The Righteous Gemstones Season 3 Ending Explained

The Big Picture

• The Gemstone children are successfully rescued from their extremist relative Peter Montgomery, thanks to the heroic efforts of Jesse's son Gideon.
• Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin take charge of the family's business affairs and must participate in a ridiculous religious game show to win the loyalty of a wealthy donor.
• Chaos ensues during filming of the game show when a swarm of locusts attacks, but the Gemstones ultimately emerge victorious.

Ever since Succession ended, The Righteous Gemstones has become HBO’s most entertaining dark comedy about a media empire controlled by an extremely wealthy family, its legendary patriarch and his unwillingness to retire, and his three bickering children that battle for control over who should remain in charge of their curated industry when their father eventually steps down. Eli Gemstone (John Goodman) and his children Jesse (Danny McBride), Judy (Edi Patterson), and Kelvin (Adam DeVine) are certainly dialed-up caricatures of stereotypes that come with southern religion, but The Righteous Gemstones has shown a surprising amount of depth in developing them each beyond their most obnoxious attributes. Season 3 heightened the dramatic elements and sincerity even further, but featured no shortage of the type of ridiculous shenanigans that The Righteous Gemstones usually deal with.

The Gemstone Children Are Rescued Following Their Kidnapping

At the end of the previous episode, “Burn for Burn, Wound for Wound, Stripe for Stripe,” Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin had all been kidnapped by their extremist relative Peter Montgomery (Steve Zahn), the former husband of Eli’s sister May-May (Kirsten Johnson). Peter leads a radical fundamentalist group with a group of violent followers and has warped the minds of his two sons Chuck (Lukas Haas) and Karl (Robert Oberest). While it looked like the Gemstone children were doomed when Eli refused to pay the ransom money and attempted to reason with his brother-in-law, the Gemstones were saved at the last moment by Jesse’s son Gideon (Skyler Gisondo), who rode his father’s infamous monster truck into battle and successfully defeated Peter’s forces and destroyed his compound.

"I Will Take You by the Hand and Keep You" opens with a series of reunions between the various families that were separated during the crisis, but first and foremost, Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin feel that they needed to address their father. All three are outraged that Eli did not pay their ransom money, and decide to effectively cut him out of familial conversations and ignore his influence as they attempt to lead the church together. While Eli is initially stung by the sharp criticism, he expresses joy that all three are working together for the first time. He’s also happy to see that Karl has retained his senses and joined both May-May and the Gemstones, affirming his status within the peaceful side of the family.

Peter is now in a more desperate position than ever, as he’s lost all influence and respect among his followers, who are intent on proceeding with acts of domestic terrorism across the country and participating in protests supporting Confederate statues. Peter and Karl are unable to convince the group to join them in order to get revenge on the Gemstones, and instead choose to plan their act of vengeance alone. Karl expresses doubt about his father’s radical views, but nonetheless, Peter rigs a truck filled with explosives and takes it straight to the church for an event that he knows that his entire family will be attending.

The Gemstones Battle the Simkins on Baby Billy's Game Show

Now that Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin are in charge of the family’s business affairs, they must fulfill their father’s promise to support their crazed Uncle Baby Billy (Walton Goggins) by playing as guests on his ridiculous religious game show “Baby Billy’s Bible Bonkers.” Baby Billy imagines that the family could face off against the Simkins family on live television, as Vance (Stephen Dorff), Shay (Iliza Schlesinger), and Craig (Gogo Lomo-David) have been their bitter rivals throughout the entire season. The twist is that the winner will earn the loyalty of the legendary NASCAR driver and wealthy donor Dusty Daniels (Shea Whigham), an old friend of Baby Billy’s. While the family is initially skeptical, Jesse decides that they will be more beloved than ever in the eyes of the community due to their kidnapping and rescue.

Shortly before making his way to the church, Peter stops at a gas station and walks inside. During his brief absence, the truck explodes prematurely, and it appears for a moment that Karl has been killed, though it’s later revealed that it was Karl who detonated the device in order to escape from his father. Peter is labeled a threat on television, leading Eli, Gideon, and May-May to monitor the situation as the Gemstones are playing against the Simkins (and losing badly). Peter doesn’t realize the truth about Chuck until he shows up at the church. He is still intent on his plan to set off an explosive when Eli, May-May, and Gideon show up to stop him.

'The Righteous Gemstones' Season 3 Finale Gets Weird

Before Peter has time to go any further, another crisis breaks out. Baby Billy had a swarm of locusts that he was using during the show, and a giant swarm attacks the set during the middle of filming. Absolute chaos proceeds in an apocalyptic event, and Jesse only barely manages to save both Dusty and his father. In the aftermath of the chaos, Dusty expresses his scorn for Vance, who had pushed him over during the breakout. He officially decides to side with the Gemstones, and dies shortly thereafter. Eli gives his sermon at a NASCAR-themed funeral.

In the wake of the crisis, each of the couples takes the time to appreciate one another. Jesse buys mini-monster trucks for his entire family and vows to be both a better father and a more loyal husband to his wife Amber (Cassidy Freeman). Judy and her husband BJ (Ted Baltz) agree to work on their marriage by participating in Amber's program (known as “The System”), and in a very rewarding moment, Kelvin finally accepts a romantic relationship with his best friend Keefe Chambers (Tony Cavalero). However, the most exciting scene is the final sequence where Gideon approaches Eli about becoming his protégé, as he has now taken an interest in preaching. It’s all smiles as the entire family (including a redeemed Peter) gathers for a celebration, leaving the door open for the confirmed Season 4 to expand on the seemingly happy ending.

The Righteous Gemstones is available to stream on Max in the U.S.

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The Righteous Gemstones

Follows a world-famous televangelist family with a long tradition of deviance, greed, and charitable work.

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