HBO's 'The Righteous Gemstones' premiere is chaotic, though the sibling rivalry entertains
Spoilers ahead for 'The Righteous Gemstones' episode 1
The first episode of 'The Righteous Gemstones' season 1 is one hot mess and it seems like the makers intended it to be so. There are moments where you want to strangle either Jesse Gemstone (Danny McBride), Kevin Gemstone (Adam Devine) or Judy Gemstone (Edi Patterson) because they are out there making comments with no rational sense.
Then, we have the patriarch of the family Eli Gemstone (John Goodman), who tries to run herd on his family that has gone bonkers with fame and fortune. So much so, Jesse, his eldest son has got himself involved in snorting cocaine with nude women and men.
A recording of that is now being used to blackmail him in the present. He is nervous, and at one point even scared he will be the downfall of the Gemstones if he doesn't do something.
After the audiences are treated to some gross video footage of naked men and women we see Jesse ask Kevin for help, the same brother he was goading and insulting a few hours earlier. Of course, it doesn't go well. When the Gemstones get together for lunch after Sunday church, the conflict between Jesse and Kevin grows manifold and the two start punching each other and swearing at each other.
At this point, we understand the futility of hoping for these men to grow up. This show is going to continue to portray Jesse and Kevin as manchildren and it will be doing it in a manner that is sure to be frustrating but that seems to be the point; portraying the true colors of televangelists who are no more than just a bunch of annoying adults.
Hopefully, the element of getting audiences frustrated is intentional. Every time the three siblings get into a p*****g match, you want to smack their heads to get them to focus on the point in question as well as laugh uncontrollably.
For instance, Judy realizes Jesse is out with a weapon to attack the reverend of one of the churches that they will soon be taking over because he is convinced the man is his blackmailer. Kevin confesses everything Jesse told him to Judy because Jesse is hell-bent on doing something that could potentially destroy not just himself but his entire family.
Then, coincidentally, of course, we have Jesse call in because one of his sidekicks - Chad - gets shot at by the reverend. Judy is however not interested in discussing this, instead, she goes on a rant about how Jesse, who is the celebrated eldest son, has now screwed up.
Adding to this already frustrating event that transpires, is how regressive this family is. They do not include Judy in the big game because she is a woman which is what influenced her bitter attitude towards her brother.
Then, we also have Jesse's wife Amber Gemstone (Cassidy Freeman) who gets his permission to speak at the lunch table. It is admirable how the scene is delivered because we do not just want the irony here but the humor needs to come through as well as it did, which was just in passing. In fact, this scene convinces viewers how getting frustrated at the characters is a part of the experience.
The three siblings come together for reasons of their own and try to solve the issue at hand by paying off the blackmailers but things go south. Judy accidentally runs over one of them while trying to get away with the money and the video they were given.
Jesse, on the other hand, decides killing the other one would be best and runs over him too. This is not something that Kevin or Judy signed up for in the first place so it will be interesting to see how the three cope up with what they have done.
'The Righteous Gemstones' season 1 episode 2 will air Sunday on HBO at 10 p.m.