MIDNIGHT MASS (2021) Explained

[Music] what's up everybody welcome to found flicks on today's explain video we're looking at the netflix limited series midnight mass where an isolated community experience miraculous events and frightening omens after the arrival of a charismatic mysterious young priest alright we got another mike flanagan project on our hands and i gotta say this is one busy dude he is constantly cranking out stuff which i give respect to but for midnight mass this has actually been kicking around for many years in different forms and i recall it popping up as a book easter egg and his previous works hush and gerald's game he likes doing that as well as that mirror from oculus nothing really gets around the idea of this being a book actually feels incredibly appropriate with the sprawling luxuriously plotted story that unfolds here naturally this brings to mind the works of mr stephen king and there is much of that on display in midnight mass in particular salem's lot i mean it's not really a surprise he did do the doctor sleep movie so he's no stranger to king and no doubt he is a huge inspiration why i think this is probably the best of his netflix series is the quite personal and introspective story that's told yes it's very talky like all of his other series but this one has some really big ideas on its mind namely trying to understand how religion works does god truly have a plan for us and what becomes of us when we die yeah pretty heady stuff and you can really see flanagan himself wrestling with these ideas in the conversations and differing perspectives presented in the show so yeah there was a lot to delve into here over its seven and a half hour long run time which means that you know this video is going to be like an hour long sure it's an hour but that's still saving you time in the long run that's what we do here and we'll also get answers to the series biggest questions so let's take a trip to the beleaguered crockett's island in midnight mass breaking down the story and the important characters at the forefront as well as looking what our supposed angel is all about and explaining the ending that leaves many things with an ambiguous outcome the opening really sets the stage for an important theme that much of our story struggles with the idea of if god is good why does he let things happen to good people does he truly have some sort of master plan a young man riley is seen in the aftermath of a car wreck sitting in a daze paramedics attempt to resuscitate the girl who appears to have been launched through a windshield wear your seatbelt kids but unfortunately they are unable to save her at this realization riley starts reciting the lord's prayer to himself and another paramedic is put off telling him while he's at it ask the big man why he's okay with taking kids while drunks only get scratches well kind of put you in your place there dummy so riley was completely responsible for this innocent girl's death which weighs heavily on him in many ways as a person but also leads to a shaking of his long time held faith and religion he's sent to do four years in jail and also has to pay 100k to the victim's family to society he is paying his dues but the guilt never leaves him unable to sleep the girl constantly appears to him as a reminder of what he did after doing his time and with nowhere else to go he's forced back to his hometown on the remote tiny island of crockett island and i mean tiny boasting a population of 127 people and the place definitely looks like it's seen better days at the dock we noticed two guys unloading a curious looking crate sure nothing will come out of that right riley's younger brother warren and his pals are there to meet up with the appropriately named bowl to score some reefers but afterwards are worried that ali will nark on them his dad being the sheriff and all but he promises to stay tight lip they stop by and show off their score to lisa who is less than impressed also noticing that she's in a wheelchair the crate is next seen in a small house hearing angry bangs coming from within the man kneels down to pray and then unlocks it hmm wonder what's inside probably something good i bet although probably not as the boys canoe off to another side of the island to hang out and hearing air whoosh by ooker ooker seriously briefly spots something strange what he describes as a monster pelican they are overwatched by the glowing eyes of wild cats that live in this part of the island and things turn odd when they all start yowling warren too thinks that he sees something but shrugs it off riley is given a warm greeting home by his excited mother but as he points out it's only her his dad and bro could not be bothered showing us how he is treated amongst them mostly thanks to the accident we briefly meet some other locals who will become important later like aaron an old friend of riley's who is pregnant and dr sarah who is looking over her is certain everything is exactly where it's supposed to be her elderly mom millie stumbles in confused and it becomes apparent that she's suffering from dementia in some form the town's sheriff hassan is confined to a tiny office in the back of the grocery store dealing with things like the local town drunk joe perhaps unsurprisingly thanks to the color of his skin the others throw out some tasteless remarks his way like calling him sharif instead of sheriff ah casual racism outside with his dog the uptight beverly insists that he snapped at her fuming that it's a menace joe comforts the pup telling him don't worry she's just a meanie as we will come to see that is quite an understatement chatting with annie she reveals the dour state the island is in especially after a spill a few years back all kinds of new regulations were put in that screwed over all the local fishermen and put a big damper on the town's economy over time no one was even trying to sell their homes anymore they simply just packed up and left the place now basically a ghost town hassan gets into it with know it all beverly at a town meeting regarding an upcoming storm he suggests that they use the rec center and she butts in that they always use the church but he wouldn't know that because he's new around here right he has no option but to humbly apologize and bev doubles down insultingly telling him there are no mosques on the island he'd have to hunker down with him in the church if he can handle it yeah i think i can handle it [ __ ] jeez the flynns have an awkward family dinner reunion when the topic turns to aaron's return his mom tells him well you'll see her in church tomorrow but riley says that he didn't plan on going feeling that that's not him anymore she turns the topic to that of the long time leader of the church monsignor pruitt and riley is surprised he's still around he's got to be pushing 80 by now sounds like he was getting more and more scatterbrained so the town chipped in for a trip for him to the holy land feeling that he deserved it after spending his whole life on the island well geez that sounds depressing he's due back today and she's worried if something were to happen to him imagining who the church might send in to replace him after riley makes some jokes with his brother about his time as an altar boy ed finally pipes up an annoyance he growls for him to sit here and joke about the church after what he's done he puts his foot down as long as he's here he's going to church back with the cats the beast in the trunk swoops down and attacks one hearing it yelling and its flesh squelching at home ed opens up to riley about how his mom went to church every day since the accident to pray for him when it comes to his shaken faith and assumes that he hasn't been to confession and thusly shouldn't take communion while this will upset his mother he says it's the respectful thing to do to which riley dutifully agrees seeing another side of religion hassan and his boy pray in arabic before bed telling him to give a kiss to a photo of his mom demanding no more phone time of course as soon as he leaves ali is right back on it oh kids in their phones you just can't get them off of those dead gum things riley is back to being unable to sleep the light's appearing on his face and she's back he's then out in a row boat and she floats by under the water we then pass through a church with bloody handprints covering the walls the sun then begins to rise over town and it is admittedly quite picturesque service begins and there is a new pastor in town he introduces himself as father paul and informs him that pruitt fell ill during his trip promising he'll be back in no time they do communion and as dad requested riley hangs back after service paul stops lisa and his family saying that he learned of her from pruitt her dad the mayor welcomes him to the so-called crockpot which they call the island due to its melting pot of different people dotty finishing that all keep getting pummeled by the unlucky stick paul spots his next target in riley bringing up that he saw him hanging back in communion and they shamefully tell him that he's not in a state of grace right now paul is actually pleased to hear this as he's more useful to someone like him than another who already believes he finally gets a chance to catch up with aaron who ran away back when they were kids she says that she did all kinds of stupid stuff smirking that she was an idiot riley fills in that he worked in the financial racket and made some decent money but it sounds like he lost everything thanks to the accident she then considers their unideal situation they're both back here after swearing they would never return yeah i would imagine wanting to get out of this [ __ ] reilly recounts his long-winded journey to find god plunging into every major religion and after all that decided that he's an atheist he tries to inquire why it is that she came back but she volleys back to him and how he's doing based on his stoic mumbling it sounds like he's going through a kind of crisis of purpose he's got no prospects nothing to do no purpose at all she encourages him to take things one day at a time tonight right out the storm and tomorrow find a new project to keep you motivated as the storm indeed picks up later riley is enjoying his favorite pastime of staring blankly out the window where he spots something strange a man dressed in white out by the water he tells the family certain that it's pruitt but no one else can see anything out there he runs outside to him and the guy bolts sure is fast for an 80 year old as riley even loses him after a bit in the storm in the morning things are back to normal weather-wise and the family goes out together where riley notices seagulls flocking across the beach he steps out seeing the entire beach is covered in dead cats quite the feast for the birdies but yeah certainly pretty disturbing the sun is called to the beach and the mayor shows up soon after he's worried that it's another spill thankfully it's not but as hassan notes there is no blood anywhere at all as though they were all suck dry before even being in the water i wonder who did that worried of potential disease he feels his best to burn all the bodies although wade isn't too sure about that the townsfolk won't like it he encourages hassan to not stay too isolated from the others thinking it might be a good idea for him to attend mass all to help with his standing in the community being a part of the whole yeah you better be like us or else but back in service the crowd is noticeably lighter lisa talks with paul afterwards asking where he's been and he gives a cryptic answer about it not mattering as much where we were as how it led us to where we're going yeah that's not suspicious at all she stops cold in her tracks when seeing joe thinking that he must have been the one responsible for putting her in the chair at the school erin has taken over her mother's former position and bumps into bev in the supply closet where she's putting away some poison she claims it's for a rat problem and just in case there is some kind of predator on the island she's going to sprinkle some around her house to be safe also suspicious paul visits sarah's house and knows that her mother was a long-time member of the church but hasn't been able to attend lately so he's here to give her mass seeing him she calls him john pruitt's name sarah explaining it as her getting confused again or perhaps not at home annie is busy stitching a banner for an event and accidentally gets herself with a needle to her surprise when inspecting it after removing her glasses she can still see as though she suddenly doesn't need them anymore curious back in bed riley has his vision of the girl and is back on the boat then also seeing pruitt out on the beach over the island someone is flying high above the twinkling lights we hear their wings flap as they survey the area and crashes right through the roof of a home the next service is a bit more lively as paul points out it's ash wednesday he's happy to see them but wonders why they aren't here every sunday he brings up the point of the day to make amends for our sins because we know what's next easter the cycle of rebirth resurrection and eternal life he appears quite impassioned and impresses the crowds he finishes up telling them to come back every week all you gotta do is show up and god will do the rest he builds up the weary town's morale the same hand that dealt you hardship is the same hand that will make you whole at the crockpotluck everyone is gathered around for some good times and tunes from the zz top rejects timmy and the whack shack whoa that is quite a name sarah looks like she's on a date and complains that her mom is holding back her life once she's gone she's gotta get out of here she remembers that pruitt used to give her stares all the time as a kid like even back then he somehow knew that she was gay paul sits down with riley off on his own and goes on about this being his favorite time of year renewal and all that riley inquires about pruitt revealing that he saw him on the beach paul chuckles that's unlikely as he spoke to him right before the storm on a landline in his room so yeah couldn't be him he tells him his real agenda for the convo asking about setting up a chapter of aa here at the rec center in order to save him a trip there's at least one other full-blown alcoholic in town joe who he confirms was responsible for lee's estate but even after that he won't set down the bottle hopeful that riley can set a good example there's a ruckus when joe finds that his dog is sick and has vomited up blood that draws the folks over he demands to know who did it accusing someone of poisoning him i'd say all signs point to bev being responsible seeing her walking off smirking she didn't like the dog and had that poison earlier pretty obvious right and yeah also not the nicest thing for someone associated with a church to be doing shame shame bev riley is at least trying to be part of the family asking to help out with the boys on the boat which his dad is receptive to however the hall is less than desirable by the looks of it barely scraping by at this point meanwhile hassan is investigating the poisoning again finding bev in the supply closet bev plays innocent if somehow he got into the poison she couldn't live with herself definitely seems guilty he next turns to joe for more questions as far as his dog it could have been an accident but he knows bev better than most since they were kids deeming that nothing she does is good riley 2 has a story about bev and her true behavior back when the spill happened the company offered everyone in town settlements which he didn't think was actually a good deal however bev told everyone to take it calling the money a gift from god of course she also asked them to put some money back in the church since pruitt was sick the money went to her so to save face she built the rec center in his name with the money he blames churches for ruining small towns they keep popping up and getting fatter while the town is suck dry so his feelings about the church are pretty clear and as they talk further paul sure seems to know an awful lot about pruitt's congregation bringing up about him being an altar boy as a child and back then knows that he didn't lack faith they get into a teta tete about the heavy involvement of god in regards to the aaa program and he tells him he has his own way of moving on rational recovery it's about recognizing that voice inside i don't want to drink it's the voice telling me to then you learn to separate and eventually control the voice paul scoffs at the concept being your own god asking how that's working out for him it's not the alcohol that's inherently bad it's the person that's the problem and it's only god that can turn pain into something good with purpose the suffering can be a gift he believes it's up to us how we react to it riley gets into the real nitty-gritty of his situation still believing there's a saboteur within him that was responsible he says he woke up and found out he killed someone so who is the blame well me he smirks but god just kinda let it happen he continues about all the suffering in the world the higher power could just wave it all away if you wanted to but doesn't people tolerate all this behind platitudes like god works in mysterious ways or the idea of god having a master plan for the people of crockett they too have suffered thanks to the spill but they only stand strong because of that idea that suffering can be a gift from god which he believes is monstrous the mystery beast continues stalking around town erin hearing thuds all around her house she's troubled by some spotting and goes to sarah's once more everything is fine and she even lets her listen to the baby's growing heartbeat her mom screams from upstairs and the beast must be here too terrified by something that came right up to her window it's poor clueless bull that becomes the entity's latest victim as he's lured into a condemned house he spots glowing eyes in the corner and they growl lunging upon him in service paul is ready to prove his faith in the lord thanks to the ever-present family of lisa they're here every day waiting in hopes that god can one day save her paul believes today's the day and lures her up some stairs with a communion wafer some get upset calling it cruel but shockingly she rises to her feet and takes things step by step to get that precious wafer it's a miracle before we see what happens after the bona fide miracle we jump back to when pruitt first arrived in town and learned via confessionals his surprising connection to monsignor pruitt they asked for blessings as he's going to lie to his parish about him he won't tell them that he was sicker than they thought and wandered off from his tour group in jerusalem terrified pruitt does appear quite scared his mind looking to be lost but the parish refused to admit it he was a man overstaying his allotted time on earth he writes it off as a lie for their benefit so they're ready for the real miracles to come which brings us back to lisa's miraculous walk everyone looking affected even bad paul abruptly starts coughing and takes his leave stumbling out of the back looking like he's about to toss his cookies bev chases him home hearing him retching and hacking in the sink seeing blood there never a good sign lisa's family take her to sarah's and she tries to stay reserved and scientific while also being aware of the unprecedented nature of her recovery she wants to do more advanced testing but they're hesitant having already spent tons of cash on her treatment and they don't want to second-guess what appears to be a gift from god the benefit of a miracle is immediate for the church with more on the audience than ever before but paul maintains that he's not doing it for the glory it's people like lisa that are important riley has another rational-based theory to right away her recovery but there's one sticking point somehow paul knew she was healed as he beckoned her to walk he chalks it up to a voice or a feeling within him that said this something he says riley wouldn't understand he truly felt connected to her in that moment lisa isn't the only one in town experiencing some minor miracles ed who's back has been [ __ ] for years puts on a jazzy record and gets funky with his lady no more pain thanks jesus now i can boogie down oh yeah warren and his butt do their blood of christ duties but they are missing a container paul tells him don't worry i got it and for certain see he's got his own secret supply of something that he's spiking the sacrament with paul delivers another passionate sermon pontificating on the idea of eternal life very important to humans it's a colorful exaggeration but not to god so you know it shouldn't be for us either his gifts can be as tangible as the ground beneath our feet when it comes to the big questions he relents he doesn't have all the answers but he does have mysteries although it's uncomfortable to still not know everything for certain of course the more we know the less we bend equating it to the broken state of the island he promises real miracles are waiting for them a true rebirth a second chat he starts before collapsing looking pale back in the confessional he continues on about pruitt's jerusalem misadventures while on the road to damascus once walked by the apostle paul he wandered off into the desert completely lost and confused he was certain he would die a sandstorm overtook him that was so crazy that on earth long forgotten ancient ruins in the storm there appeared a cave before him and he sought shelter there just like the bible guy now back with the doctor checking on him after his fall liza clears the air with joe in his trailer first laying out just how much she hated him for what he did and how she wanted him to suffer but ultimately now after being healed wants to forgive him she's still angry but it's different now if god can forgive then she can too another town meeting has been called dudu bev handing out bibles to all the students hassan chimes in that he doesn't care about reading the bible mentioning the many deviations that exist in religion the problem comes along later with altered messages the men making their own versions bev sneers that it's not time to question things but he goes on that he's excited his kid is expanding his horizons the problem is them handing them out to everyone he turns things on her how would she feel if a child came home with a quran would that have been an issue uh yeah bev defends that she meant no disrespect and their religions are like cousins and a bible is no different than a science or history book yeah yeah that's definitely not true that feels her actions are justified as these are miraculous times in crockett the community is in the midst of a full-blown religious revival aaron and riley complain about bev's self-righteous nature as part of his recovery he's been working on letters to those he's wrong to make amends and talks himself down again she builds him up which appears to be her role in their relationship here elsewhere millie is getting more spry by the day feeling that she woke up and a fog has been lifted another miracle in the next a.a meeting joe lays out his recent struggles he stopped himself from drinking and walked the length of the island where he learned of the meeting from paul so why not check it out right paul turns things to riley's experience and rebuffs being put on the spot but similar he says to paul's concept just showing up is enough for tonight that is everything you gotta show up that is the most important step with their support and lisa's apology he feels for the first time in a while that he might have worth joe is taken aback by his earnestness the only other person that ever cared about him was his sister but she's been out of the picture for some time she recently died but he didn't know it was the end until too late wishing that he would have made more of an effort he asked riley do things ever get different he doesn't think so but does think it's possible for us to change if they work hard enough they can become different people hassan and ali wrap up their prayers yet the town has started to creep in ali wants to check out the church on sunday i mean all of his friends go there don't you know hassan is adamant that he's not a christian but ali complains that his father makes all the decisions for him about his life just let him at least choose this one ali too thinks that lisa's recovery is a miracle but his dad informs him that is not how allah works he relates this to his wife who suffered from pancreatic cancer basically having a miserable and painful prolonged death again if god worked that way and decided to heal some and not others that is going to cause a lot of problems bev suggests to lisa's parents to make a speech to the congregation as paul stumbles in and starts spewing up blood and convulsing he goes stiff and it really looks like he died they check his pulse and yup he's gone seeing his eyes are now bloodshot we jump back to his confessional continuing pruitt's time at the ruins in the cave there's a glowing pair of eyes and a white winged creature snarls and attacks him suckling at his neck paul remembers how much it hurt but then the fear was drained from his body the creature feeds from him its own blood and he says a new world took shape here equating this to jesus's own communion blood now it's literally blood you know pruitt awoke the next morning and at the cave entrance raised his hand and is shocked to see that it was young again decades washed away in an instant he calls it his savior an angel that is afraid of light he knew that he would take the angel where it was needed there are so many people to save even right here in crockett so he knew he had to lie but it's in order to save the people paul suddenly shoots back to life bev thanking god for another miracle we focus in on a news article from decades prior about renovations at the church seeing it's paul standing outside no one noticed i guess but paul and father pruitt are one in the same after his mental trip in the holy land he was bitten by a white so-called angel looks like a vampire to me that returned him physically to his most heightened form aaron is back with sarah for another checkup and alarmingly there's no baby to be had sarah assumes that she must have miscarried but aaron should have known this far along she loses it yelling to know where her baby is where'd the baby go bab checks in on a still ill paw asking her to keep the curtains closed as the light hurts his eyes he brings him some soup and paul says he's never felt this hungry before no wonder what he's really hungry for bev is impressed by his resurrection i mean it took jesus three days and him not even three minutes impressive he tells her in confidence that he remembers feeling real spiritual growth before but nothing like what he's experiencing now it's as though he can feel god moving inside him he asks her to keep the secret but she thinks he should show them see who he really is as the bible said don't hide light under a bush well that's from the bible it's got to be right right he agrees that he will in god's time and after she leaves he stares at his wrist with some scarring on the side he puts his hand back in the sun and it immediately cinches the skin yeah he's pretty much a vampire back on the boat with his dad he's doing better than ever he sits down to have another heart to heart he admits to having harbored resentment for him because he acted like this life was beneath him then all that other bad stuff happened and after that he really resented him it's not just embarrassment but also the money they spent on legal fees the cost of him living with him now all that stuff riley interjecting sarcastically great talk thanks dad he feels that the reason behind riley's actions is actually due to his own failure as a parent but after all that he still loves him even if it is hard for him to show it it seems that the biggest change in town is with millie whose memory is sharp for a change rattling off details about her childhood long forgotten seeing aaron sample out in the sun it starts smoking and bubbling until it's overtaken by a milky looking substance meaning that this is looking to be the reason behind these miracles is the blood paul is using in communion aaron's been putting off for a long time going through her mom's old stuff and finally gets around to it which naturally opens old wounds telling a story about how everyone gets their wings clipped at some point in their life and according to peggy for her this happened when aaron was born geez thanks mom sometime after getting married she'd realize she'd essentially married her mom he would get drunk and hit her one day she learned she was pregnant and packed her bags and never looked back she reiterates that the baby saved her and now is just gone moaning how is that possible riley opens up to her about his recurring dream floating out in the middle of water the sun is just about to rise he says if he could just find a direction to go then he could start a new life the dream always ends just before sunrise grumpily feeling he's never gonna figure it out or get off this damn island she asked him to pray with her and he reluctantly agrees while others pray in town to deal with their own issues like paul who sees his cross has gouged his hand after a tentative taste of the blood he jams himself further and really starts drinking it down seems hungry for blood joe too prays in front of a case of old milwaukee and manages to stay away from his temptation for once delicious old milwaukees at night paul is able to roam freely praying to himself about the angel of god guarding him and goes to give millie her mass at home he's heard that she's feeling better as with god all things are possible you know jot that down he recognizes him now as pruitt feeling his young hands in disbelief he chuckles he has so much to tell her but first your mass he pours a liquid that is definitely thicker looking than wine and hands her the goblet yeah it's blood from that angel guy after praying all day aaron worries that he thinks that she's foolish as he doesn't believe any of this he acknowledges that he doesn't but he does understand the appeal of it as they circle back to that main idea at the heart of the series it's comforting to think that god has a plan we want so badly for there to be a reason for everything as well as hope and what happens after we die for riley he leaves any spirituality out of it it's literally just your body shutting down bit by bit until clinical death perhaps in the final moments of consciousness the brain releases a final wave of dmt so he dreams wildly when he sees displays of memories and imagination a curtain called dream to end all dreams then it stops there's nothing nothing left no more pain or memory of hurting someone everything is as it was before me then just meet dead meat a copyrighted trademark of dead meat industries as for aaron she thinks of it more in relation to her unborn child all she knew was dreaming and she was lifted into the sky and then starts to wake up wrapped in the feeling of pure amazing love she's there with all her family and when god reaches down he says her name and she grows up becoming the peak of herself just like the blood does i guess she's bestowed with nothing but joy for all of eternity that's what she believes heaven really is this is why we endure on this big blue sad rock we'll be there soon enough she smiles riley hopes that she's right and she takes his hand tenderly paul's symptoms are getting worse screaming in anguish for his angel of god to come he chugs down all the liquid in the decanter were a surprise by joe at the door he tells him of staying away from the beers and paul beams that he's proud of him and goes in for a big hug he keeps squeezing him and joe tries to get out of it growing concern asking what is wrong with him he gets loose and bunks his head on the side of the table bleeding profusely from the wound he puts his hand in the blood and gives it a taste he then goes right to the source slurping out of the wound in his head yummy yum old milwaukee flavor probably aaron and riley wake up telling her that he had his dream but this time it was different this time she was in the boat with him she's off to the mainland to get another opinion about the baby disappearance and they agreed to meet up later tonight at church the place is packed everyone impatiently waiting for father paul to arrive bev goes to his little house finding joe's body and him in the corner his face covered in blood she really takes us in stride telling him we gotta get you cleaned up he wants to but there is a hit showing her that he can't go out in the sunlight lord lord she mutters but already has a plan in motion she fibs to the crowd that he's still ill and calls on lisa's mom to lead the group in some readings and prayers she then tasks weight and surge to get rid of the body and to dump it out in the water later wait expresses some hesitation asking what paul did she responds by smacking him upside the head telling him you have to obey your priest she says yes that is joe but she considers him a long time plight on the community so no love lost in his untimely demise and also reminds him the lord sent angels to slaughter egyptians and drown the world when we were too lost in our sins meaning god isn't afraid to get his hands dirty once in a while she calls paul a miracle of god and he's performing his own miracles saying that he has a plan it's up to them to play their parts on the mainland the doctor house test results for erin with some shocking information from what she can tell she was actually never pregnant her hormone levels are normal and even after her miscarriage they stay raised for a while aaron is beside herself i mean she saw the ultrasound and heard the heartbeat and everything but well the data doesn't lie that evening riley and paul have another discussion where he asked what paul would say to aaron about her situation he acknowledges that something like sorry for your loss rings hollow we can never understand god's will so we must put our trust in him with our whole heart he suggests to stop trying to understand meaning it's okay to look at the world and say that i don't understand it and i never will he then asks about joe and is told that he's doing fine and is off visiting his sister but riley knows that he hasn't seen her in years and paul is a big fat liar and he tries to get riley to see that something very real is going on in town she knows that he never felt that he belonged here as though the island was always waiting for help but after all this time it's here she declares he can't pretend something isn't happening here this time god isn't asking you to have faith in something you can't see he's only asking him to literally look at what's all around you he then dismisses paul as a liar but considers maybe there is something for him here paul keeps begging for his guardian angel to come pacing frantically back and forth at the door the angel appears dressed in all blacks shushing them shut up paul sick of [ __ ] he moans about being out of the sacrament and the angel opens the bottle and bleeds out into it so yeah there you go that's what everyone in town has been ingesting the so-called angel's blood is what is behind all these miracles riley stops by errands but paul's lie about his sister is weighing too much on his mind so he returns to the rec center seeing paul and the angel are still there paul is shocked and can only muster an o upon seeing him the angel turns around and flies at riley tackling him and starts munching down ah crap paul casually walks up and closes the door annie is growing worried about riley as he's been missing for two days warren heard that he has been spending time with miss green which he's happy about but of course he's not missing thanks to a burgeoning romance seeing his phone next to a crusty pool of blood at least someone is looking into the missing bowl his family but hassan is not too much help really not wanting to ruffle any feathers in town she complains that people don't know him or give a [ __ ] about him but when something like this happens we're all supposed to be the same right yet he doesn't really do any more investigating on the matter whatsoever great job dude surge puts up a new sign informing everyone they're only doing night services now him and wade in cahoots to cover up what's really going on everyone is surprised to see millie who is looking better every day showing up for the first time in a long while dolly gets teary-eyed what a time to be alive aaron sets out to find riley and only gets dead ends deciding to bring it up with the sheriff but without much to go on there's not really much anything you can do useless as usual sheriff i mean you got nothing going on and you can't even like ask some questions or like check some [ __ ] out i mean come on at the first nighttime mass paul is pumped filling the crafts with blood and telling the boys to get ready for a big night as it's good friday he gives a sermon on the concept of suffering he finds it not just necessary but good and is also the price we pay for eternal life even jesus suffered alone but over time as the gospel spread he eventually had a whole army in his name he clarifies that we are all in his army but we don't fight for country but god's kingdom as in any war there will be casualties and we have to expect god to ask horrible things of us even as god changes over time so too must their own morality they have to rely on their compass to point them always to god today he says is only good because of easter coming soon jesus is risen death itself is lane dead and concludes with a warm welcome to god's army well that was pretty intense and mildred can definitely sense something is off saying that she doesn't want to go back there ever again that's not my church or the man she used to know riley finally shows up to aaron who is incensed at is disappearing he asks her to join him for a boat ride and he fills her in on what happened after the angel attacked him paul helps fix his broken neck and tells a story about his younger sister that died tragically this is what led him to explore religion in depth trying to understand how her death could have been part of god's plan he realizes now that god has a plan it's just that death is no longer a part of it they don't have to be afraid ever again because you know they can't die he comes to in the morning paul telling him he's looking better riley attempts to leave and learns the hard way about his new sunlight aversion paul chuckling that's not a mistake you make twice he promises him that he will be completely honest with him now and explain everything that he is capable of he first brings up a story of a young altar boy that brought him a mouse that was in bad shape the boy asked if god would resurrect it just like jesus paul told him yeah of course just come back in three days and when he returned it was all better but since he's being honest he of course replaced the injured one with a healthy lookalike but as far as the boy knew it truly was a miracle that was enough for him to have faith for many years so what if he was being completely dishonest right and of course that little boy grew up to be riley he's baffled how he knows this story and paul goes him you know who i really am and riley finally pieces things together muttering it can't be possible he details how he was brought back to his peak self just as god wanted paul is curious what brought him back and he brings out the lie about joe's sister he admits to his guilt and asked riley's forgiveness for the fib riley is pissed because he basically killed him but paul says well it can't be undone all you can do is accept it with serenity now he still doesn't understand what exactly has happened so paul uses bev as bait to show him he orders her to stand closer and closer hearing her heart beating faster with each step towards him she then sticks her neck out right in front of him seeing her pulse actually glowing from beneath the skin he instinctively lunges at her but paul holds him back doing the serenity prayer again falling to the floor in pain paul says he knows what he feels a hunger so substantial it's in fact painful at the moment he attacked it was as though his body has another will this is why we need to listen to the holy spirit of our conscience he divulges that he died just like jesus before him and awoke scared and confused but allowed his will to become his own riley accuses him of being a murderer but paul says he felt no guilt for his actions rather than question anything he simply accepted it he might be a murderer but so is moses as well as a bunch of other soldiers of the lord i mean even he killed someone right riley can't recall too many details of the accident but he knows that he didn't even hit the brakes he was essentially asleep at the wheel he says that he felt guilt and remorse every day but again paul feels no guilt asking how that makes him feel jealous he croaks he tells him well god chose you so muster up some courage and he does apologize for the angel's frightening appearance but mentions that all miracles in the good book are frightening as is the true power of the lord he again iterates what happened was god's will which riley mocks he lays it out plainly from the scripture whoever eats his flesh and drinks his blood will have eternal life which it seems is pretty literal in this case i mean that's actually blood bev has actually disturbed by riley's attitude he's not even appreciative of what he's been given serge opens up a vein into a cup and riley can't hold himself back anymore gratefully gulping it down amen paul heralds he spills about others in town also receiving the blessing even if they aren't aware of it he says that what they're doing is good the thirst is good and that's why there is no guilt you are merely surrendering to an urge so why not share the gift a little drop of angel with everyone he asks if riley feels at peace and he shakes his head that he does praise be they exclaim though taking into account how long he thinks about it i'm thinking he's just saying what they want to hear bev returns and it's time to get ready for tonight's service and after all that they just let him leave on the way out he tells him to keep an eye out on the new wonders he will experience the world burns brighter now and hums with his glory the hunger will return when god says so so give yourself over to his will listening to the angel in your head okay bev is concerned about him telling others but paul actually hopes so how else will the word spread out on main street just as paul told him he can see an energy around all the lights seeing the same energy pulsing in the stars back in the boat erin says well that is quite a story why bring her out here to scare her or what he corrects that he brought them out here so he'd have nowhere to go lamenting that he's not as strong as her and never was dawn starts to break and he asks her to get to the mainland and never look back saving anyone that she can on the way out and the two emotionally say they love each other just as the sun starts to crust on the horizon i did the best i could he sniffles and as the light touches his skin there's a moment of silence the girl he killed is there looking happy in normal appearance holding out her hand to join him she leads him away into the beyond then seeing in reality his body is horrifyingly engulfed in flames leaving aaron screaming in terror once he's gone she gets to rowing mournfully back to the shore seeing they're setting up for the big easter midnight mass the flynn family finds several notes left by riley for each of them effectively saying goodbye even dad getting a little sniffly after eating his aaron has nowhere else to turn for help but sarah hearing it back she acknowledges the whole story sounds pretty crazy but sarah tells her about an unappreciated doctor from the past who discovered the importance of staying germ free before this was scientifically accepted he was of course in fact accurate in his assessment but at the time was considered crazy and was sent to live out his days in a mental facility so yeah crazy things can be true too then there's a miraculous recovery of her mom and shows off the odd behavior of her blood sample in a petri dish just like we saw with eren's before she slides it into the sun and it ignites immediately paul is looking a bit bummed saying that he can feel riley is gone in the same voice that he hears the angel it was a gift and he spat it out bev finds the worst part is some people aren't content to ruin it just for themselves they have to poison it for everyone else too she brings up that even judas was a part of god's plan and they know there will be others like riley that try to turn the faithful against their god tonight let's have faith in our church and share everything we have they decide after all easter vigil has always been a night of baptism sarah has potentially figured out something in the realm of what they're dealing with epp which in real life is considered where the concept of vampirism originated it's a kind of blood disorder and while this isn't exactly epp she thinks it's in the same ballpark this appears to be a virus enzyme that can repair cells leading to hunger for iron and you know there's plenty of iron in blood as the blood in the system increases these effects become more pronounced aaron and her mom's blood still appears mostly normal so it's possible that the enzyme could be filtered out after time and yep this is also what is responsible for her losing her baby pregnancy would be considered an invasion of the body so it basically healed the fetus right out of her whew that's kind of messed up showing that ed has started coming around about his boy a little too late for that he talks with the father about the letters he left which includes some very odd things even about the priest ed gets upset and paul tries to comfort him don't assume the worst assume the best that's what god teaches us about being parents anyone else a little put off by him hiding behind these affirmative words when he basically had his kid killed paul isn't as righteous as he presents to the world as my point what's more they inform the sheriff about what's up even if it is just a theory at the moment he goes on a long personal story about his rise in law enforcement that was derailed by 9 11 and a new worry about muslims as well as those on the force he didn't like that they were essentially doing racial profiling and after one little complaint he got demoted rather than put up with that he fled out here to get away from all that he thought it would be easy street but even out here people treat him like he's osama bin laden and on top of that she wants him to investigate the church yeah that's not gonna go well sarah feels like a jerk now and on the way out says that she does hope that she's wrong about everything it soon becomes clear that the church has a nefarious plan of brewing the girls go to catch the ferry and oddly the mayor has both boats and offer repairs and then other things start falling apart working on a missing persons report the power suddenly cuts off but surge says don't worry about it it's fine you know since he's the one that cut the power he proceeds to sabotage the boats and they decide to save the cell tower for last the girls quickly piece together something is obviously a miss and knowing that the whole town is going to mass erin decides to check it out she doesn't know what's going to happen but whatever is afoot was enough for riley to sacrifice himself all because he thought she could help ali over time has turned further away from his dad's religion and got unfolded into the church now he wants to join him as there's supposed to be some kind of big miracle tonight that he wants to share with him bev and lisa's family meet up and begin a candlelight parade through the street as more and more citizens join in along the way the girls hear them approaching and try to stay hidden but well you know that doesn't work so well in crockett and they wind up having to take their spots among the flock it appears the entire town is here which paul finds delightful calling it the most beautiful thing he's ever seen he deems tonight to be the beginning of a new era we're meant to be celebrating the resurrection and we're going to be doing it way more than anyone else has he confesses to the crowd that he lied about pruitt he's not in the hospital he stands before you now he assumes some suspected this but how could it be possible well nothing is impossible with god he details how in his most desperate moment an angel came to him and bestowed upon him the healing graces of god he returned and brought the angel to bless all of them how did you get that thing in the crate that's what i want to know he asked them for only a small feat of faith as there is a price to be paid to gain eternal life death crying pain all that will be no more they bring up surge for a demonstration getting him to drink from a cup he starts groaning painfully and vomiting up blood the crowd going frightened he assures them that it will all be over soon the body is dead for just a moment the sheriff grabs his boy ready to leave but is stopped in his tracks by the angel itself in the doorway paul scoffs i'm not gonna make you have faith in something without showing you god's messenger and tells him it's totally normal to be afraid of this giant white monster thing everyone in the bible was afraid of angels too serge moans and gasps back to life paul thanking god for hearing him now it's everybody else's turn handing out cups to the entire room got a real jim jones thing going on huh he informs them that the miracle is in their veins but is incomplete they gotta die and come back to reach their final stage of transformation hassan pulls out his gun and is quickly disarmed and overpowered and ali decides to go with god after all downing the cup more people start drinking up but a few do refuse tons of people quickly growing violently ill mildred attempts to stop the runaway train grabbing the sheriff's gun and fires getting paul right in the noggin the angel then attacks her swooping her outside and they quickly lock the doors of course he's still okay and will eventually heal so didn't do too much really ali is the first to return rejoicing of the first of the new apostles others are resurrected after lisa's parents proclaiming we've been saved wade approaches a girl telling her don't be afraid and pins are down beginning to feast things go even more insane as those who didn't drink try to flee and get taken out by the hungry apostles in the back room they come to beverly they're hiding and even though we'll only slow her down shoot her in the gut and high tail it away from the fracas she orders the others to open the doors it happened as it was meant to as the old saying goes man plans and god laughs for those who have been taking communion there's nothing to fear as for all the others well let god sort him out that's not very nice the doors will stay open as they always do bringing it back to paul's words well how else did the gospel spread outside the church mildred springs back to life seeing the energy all around the lights now inside resembles that moment from riley's dreams with the bloody handprints adorning the walls everywhere mildren comes to a contemplative paul her now just looking like straight up alex esso no more dodgy age makeup it is a miracle it's mayhem in town with the vamps busting in houses and feeding on everyone else still around checking their phones they see there's no service and with no power and they both sabotaged there's not much they can do as far as getting off the island warren brings up that he does have a small boat so they can at least get offshore for a while and now they understand why they didn't sink the boats they need them for after so they can spread the good word over to the mainland and the rest of the world oh boy aaron understands that this situation is no longer about them but the rest of the world big stakes time dying for people we haven't met what greater love is there than that even the bible agrees they first want to get the kids to safety but are interrupted by bev and her cronies throwing molotovs through the window they escape out the back and annie provides a distraction to buy them some time she lays it out pretty straight to bev that she's not a good person god does not love her any more than anyone else wondering why it is that that upsets her so much bev figures out that she's stalling and annie slits her own throat and they can't help themselves from chowing down paul is preoccupied with death and how it must feel to god he still feels every death but to him it's like a great waterfall that drowns out every other noise if every drop of water represented a death that must be what it's like for him a never-ending deluge of death how could you possibly hear anything else paul truly believed with what he had discovered that he had been given an end to that roar no more death he divulges his real honest reason for doing this whole wacky scheme her and sarah he didn't want her to die as a twisteroni sarah is actually paul slash pruitt and millie's daughter but they never told anyone due to him being in the church and her being married he truly did love her then and would have thrown it all away to be with her but millie feels differently it had to stay secret if word got out it would ruin four people's lives he optimistically suggests to do things right this time have a family together and what's more of a miracle than a second chance in town the chaos continues with the angel joining in on the fun wade shows up for lisa but hassan is already out of bullets bev finishes feeding and serge thinks they need to go put out the fires before they spread too much he disagrees wanting to burn the whole place down and hey back in that big fire in 84 the only thing that didn't burn was the church she's certain that will be a case again growling that it will be a flood of fire and st patrick's will be the new ark aaron and the others hope the kids got to the boat but realize they'll probably never know sarah deciding to believe they did they pour gas out all over the dock and boats hopefully containing the spread to the island in an abandoned house lisa stumbles across a massive pile of rotting bodies and the angel is there munching away she tosses some gas on him to little reaction and leaves a trail all the way outside it goes up quick hearing the angel screeching it busts loose still on fire and flies off into the night bev prepares the church for her impending new flock's arrival and steps outside looking satisfied as a town goes up in a blaze she starts ringing the bell drawing them home paul is up and has finally reached his limit with this whole thing beb maintaining this is what's right like sheep among wolves we will decide who is chosen he completely disagrees thinking that we are the wolves and that this isn't up to her warning that it has to be stopped bev is long gone saying that they need leadership and it must be him he knowing that it's not about glory said it wasn't supposed to be about him but about god after he says this bev turns on him jesus warned us against scribes and priests but can't believe that it happened to him barking at him to take his place behind her the kids do make it to the boat already dealing with the reality of never seeing their families again if he had known that dinner would have been their last he would have treated it differently but lisa thinks that they do still know how he feels at the church everyone is gathered outside and bev is perturbed to see one citizen howard that was saved mainly because he never attends mass so in her eyes he doesn't deserve to be saved he doesn't seem like he's digging it either way since it led him to him killing his wife and kids it's not really feeling it if you know what i mean callously is all oh well too bad you're not a man of faith there's no room for you inside i'm afraid cold lady co again even for pruitt this is all too much groaning that it's monstrous hebrew claims that in god's house all are welcome or it's not truly his house isn't that kind of the whole point he spots sarah there pouring out gas getting ready to set it on fire good he mutters and tells her he's proud of her he wishes they had gotten to know each other better and she nods in agreement a shot rings out from serge having landed a lethal shot to her stomach he starts to explain and paul shoves him down the stairs strangling him in anger he attempts to feed her his blood but she refuses and spits it out before long she closes her eyes and drifts away he and mildred take her body and knock a candle over on the way out well looks like the church wasn't spared this time bev assan is caught pouring gas on the final building the rec center and bev sees that he's a disgusting viper calling him a terrorist aaron is just about to finish the job until the angel conveniently reappears out of nowhere and tackles her she tries to fight back to no avail as he bites down hard on her neck ollie picks up the lighter and considers before tossing it in so much for your big plan bev no more buildings and sunrise is on its way in retaliation she shoots hassan dooming him to die as well the angel keeps gobbling down and aaron seizes the chance to hopefully stop this freaking thing too beginning to carve up his wings with a knife and the angel doesn't even really seem bothered he's just kind of like grunting like hey don't mess with my wings lady i need those that finally comes to appreciate the reality that she's been hoisted by her own petard man i've been waiting forever to use that phrase never really seems to come up in an appropriate way but here we go it did basically she screwed herself there is no way out of this one this point is made even clearer winterflock abandons her to head down to the beach aaron keeps slicing up the angel's wings but is growing weak he steps off her and finally sees how messed up his wings are and roars out her yeah so you need to pay more attention angel guy now you're screwed too he attempts to get a flapping but it looks way more labor than before the kids see it leaving the shore from the boat and since it looks like it can barely fly at this point there's no way it's making it the 30 miles to the nearest landmass on the verge of death aaron is brought back to her expansive conversation with riley on the subject but this time when he asks she thinks of it from her own current perspective she says that's the whole problem it's all about our self but really we are an insignificant speck in the scale of the universe every atom in her body was forged by a star the solid matter that makes her up is just energy vibrating in her everything is the same there will always be a before and after everything else is just pictures picked up along the way when referring to god it's more about the incomprehensible amount of other galaxies out there the cosmos and its infinite dream in that split second she says she comprehends everything at once there is no time no death and life is a dream a wish made again and again for eternity taking all this in she gasps her last breath everyone else just kind of milling around on the beach waiting for the sun to come and annie starts singing a song near my god to thee soon the others all join in creating a makeshift service of sorts in their final moments ali and his son pray in arabic the boy is like [ __ ] those christians they are crazy dude hassan keeps praying until he slumps over succumbing to his gunshot wound the orange glow of the sun grows more pronounced and bev falls to her knees thinking of an idea too late as she starts feverishly clawing at the sand to protect herself should have done that like two hours ago you could you could have done it the others sing in harmony united as a community in their admittedly very odd way even now they don't give up in their faith is what the whole point is you got bamboozled that doesn't mean that god doesn't love you and yes you're about to get burned up by the sun but god loves you paul asks for millie's forgiveness and she gives him a kiss everyone taking a meaningful final moment as the sun begins to blaze and everyone explodes into dust the sound of the singing stops all at once which is quite eerie knowing that they are all gone as well it's only the kids left wondering what the heck they're supposed to do now lisa takes his hand telling him that she can't feel her legs meaning that vamp blood was filtered out so she has become cured of the disease in that sense of course that also means back in the chair so kind of a bummer there well yeah there is quite a bit to dive into as far as where everything goes and when it comes to our main thematic concern of the series on the surface the end makes it clear aaron and the others were able to contain the outbreak to the island and prevented it from getting out maybe the angel made it but definitely didn't look so good importantly those remaining outside the church sacrificed themselves for the greater good taking on a purpose much grander than their own lives they had to put a stop to that power mad religion backed weirdo bev who really went off the rails in the end there even if it is a bit on the nose the takeaway for her is about those who hide behind their religion to excuse their behavior she was a genuinely bad person poisoning dogs being racist and while you know dooming the entire town but to her she could justify all of this as being ordained by god's plan but really she's just a [ __ ] i don't feel that differently about paul either i mean he brought this whole madness into the town and sure it was under the guise of helping the beleaguered community on crocketts but again really it was about his own selfish gain to help milly as he didn't want her to die there's always that undercurrent here with christianity that it isn't as pure as it presents itself and other things like creating a fake miracle for young riley with a rat and even having an affair with a married woman it shows that it's really more selfish here than anything else using religion to excuse their own bad behavior well i said i was sorry so it's fine right sure they set up a last minute redemption moment for him oh this isn't what i wanted yeah but well the problem is you didn't think about it in the first place this is really the only direction things could have gone considering just because you have good intentions that doesn't necessarily mean that it's a great idea you know this is why we also explore a very contrasting perspective shared by riley and at death's door aaron that feels heavily influenced by carl sagan unlike paul and bev who focus on themselves they come to appreciate how insignificant we all are in the grand scheme of things our little personal traumas and issues are nothing when we consider the absolute insane enormity of the universe and the never-ending cycle of time we are about a speck in this grand design which brings us back to that ever-present question does god have a plan or what i think the point here is that even if god does we as humans are incapable of ever truly understanding it to do so is futile as paul said we have to accept there are mysteries and allow ourselves to not understand everything truly there is no way that we can the universe and its intricacies are simply too much although for our story it does seem that perhaps there was some kind of plan at hand riley's dreams in particular seem to be born from a divine or outside hand he even glimpses the blood-stained church well before it happens and even by the time it happens he was dead also the dream represents him feeling lost in his life he's got no direction in the boat with the sun on the horizon and it's this same moment that became born in the waking world with his confession to aaron it all kind of aligns if that makes sense so even if it is all kind of wackadoo there does seem to be a grander planet play because everything does go down how it needs to to contain the spread sure everybody dies but sometimes that is just the way she goes nothing you can do about it sorry sucked to be you dude so while it is comforting that their puny meaningless lives of pain on crocketts ended up having some larger impact on things at large we also know that someone like bev or paul will pop up somewhere else that is an inevitable issue stemming from religion this is also probably why we don't actually see the beast die leaving its fate ambiguous maybe his wings healed or he just flapped his ass off and beat the sunrise we don't know this is the same as that issue it will always end up spreading elsewhere there's nothing that can be done to ever truly stop this from happening as they mentioned earlier the real problem comes in when men start making their own interpretations of the sacred words well that wraps it up for this especially long-winded explain video on midnight mass curse you flanagan for your long-winded yet intriguing monologues and don't forget before we go you can send me a request for any movies or tv shows you'd like to see me explain by sending them my way on any of my social media accounts at foundflakes what did you guys think of midnight mass and its ending what do you think happens when we die pretty big question there let me know your thoughts down in the comments below make sure to like subscribe and follow thanks for watching found flicks see you next

Channel: FoundFlix

Views: 2,833,997

Keywords: midnight mass, midnight mass ending explained, ending explained, explained, meaning, vampire, explanation, analysis, review, trailer, clip, final scene, end scene, monster, flanagan, stephen king, netflix horror, halloween 2021, foundflix ending explained, foundflix

Id: RFkJ-Dr9AKo

Length: 58min 7sec (3487 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 14 2021