The Satanists: Keefe is walking through downtown Charleston, eating an ice cream cone -- a childlike activity, maybe signifying that he has been "born again," started life anew. He had to give up his old Satanist friends and lovers to follow Christ, and now he's looking for new friends -- and a boyfriend (he does not yet think of Kelvin as a potential partner).
He looks longingly at a hot guy through the window of a sports bar (it's Kyle Walsh, who has been Adam Devine's assistant in 10 of his movies and tv shows). Then the hot guy turns around, stares at Keefe, and licks through a v-symbol: a vulgar offer of oral sex, usually aimed at a woman, but apparently aimed at Keefe). Offenderd, Keefe moves on.
Next Keefe runs into his old Satanist buds, especially Daedalus and Cryptocore (who wears a gas mask and doesn't speak). They heard the he was hanging out with "those Gemstone weirdos," but he denies it. Then he refuses their invitation to a party at Club Sinister Friday night.As Keefe leaves, the Satanists demonstrate their new dance number. They look like they are having fun; he is tempted to join them.
Money is on my mind: While Quincy Jones' "Money Is" plays in the background, Martin and Judy (his secretary in this season) are showing Gideon how they separate the donations from the prayer requests (these are handled by paid prayer teams. Imagine being a professional prayer). The requests are then shredded, for liability reasons. Anything important, or a donation over $10,000, goes straight to Eli. The cash is then sorted and placed in the vault. Gideon's eyes light up as he gets an idea.
Fancy Nancy: "Gay, you know..." Wait, is Amber talking about Kelvin?
The Nancys' problem: their teenage daughter Dot is on the wrong path, hanging out with an older, decadent boyfriend -- so they won't let her use the family helicopter anymore. Everybody volunteers to intervene, but Eli notes that Kelvin is the Youth Minister, so he should do it. He is thrilled: a way to earn his Daddy's respect!
Script problem: Shouldn't it be Kelvin's job by default? Why is there even a question? This seems to be a holdover from an earlier draft, when Dot was older.
Gay slur: Angry at being passed over for the job, Jesse criticizes Kelvin's glasses: "You look like Jeffrey Dahmer." The gay serial killer. Kelvin takes the glasses off.
What happened in Atlanta: We cut to Chad's wife Mandy telling the ladies that she broke into his email and found a message he received from Jesse last March: "Atlanta was dirty, dirty, for sure-y!" Other emails describe "titties," suggest getting tested, and ask how much he owes for the prostitutes.
Amber insists that it's none of their business. There are any number of innocent explanations. Later, she confronts Jesse, who gets mad at Mandy "for lying."
Timeline note: This episode takes place shortly before Easter 2022, which fell on April 17th. Mandy probably means March 2021, or she would have said "last month." So about a year has passed since Jesse's sex-and-drugs party.
In Dot's room, they destroy: posters of the dark metal groups Bauhaus and Ministry; an ashtray; a "fidget spinner" (toy) that almost hypnotizes Keefe; two Ken dolls (used for gay play?); and a used condom. They bring everything out to their SCU (Spiritual Collections Unit) trailer. Lots of questions here: did they get a whole Satanic Sweep system started in just the few weeks since Keefe was saved (converted)? Wouldn't a real Satanist know that those so-called Satanic influences are bogus? And why are the Satanic Sweeps never mentioned again?
Keefe apologizes for displaying the used condom; Kelvin advises him that if it contains a semen-load, "don't even touch it." This queasiness about touching semen appears again in Season 2 with Judy and Jesse. Here Kelvin seems to be trying to steer Keefe away from his gay "lifestyle," which involved touching a lot of semen-loads. To emphasize his heterosexual manliness, he tries to draw Keefe into a play-fight.
Suddenly Dot's boyfriend Austin (Blair Jackson) appears. "I bet you money that was his semen-load," Keefe says. As they are drawn instinctively to thoughts of his penis, Kelvin decides to "Snip him right out of this situation." Castration joke, har har.
Blair bod after the break
The 40 Year Old Virgin: Concerned that the Satanic Sweep had a sexual intent, Austin warns Kelvin "you go through my girl's panty drawer again, I'll whomp your ass." He then calls Kelvin a "40-year old virgin!" "So what?" Kelvin responds. "I made a celibacy promise."
If Kelvin is not lying to save face, he has a definitional problem. Protestants do not have celibacy (no sex ever); they have chastity (no sex before marriage). Evangelicals are encouraged to "be fruitful and multiply" by marrying and raising children. Ministers especially need wives. When I was in the Nazarene Church, no unmarried man could be ordained. Growing up, Kelvin would have been strongly discouraged from taking a vow of celibacy.
But if he thinks that gay sex is sinful, Kelvin might take a vow of celibacy to both explain his lack of interest in women and try to avoid sex with men.
Don't fuck it up: After a scene where Jesse criticizes Chad for not deleting the various emails about his sexual infidelities, we cut to the garden, where Kelvin is telling his Dad Eli that Dot is "very sexual -- a lost cause." Notice how he conflates sex and sin.
But the Nancys are major donors, and Eli won't let him quit. Besides, he's always saying that he's great with kids, "the Teen Whisperer." This statement suggests that Dot was never considered a potential girlfriend for a heterosexual Kelvin. She is always described as "a kid."
Eli continues: "You're the baby of the family. I've been babying you too long. This is your chance to prove yourself. Do not fuck this up."
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Next: Episode 1.4, Continued: Dot drives Kelvin crazy, Keefe refuses a bj, and Gideon and Scotty date. With a Daedalus dicks bonus
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