Midnight Mass Episode 6 recap: Book of the Apostles

Now that we have a had a few days to recover from Midnight Mass episode 5, let’s take a deep breath and go back to poor Erin, still in the boat that Riley spontaneously combusted in. She is still shocked and in tears, but manages to pick up the oars, and go back Crockett Island.

After the camera shows us that Riley apparently left notes for his parents and for Warren, we see Erin walking up to the church, where Sturge is putting up the sign for Easter’s Midnight Mass. Then she goes to Sarah’s house and tells her the whole story, fully expecting Sarah to say she is crazy. She does say the story sounds crazy, but then she tells a little story of her own.

There was a Hungarian physician in the 1940s who researched high infant mortality rate at an upper class hospital. The death rate was much higher than that at a teaching hospital, and he suggested that handwashing might have something to do with it. The scientific community “ate him alive.”

She tells Erin about Millie’s miraculous recovery, and shows her what happens to her blood sample when sunlight hits it. Erin is understandably shocked, and even more so when she sees the much younger Millie.

Bev goes to Father Paul’s house, and he tells her that Riley is gone. He’s not sure how he knows, but he does. Bev being Bev, she shrugs it off with her usual condescending tone. After all, the wages of sin are death, and he squandered the gift he was given. But, who knows who he may have talked to? After all, “Judas was part of God’s plan too.”

Bev encourages Paul to have faith, and to share everything with the congregation at Easter Vigil (AKA Midnight Mass).

Sarah is still talking to Erin about scientific reasons for what is happening. She says there is a blood disorder that causes anemia and sensitivity to the sun. Maybe something has been given to the townspeople that is causing these same issues. Erin asks what would happen if a pregnant woman ingested it. Millie asks, “Could you stop it if most of your blood was still yours?” Sarah says maybe, and Erin says, “Riley said to run.”

Ed knocks on Father Paul’s door, and finds Paul there with Dolly, Wade, Sturge and Bev. He asks to talk to Paul alone, and shows him the letter of amends that Riley left. He is worried, and thinks his son is unwell. The letter, he says, is unsettling, there’s a lot of crazy stuff in it, and no one knows where Riley is. He’s afraid he may have done something to himself.

He also said some crazy stuff about Father Paul in the letter, and Paul tries to play it cool. He says Ed is right, Riley wasn’t well, but maybe he took the ferry to the mainland. Before Ed leaves, he hands Paul another letter, one addressed to Monsignor Pruitt. When Paul opens the letter, it reads “Remember we are dust, and to dust we shall return.” Father Paul balls up the letter.

Erin goes to Riley’s parents’ house and tries to convince them to go to the mainland with her, but Annie says no, it’s Easter Vigil tonight, they have to attend midnight Mass. She says she is worried about her son, and asks Erin to tell him to come home. Erin tells Annie that Riley is dead, and he told her he wanted his family to be safe, but Annie doesn’t believe her, and even seems angry, telling Erin to leave.

Sarah goes to see Sheriff Hassan, and tells him she is going to notify some of her colleagues to help, but she wants him to look into the goings-on at St. Patrick’s. He is not very excited about that idea, and tells her how he came to be at Crockett Island.

After 9/11, he moved to New York to become a Police Officer. He worked his way up through the ranks, got married, had a son. He was a Muslim detective fighting terrorists, but he started to see the unfair treatment Muslims were getting. He expressed his concerns one time, and his career suffered for it. He ended up back in uniform, and no one trusted him.

After his wife died from cancer, he got as far away as he could, taking Ali with him. He now lays low, and doesn’t even carry a gun, but he is still subject to distrust, especially when it comes to Bev. Note: Midnight Mass keeps on showing us what a horrible person she is.

Sarah, Millie and Erin discover that both of the ferries that run to the midland have been sent for repairs, Sturge says they should be back tomorrow. Sarah asks if she could ask a fishing boat to take her over, but, what a coincidence! Sturge is tuning up the boats, so those aren’t available either! Before they leave, Sturge reminds them about Easter Vigil.

As Hassan is online preparing Riley’s missing person’s report, the power goes out. He calls Sturge, who is actually in the process of shutting down the power with Wade. He and Wade have hidden the boats, and they plan to shut down the cell tower later.

Millie and Sarah say they are not going to Easter Vigil, but Erin says she is. Riley sacrificed himself so Erin could help, how can she not?

Ali tells Hassan he is going to Midnight Mass, and asks his father to go with him. He has heard that they are going to share a miracle tonight.

Mass begins as Bev, Wade, Dolly and Leeza walk through the village holding candles and singing a hymn, and others join them. Erin, Sarah and Millie watch them through Erin’s window, then they go out and join the parade. There’s a beautiful shot of Sturge watching the townspeople walking in the dark holding their candles, then he shuts down the cell tower.

As the parishioners approach the church, we can see it lit with candles, and Paul begins his sermon. We see Hassan there with Ali, and we see that Ed is not joining in with the hymn, he seems to now believe something isn’t right.

Paul is wearing his gold chasuble, and reminds them that he wore it during his first sermon, though he shouldn’t have since it was “ordinary time.” Tonight, he says, is the beginning of a new era. Tonight they will celebrate the resurrection more than any others.

He tells them that he sinned by lying to them. He did not come to replace Pruitt; instead, Pruitt was made whole, young and well, “the same as all of you.” He says nothing is impossible through God, “An angel came to me and I was restored.” Not only that, he tells them he brought the angel with him. Tonight, he says, we will be tested. He reassures his congregation, saying he knows they will be afraid, but “If you follow me – us – Him – He will give you eternal life. But there is a price.”

He calls Sturge up, and Bev goes back to bring out a chalice; we see cans of the rat poison, alongside dozens of cups, and get an idea of where this is now headed. As Father Paul states that “Death will be no more”, Bev gives the chalice to Paul, who presents it to Sturge. He supports the man as he coughs, convulses and dies. The congregation is shocked.

Hassan grabs Ali’s hand, and heads to the exit, but stops when he sees the horrible angel standing there, clad in a priest’s robe. Paul begins to recite scripture, referring to the angel as God’s messenger. “Lo and behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and they were afraid. When an angel appears, we are afraid.”

The angel faces the congregation and extends his wings as Bev smiles reverently and Sturge rises. Bev begins to pass around the cups. Hassan tries to leave again with his son, but Ali resists as Paul pleads with him to join them. Hassan pulls his gun and shoots it into the ceiling before he is taken down the ground and held there. Bev tells him how shocked she is that he dare to bring a fire arm into the house of God. As Hassan is held down on the floor, Ali drinks and collapses. The Sheriff wails as he watches his son die, and then nearly everyone else drinks from their cups.

Leeza begs her parents not to drink, but they tell her everything is going to be ok, we see Ooker down his, but Ed and Annie do not partake, and Warren pulls Leeza away. In the chaos, Millie picks Hassan’s gun up off the floor and shoots Paul in the head. The angel is enraged, and flies to her, grabbing her and whisking her out the door. Bev cradles Paul’s head, soothing him and saying he is going to be ok. She tells the men to take Hassan out outside, “we’ll need food soon.”

Bev then notices Sturge eyeballing the blood she is covered in from attending to Paul, and gets a little uneasy. She says to keep the doors locked, and we see Ali rise, followed by the other townspeople who participated in this awful Communion.

Erin grabs the gun that Millie dropped, and suddenly those who drank the poison begin to attack those who did not, feeding on their blood. Erin, Sarah, Millie, Hassan, Warren, Leeza and Annie manage to go through the back of the church, but we see Ed being bitten. Noooooo!

At the backstage area of the church, our heroes encounter Bev, WHO IS HIDING! When Erin points the gun at her, Bev says those things don’t matter in this new world, the world without death. “You could shoot me right now, it would just mean I’m five minutes behind you.”

In one of the most satisfying moments of Midnight Mass, Erin shoots Bev in the chest, then says, “We have five minutes.” They leave, and Bev rises, we see her eyes shining as she admires the beauty of the candlelight. She walks into the church and observes the carnage, Paul is still lying on the floor, alive but disoriented.

Bev tells Sturge to open the doors, but he says the Monsignor said to close the doors before everyone woke up so they could be guided, and this wouldn’t happen. Bossy Bev insists, though, so Sturge throws open the church doors.

With only one more episode of Midnight Mass, I can only guess what is going to happen from here. Will our heroes be able to stop Father Paul and his congregation?

Have you been keeping up with Midnight Mass? Tell us what you think about it in the comments section.