Midnight Mass 1x2 - "What a monstrous idea" by Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford)

TV Show: Midnight Mass (2021)
Episode: 1x2 "Book II: Psalms"
Directed by Mike Flanagan
I DO NOT OWN THIS VIDEO & NOR DO I CLAIM TO BE THE OWNER OF IT.

[@besttvmonologues8327]

I uploaded another monologue from Midnight Mass. Here's the link if you guys wanna watch: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aYXEZqSrnpKrbJo

[@ItsYaBoySkinnyPenis69420]

stop uploading if you can't upload in higher quality. how dumb are you?

[@SnowWhite-fg3sc]

I love the parallels they draw between vampirism and alcoholism. This scene sort of highlights everything that comes to happen. Riley, rather than succumb once again to that feeling of thirst and helplessness, that "other person" who lives in his body and happens to kill someone, decides to end things and take the higher road. The priest and his disciples are left to justify their "thirst". The show does a great job of showing all the benefits and horrors of organized religion, and of AA's "accept a higher power" model of thinking.

[@alexandrag4179]

I never saw it like that. Thank you so much for your interpretation. What an incredible show.

[@davidfalkner6282]

That is an astute interpretation of this scene. Well spotted, it really does feel like he learned and became better. Like when his Dad goes on about how they never spoke the same language and says of raising Riley ‘I did my best’ Your best was good enough sir.

[@godzilla234ful]

Makes me happy when he saw the girl at the end. Kinda like he finally chose the path that he was meant to years ago

[@BatmanHQYT]

I'm shocked I missed this the entire series. Brilliant interpretation.

[@handsomejack8758]

In the end Riley truly did have the wisdom to know the difference This show is a masterpiece

[@davidfalkner6282]

“I had killed someone.” That recognition is so fucking real.

[@steveosborn7224]

My god the acting, the scene chemistry, it’s next level.

[@Skiller131]

This scene is a veritable masterpiece

[@xRedDragonx1987]

Possibly one of the best written scenes of any modern TV show ever.

[@hedonisticvoidposter6796]

The entire show was a masterpiece

[@StGeoRUSH619]

Damn !!!! Riley really "Dropped the Mic" in this scene !!! He's not wrong ya'know... Preach, Riley... preach.

[@fictionnerd78]

One of the best scenes I’ve ever seen in fiction and one that pretty much defines my personal view on religion as a whole.

[@lufcharrison2234]

Incredible scene

[@Frankthewelder]

Literally the best show ever made

[@martinelasorsa4334]

This is literally one of my favorite monologues in the show. I've resonated a lot with Riley as an Ex-Christian and this is one of the things I've always wondered while I try to deal with my Christian counterparts in society without having an angry Heathen mental breakdown.

[@Unicysis]

There’s two sides to a Christian: there’s a pious, religious, overzealous, complacent, judgemental Christian; and there’s a compassionate, merciful, forgiving, knowledgeable and faithful Christian. That doesn’t mean all Christians are two-faced. Personally, I’ve met people at work who attack the Bible for no reason instead of reading it with an open mind. I’ve spent thirty-six years dealing with social heathens who prefer to be on the same wave as each other than branch out and try a different stream, and I’m autistic. Someone bringing down the faith is just like a bully invading my space using some dipstick defence mechanism to justify his behaviour. Suffice to say during my teenage years I was a lot like Riley - didn’t know where my God was and wondered where the prejudice would end and people would start loving me for once instead of slagging me off.

[@Hexsmasher2099]

I can relate to you man, I also thought (or what my mother and her family taught me) is that God is the purest of good ever existed without any flaws, but the time I grew up as an adult and watching this show made me realize that Riley and/or many atheists may have a point on God’s morality in the concept of Good and Evil, take for example Sodoma and gomorra, while he did killed many heinous people, he also killed innocent lives that had nothing to do with aforementioned sinners yet they paid the price for their heinous actions. See this is why I relate to some of the characters of this series, Riley included because it reflects on how I view both positive and negative qualities of Christianity and how faith is plagued by hubris and how some churches are only worried about keeping up their appearances rather than keeping up the faith something that it is always shown in the God is not Dead franchise as they showed the so called "perfect christians” as the good guys while people, either atheists, muslim or ex-christians are the typical bad guys. As Romans 12:2 says: _"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”_

[@mr-vj6do]

Same here. I had a very strong catholic education (my mother was very devout), then i became an atheist. It didn't happen all of a sudden, i passed through the stage of some kind of deism at the age of 17-18 years, ending up to be an agnostic atheist. The physics degree that followed and the passion for history didn't help to restore my faith.

[@peghill]

if i found a preacher that was that fine, i'd pretend to be addicted to SOMETHING.

[@ronandynan1228]

Damn I only really appreciated how good this show was until it was over and I realised how much it was able to pull off

[@markokranjcevic7795]

That yeah at the end :D

[@HermicraftAddict]

I have a chronic condition and was Mormon. If I got this condition during that time, I would've been told it's part of a plan or test. Hell no! It's probably a gene or effect of TBI and it sucks. I don't need a test that's eight years long, or a plan where I have to struggle not to end it after a bad cycle.

[@bojanbozovic9200]

Great scene

[@soup5968]

Doing this monologue for my class it’s such a good scene

[@HEAVYDIAPER]

Check out a few of James Spader's courtroom monologues from Boston Legal.

[@youarein1ov3]

Any tips? About to perform this one myself in a few hours

[@machngunjoe]

Best written show

[@Psychopomp29]

I wish this would be played b4 every church service ever.

[@therealadamfriedland]

You missed the point then, edgy atheist.

[@ngrey651]

The funny thing is something good DID come from his alcoholism and the oil spill and all that. Without those circumstances then the vampire wouldn’t have come to the island and wouldn’t have been killed. It would have just kept feeding in secret and would never have been stopped. All the suffering led to a worldwide threat being ended.

[@J1nxer333]

First of all it was the monseigneur who brought the vampire back to the island. And second, it was the vampire’s goal to take over the island as its ruler, not to feed off them in secret. It tried to convince the island that its evil ways were holy. This is evident in the last episode

[@J1nxer333]

It was Riley’s divine circumstance being that he was able to reconcile evil with insatiable lust, due to him killing someone whilst inebriated. This divine event prompted Riley to take action against the vampire. Therefore, it was a combination of divine interference and suffering which saved the world from the evil. This is what the bible teaches.

[@beccahawkins1905]

This scene is so good. And SPOILERS…. . . . . . After seeing the whole show, I think what Father Paul (Monsignor Pruitt) is thinking here is that Riley is right. It’s why he says, “Yeah…yeah…” But he thinks he has concrete answers for Riley that he just isn’t ready to share yet. He thinks the “angel” (the Hebrew and Greek terms for this word also mean “messenger”) is bringing actual hope and inaugurating the age to come with the resurrection of the body. He thinks the “angel” is fulfilling what Paul writes about in 1 Corinthians 15. It’s such a realistic depiction of how a faith leader who longs to give solid hope to people might seek to provide “solutions” in desperation that they think will bolster faith in others but in fact are extremely toxic and misguided. Riley is just deconstructing the faith he grew up with after a very sobering, awful consequence from a bad decision he made. Father Paul thinks he can restore Riley’s faith, but his solution is just more of the same, only in a more nightmarish, vampiric form that he misinterprets as God giving his people new resurrected bodies.

[@monkeyninjas8]

Revisiting this scene as a recovering alcoholic is wild

[@BatmanHQYT]

Some very Mr. Robot framing in this scene. Been a while since I saw the show and I'm not sure if you've cropped it to avoid copyright infringement but it works very well.

[@basicsimp8798]

"I'm jealous" - Riley talking to Father, a so called man of God who didn't feel any remorse for the murder he did.

[@stephengrigg5988]

I think his response is equally good. He talks about how nowhere in the bible does it talk about not having accountability for your own actions

[@BatmanHQYT]

I have to say, Riley is correct here. Mike Flanagan is a Sam Harris reader and this sounds exactly like Sam's famous rebuttal to William Lane Craig in their debate at Notre Dame, where he attacks this very notion. "Given all that this God of yours does not accomplish in the lives of others, given the misery that is being imposed on some helpless child in this instant, this kind of faith is obscene."

[@barbarossa1780]

I constantly have to remind myself this isn’t Stephen King’s work.

[@ViolaRamkissoon]

One of my favourite monologues that offers the perspective of countless thinking persons when faced with the topics of God and suffering. And here's mine. Take from this whatever resonates with you. God, Suffering & Ultimate Freedom Primary Creator also called "Source", is the intelligent energy that created the first things and lifeforms, including the 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 planets of the Universe, and the entities that live on planets and in spiritual dimensions. These lifeforms include angels, evil entities, humanoids and the gods of the major world religions. Primary Creator has a positive and a negative side. It brings happiness, and it causes suffering. It is the source of true bliss, and it has also put ignorance and sinful tendencies into many of its lifeforms. Who do you believe put evil into the first evil persons so that they would be inclined to choose evil? Is it not the one who created them i.e. Primary Creator? If a new car is defective, who else but the manufacturer is to blame? The good gods of religions are powerful, but it is evident that none of them are omnipotent. If any one of them was, they would have long ago ended all suffering and ignorance in the Universe. They would have quickly cleaned up the mess Primary Creator has caused, and not a single animal or child would be hungry or sad. If you say that to allow infants and animals to suffer is the way of your god, then you're declaring your god evil. Benevolent gods and other good entities of the Universe are doing their best in this incredibly vast Universe to replace the ignorance and suffering with wisdom and bliss. Primary Creator has no plan, it just does what it does and all of the good energies and entities are fighting its dark side which manifests as ignorance and all forms of evil. Imagine all of the work the benevolent gods and other good entities have to do on the zillions of other planets, not to mention in the spiritual dimensions! Do you believe that Earth is the only planet that matters? Volunteers (more "workers in the vineyards") are desperately needed, and anyone can be one if they want to. Anyone, just by living a life of divine love and awareness, can help end all ignorance and suffering forever, so that there can be supreme and eternal bliss throughout the Universe. Thank you for reading this, and blessings to you! Be still and know 🙏

[@Hexsmasher2099]

Who would a thought that a horror miniseries was way well-written and presents the concepts of religion, atheism and Islam perfectly than a franchise of Christian Propaganda films

[@Discover_more_everyday]

It’s forbidden in islam to drink both alcohol & blood Fair enough

[@noturmum7967]

Alot of poeple misunderstand this show, thinking its Anti Religion. Its not, if you look closely the REAL religious aspects are there, overshadowed by all the vampire stuff. Thearetically everything these characters had gone through WAS necessary in order to potentially stop the end of the world

[@Anonymous-cn6zl]

BULLSEYE!!

[@deoduceassassin]

The thing that people seem to always leave out on rants like this is we are living in a fallen world. According to the Bible we were once made perfect by god living in perfect harmony with him and then Adam and Eve ruined that. Instead of wiping us out entirely he said ok I’ll give you another chance but now sin exists in you and the world. Because of sin we have to endure bad stuff, all of us, but through that in seeking out God and living for him you can find the peace in knowing no matter what when it’s all over you’ll be with him for eternity after death. That’s the promise. This was a really good show in showcasing what happens when a pastor or really anyone takes the word of god and becomes selfish with it making it about himself. Also does a great job at showing the opinions and thoughts of nonbelievers and atheists. Thought the show was pretty fair both ways even though you could see the director/writer was most likely atheist or agnostic.

[@AntonAchondoa]

As a Christian, I see your point. But I think the "fallen" world concept is what many struggle with. God, being omniscient, created humanity, knowing that we would fall, knowing there would be war, suffering, rape, murder, and knowing that Christians themselves, would be one of the biggest historical offenders with colonization and slavery. So why go through with the failed experiment of humanity? Why create us, watch us fall, send His Son to redeem us, but still continue to watch was fail? Also, why make salvation available only to a certain segment of the world's population? Our theology makes the most sense to people of a Western background. It's alien to several Asian cultures, and indigenous people around the world. Anyway, I hope you read these questions just as questions. I respect and see your point as I am a Christian too.

[@policetracker2646]

So God is a petty asshole? Because they ate a fruit?

[@ungolcost]

Yea the whole idea of inherited sin is unjust. Adam and Eve sinned so that dooms all of humanity forever? What kind of nonsensical idea is that. Why am I responsible for their “sins”? That doesn’t seem like an idea that would come from a god. Sounds more like ancient human beings making up their own stories rather than the true word of god

[@sonof316]

@@ungolcost I see your point but none of us are able to understand truly why God does certain things, what you just said is human logic, Gods logic transcends deeper than any of us could fathom.

[@carlosdario9810]

Keep lying yourself with that fallen world and first sin shit. Good luck trying to keep that spirit when your time for suffering, getting sick and dying comes and you also have to see everyone you love suffers, gets sick and dies. You’ll see all that mental gymnastics bullshit you call religion will go down the toilet.