The Righteous Gemstones Review: Never Avenge Yourselves, But Leave It to the Wrath of God (Season 2 Episode 6)

Flashbacks aside, there is still an assassination attempt to deal with on The Righteous Gemstones. The horrific event is just the excuse Jesse needs to launch another one of his foolish plans on The Righteous Gemstones Season 2 Episode 6, “Never Avenge Yourselves, But Leave It to the Wrath of God.”

The episode feels more reminiscent of Season 1 with Jesse at the center. His plan to take down Junior himself, just like he thought he could handle his blackmailer, feels doomed from the start.

Still smarting from the fact that Amber shot one of the “cycle ninjas” when he didn’t, Jesse is out to prove himself as the man of the family. The idea of Jesse bringing the old gang back together is just as over the top as you expect.

Why Jesse sees the Gemstones as David going up against Goliath is beyond understanding, but the sequence of his band of disciples slinging rocks at Junior is one of the season’s best. Them walking back slowly in unison undercuts their fierceness and adds to the humor of the scene.

Danny McBride gets to shine at his most absurd on an episode filled with otherwise dramatic plotlines. Edi Patterson is usually the MVP lately but McBride rallies to win back the spotlight.

Jesse and Amber’s pairing is fun to watch, but Jesse with his boys is on a whole other level of depraved.

Unfortunately, with so much of the focus on Jesse, the other parts of the episode end up coming off as a little disjointed. Judy’s decision to tell Tiffany the truth about Baby Billy breaks your heart but also feels slightly unearned since this is the first time the family treats Tiffany with a shred of dignity.

The Baby Billy plot, much like Thaniel’s murder, is a loose thread The Righteous Gemstones leaves hanging to a distracting effect.

Kelvin’s plotline is just as sad, as he fights for and loses control of the God Squad.

The spectacle of watching someone trying to bear the cross is not as funny the second time around, and instead just serves as a depressing reminder of Kelvin’s simplistic ideas around worthiness.

This comes to a head when Eli comes to apologize, saying he’ll never forgive himself for what he did to Kelvin. Well, the feeling is mutual as Kelvin rejects his father’s attempt to make amends.

You reap what you sow, and Eli is realizing all of his emotional repression in search of success got passed down to his children. Even BJ, who is normally the punching bag of the family, tells Eli as much, and for once Eli seems to listen to him.

BJ: It just feels like the only way to be heard in this family is to go to battle.

Their heart-to-heart ends up being one of the most honest conversations ever had on the show, which makes it all the more heartbreaking to hear. You know it’s serious when Eli shakes BJ’s hand.

The show has become dedicated to examining the Gemstones’ faults, not just to make fun of them but to get to the root of their cause. What all this work will lead to, and if it will be reflected in the characters’ behavior at all, is a question still left to be answered.

One thing is certain, which is that the Gemstones work better when they have a common enemy. Junior fits the bill.

It turns out Jesse’s efforts are too little too late because Junior already sent a second hit out on Eli. This one seems to stick since we see a wounded Eli unconscious in his crashed car.

The fact Eli would take so many secrets to the grave makes it seem unlikely he’s actually dead (we didn’t get that flashback interlude for nothing). It’s still quite the inciting incident to bring the family together just when they’re at their most divided.

What did you think of this episode of The Righteous Gemstones? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Righteous Gemstones airs Sundays at 10/9c on HBO.

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