How ‘The Righteous Gemstones’ Finale Finally Paid Off That Bradley Cooper Episode

The Righteous Gemstones ended its four-season run last weekend in a way I never saw coming: a glimmer of genuine, earned character growth for the Gemstone siblings. For a long time, the easiest elevator pitch for the series was “Succession, but make it a comedy,” and that remains mostly true. In the end, though, the Roy siblings never surpassed their shortcomings and never gained the keys to their father’s empire. In Gemstones, Eli did eventually hand his ministry over to his kids, though they remained wholly undeserving — and that, in itself, was a commentary on the nature of megachurches and the unholiness of the holy. What the final episode proves, however, is that there’s still hope for Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin, as they each acknowledge their personal demons in a prayer over a dying friend. A prayer that was satisfying on its own, but also served as a call back to “Prelude,” the standalone Civil War-era origin story of the Gemstone dynasty, starring Bradley Cooper, that kicked off the season.

All season long, I wondered whether that episode might tie into the present-day storyline in some fashion. It confirmed that the Gemstones were always hucksters and conmen, but other than establishing the significance of the family’s gold-plated bible, it didn’t seem to have any greater bearing on the season — until the finale proved that “Prelude” had offered us a capsule-sized roadmap of the Gemstone siblings’ ultimate character arc. Cooper played Eli’s namesake, Elijah Gemstone, who murdered a preacher in a robbery, only to be conscripted into the Confederate Army as a chaplain while posing as that preacher. He pretends to be a man of God while covering his tracks, until his unit is captured by Union soldiers, who announce they’re going to execute everyone except Elijah himself, due to his position as clergy. Saved by his great lie, he’s asked to lead his men in a prayer before their death, and for the first time, he finds true words of comfort by reflecting on his own life. He asks God to forgive these men, who may have killed people, but only because they had to. “It’s better than killing for money, or out of meanness,” he says, referring to himself. He then muses about God’s plan, and why sinners are left on Earth while good men go to Heaven, and in that moment we see him become a true believer. God’s mercy has spared him, and now he has a chance to live a more righteous, or at least slightly better, life.

In the present, our Gemstones experience a far bloodier brush with mortality before their come-to-Jesus moment. Corey Milsap (Sean William Scott) goes off the deep end after killing his father to save Eli, revealing that he was his father’s accomplice in disposing of Lori’s beaus. While the rest of the family is out on the lake, Corey shoots Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin, then leaves to find more ammo so he can finish what he started. And I know I’m here to talk about the past rippling into the present or whatever, but I need to be honest: the siblings dragging their bloody bodies around the house moments after I thought they were goners is the hardest I’ve laughed in ages. That’s what I’ll miss about this show, the way it seamlessly whiplashes from high-stakes violence into sheer absurdity. Well, that and watching John Goodman try not to break while the siblings describe his penis.

Another big payoff in the finale is the Chekhov’s monkey of it all, as the siblings use Dr. Watson to fetch Jesse’s gun before Corey returns. The moment he walks through the door, Jesse shoots him in the head (the blood, how it spurts!), and as he lies dying, he asks them to pray for him — and about him. Still, they each ultimately speak of their own shortcomings. Judy talks about how pain can make you crazy, addressing the hole inside her since her mother’s death. Kelvin talks about letting go of fears, and Jesse about the corrupting effect of jealousy. They may not have pretended to be believers in the same way Elijah did all those years ago, but this is still the first time their faith has felt genuine. The first time they connected to God through an honest appraisal of themselves.

The final season was mostly about the family, and Eli especially, finding ways to move on from the death of Aimee-Leigh, which was a worthy note to end the series on. Danny McBride and co. have a way with flawed characters, shading in just the right amount of depth without ever redeeming them, and The Righteous Gemstones hit that sweet spot in its last hurrah. Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin are still undeserving of the ministry, and their church remains a monstrous sham, but they inched just a little closer to God anyway, and that’s alright. If God does have a plan, it’s in those personal victories. There is no one true path, there’s just progress. And every little bit counts.