‘Midnight Mass’ Recap – ‘Book II: Psalms’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Two of ‘Midnight Mass’.

When we think of stories that explore the nature and the power of faith, we think of inspiration. For those tales often revolve around the journey of finding a belief in something more and how that heals one’s soul and gives one the strength to fight that which ails them, and this is a formula that is so engrained in storytelling… that it is downright shocking to encounter a tale that speaks ill of faith. Simply because we rarely if ever view religion and faith in a negative light, but that is starting to change… thanks to the shocking scandals that have come out of the church in the past twenty years and the vast amounts of strife and hardship that continue to wash over the world, some of which is caused by radical religious zealots.
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Which has in turn, allowed for popular media to begin to question the purpose of religion and faith in the 21st Century and one show that is excelling at this particular examination is Netflix’s Midnight Mass. For the next episode in this fascinating horror series, ‘Book II: Psalms’, goes full bore into that exploration and what it has to say about the modern role of religion, is fascinating to say the least. For this episode more or less make it abundantly clear… that the way religion and faith is structured now, honestly has no place in the 21st Century. Not because we are ‘Godless heathens’ or corrupted, but because it no longer applies to the world as it stands, a point that was hammered home by way of a powerful moment between Father Paul and Riley Flynn. For Paul set up an AA meeting for Riley, to make his attempts at redemption less cumbersome and well, what Riley had to say here… is what is of note.

Because Riley made it clear that everything the church taught him, about faith and God and how prayer and undying loyalty would bring salvation and forgiveness, was nothing more than a lie. Because none of those things saved the woman that haunts his dreams at night, nor did they bring him peace and forgiveness. For he killed a woman, plain and simple, and his words made it clear… that the real problem is that faith and religion… no longer speak to what matters in this world. Sure, it was fine to talk about faith and a better tomorrow during the era of Americana where there was peace and a desire to sweep our real problems under the rug. But now, in an era where mental health and self-accountability and a grand understanding that chaos is commonplace in this world, the message no longer resonates. Which is a powerful message to send across, one that has weight and honesty.

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However, what made this episode so fascinating, is that it went above and beyond in its examination of the state of religion in 2021… by also taking a moment to examine why people are sometimes repulsed by what it has to offer, something that can be attributed to its outright hypocrisy. Which was put on display by way of Bev Keane in this tale, since this true believer, took the time to kill Joe’s dog with rat poison and pretend as though she’d done nothing wrong. Mirroring the many ‘good Christians’ in America that say and do awful things that aren’t very Christ-like but use the power of forgiveness and absolution to hide behind their hate, and that is indeed contributing to our disdain for religion and the desire to leave it behind. 
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But while these examinations made for some powerful and poignant commentary, there is still an underlying plot to advance and threats upon this island to explore and the show made sure to focus on that as well. Since whatever Riley saw in the middle of the storm, is still flying about the island and preying upon the weak, now that it has feasted upon all the cats and of course, Father Paul isn’t keen to just watch religion fade away from this island, as evidenced by the powerful twist at the end of this tale. For Leeza being able to walk in front of the congregation, is clearly an act to bring about a resurgence of faith on this island, one that will allow for it to thrive for generations… provided of course his methods of creating such a miracle… don’t backfire. 

Because let’s be honest, this isn’t something that would happen naturally, it required a gentle push from the pastor and likely the creature that has accompanied him to the island and it will be quite interesting to see how he was able to make this happen. But while we wait for that answer, we can revel in the wonder of one powerful and thoughtful tale. One that really did offer up some fascinating commentary on religion and faith, the kind that was honest and earnest and devoid of snark and that’s important to note. Since the observations here didn’t demand that religion go away or be abandoned… they simply asked for the church to change its messaging, to find a way to inspire faith in dark times that doesn’t involve threats and false promises and they also asked… for its followers to be better and uphold what religion stands for and there is nothing wrong with asking more of an institution and its believers, that already ask the world of everyone else. Until next time.   

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