Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

1More Film Blog

Home
Religious Music & Entertainment
The Churchmen — Season 1, Episode 7 Recap

The Churchmen — Season 1, Episode 7 Recap

Last updated on: September 6, 2015 at 10:32 am by Kenneth R. Morefield

The Churchmen — Season 1, Episode 7 Recap 2015-09-06T10:32:10-05:00 Kenneth R. Morefield

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The penultimate episode of the show’s inaugural season is the occasion of my last recap. (Evan Cogswell will recap the season finale at Catholic Cinephile.) I would like to use the occasion of my last recap to talk a little more about Father Bosco and perhaps make an observation about the filming.

The seminarians’ arcs each are moving to the point where we are meant, I presume, to wonder who will return for Season Two. Yann is less distraught by his Ecstasy-fueled seduction than by his muse’s casual dismissal of his calling as sublimated sexual tension. (My favorite scene in the episode was Yann’s confession to the elderly priest who is a lot less shocked by Yann’s actions than Yann himself.) Guillaume and Emmanuel continue in their will-they-or-won’t-they homoerotic dance. (This development is dully predictable but at least handle with some nuance.) Raphael maneuvers to get his brother a Catholic burial despite his suicide, and further conflicts arise between him and Jose as the former puts the brakes on the use of a property to get the squatters in.

On the administrative side, Fromenger’s dismissal is delayed when discussions between the Vatican and a representative of the Chinese faithful break down. Turns out the man is an admirer of Fromenger, and the Vatican tells Roman that he has to wait to gleefully dismiss the thorn in his side.

The series does tend to lean a little heavily on the contrast between individual faith (good) and institutional structures (bad, bad, bad). The Pope is presented as stubbornly caring more about looking bad than about what is right, and (as with Roman) perpetually aggravating his less volatile, more politic assistants who apparently have little to no sincere admiration or even respect for the the church’s leaders.

Within that range of mostly stock figures, Dominique (Father Bosco) is an interesting case. Of the characters, he is the one who has changed the most, going from a staunch defender of Father Fromenger to an a rabidly hostile detractor. Is this credible?

Sure. In fact, I was kicking myself through most of this episode for not anticipating this response. Earlier I expressed surprise that Dominique did not simply go to Etienne and ask him about the money. But Father Bosco represents a type of Christian I’ve interacted with–a volatile, white-knuckler, who will praise you to the moon one second and totally dismiss you the next, who will have moments of profuse self-righteous arrogance followed by moments of extreme anger and hostility towards anyone who might have witnessed his own imperfections. (Note Bosco’s hostility towards anyone who sees him struggling with his heart condition.)

The term “white-knuckler is associated with Alcoholics-Anonymous, but I don’t mean to imply Bosco is any kind of addict. (He might be addicted to exonerating himself, but who isn’t?) The term as I understand it, refers to someone who tries to do something nearly impossible–addiction recovery, living a Christian life–fueled by sheer will power rather than a strict adherence to the program/rules. It is telling and quite interesting that this episode has a sustained scene with a communion service. It is painful to watch as each character who is conflicted about his own behavior confronts the rhetoric and ritual designed to make him keenly aware of that fact. Bosco is in that weird place where he is not entirely hardened in his heart but cannot sustain his efforts with his own strength. Still, he resists the softening effects of the ritual, mostly because the hypocrisy of those around him sickens him. I get that, too, even though I haven’t exactly felt it towards a person I previously admired.

That said, people like Bosco are particularly hard to interact with.While the show deftly illustrates that these sorts of people’s alternating praise and attacks are seldom really about the other person, and while that illustration makes it a little easier to sympathize with Bosco and people like him, I wonder if Fromenger is ever going to be called upon to forgive Bosco. Given the latter’s heart condition, I fear it will be some sort of death bed reconciliation, one that elides the more vexing and painful questions that such people present to us. Initial forgiveness is easy, but what if you think the other person is too weak or blind to alter his or her behavior?

On a more formal note, I thought it interesting how many scenes ended with a long shot of the action that had just been shown in a more traditional two-shot scene. This inversion of the more conventional sequencing (long shot as establishing shot and then cut to more immediate action) is not an innovation, but it is used effectively in the show to create some emotional distance. In this episode, these cuts sometimes happen after some conflict-laden scene, and it underlines the emotional ambivalence. Raphael argues with his sister-in-law and then is shown at the park with her in the kids. The Pope expresses some petulant emotion in discussions of the Chinese negotiations and the camera backs away.

Whether intentional or not, these cuts create a sort of visual reminder of the often ugly disconnect between the long-term perspective and the immediate concerns of the character. How a situation looks when we are in the middle of it is quite different from how it looks if and when we are able to step back and take a broader view.

Reminder: You can watch MHz Network shows live on the web or purchase individual episodes to screen on Roku without a subscription. For more information, see MHz Network.

Previous Episodes:

Episode 1 (1More Film Blog)

Episode 2 (Catholic Cinephile)

Episode 3 (1More Film Blog)

Episode 4 (Catholic Cinephile)

Episode 5 (1More Film Blog)

Episode 6 (Catholic Cinephile)

Previous Post

August 28, 2015

War Room (Kendrick, 2015)

Next Post

September 8, 2015 Adrenaline (Simpkins, 2015)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 10 Years Later 1999 Top 5 2007 Top 10 2008 Favorite Discoveries 2008 Top 10 2009 Favorite Discoveries 2009 Top 10 2010 Favorite Discoveries 2010 Top 10 2011 Top 10 2012 Top Ten 2013 Top Ten 2014 Top Ten Best Picture Winners Christian Spotlight on Entertainment Christianity Today Coming Soon Disclosure Disclosure--AS Disclosure--Book Disclosure--DVDS Disclosure--SEOL Disclosure--Travel Dissenting Opinion Elsewhere Emergenetics Essays Featured Film Fest DC--2014 Film Festivals Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2010 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2011 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2012 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2013 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2014 Headline Interviews Laura on the Oscar Winners Podcasts Quick Impressions Reviews RiverRun Film Festival 2014 Television The Criterion Collection The Thin Place To Stream or Not to Stream? Top 10s and Other Lists Toronto International Film Festival 2009 Toronto International Film Festival 2010 Toronto International Film Festival 2011 Toronto International Film Festival 2012 Toronto International Film Festival 2013 Toronto International Film Festival 2014 Uncategorized Video Virginia Film Festival 2011 Virginia Film Festival 2013 Women's Film Festival 2012

Select a Month February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

I am a period of seven years times seven, followed by a year of liberty and restoration. What am I?

Select your answer to see how you score.

A holy year The Year of Jubilee A year of rest The Sabbath year