After four seasons, The Righteous Gemstones has concluded its sermon. The HBO comedy, created by series star Danny McBride (who also wrote and directed a handful of episodes), followed the dysfunctional, profane, sometimes violent and always funny misadventures of the Gemstone family and their thriving megachurch business.
As disrespectful as the lead characters were, McBride always strived to portray the religious communities that inspired the show with respect. Instead, it was the Gemstones and those surrounding them that seeped with dysfunction: Themes like grief, workaholism, unprocessed trauma and internalized homophobia are just a handful of the issues that kept the show relatable amid all the chaos.
Season 4 delivered nine formidable episodes that successfully tied up every loose end, provided closure to the characters who needed it, threw some unpredictable curveballs along the way and made that epic first episode in the season make much more sense.
Spoiler warning: Before I continue, let this be your warning that major story spoilers are below. Proceed with caution.
Danny McBride and John Goodman as Jesse and Eli Gemstone in the series finale of The Righteous Gemstones.
Jake Giles Netter/HBO
Neither man succeeded in hitting their targets. Instead, Jesse fired his weapon, looked around, and realized that this pomp and circumstance wasn’t his bag. And then, he quit.
Uncle Baby Billy’s come-to-Jesus moment
Whether it was pursuing his Christian trivia game show, Baby Billy’s Bible Bonkers, or going all in on his cinematic opus, Teenjus, Baby Billy’s (Walton Goggins) workaholism has always been front and center. This season, all his focus was on the movie about teenage Jesus, which he ended up starring in, ridiculous wig and all.
But remember, Baby Billy is also a husband and father, and throughout his story arc this season, his addiction to work conflicted with his responsibilities to his children and wife. I didn’t expect Baby Billy to come to his senses, but surprisingly, he did, and in the end, he chose family over another one of his silly productions.
Adam Devine, Danny McBride and Edi Patterson as Kelvin, Jesse and Judy Gemstone in the series finale of The Righteous Gemstones.
Jake Giles Netter/HBO
Earlier in the season, it was revealed that Cobb (Michael Rooker), the unhinged ex-husband of Lori Milsap (Megan Mullally), broke into the Gemstone compound when the siblings were children, vandalized the property and stole that gold Bible. This is an essential detail because all hell broke loose once present-day Kelvin discovered the book in Corey Milsap’s bag.
Traumatized by the experience of killing his father to save Eli and Baby Billy in a very horror movie-style plot point in episode 8, Cory cracked. He admitted that he assisted his father in all sorts of crimes, including murder. And then, he proceeded to hunt the Gemstone siblings down with his gun.
Each of them suffered gut shots. But thanks to the assistance of one intelligent little therapy monkey, Jesse could retrieve his gun, and this time, his aim was perfect. He took Cory down with a headshot.
The impromptu battle ended with the trio praying over their childhood friend in a fashion similar to Elijah praying over the dying Civil War soldier in the premiere. This was when the siblings, without ulterior motives, turned toward religion to deliver peace to a man in need selflessly.
