Midnight Mass episode 3 recap: Proverbs

Sarah checks Paul after his collapse, and of course Bev is hovering. When Sarah says he needs to cancel his afternoon appointments, Bev concurs.

Joe is lounging around in his trailer when someone knocks at the door. When he wrenches it open, Leeza is standing there, and he is visibly shocked. She calmly says hello, steps inside, and looks around the inside of Joe’s shabby home. She sees a rifle hanging on the wall and asks him, “Is that the one?” He looks stricken, and says no, he threw that one in the bay, he couldn’t look at it anymore.

The girl begins to talk about the day Joe shot her, and each word seems to stab Joe, his eyes start to fill with tears. She says she was walking with her Dad, and she didn’t even feel the gunshot. She says, “I hate you, Joe Collie.” Says she has hated him for years, and wanted him to suffer and beg for her forgiveness so she could say no. Joe chokes out the words “I’m sorry.”

Leeza tells him he reached through time and stole her future, but she has come today to say she forgives him.  At those words, actor Robert Longstreet gives an amazing performance without even speaking a word, he just lets out a sound of anguished relief that is absolutely heart wrenching. It’s one of the most emotional moments of Midnight Mass so far. As he begins to cry, she tells him she is still angry, but it’s different. This teenage girl says some very wise words: “The only thing standing in the way of you and a better life is you. The only thing standing in the way of me and a better life was hate.”

After finding a bible in Ali’s backpack, Hassan evidently called a meeting at the school. Erin and Bev are there, as well as several of the island residents. It seems Bev has been giving bibles to the students, and the Sheriff is kind of upset about that. As Bev gets up on her religious high horse, Hassan assures her that his son knows about the bible; in fact, Muslims love Jesus, but they believe there have been deviations in Christianity over time.

Without even realizing the hypocrisy of her words, Bev says that this isn’t the place to discuss differences in religion. Hassan says, “Exactly.” School is not the place for religion, and bibles should not be given to the students. After all, if he gave copies of the Qur’an, SHE would be upset, and would probably run him out of town.

In her fake sweet voice, Bev says she would never run him out of town, and she meant no disrespect. She is not evangelizing, only sharing her faith. After all, genuine miracles are happening on the island. Note: As Midnight Mass moves along, Bev is getting more annoying.

After the meeting, Riley walks Erin home as she rants about Bev. She asks how Riley is doing, and he says he is struggling with his amends. Father Paul has told him he can write letters to the people he needs to make amends to.

Mildred’s condition is improving even more, as she looks younger and she starts to think clearly. She tells Sarah that she has been somewhere dark, but she woke up. Sarah is amazed, and the two hug.

At the rec hall, Joe has turned up for the AA meeting, and he is talking openly. His mood is much lighter than before, Leeza’s forgiveness has worked another miracle on the island. After the other two men leave, Paul falls to his knees, retching.

As Joe and Riley leave the rec hall, they gossip a little about Bev. Joe, no fan of the lady, accuses her of money laundering. Then he talks about living on the island all this time with everyone basically hating him because of Leeza. He says his sister was the only one who cared about him, and she died a few weeks ago on the mainland. He wishes he had gone to see her.