The third season of the best comedy show about an evangelical family continues to please as Danny McBride takes the directing helm in this third episode which brings a personal favourite character back into the family forure, Baby Billy, played by the phenomenal Walton Goggins. Billy has been performing every day at the Gemstone’s Zion’s Landing resort in Florida but he’s had enough of that life (despite the luxury it affords him and Tiffany, who by the way, is hilariously pregnant again). So he pitches to the Gemstone children his idea of a game show. However, Jesse, Kelvin and Judy have other things on their mind.
The episodes strength lie, yet again, in the ever evolving sibling dynamic as they try and keep the Gemstone empire form crumbling to the ground now that people have realised how much they hate each other. A far cry from the love and compassion the congregation are used to from Eli. However, true to form, they band together when they need to the most and this time it is as an alliance against their pretty harmless cousins, Chuck and Karl Montgomery. The siblings insist on hosting a ‘cousins night’ which Baby Billy crashes with his toddler son Lionel insisting he should be involved because he is technically also a cousin. The events of the evening result in everyone banding together to save the life of a Montgomery as he chokes on his dinner. This seemingly reunites Jesse, Judy and Kelvin as well as creating a new bond between the Gemstones and the Montgomery’s, as much as they seem like heartless back stabbing children of satan, the Gemstones do actually have heart and do actually care about the people that matter, family.
Edi Patterson continues to provide the most laughs as her unpredictable, unhinged Judy Gemstone continues to struggle in covering up her affair that was exposed in the previous episode. Amber, who is a likely dark horse, gives Judy her online couples counselling tool ‘The System’ in the hopes it might help save their marriage but when she drops it off, Judy isn’t there and the unknowing BJ accepts it on her behalf, immediately getting sucked in to ‘The System’. Furious Judy refused the gift the way in which a petulant five year old would the Amber/Judy rift widens. However unstoppable Judy seems to be, there is most definitely something sinister about Amber, something sneaky, under the surface. She could manipulate the Gemstone family in a way that only women are capable and in a way that would go unnoticed by Judy.
The season looks set to be pretty interesting as May-May and Eli are also reunited as he learns just how bad her living situation is and encourages her to move in with them. As sweet and touching as this may be, what we don’t know is what caused May-May to go after Aimee-Leigh all those years before, what had she done? What would have happened if she didn’t get hit by a car? Now that the Montgomery’s are in with the Gemstones one can only assume that their alliance will grow strong, strong enough to take on the Simkins?
The past isn’t always the past, and you can be sure that some pretty explosive flashbacks are headed our way as the Gemstones struggle on with public image, money and just generally getting along with people. Is anyone else just falling more an more in love with Keefe? No? Just me and Kelvin then.
The Righteous Gemstones continues on Max on Sunday nights.
