Under the Banner of Heaven
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Jeb Pyre is helping his ailing mother with her bath.
[Gods] testing me before I can join your father, she says.
He needs to know my worth.
So give me your blessing.
Its pretty easy, he says.
And thats what scares him.
Ron Lafferty desires a couple of things to reclaim his family and hear Gods voice moving through his own.
In other words, he wants to feel like a man again.
At first, Ron is pretty cool with this whole hippie-commune version of Mormon polygamy.
Heres where we meet this prophet Onias weve heard about.
Ive waited a long time to meet you, he says to Ron.
You cant blame yourself for this, Pyre tells Betty over an evening sitdown at the Pyre home.
I wouldve guided her back to the church too.
Their eternal salvation is in thy hands.
Allen Laffertys story is one of tragic failure.
As Allen puts it to Pyre, he does carry some of the blame for his negligence.
He wouldnt move on from her, ever.
Its not new, and its not a distraction, Allen replies.
Its what happens when youre taught your whole life that you need God to guide you.
Its frightening, being alone with your own mind.
Pyre asks Allen what he should do next to quell this new voice.
When Rebecca walks in on him, he can barely hold it together.
As for the investigation, Taba has tracked down the prophet Onias at his trailer near the Dream Mine.
Terrible what happened to the woman and her child, Onias says at their initial encounter.
But I do understand that murder runs in your peoples blood, must seem ordinary to you.
If you want to speak, youll have to leave your gun, he adds.
The episode ends on anotherTrue Detectiveesque note of pseudo-supernatural dread, as well as personal, spiritual annihilation.
