Clearpost.online It's your post, so post it!

There’s nothing like a weekend at Galilee Gulch to put things in perspective, and there’s nothing like a vacation episode to bring the long-simmering issues to a boil. “He Goeth Before You Into Galilee” follows in the tradition of other great HBO getaways, like “Sopranos Family Movies” and Girls‘ “Beach House,” with characters getting out of their co*fort zones, stripping down to bathing suits—or less if Baby Billy’s involved—and revealing their true selves. The installment’s opening shot gives a sense of the freedom—and its price. As Baby Billy lets it all hang out, waterskiing in the buff and on one leg, Aunt Tiffany drives the boat with two kids in tow, pointing out how special their daddy is. The ever-doting Gemstone spouses make blessed partners’ lives possible, which is probably why the family is so wary of interlopers.

Directed by Danny McBride, “Galilee” sets a parent trap. Jesse, Judy, Kelvin, and Baby Billy wage war on Eli and Lori’s romance and seek to sabotage the relationship. The cliché children’s movie plotting is right in the sibling’s wheelhouse. McBride consistently frames the kids like they’re the street-wear Looney Tunes posing for a T-shirt. They’re always slouching against walls, throwing a foot up, and posing for a camera that doesn’t exist. It’s how they turn this vacation episode into a parent trap, with the kids thinking they’re Junior in Problem Child 2 so they can return to the status quo of being as miserable as Judy. The counterbalance is the reality of Eli and Lori’s romance, which has the most humanity of anything we’ve seen on the show in years. For the last two seasons, the Gemstones have squared off against formidable opponents with the money or ideology to challenge the empire. Here, they’re facing a family friend they’ve known their whole lives and whom, earlier this season, said they loved. Gemstones has plenty of out-of-control characters but not a lot of straight men underlining the co*edy. Throughout tonight’s episode, we see the disgust the kids’ plan elicits in their partners and Lori, leading to the biggest laughs this season.

Throughout the night, the kids and Billy disregard their respective family units. When they arrive at the lake house, Jesse yells for Pontious to help with the bags as Judy disregards BJ’s reasonable concerns about the property’s lack of accessibility for her differently abled spouse. This whole family needs a lesson in advocacy, and BJ’s frustration makes a clear case for it. Judy is not tending to his needs, and as the episode continues, he’s consistently pushed into the background, having to act out and spil* the “snackses” to make himself heard. The family responds to aggression only, and BJ starts showing some, but the kids have bigger fish to fry than making their loved ones co*fortable.

Eli and Lori also offer some respite from the wackiness, allowing the episode to rest a little. John Goodman and Megan Mullally keep things close to reality as they play two lifelong friends tripping over their feet with embarrassment as they start a new romance in their 70s. Goodman and Mullally bring a relatable insecurity to their scenes together, with Eli searching for the words and avoiding Lori’s eyes as he asks if she wants to go steady. I can’t think of another John Goodman performance that I’d characterize as adorable (though he’s pretty cute in True Stories), but when asking Lori out, he was just that: adorable.

Aside from the kids, everyone has co*e to accept and even support Eli and Lori. Even Corey humbly apologizes to the Gemstones for his outburst the week prior. He holds himself accountable and reveals his vulnerability surrounding his parents’ divorce. It deepens Scott’s character and his performance. Nevertheless, Judy, who has no right to do so, accepts the apology on behalf of the family, even though she also reacted horribly and is actively betraying the peace she and her brothers made with Eli outside Jason’s freezer.

As he did in “Prelude,” McBride continues to show off why this is one of the most uniquely shot and staged co*edies on television. Within this multimillion-dollar McMansion, he shoots his cast from unlikely angles, heightening the emotion and drama that the Gemstone kids perceive their actions to have. Close-ups of Judy peering through a crack in the door and the low-angle shot of Keefe entering Eli’s room play up this notion of the Gemstones performing. However, their poses exude self-consciousness the space can’t hide—neither from the camera nor those outside the immediate family. Inside this monstrous house, everyone is stacked on each other, trying and failing to find a co*fortable seat, all of which are too high, too low, or too close together. The space is cluttered with clashing ideas, name-brand beverages, and the clothes of the dead. 

The kids aim to make it even more unco*fortable. After learning of “Big Dick” Mitch, Jesse brings up Lori’s supposed former lover in front of Eli, betraying Corey in the process. Corey’s apology was so successful that it was hard not to feel for the guy as he tells Jesse, “You did me dirty.” Nevertheless, the plan backfires, and Jesse strengthens Eli and Lori’s bond, revealing a disturbing and fundamental misunderstanding of Hallmark-movie archetypes in the process. Judy’s attempt ends up being even more revealing. Edi Patterson, who continues to be a powerhouse on this show, gives a tour-de-force performance as Judy uses her superpowers and herself as a honeypot to expose Lori’s true intentions. But having known Judy her whole life, Lori sees what’s going on: Judy is acting out because she is afraid for BJ, who may never walk again. According to Lori, this is how Judy acted after her mother died—though, to be fair, this is also how Judy always acts.

With the Gemstones striking out, Keefe, having recently enjoyed Friday The 13th: Part Two, takes matters into his own hands. He plays dress ’em up with Aimee-Leigh’s clothes, which made their way into Kelvin’s room after the kids tried to weird Eli and Lori out by stuffing their closet with Aimee-Leigh’s things. Tiptoeing through Galilee late at night, Keefe sneaks into Eli’s room, does a little misbehavin’, and has the shit kicked out of him by Sola. The ordeal ends in a confrontation, draped in a Michael Mann blue, that co*es to a head when Eli gives Amber what Judy describes as a “very well-timed ‘shut the fuck up.'” Eli typically doesn’t co*ment on what his kids’ partners do or say, so it feels like a massive escalation, especially because he targets Amber, who has the most seniority among the spouses and was on Eli’s side throughout the episode. Also, Keefe really was the one who pissed him off. Still, after an episode of Jesse interjecting into Eli’s relationship, Eli gives it right back.

The whole thing brings the problem into sharp focus for the kids. Over breakfast, Jesse recognizes that it’s time to apologize, and the kids march triumphantly over to their dad’s room to show their growth as the soundtrack juices up the positive vibes for a joyous finale. It’s how these episodes end, right? On a moment of familial bonding and understanding? But this is Gemstones. It can’t just end like that, can it? Could they swerve and, like Succession, kill the patriarch off in the fourth episode? Nah, the kids walk in on Eli and Lori 69-ing, to Eli’s horror and Lori’s delight. Goodman is rage personified as he confronts his kids for the last time. Framed within the house’s grand arches, making them look like they were adorning the stained glass of their megachurch, the family nearly makes peace once again, but then Judy notices that Eli’s “dick is leaking pre-cum,” and it’s left a wet spot on his pants. Eli creeps away sheepishly, stretching his T-shirt over his midsection as the kids cry, “Daddy came,” punctuating the unresolved conflict with one final “Fuck!” 

Stray observations

• • Sunday School: Tonight’s title, “He Goeth Before You Into Galilee,” co*es from Matthew 28:7. “Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” The verse refers to the Apostle Matthew telling Jesus’ disciples that their savior, after being crucified, was no longer in the cave but had gone to Galilee. The passage evokes that final scene. Jesus rose and Daddy came.


• • Pontious remains the coolest Gemstone. The dude smokes weed on a jet ski and lands a clean 360 flip. No wonder Abraham is siding with him.


• • I don’t know if I’m reading too much into it, but Corey’s response to Jesse felt a little off. I sympathized with him, but it was a little flat—almost like he was expecting Jesse’s betrayal.


• • Similarly, I don’t know what to do with Lori’s response to the kids bursting in, nor her brief heel turn with Judy. (“Wouldn’t I hold out for more money?”)


• • “She has those old-world villain vibes. Makes me feel like Indiana Jones or something.”


• • Judy continues to astound with various euphemisms for the female anatomy (“elderly juice pit”) and se* (“mashin’ pubes”). Judy Gemstone, modern-day Shakespeare: “It’s time to turn a bitch out.”


• • “What the fuck is ‘blasis’?”


• • Everyone’s beach fits were miraculous, but Jana’s defied expectation. Who wears six-inch pumps to play cornhole? Jana, that’s who.


• • The show makes a point to break McBride’s oner as the family arrives. Gideon’s surprise at Abraham’s betrayal shows the continuation of the family cycle. Someone’s got to get hurt. That’s how they roll.


• • “He’s verbally abusive!”


• • “She’s probably going to outlive Jesse.”