‘Midnight Mass’ Recap – ‘Book III: Proverbs’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Three of ‘Midnight Mass’.
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Over the course of its first two episodes, the Mike Flanagan Netflix series, Midnight Mass, has offered up some powerful commentary on the role that religion should or not should play in the 21st Century. That kind that has left all of us wondering as to whether or not religion needs to change course in regard to what it preaches and teaches, since this series has pointed out in a cerebral and quality manner… that the majority of what religion stands for in the 2021… is outdated and outmoded and horrendously hypocritical at times. But while that has brought forth some sobering moments and plenty of pause for the audience, what these observations haven’t addressed, is the root cause of the problem.
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Which is critical, because the only way that religion stays alive beyond this century, is by addressing what is really causing it to be so out of touch and as a courtesy to the various religions of the world… this series took the time to address those root causes in a powerful and somewhat terrifying manner and that made ‘Book III: Proverbs’ another poignant chapter in this adventure. One that basically made it clear that the root cause of religion’s current problems, relate to the arrogance of the church and its odd desire to interpret the Lord’s word as it sees fit. Especially when desperate times arrive. And it accomplished this particular storytelling feat, by having a revival take place on the island.

Because word of Leeza’s healing spread to every single corner of it, and that in turn brought people to church left and right and that… brought forth the arrogance in question. Since Bev Keane believed that the Lord’s work needed to be spread far and wide, respect for other’s beliefs be damned. Which is why she handed out copies of The Bible to the kids at school and defended her decision to do so when she was called to the carpet for it, by spewing the usual self-righteous crap that hardcore Christians often do and that… spoke to the first root cause in question. Since that kind of arrogance doesn’t make people feel welcome into something more, it makes them feel obligated to join or pushed to do so and that’s wrong, and that arrogance is indeed something that would need to change for religion to be seen in a more positive light by the masses.

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As for the second root cause of the church’s problems in this modern world, well that was handled by Father Paul in this tale, since it was revealed… that he isn’t Paul at all… he’s John Pruitt. A younger one at that, and he came to be so youthful again by getting lost on his pilgrimage to the holy land. Wherein he encountered what is clearly an ancient, winged vampire that took pity upon John and fed him its blood to give him new life and to give the monster, new meals, since it was aware that John was dying and desperate and would be indebted, and well… therein lies the lesson. One that is painfully relatable to today and the beliefs of the hardcore evangelical. Since so many are desperate for their religion to be right at a time when prayers aren’t and were never being answered, that they will align themselves with the worst parts of our world, and declare it as interpreted gospel to further their religion’s goals and well… that too is driving people away in masses and must change in order to make religion great again. 
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But what’s amazing, is that perhaps the greatest mistake of all that organized religion is making in this day and age, is the sheer fact that it has forgotten what it stands for. Because at its core, it was always about empowerment and giving people just enough hope so that they can take charge of their lives and improve them and it reminded us of that fact, by way of Leeza and Joe’s respective journeys in this tale. Since a healed Leeza, visited the man that hurt her and said what was in her heart, before offering forgiveness. Signaling that she didn’t want to let darkness consume her in light of her gift and that… inspired Joe and gave him hope that maybe he too could find healing of some sort and that led him… to Alcoholics Anonymous with Riley and Paul/John. So, he could put his life back together and believe in himself, all because a moment of faith reminded him that he could be better. 

However, while it was wonderful to find a high note in this particular tale, make no mistake about it… the horror elements loom large over this one. Because now we one hundred percent know… that John brought a freakin’ vampire back to Crockett. One that played him like a fiddle and gave him just what he needed and well, things are undoubtedly going to get ugly now. Because if there’s a vampire on the island, there’s a good chance its blood is being used to heal more than John’s body and spirit, especially if the mixture that John was filling the communion decanter with, contains what we think it does, and of course… there’s the fact that John has now turned and will undoubtedly need blood to survive. And it will be incredibly interesting to see how this show is going to balance commentary and story going forward… since the plot is about to catapult forward in the worst way imaginable. Until next time.

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