The Righteous Gemstones‘ fourth season ended how it began: with a prayer. Highlighting all the genre dexterity, rhapsodic vulgarity, and indelible performances that made the series a worthy counterpoint to HBO’s other show about uber-wealthy failchildren, Danny McBride’s faith-based comedy found inner peace before meeting its maker. However, unlike his previous shows, Eastbound & Down and Vice Principals, McBride softened his characters in this final outing, obscuring the megachurch business for most of the final nine episodes and honing in on the internal struggles of his leads. He humanized Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin, in all their imperfect, corruptible, and contemptible glory, finding redemption in a cathartic and satisfying send-off.

But first, as King Solomon would appreciate, the episode was cloven in twain. For about the first 20 minutes of “That Man Of God May Be Complete,” we see the five main characters unpacking some leftover baggage. Starting with the Cape & Pistol, where Jesse basks in the glow of another conquest, Vance Simkins shakes off his death throes, slams a beer, and drops the yellow hanky, challenging Jesse to a duel to the death. Jesse, realizing immediately that the Barry Lyndon LARP has gone too far, leans on his father as his second, finding confidence in his support. But Eli does him one better: He validates Jesse, telling his son that he’s the better father and uses Gideon, the most righteous of Gemstones, as an example. However, Jesse cannot back out because a dishonorable discharge from C&P would strip him of what makes him special. No, Jesse must take his paces. Thankfully, God has his back.

In the first instance of divine intervention tonight, Vance misses his shot and sends a bullet past Jesse and into the parking lot. As Vance gives a searing performance of a person with a gun pointed at them, Jesse assumes the moral high ground. He shows the orphan mercy and quits Cape & Pistol, hitting a random pastor with a stray bullet. Before the show cuts to the title card one final time, Eli Gemstone sends us into the meat of the episode with a final brief sermon: “When I was child…oh, fuck, y’all.” How appropriate.

As Jesse frees himself of his insecurities, it’s a new morning in Kelvin’s treehouse. Announcing that he’s no longer afraid of the Devil’s piss, spiders in the toilet, or the dog from the beans commercial, Kelvin makes Keefe the happiest ex-Satanist in the world and pops the question—Sigfried and Roy be damned. Judy, too, shows growth and allows her hatred of Dr. Watson to subside. After witnessing the rare sight of a mustachioed man crying, she facilitates a visit between Watson and B., only to find the good doctor putting up a front. It’s not going down like that. Judy gets in Watson’s face and empathizes with him, relating, primate to primate, that she puts on a tough exterior, too, and it’s time to stop their pain out on the people who love them.

Everyone’s choosing family over pride, fame, money, or fear tonight. Even Baby Billy, who, staring up at the cross he’s meant to bear as a very convincing teenage savior, decides to return to the wife who always remembers the coleslaw. He quits Teenjus, forgoing the millions of dollars his brother-in-law put up for the production. The only loose end is Eli. After receiving Lori’s letter from Aimee-Leigh, he heads to the stage of the Prayer Center for one last look at his former kingdom. That’s where the kids find him and trap him in a final cursing circle as they express their pride in their father’s ability to still do cums. But before he can get his nut on, Eli reminds the kids that there’s still a loose end in need of tying: Corey.

Throughout the season, Corey has shrunk into the background. Played with quiet, downcast stoicism by Seann William Scott, the character’s monotone stillness didn’t match the Gemstones’ energy but wanted to. The lingering shots of him throughout the season, like the one that punctuated the penultimate episode, hint at something destructive within him. His treatment of Jana revealed his inner rage and inability to deliver a good-natured rip. He’s just mean to her, and tonight he goes Wacko Jacko on everybody.

The kids invite Corey and Lori to Galilee Gulch to bury the hatchet and reset the dynamic over lake talents. But Corey’s problems need more than a game of cornhole. After surprising the family with an incomparable Moonwalk—no one sells an amateur dancer like Gemstones‘ slo-mo—Corey demands $7 million from the family. He’s not entirely wrong for doing so. After all, he rescued Eli and Baby Billy from Cobb, feeding his father to a monster gator, which left him psychologically scarred. But money is still the line for the Gemstones.

Corey’s request challenges the Gemstones’ newfound glory as they revert to old habits. Tossing sacks in the yard, the kids reiterate they’d do anything for Corey except loan him the money. After Kelvin reminds the cornholers that he’s Top Christ Following Man, Jesse and Judy rip into their younger brother for having chocolate stains on his shirt, inspiring the nickname “Diareen Baby.” The close-ups of Jesse and Judy add a touch more venom, but Kelvin, who doesn’t have the money to help Corey, tells the group that the shirt costs $5,000. He stiffens his arms and runs inside to clean up.

McBride, who directed the finale, has been turning up the tension since arriving at Galilee, introducing the lake house with a shot of Corey with his back to the camera. He twists the dial again as Kelvin enters the house. Waiting for him at the top of the stairs is Aimee-Leigh (and definitely not Keefe playing dress-em-ups), guiding Kelvin into Corey’s bedroom. The apparition changes the complexion of the episode, adding a tinge of horror to the atmosphere. Aimee-Leigh leads Kelvin to Elijah’s gold-plated Bible, waiting for him in Corey’s bag. Kelvin rushes back outside to tell his siblings. Corey meets them and admits that he’s been working with Cobb to take out Lori’s suitors, implicating Corey in Cobb’s crimes and manipulating him over the decades. In Corey’s words, Cobb turned Corey into a monster. As the kids head inside to stop Corey from killing himself, Corey turns his ire on the siblings. 

Dressed in his sequinned Michael Jackson jacket, Corey picks the kids off one at a time, moving like Patrick Bateman with UB40’s “Red Red Wine” playing—and to Amber’s approval. Indulging his horror instincts one last time, McBride makes a meal out of the set piece, killing off his characters without the reverence one might expect. It’s done matter-of-factly, allowing each shot to feel real as if Judy will be unceremoniously removed from the show. Sadly for Corey, God always has the Gemstones’ backs, and the gunman runs out of bullets before delivering the final blow. As he’s assembling his assault rifle in the driveaway, the kids crawl back to life, leaving a trail of blood in their wake. Bleeding out in the foyer, Judy puts her faith in Dr. Watson, enlisting him to find Jesse’s everyday carry bag for men, where Jesse keeps his pistol. Corey returns to the house and gets a bullet in the temple courtesy of Jesse.

Corey’s death brings the season full circle. Just as Elijah comforted those confederate soldiers with prayer, Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin do the same for Corey. Crowding over their friend, the Gemstones channel their forefathers and leave him with a prayer that comforts the dying and heals the living. The kids vocalize the jealousy, pain, and fear that have corrupted them these four seasons, turning them into violent, vengeful, and greedy people. They pray for Corey and themselves, finding redemption in helping him pass on. Maybe they will make better angels than people, too.

The Righteous Gemstones comes to a close on a hopeful note. Kelvin and Keefe exchange their spit-soaked vows and glowy wedding rings as the family dances together. Tearing open the letter from Aimee-Leigh, Jennifer Nettles’ narration adds the sweet sorrow of saying goodbye to these bizarre, hateful, and lovable characters. A good finale doesn’t simply end the story but leaves the characters on an upswing, imbuing a sense of calm in the viewer. With Eli’s kids married off, he sails into the sunset with Lori. For the Gemstones, salvation isn’t found in the afterlife. Heaven is a place on Earth, and two centuries after Elijah killed a pastor and stole his Bible, the family has found God. He’s been behind them all along

Stray observations

• • Sunday School: Tonight’s title “That Man Of God May Be Complete,” comes from 2 Timothy 3:17 (“that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work”) and feeds nicely into Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin’s last, introspective prayer. They’re finally equipped for the work.
• • “Unless you’re afraid of monkey-horror-type stuff, where Dr. Watson sees you and flies into a rage, rips off your lips, yanks off your dick, bites off your fingers so he can cram up your asshole. Sometimes monkeys do express themselves that way.” 
• • The only thing missing this season was a real Baby Billy banger. Though “Turn The Other Cheek” grew on me this past week, I think it pales in comparison to his previous work. The disco swerve wasn’t country enough for me.
• • It’s a crime that we never saw a trailer for or a finished scene from Teenjus.
• • It’s been an absolute pleasure recapping the Gemstones these past two seasons. I hope that it was as fun to read as it was to write. In terms of Danny McBride’s comedies, I don’t know if this is the pinnacle of his work, but he’s found a better balance of light and dark. While he could be accused of letting these characters off the hook a bit, this fourth season softened Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin and made it a little easier to love them but harder to say goodbye. As always, I can’t wait to see what he does next.