The Young Pope: Tenth Episode
February 15, 2017 6:14 AM - Season 1, Episode 10 - Subscribe
Sofia sits in the fancy chair; Sister Mary and Archbishop Kurtwell leave the Vatican; Lenny frightens children, delights adults, names Gutierrez his BFF, and finally sees God.
Wikipedia says a second season is in development. I'll watch it obviously, but I'd also be OK if it just stopped here with almost every question unanswered.
This was a great series. I assume it'll expire from HBO NOW at some point, so I'm probably going to rewatch it fairly soon.
posted by paper chromatographologist at 10:26 AM on February 15, 2017
This was a great series. I assume it'll expire from HBO NOW at some point, so I'm probably going to rewatch it fairly soon.
posted by paper chromatographologist at 10:26 AM on February 15, 2017
I absolutely loved the last two episodes. A friend of mine watched the first one and said he didn't feel connected and I begged him to keep going because it just got better and better. To be fair, the penultimate episode was better than the finale, but the finale was still great.
Lenny and the children was hilarious. Lenny and Aguirre was amusing but... something else I can't define. Lenny and Gutierrez was heartrending. Lenny and Tomasso was wondrous. Lenny wishing he could hug everyone was transformational.
My friend (who was convinced to continue watching and is still in the early episodes) said that he was enjoying Lenny's calm, almost charming, menace. I replied that I wasn't sure how much of that was just Jude Law being Jude Law.
But then I said what I really like about Lenny is that he seems to be able to easily differentiate between the holy clergy and the corrupt, and he is punishing the latter and rewarding those who are truly faithful to God. And I think that's really apparent in the last few episodes.
I'm glad Sister Mary is happy, but I'll miss having her around so Lenny can finally call her "Ma".
posted by elsietheeel at 5:11 PM on February 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
Lenny and the children was hilarious. Lenny and Aguirre was amusing but... something else I can't define. Lenny and Gutierrez was heartrending. Lenny and Tomasso was wondrous. Lenny wishing he could hug everyone was transformational.
My friend (who was convinced to continue watching and is still in the early episodes) said that he was enjoying Lenny's calm, almost charming, menace. I replied that I wasn't sure how much of that was just Jude Law being Jude Law.
But then I said what I really like about Lenny is that he seems to be able to easily differentiate between the holy clergy and the corrupt, and he is punishing the latter and rewarding those who are truly faithful to God. And I think that's really apparent in the last few episodes.
I'm glad Sister Mary is happy, but I'll miss having her around so Lenny can finally call her "Ma".
posted by elsietheeel at 5:11 PM on February 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
This show has given me a (very) minor crisis of faith. Which is a funny thing to say about what's ultimately an attractive piece of fluff that doesn't say anything particularly interesting about god or about faith.
I was raised Catholic, but it was never more than background radiation: I didn't feel like part of any kind of community, and as far as I can recall, I didn't ever feel what I'd describe as real faith. These days I would call myself weakly agnostic; I don't think the question of a god's existence is particularly important in my life, but judging from "the state of the world," I absolutely do not believe that the compassionate God that modern Christianity has embraced could possibly exist (Lenny's God, the capricious, vindictive God, on the other hand ... maybe).
That said, the look of sublime peace, of true faith, on the Cardinals' faces as Lenny delivered his sermon in Venice really did something to me. It had sort of been bubbling under for half the season -- the beauty and serenity of the Vatican depicted are seductive -- but that moment was what ultimately did it. It didn't make me believe, of course, but it gave me this feeling of, man, what if I could feel that?
posted by uncleozzy at 6:08 AM on February 17, 2017 [2 favorites]
I was raised Catholic, but it was never more than background radiation: I didn't feel like part of any kind of community, and as far as I can recall, I didn't ever feel what I'd describe as real faith. These days I would call myself weakly agnostic; I don't think the question of a god's existence is particularly important in my life, but judging from "the state of the world," I absolutely do not believe that the compassionate God that modern Christianity has embraced could possibly exist (Lenny's God, the capricious, vindictive God, on the other hand ... maybe).
That said, the look of sublime peace, of true faith, on the Cardinals' faces as Lenny delivered his sermon in Venice really did something to me. It had sort of been bubbling under for half the season -- the beauty and serenity of the Vatican depicted are seductive -- but that moment was what ultimately did it. It didn't make me believe, of course, but it gave me this feeling of, man, what if I could feel that?
posted by uncleozzy at 6:08 AM on February 17, 2017 [2 favorites]
Odd. I've actually been considering RCIA classes at my local parish. And I'm a lifelong agnostic (at times crossing over into hardline atheist).
posted by elsietheeel at 2:33 PM on February 17, 2017
posted by elsietheeel at 2:33 PM on February 17, 2017
I knew it! The whole thing was a sly joke. He didn't believe in God because he was God. It was God playing a trick on us all along. And now he's dead. And the hippies killed him. That's just great.
posted by Stanczyk at 10:30 AM on February 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Stanczyk at 10:30 AM on February 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
I finally saw the finale and I have mixed feelings about it. Mostly I wasn't expecting it to go quite in this direction, but I also couldn't help but get hung up on the way the water-hoarding lesbian nun got prayed to death but the child-abusing archbishop just got reassigned.
It also looked like Lenny was finally ready to let go of his parents; the fact that he was still looking for them in Venice undermined the resonance of his homily for me.
At least Sister Mary gets to bring joy to another generation of kids.
If Lenny's dead, Gutierrez better be the next pope. Voiello can take care of all the political nonsense while Gutierrez brings the flock some much needed compassion and actually removes the abusers.
posted by Fish, fish, are you doing your duty? at 6:15 PM on February 18, 2017
It also looked like Lenny was finally ready to let go of his parents; the fact that he was still looking for them in Venice undermined the resonance of his homily for me.
At least Sister Mary gets to bring joy to another generation of kids.
If Lenny's dead, Gutierrez better be the next pope. Voiello can take care of all the political nonsense while Gutierrez brings the flock some much needed compassion and actually removes the abusers.
posted by Fish, fish, are you doing your duty? at 6:15 PM on February 18, 2017
Well, I think the implication, if not outright statement, was that the water-hoarding lesbian nun was also a child abuser as well.
Anyway, man, I don't know what that was, but it was... something. Everyone seems to assume Lenny is dead but I somehow totally missed that. I was just kind of like, "Oh, he fainted."
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:41 AM on February 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
Anyway, man, I don't know what that was, but it was... something. Everyone seems to assume Lenny is dead but I somehow totally missed that. I was just kind of like, "Oh, he fainted."
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:41 AM on February 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
Jude Law is so good.
That expression when dreaming of the past popes is fantastic.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 10:45 PM on February 24, 2017
That expression when dreaming of the past popes is fantastic.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 10:45 PM on February 24, 2017
Minor irksome detail: he's supposed to be this mysterious, unseen pope ... but then he does baptisms, and no one freaks out about seeing his face. Is it that he is experienced in the present, as he was OK with his tour to Africa, so long as no one took his photo?
posted by filthy light thief at 11:47 AM on February 27, 2017
posted by filthy light thief at 11:47 AM on February 27, 2017
Stay Mean did a one-off called Papal Bull which covered The Young Pope. I really enjoyed them!
posted by the man of twists and turns at 1:41 PM on March 4, 2017
posted by the man of twists and turns at 1:41 PM on March 4, 2017
and no one freaks out about seeing his face.
Except the prime-minister of Greenland, who looked at him with THROBBING HEART EMOJIS in her eyes. Lenny makes a sharp intake of breath and she mirrors him, swelling up her chest. When Lenny notices this he says (paraphrasing) Yeah I know, I'm incredibly handsome but get over it, this is business.
posted by adept256 at 1:09 PM on March 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
Except the prime-minister of Greenland, who looked at him with THROBBING HEART EMOJIS in her eyes. Lenny makes a sharp intake of breath and she mirrors him, swelling up her chest. When Lenny notices this he says (paraphrasing) Yeah I know, I'm incredibly handsome but get over it, this is business.
posted by adept256 at 1:09 PM on March 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
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IS HE DEAD
posted by Huffy Puffy at 8:32 AM on February 15, 2017 [1 favorite]