Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for The Righteous Gemstones Season 3 finale.
It’s strange to hear about any hope for the future of television and film production in wake of theSAG and WGA strikesthat have essentially shut down the industry earleir this year. With movies getting pushed back, film festivals not having stars to attend, and many shows getting either canceled or removed from streaming services entirely, it’s so rare to hear any good news. However, the confirmation thatThe Righteous Gemstones, one of the funniest shows of 2023 so far, will bereturning for a fourth seasonis exciting, uplifting news. While the two-part Season 3 finale “I Will Take You by the Hand and Keep You” and “Wonders That Cannot Be Fathomed, Miracles That Cannot Be Counted” seems to indicate that there aren’t any brewing conflicts yet,the season has subtly hinted at the direction that the show could go in the future.
The Righteous Gemstones
Follows a world-famous televangelist family with a long tradition of deviance, greed, and charitable work.
‘The Righteous Gemstones’ Season 3 Finale Shows the Gemstones Healing
The Righteous Gemstones’third season endswith an image that fans of the series may have never expected to see:the entire Gemstone clan gathered together for what seems like a relatively conflict-free celebration. Eli (John Goodman) seems to be on speaking terms again with his children Jesse (Danny McBride),Judy (Edi Patterson), and Kelvin (Adam DeVine), each of whom attends with their own families. Even the former radical fundamentalist and primary villain of the series, Peter Montgomery (Steve Zahn), takes part in the celebration alongside his estranged wifeMay-May (Kristen Johnston)and their children Chuck (Lukas Haas) and Karl (Robert Oberst).
While the Gemstone children have seemingly mended their relationships with each other after their near-death experience, the healing they must undergo with their respective partners may be a little more challenging.Judy and her husband BJ(Tim Baltz)have had a particularly rough season, as Judy’s affair with her musician Stephen (Stephen Schneider) really upset BJ and pushed him to his breaking point. Even if they’ve been appearing together on infomercials for the couples counseling service “The System,”BJ may want to assert himself more and earn more respect from the family; he’s been needlessly mocked and lampooned throughout the run of the entire show, and it’s time for him to force everyone to show him a little more respect.
Perhaps the most rewarding moment of the entire season was seeing Kelvinfinally embrace his best friend Keefe (Tony Cavalero), and make it clear that their “close friendship” has been a romantic one for much longer than either man was initially able to admit. Thankfully, Kelvin and Keefe are given their own chairs side-by-side at the celebration,indicating that the entire family supports their relationship. The question is whether the larger community that attends and watches the Gemstones preach will be equally accepting, as there are more than likely a few homophobic members in their audience. Kelvin will be under scrutiny from the parents of the students that attend his youth seminars, who have already made it clear that they have an issue with Keefe. Perhaps being seen in Kelvin’s eyes as a member of the family will give Keefe more confidence, but he is still facing an uphill battle.
The most interesting moment in the finale came whenJesse’s son Gideon (Skyler Gisondo)reaches out to his grandfather about learning to preach. Gideon has a checkered past due to his criminal blackmailing activities, but in Season 3, he put his talents of martial arts and stunt driving to good use when he comes in to save his father, aunt, and uncle from Peter’s militia group.Gideon has redeemed himself in the eyes of his family, so it will be interesting to see what wisdom he has learned from reading Eli’s memoir and spending more time with his grandfather. Perhaps Season 4 will deal with Eli’s further mentorship of Gideon, and how Jesse responds to his son following the same path that his father and grandfather did.
This Is ‘The Righteous Gemstones’ Season 3’s Best Couple, Period
Is this wacky couple also the show’s most stable couple?
It was nice to see thatPeter had rejoined the family, but his redemptive arc will certainly not be a simple one. Peter is responsible for kidnapping Jesse, Kelvin, and Judy, andhe’s spent years raising a violent extremist cult that even he couldn’t control anymore. Even if Peter is choosing a more “righteous” path, he has spent so much of his life dedicated to wrongheaded beliefs that will take time to undo. If Eli is accepting Peter as part of the family, will he have a role in the church? If he does, will Peter try to assert his influence and change the church from within? He’s made it clear on multiple occasions that he takes issue with the Gemstones’ celebrity status and the sensationalism that they’ve added to church services.
There’s also the ongoing question as to what crazy scenarioBaby Billy (Walton Goggins)will get everyone into next.Baby Billy’s game show “Bible Bonkers” went horribly awry when a literally biblical swarm of locusts attacked the set during the middle of production, and it’s unclear if the family will tolerate his nonsense anymore. Baby Billy may be a complete buffoon, but he’s also a manipulative character who can convince a lot of powerful people to invest in his schemes; he managed to get Jesse to help recreate his mother Aimee-Leigh’s (Jennifer Nettles) likeness for a virtual reality simulation, and Eli has always given him more attention than he necessarily deserves.
As for potential villains, the Gemstones may have pushed their conflict with the Simkins family over the edge. The Gemstones scored a victory whenthey earned the loyalty of the legendary NASCAR driver Dusty Daniels(Shea Whigham) after Jesse saved him during the game show crisis, but Vance (Stephen Dorff) will likely be looking to get revenge somehow. The Simkins have an empire that can compete with the Gemstones, so perhaps an all-out war will happen between the two families.
Whatever direction it takes, Season 4 ofThe Righteous Gemstonesis something to look forward to as HBO adjusts to the future in wake ofDavid Zazlav’s changes and the impact of the strikes. With many of HBO’s best shows either ending or being canceled, Season 4 ofThe Righteous Gemstoneswill be a bright spot in their next lineup.
The Righteous Gemstonesis available to stream on Max in the U.S.
