He Makes The Sunrise On The Evil And The Good
Seasoned with spoilers for the Netflix miniseries 'Midnight Mass'
I sat through every episode of Midnight Mass in one day and a half. It was eerie and dark, stroking a part of me that had not been in motion in a long time. Triggering the once-a-believer in me, shaking the questioner of all things, I was deep waters-rocking in and out flashbacks to Sunday mass in Washington Heights. Flashbacks to the father of the house warning us of the second coming. Flashbacks to being told that we were already in hell, that this world was for everyone that did not make it to heaven.
Long ago, the idea of God was constantly on my mind. I always asked, am I worthy?
Father Hill preached about a moral compass and the casualties of one's duty to serve as a soldier. "As God's will changes, so do morality change…." That compass will lead us to the good, and just like his words, the short series ripples in the same effect, the people of Crockett Island change their morality because of where it's headed….
Are you following me?
I am telling you about the chill that licked my spine when the message settled. Once upon a time, when I was pure, I believed that walking the straight path of righteousness was the way. I thought it was simple to choose to do good. It was all achievable until it was not because one comes to learn that circumstances call you out of that purity to do what is right for the occurrences. Even if it's terrible.
I digress.
The most petrifying moment of this story occurred during episode 6 when Leeza and Flynn were in one of the abandoned homes. Leeza's parents are calling out for her, attempting to lure her to them, but they walk past. Inside, the children's noses catch a whiff of something nauseating. With a lighter, they shine a light on dead rats torn open, insides gushing and the blood drained from their bodies, stale human bodies, and then the horrifying moment of the Angel sucking at the neck of a woman while she whimpers. That wasn't even the part that scared me. It was when Leeza shot at the Angel. Not once, but twice.
I bite my lip and close one of my eyes. I clench my toes as I do when I expect the worse. Instead, the hairs on my neck rise when the Angel shoo's Leeza away like a parent annoyed at their child. Was it the purity of Leeza and Flynn? Even when firing at the Angel, when it thirsted for human blood, it did not attack them. That shit. That was fucking terrifying.
Then I wondered if they were the true believers, saved from being devoured.
I thought that Sheriff Hassan was one of those true believers when he did not let the miracle of the village deter him from his faith in Islam or when he died next to his son as they prayed toward the sun. I thought that he was a true believer when Bev was condescending and prejudiced towards him being Muslim or when he let Ali attend mass with the Christians of the village. He was a true believer when he continued to be an officer after fleeing New York City when the towers went down, and Muslims in the police force were being targeted as playing both sides only to rise to the top as part of the plan.
I thought the Angel would grab at Sheriff Hassan, blood leaking out of him after being shot by Bev for pouring gasoline on the last standing home. But maybe, just maybe, he was a true believer, and the Angel flew past to make Erin his prey, making us watch the sinister feast he made out of her.
Midnight Mass was eerie and dark, stroking a part of me that had not been in motion in a long time. Triggering the once believer in me, shaking the questioner of all things, I was almost in a state of happiness as I listened to the word of God, the truth, the way. Not by Father Hill but by the lovely monologue delivered by Erin Green. Laying on the grass, her last thoughts draw you back to notions of what is good and eternity. Something that lives in a pocket of my mind, surfacing from time to time. And I am reminded, whether or not I am religious, that the sun rises for both evil and good.
Many thanks to Gary Rose for the eerie recommendation. Please make more suggestions so I can season this blog with thoughts and spoilers.