Tamal Kundu
A Danny McBride creation, ‘The Righteous Gemstones’ doesn’t necessarily target religion itself through its satirical narrative. Instead, it mocks the mutated monstrosity that human greed has turned it into. The eponymous family in ‘The Righteous Gemstones’ represents the worst combination of capitalism and religion, though as they are ultimately protagonists, they are not without their share of positive qualities.
In season 3 episode 6, titled ‘For Out of the Heart Comes Evil Thoughts,’ the Montgomery siblings move out of the Gemstone compound. Goaded by Jesse (McBride) and his friends, BJ (Tim Baltz) goes to confront Stephen (Stephen Schneider), the man with whom his wife had an affair without sex. Meanwhile, Jesse prepares to show off his big plans to his father. Here is everything you might want to know about the ending of ‘The Righteous Gemstones’ season 3 episode 6. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Righteous Gemstones Season 3 Episode 6 Recap
The episode begins with Judy (Edi Patterson) trying to ask BJ to forgive her in her own adorable but psychopathic way. Clearly, this is uncharted grounds for Judy; she has never once apologized to him before. Understandably, BJ holds on to his anger and goes out to rollerblade, during which he gets nearly run over by a car.
Later, while speaking to the visitors, he cries as Jesse and his friends pass by. Although the others mock BJ, Jesse feels bad and decides to help his brother-in-law. He and his friends take BJ to a closet and show him how to punch people. Jesse even gives the other man brass knuckles to use against Stephen.
Meanwhile, Stephen’s wife threatens to tell the Gemstone church congregation about the affair, demanding $500,000 to keep her mouth shut. After some deliberation, the church decides to pay the woman. Eli (John Goodman) has spent most of his life working for the church. And now, as he is semi-retired, he struggles to find things that excite him. He started fishing but is beginning to realize that he doesn’t particularly like the activity. Still, it’s a few hours of profound silence and peace away from the mistakes of his children, and it seems that he has come to appreciate that. In this episode, Judy tells her father about her quasi-affair while he is fishing, making him predictably frustrated.
The Montgomery brothers, Chuck and Karl, announce they are leaving, making their mother worry. The relationship between them and the Gemstones has improved significantly, and the latter group is genuinely sad to see them go. Jesse even gives his cousins his much-cherished monster truck, though he immediately regrets the decision. Chuck and Karl drive straight to the most recent camp their father has set up. Peter (Steve Zahn) watches them arrive and demands to know how they got the truck. When Chuck and Karl lie about stealing it, they are given a hero’s welcome.
Jesse and Amber (Cassidy Freeman) are mostly on the same page. But in this episode, Jesse’s selfish and petulant behavior takes a vicious turn during an argument with his wife. He asserts that she should be at his side and help him guide the church through these turbulent times and not pursue her own interests. Amber defends herself but is too stunned to make it impactful. Meanwhile, Keefe becomes jealous of the growing closeness between Kelvin and his new second-in-command.
The Righteous Gemstones Season 3 Episode 6 Ending: Is Stephen Dead?
Stephen is one of the recurring characters introduced in this season. He is a musician who went on a tour with Judy, and they became involved in an affair. They never really had sex, but there were definitely some kissing and dry-humping. Once they returned home, Judy started feeling guilty and ended things with Stephen, but BJ eventually found out about the affair.
The violence that takes place toward the end of this episode hits the viewers like a locomotive. One can glean that the plot is heading toward a confrontation between BJ and Stephen, but it’s probably safe to assume that none of us had thought in our wildest dreams that it would unfold this way.
Despite his inherent timidness, BJ seethes in humiliation and anger throughout the episode. After receiving impromptu training from Jesse, he discovers that Stephen has sent Judy messages even after the settlement between her and his wife, asking her to meet him one last time. BJ decides to show up with the brass knuckles Jesse has given him.
Initially, BJ doesn’t find Stephen in the house, making us wonder whether the man is dead. But BJ eventually locates the other man, sitting naked in a bedroom, pleasuring himself. BJ punches Stephen and spits on him. That wakes Stephen up, and he proceeds to beat BJ to a pulp. However, BJ manages to turn things around at the end. When he returns home, he tells Judy he hopes she is happy with what she has turned him into. Although Stephen does receive a brutal beating at the end, it’s highly unlikely that he is dead.
Why is Eli against Using Aimee-Leigh’s Hologram?
The entire plan of using a dead person’s likeness for profit reeks of desperation and moral bankruptcy. It is especially vile if you consider that the two people who come up with this plan, Jesse and Baby Billy, are supposed to be the son and brother of that dead person.
Fortunately, there is a limit to the greed of someone in the Gemstone family. Eli Gemstone might be a hardcore capitalist. But he seems to draw the line of exploiting his dead wife this way, though the same can’t be said about Judy and Kelvin, who disagree with the plan, likely because Jesse came up with it.
Read More: The Righteous Gemstones Season 3 Episode 5 Recap and Ending, Explained
