Midnight Mass Season 1, Episode 1 recap: Genesis
By Carla Davis
Sheriff Hassan (Rahul Kohli) and his teenage son Ali (Rahul Abburi) are new to Crockett Island, and the only Muslims in town.
Sarah (Annabeth Gish) is the island’s doctor, and her mother Mildred (Alex Essoe) lives with her. Mildred is suffering from dementia.
Erin (Kate Siegel) is Riley’s childhood sweetheart, and she has just returned to Crockett, pregnant and alone. Erin teaches at the school.
And then there’s Bev Keane (Samantha Sloyan). I am not Catholic, so I don’t personally know what her job title would be at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, maybe she’s a Deacon? She teaches at the school, and is incredibly self-righteous and bossy.
She’s the most irritating character in Midnight Mass, and you basically just wish for someone, ANYONE, to smack her in her smug face.
Sturge works at the marina, and like most of the other residents of the Crock Pot, he attends St. Patrick’s.
Joe Collie is the town drunk, and he wakes up in Hassan’s jail cell, having tried to bust the windows in the general store the night before. His dog Pike, a good boy if there ever was one, waits outside the jail, patiently waiting for Daddy to come out and walk him home. Hassan releases Joe, and when they walk out front, they hear Pike barking at Bev, who insists the dog “snapped” at her. Whatever, Bev.
Annie goes to the marina to pick Riley up from the ferry, and Bev is there waiting for Monsignor Pruitt, who is supposed to be returning from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. To her chagrin, there is no sign of Pruitt, and Sturge tells her he didn’t see him either.
At dinner, Riley indicates that he will not be going to church in the morning, but his father insists. He later tells Riley that if he isn’t a true believer, he should not participate in communion, though, and Riley seems relieved. He watches Warren sneak out of the house after dark, then after lying in bed, sees the same vision of the young woman covered in glass.
Warren, Ooker and Ali take a little row boat out to a small island known as The Uppers, where they smoke weed and bad mouth Bev. The island is inhabited by feral cats, so they hear and see the felines, but then Warren sees eyes at the height of a human figure. Note: Mike Flanagan includes a lot of reflecting eyes in his films, always to good effect.
Meanwhile, Bev lets herself into Pruitt’s home, where the lights are on and a large trunk is seen in the living room. She expresses her relief that he is ok, but then looks surprised when he steps out of his room.