Tamal Kundu
A Danny McBride creation, ‘The Righteous Gemstones’ is an HBO black comedy series that revolves around the eponymous family of televangelists and megachurch pastors for whom greed and accumulation of wealth take precedence over faith. In season 3 episode 7, titled ‘Burn for Burn, Wound for Wound, Stripe for Stripe,’ the Gemstone siblings are abducted, which creates panic at the Gemstone compound. Jesse (McBride), Kelvin (Adam DeVine), and Judy (Edi Patterson) soon discover the perpetrators and begin to realize that they might not get out of this predicament alive. Here is everything you might want to know about the ending of ‘The Righteous Gemstones’ season 3 episode 7. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Righteous Gemstones Season 3 Episode 7 Recap
The episode begins with the abduction of the three Gemstone siblings. A distraught Judy buys medicines for BJ (Tim Baltz). On her way back, she is attacked by some people in a monster truck. They grab her before crushing her car. Elsewhere, Kelvin arrives at the carpentry shop where Keefe (Tony Cavalero) now works, hoping to make amends and let the other man know he is sorry for not fighting for him. Suddenly, he finds himself surrounded by a group of men, and the declaration that he knows martial arts doesn’t keep them away.
At the parking lot of the Gemstone Salvation Center, Jesse encounters his cousin, Chuck (Lukas Haas), and rightfully becomes suspicious of the other man’s behavior. He pulls out the pistol he keeps in the car, only to discover that Chuck has brought several fellow members of the militia with him. He is subsequently taken to the camp Peter (Steve Zahn) and his people from the Brothers of Tomorrow’s Fires group use as a base. There, he reunites with his siblings and discovers Peter’s plan of ransoming them.
Meanwhile, the significant other of each of the siblings begins to get worried. While Amber (Cassidy Freeman) and BJ become increasingly concerned because of the prolonged absence of Jesse and Judy, Keefe finds Kelvin’s Jeep and realizes that something is amiss. It isn’t long before Eli (John Goodman) receives a CD from Peter and learns about his children’s current predicament. When Eli calls Peter and demands to know why he has stooped so low, the other man remarks that Eli destroyed his life before asking if Eli thought he wouldn’t make him pay. Peter demands five million for each of the Gemstone siblings.
Understandably, Eli becomes suspicious of May-May and calls the police, and they restrict her activities within the compound. Meanwhile, life rapidly becomes troublesome for the Gemstone siblings. Peter asks them to hold service at the camp, fully knowing that his captives are incapable of that. Eli raised three capitalists whose faith is rooted in its performative nature. They might believe in God but are perfectly fine about exploiting other people’s faith. The siblings become a laughingstock in front of their captors. Without the glitz and glamor of the Gemstone megachurch, they fail to inspire, or even entertain, the small group of people gathered before them.
The Righteous Gemstones Season 3 Episode 7: Do the Gemstone Siblings Get Rescued?
Yes, the Gemstone siblings get rescued by the end of the episode. When Peter makes his ransom demands, May-May urges her brother not to pay her former husband, claiming that Peter is incapable of killing someone. This prompts the others to remind her that Peter went to jail for killing someone while robbing a bank. The circumstances were admittedly complex, but that doesn’t negate that a man died.
Ultimately, Eli listens to his sister and refuses to pay. What neither he nor May-May has taken into consideration is the fact that Peter leads a militia outfit. They might be right about him, and there is still a shred of goodness in his heart, but that can’t be true for all Brothers of Tomorrow’s Fires members. They are not related to the Gemstones in any way and don’t have any qualms about killing them.
When Eli refuses to pay, Peter’s people suggest they kill one of the Gemstone siblings to send a message. Peter realizes that this is a test of his leadership as well. He is the one who planned the abduction and demanded the money from Eli. And Now that Eli has said he would not pay the ransom, Peter has to go through with the threat left unspoken and kill one of the Gemstones. If he doesn’t, his people will question his leadership. So, he lets Jesse, Kelvin, and Judy know that one of them will die soon.
Fortunately, May-May shows up in time and rescues them with Karl’s help. They encounter Peter and Chuck, but neither is willing to shoot May-May. Gideon, who has secretly followed May-May, finds the monster truck his father earlier gave to the Montgomery siblings and uses it to wreak havoc on the camp, completely destroying it.
Why Doesn’t Peter Shoot May-May?
Before he went to jail for robbery and murder, Peter was a diminutive, God-fearing man. He has always been an excellent preacher, but he was poor. Hoping to better his financial situation, he invested in Eli’s Y2K survival buckets. When the apocalypse they all feared didn’t happen, Peter faced financial ruin. After May-May refused her brother’s help, a desperate Peter tried to rob a bank, killed the security guard, and ended up in jail. His life as an inmate changed him, making him paranoid, angry, and cruel.
However, in this episode, he is unable to shoot his estranged wife as she leaves with his captives, panics, and gives the gun to Chuck, who can’t shoot May-May either. The man is likely heading toward a tragic ending, but Peter still has some of the decency of his former life left within him.
Read More: The Righteous Gemstones Season 3 Episode 6 Recap and Ending, Explained
