S01.E03: Book III: Proverbs

[jewel21]

Quote

Miraculous times leave residents stunned as Leeza pays Joe an important visit. A shocking confession reveals what really happened to Monsignor Pruitt.

Airdate: 09/24/2021

[Enero]

So I guessed early on in this episode that Father Paul was the Monsignor who was supposedly resting on the mainland. 

So could the miracles in town be due in part to the blood of the winged vampire and its keeper the Father being fed to these people in small doses? So the Father nearly died because he needs blood to survive and probably nearly poisoned himself to death eating human food. Lol. His assistant now knows who he is, but I doubt she knows what he is. How could they possibly think he has  experienced the hand of God considering how he was brought back? Have these folks never heard of vampires? Lol.  

It’s odd that they have younger actors caked with aging makeup. I’m guessing later in the series these folks may suddenly turn “young” again cause otherwise why not just cast older actors to play these roles?

I think the Muslim father has a point. Why would God heal some but allow others to suffer. And the end of this episode proves just that. 

Will this become an island of vampires whom the Muslim cop and others will have to fight off? We shall see. 

Edited September 25, 2021 by Enero

[TexasGal]

2 hours ago, Enero said:

Have these folks never heard of vampires? Lol.  

 

You mean, “angels?”  I had guessed by the time the doctor said the Monsignor used to look at her the same way that the new priest was him, but I didn’t guess vampires as the cause.

I’m guessing there is a little special sauce in the sacrament wine?

There was so much buzz about this I was hoping it would get close to Hill House.  But, so far, nope.  

[colorsblend]

I figured he was Pruitt pretty early on with all the talk about resurrection, and they way he kept saying "Monsignor told me you..." Just seemed like he knew too much about them. I'm guessing they have the young actors in old age makeup cause they'll de-age at some point too. 

I have a feeling a lot of people will find this boring because it's slow, but I love a good slow burn horror and I trust Flanagan. 

[ferjy]

19 hours ago, Enero said:

It’s odd that they have younger actors caked with aging makeup. I’m guessing later in the series these folks may suddenly turn “young” again cause otherwise why not just cast older actors to play these roles?

I originally thought it was because they were going to use the same actors in flashbacks, but given the revelation in this episode, I think you may be right. And we saw the doctor’s elderly mother make it all the way up the stairs on her own. Surely a sign of starting to get younger. 

 

[ferjy]

2 minutes ago, colorsblend said:

but I love a good slow burn horror

I do too. I like character development which they’re doing well here. And the acting is good from most of the cast. Except for Kate Siegel. I always find her mediocre. It’s especially noticeable here because she has so many scenes opposite Zach Gilford who I think is phenomenal in this. I haven’t seen him before. But Flanagan keeps casting Siegel in all his shows (guess it pays to be the wife of the showrunner) so we can’t get away from her. 

 

[Lady Calypso]

Ah, so the actors WILL be de-aging...which would be the only explanation I'd be semi-ok with casting old characters with much younger actors. 

And I figured that Father Paul was feeding some sort of monster as a sacrifice to help "heal" people. But him being Monsignour? I probably should have predicted that but it didn't really cross my mind. It makes sense, though. I just assumed Paul sacrificed him somehow and he was dead.

The acting is solid, for the most part. Just the plot and some of the writing and other things are affecting this show from being more than just "ok". 

I will say, my favourite scenes of the episode was with Leeza and Joe in his home where she's telling him that she hates him and also forgives him, as well as the scene in the church with Bev condescending lecturing everyone and Sheriff Hassan about why it's ok for her to spew proverbs at her students. Those two scenes brought a lot of spectacular acting moments from Leeza and Joe's actors, but also from Rahul Kohli for the latter scene. Poor guy had to sit through Bev lecturing him on why Christianity is the best religion, essentially, with her making crude remarks about his religion while pretending that she's oh so accepting of everyone and how she'd NEVER DARE chase the Sheriff out of town for his beliefs. 

Sure, Bev. Sure you wouldn't. 

Riley continues to be the best character in this series, with him explaining to Father Paul about his beliefs and why he's an atheist.

You see, this show HAS an interesting enough premise and the quieter character moments aren't bad. The themes of the series are solid and I can see the potential...but it's just not doing it for me still.

Alas, I'm almost halfway through and if I SOMEHOW got through the dead animal scenes, as long as there aren't more dead animals shown, I MIGHT be able to finish watching. 

[Slovenly Muse]

Oof. Oh, Mike Flanagan. His stuff is just interesting enough to keep me coming back (and let's be honest, there is a dearth of good horror on TV these days), but it absolutely perplexes me how a successful horror writer/director can have SUCH a poor grasp of how horror works. My partner saw me starting the pilot earlier with the cat in the room (our cat is a panicky weirdo) and joked that it's not nice to watch horror with our poor cat who is easily scared. I joked to him not to worry because, "It's a Mike Flanagan show, so I'm sure by episode 3 all the horror will be explained, so we won't have to be scared of anything for the rest of the series and can just focus on criticizing the writing."

I was INTENDING to exaggerate for humorous effect. I was not expecting a full-on SOLILOQUY in episode three OF SEVEN explaining exactly what the supernatural terror is, why it is there, and what it is doing. I just can't believe he did this, even though it's the same every damn time. Good horror trades on the audience's fear of the unknown, the ambiguity of possible explanations for what is happening and the maddening lack of certainty. It maximizes on the fear of "the uncanny:" the disconnect between what your senses are perceiving and what your brain understands to be possible. Every damn time, Flanagan kneecaps himself by not only explaining but OVER-explaining his horror elements WAY too early in the show, and draining the tension out of everything that comes after!

I'm hopeful that he is planning to capitalize on this early reveal by mining it for dramatic irony (when the audience knows something the characters don't), watching the townspeople become increasingly enamored by the church and its "miracles," not knowing they are putting themselves in danger... but I just don't trust that he's going to be able to build that tension successfully. Still, I'm in it now and I'm going to find out!

OK, one more before bed!

 

[merylinkid]

11 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

Poor guy had to sit through Bev lecturing him on why Christianity is the best religion, essentially, with her making crude remarks about his religion while pretending that she's oh so accepting of everyone and how she'd NEVER DARE chase the Sheriff out of town for his beliefs. 

Sure, Bev. Sure you wouldn't. 

See right up until this episode I had Bev pegged as a serial killer destroying everything that annoys her because she believes she is so righteous.   Then I remembered its a horror series, not a crime series.   But damn she does have the self-righteous marytrdom act down pat.   

 

7 hours ago, Slovenly Muse said:

I was not expecting a full-on SOLILOQUY in episode three OF SEVEN explaining exactly what the supernatural terror is, why it is there, and what it is doing.

And that COMPLETELY destroyed my view of Bev as the killer.    DAMMIT.   But she is still backing up the Monsigneur because she is sooooooo much holier than the rest of us so she just KNOWS a living saint when she sees one.   Also she has something to hold over his head if he ever tries to shut her the hell up.   

[raven]

16 hours ago, colorsblend said:

I figured he was Pruitt pretty early on with all the talk about resurrection, and they way he kept saying "Monsignor told me you..." Just seemed like he knew too much about them.

I did as well - from the first ep actually, when Riley thought he saw the Monsignor on the beach.  Then it was really hammered home with the "new" priest knowing everyone's name during communion, etc.

However, I thought "Father Paul" would actually be the vampire, not that he apparently brought one with him??  My guess is he's been bleeding himself into the wine, hence his illness.

11 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I will say, my favourite scenes of the episode was with Leeza and Joe in his home where she's telling him that she hates him and also forvies him, as well as the scene in the church with Bev condescending lecturing everyone and Sheriff Hassan about why it's ok for her to spew proverbs at her students. Those two scenes brought a lot of spectacular acting moments from Leeza and Joe's actors, but also from Rahul Kohli for the latter scene.

The Leeza and Joe scene was outstanding - I actually felt badly for them both, though honestly my sympathy for Joe is because Bev murdered his dog.  Still, I agree that the acting was so good here.

The school scene was also really good - notice how the teacher (can't remember her name) backs down to Bev.   Speaking of which, I have to give props to Samantha Sloyan - she has the part nailed perfectly; I loathe Bev.   The scene where the sheriff confronts her in the storage room about the poison is also very good - Bev is so sure of her righteousness that she doesn't back down.  Agree that Rahul Kohli is also doing really good work.   I felt for him as well when his son said he wanted to go to church - I'm thinking "nooo, don't forbid it - he'll sneak out anyway!  Let him go and go with him!".    The son had a point - the decision to be a Muslin was made for him.  I thought it was a very real parent/child conversation.

During the school scene, I watched the background players - the Mayor and his wife, whose daughter was recipient of the "miracle" - are nodding along with Bev - some people in the back are looking skeptical of her BS.  I think it was a good microcosm of the town and a very good example of how these things can go - the loudest voice in the room wins.  The whole time I'm thinking why does Bev get to make this decision?  Then you see the Mayor is in total agreement and the teacher is too cowed or disinterested to really challenge her.

The only parts of the series that drag for me are the Masses in Church.  I get it show, I don't need to hear the entire sermon.

 

[Paloma]

On 9/24/2021 at 10:13 PM, Enero said:

So the Father nearly died because he needs blood to survive and probably nearly poisoned himself to death eating human food.

I'm not sure if he was poisoned by eating human food. I thought his symptoms and near-death were due to withdrawal from blood, like withdrawal from alcohol--symptoms of the latter include nausea, vomiting, sweating, fever, and the DTs (which can be fatal). It's not clear how long he went without ingesting blood, but serious alcohol withdrawal symptoms can begin 2 days after stopping alchol.

[Straycat80]

Finally. Now a lot makes sense after watching this episode. What was in the trunk from episode one. The big winged creature. Father Paul is really Monsignor Pruitt. I’m enjoying this series, it stated slow but it’s gotten more interesting. 

[Anela]

So he was adding his blood to the drink he gave the parishioners?

Did that woman poison him? Does this man that they are all getting younger, or healthier, and that’s why the actors are aged up?

[Anela]

On 9/26/2021 at 11:14 AM, Paloma said:

I'm not sure if he was poisoned by eating human food. I thought his symptoms and near-death were due to withdrawal from blood, like withdrawal from alcohol--symptoms of the latter include nausea, vomiting, sweating, fever, and the DTs (which can be fatal). It's not clear how long he went without ingesting blood, but serious alcohol withdrawal symptoms can begin 2 days after stopping alchol.

I thought Bev poisoned him.  They showed her with that bottle.  

[Paloma]

3 hours ago, Anela said:

I thought Bev poisoned him.  They showed her with that bottle.  

Well, I think she was definitely poisoning someone, or planning to do so. But why would she poison the priest?

[Anela]

11 hours ago, Paloma said:

Well, I think she was definitely poisoning someone, or planning to do so. But why would she poison the priest?

Because she knew that he was lying? I don't know, but they showed her with the bottle again, before it happened.

[HelloooKitty]

Yay! I figured out about the priest before they told us!

I can’t stand Bev and hope something eats her. And that it’s painful. Very very painful. 

[tennisgurl]

I feel pretty proud of myself for guessing pretty early on that the heavy makeup was because they plan on de-aging people, although it took me about halfway through the episode that the new priest is actually the elderly Monsieur. This is all working pretty well so far, the twists make sense and are foreshadowed but without being super obvious. The vampire angel is pretty creepy, I guess all the talk about The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and the albatross was foreshadowing a winged creature that a character brings back from the sea? Should be interesting if they carry that metaphor even further. I also wonder if the angel vampire being brought across the ocean in a crate is a Dracula reference? The vampire being brought by boat in a crate to an island where it starts sucking on the blood of the locals, making them act different?

Leeza confronting Joe was an amazing scene, both actors really killed it. I also liked the scene between the sheriff and his son about his sons interest in Catholicism, I could see both sides. The sheriff doesn't want his son to join a new religion because his friends are a part of it and being a Muslim ties them to their culture and to their dead mother, but his son is right that he never really choose to be a Muslim and that he should be allowed to explore other faiths.

The pace is slow, but I am still enjoying the show. I am very relived we got a break from animal murder. I don't know quite what the angel vampire's deal is, but I already know that it will be more likable than Bev.

Edited October 4, 2021 by tennisgurl

[Paloma]

22 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

I don't know quite what the angel vampire's deal is, but I already know that it will be more likable than Bev.

Didn't think of that comparison before, but totally agree!

[Macbeth]

I really liked this episode, Joe scenes with Leeza, Riley and the priest.  The school scene.  

Then I was reminded that this is a horror series.  

That's no Angel father - that's a vampire.

[vavera4ka]

On 9/26/2021 at 10:14 AM, Paloma said:

I'm not sure if he was poisoned by eating human food. I thought his symptoms and near-death were due to withdrawal from blood, like withdrawal from alcohol--symptoms of the latter include nausea, vomiting, sweating, fever, and the DTs (which can be fatal). It's not clear how long he went without ingesting blood, but serious alcohol withdrawal symptoms can begin 2 days after stopping alchol.

idk the way i saw it that the symptoms were exactly the ones that the dog had after being poisoned.

I feel like Monsignor needed another very dramatic "miracle". the small stuff such as eyesight getting better, or a back not hurting any more are too slow to register. so he killed himself.

my theory is that he didn't complete his transformation. it didn't look like he died in the cave. and maybe in this universe you don't have a timer on you. he ingested a lot of blood, and then it kept coming to him too as part of communion. but he needed to die to become a full vampire. i don't think he realized that when he poisoned himself.

oh it's gonna be fun to watch him try to abstain... i'm assuming a priest of his age (well.... lol) will try to abstain. so another view on addiction.

ok. on to episode 4.

[Dababy]

Nobody else on the island gets sick like he does.  I suppose it could just take a long time for the vampire blood to kill him and then bring him back, it just seems weird that it would make him healthy and young and then slowly kill him over time. And the fashion in which he dies is super similar to the way the dog dies earlier, but obviously Bev wouldn’t poison him. Am I the only one who is super confused about this?? This is one of the best shows I’ve seen in ages but I wish there was a better explanation for this. 

[natyxg]

On 12/1/2021 at 9:54 PM, Dababy said:

Nobody else on the island gets sick like he does.  I suppose it could just take a long time for the vampire blood to kill him and then bring him back, it just seems weird that it would make him healthy and young and then slowly kill him over time. And the fashion in which he dies is super similar to the way the dog dies earlier, but obviously Bev wouldn’t poison him. Am I the only one who is super confused about this?? This is one of the best shows I’ve seen in ages but I wish there was a better explanation for this. 

I think it's a vampire blood overdose. The others were getting a sip of blood that was diluted in wine, and it was enough to cause huge changes in them. He drank a bunch of blood when the vampire attacked him and then kept drinking it every day at Mass. It's like Sarah says, that your body can even filter out poison if it hasn't overwhelmed your system, but if you take too much your body can't filter it out and you die. I assume that's what happened to him, too much vampire blood that he couldn't filter out.

Edited December 4, 2021 by natyxg

[millennium]

Another vampire show.  By now vampires are getting a bit long in the tooth, don't you think?