Walton Goggins is so, so, so, so good at acting.
Culkin looks like a live action Tweak.
This is one of those rare shows that flows so quickly, I yell at the TV when it tells me each episode is over and I have to wait for more John Goodman.
Really thought Kelvin and Keefe were going to kiss after Kelvin triumphed with the cross.
Think this show could have some fun with those too hooking up, maybe for season 3.
Two things I was wondering:1) Was Glendon making Junior get on an inversion table a really sick reference to Star 80?2) In real life, is Macauley Culkin actually older than Walton Goggins?Also loved the possible connection to A Talking Cat?!
Culkin did a great job, great casting choice there. Also, random observation, 1993 was a rough time to be a wrestling promoter in America. Nobody was doing well.
The way Walton Goggins is able to make every character he plays so lovable and relatable, and on top of that the MVP of any episode he’s in, is absolutely baffling.
It’s Amber. The show establishes that she’s basically an assassin with firearms, but when the Cycle Ninjas aerate the party bus, she only emerges to fire back after Jesse does and, despite a clip worth of shots, doesn’t kill any of them.
Can’t believe “Poor people love money y’all” didn’t make it to stray observations. I was cackling!
For my money it’s still a hostile takeover by Martin and the collusion of pastors from episode 1 in a bid for G.O.D.D. But I’m basing that on the initial meeting where he covets Eli’s chair more than anything and perhaps ignoring that he confronted the bikers alone in this episode.
He also knew Eli wasn’t at the hospital. Why send them into the trap, then? To take out Jesse? But it’s too much a stretch to think he knew Jesse would do something stupid and piss off the mercenaries so they’d quit, and it’s a very bad plan to send the Cycle Ninjas into a hospital with lots of armed men waiting for them.
Ghosts. The cycle ninjas are ghosts. Especially the ones we saw unmasked in the county lockup. Looking all alive and shit. That’s exactly how a ghost would do.
Isn’t it pretty obvious that the Lissons are behind the cycle ninjas? They only attacked after Jesse complained to them that he couldn’t take over until Eli died, and then multiple assassination attempts on Eli followed. They see Eli as a mark, but need Eli out of the way. And at this point, they’re the only characters outside of the family itself with motive and opportunity.
So unlike last season where the story was pretty much all self contained, it’s definitely looking like the events this season will continue to play out in season 3. If not, they’ve got A LOT to unpack in the finale. They’ve barely even went back and touched on Schwartzman’s death and the two (?) other bodies that were there. I hope they don’t rush anything. For what I thought was just going to be a dumb comedy (still is in way), I’ve gotten way more invested in the “drama” than I thought I would
As a few of us guessed more than a month ago, Eric Andre set up the hit.Now if we only can get my guess as to Jr. Coming in Guns blazzing and saving Eli and taking out Eric for him!Speaking of Junior, God Bless Eric Roberts as he is somehow even more awesome in this show than Walton Goggins is!
It probably would have been too on the nose, but I think this would have been a much better choice for closing credits than Brides of Lucifer.
Maybe the cycle-ninjas are probably connected to Scotty, the bad guy from Season 1, who used info from Gideon to rob the Gemstone church? I think that would make more sense than the Lissons.
Hel, even Dermot Mulroney’s character, the competing reverend at the smaller church from season 1, makes more sense than the Lissons being behind a hit on the Gemstones.
Jesus, does anyone edit these before they’re published? I look forward to recaps, but the horrible punctuation and mistakes – “Eli shares a moment of newfound maturity…” you meant Jesse, right? I mean, put forth some effort.