Previous: Episode 1.1:Kelvin is in love with a Goth, Judy with an atheist, and Gideon with the Devil. Plus some nude dudes from Chengdu.
The earlier scenes established one of the main plotlines of the season: Kelvin Gemstone is gay and an evangelical minister -- got to be some conflict there -- and interested in his former-Satanist friend Keefe. Next we move on to introduce the other plotlines.
El's Dead Wife: We cut to megachurch senior pastor Eli eating dinner alone, just as lonely as Kelvin. He stares at a painting of him and, presumably, his dead wife. Later we discover that she is Aimee-Leigh, a famous Gospel singer who partnered with Eli in the ministry before her death in July 2018. Trivia alert: a little over a year before Episode 1.1 aired.
The Sex-and-Drugs Party: Then on to Jesse in the master bedroom suite, brushing his teeth while his wife Amber waits in bed. Suddenly he gets a text: a video of Jesse in a hotel room, snorting cocaine with a naked lady, with a naked guy in the background. We see dicks! So someone taped Jesse having a bisexual sex-and-drugs party! Wait -- is he bi, or were the guys at the party taking turns having sex with the hooker?
The sender wants to meet, so Jesse makes an excuse and drives to the deserted parking lot of a strip mall. A red van appears, and a blackmailer in a Devil mask demands a million dollars by Sunday, or the video goes viral!
Later, Jesse asks Chief Accountant Martin for the money, pretending it's for a new mission endeavor, but no dice.
Squeezing Out the Competition: Eli is planning to open a new satellite church in Locust Grove. A fictional town, not the suburb of Atlanta. The pastors of smaller churches in the area, especially Rev. Seasons (Dermot Mulroney, right, from a 1994 movie), fear that it will draw away their members. Tough. Eli admits that he's intentionally trying to steal their congregations. In-joke: his name is John Wesley Seasons, but he's a Baptist!
Judy and the Atheist: The family meets at Aimee-Leigh's shrine to discuss their disapproval of Judy's boyfriend BJ, because he is an unbeliever; he's even pro-choice on abortion! She argues that he doesn't support abortion anymore. How conservative are the Gemstones? It varies from season to season, and even from episode to episode.
Plus they are living together, in spite of the church's prohibition of premarital cohabitation, so whenever someone visits, BJ has to hide. She argues that they are engaged, which is practically the same as being married. No one mentions disapproving of Kelvin being gay; could they not know, or do they assume that he is not sexually active?
On the ride home, Kelvin becomes angry with Jesse for "constantly getting in my business, telling me what I should or shouldn't do." Like what guys he can date? Jesse claims that he's just trying to protect Kelvin: "Dark forces are at work. Evil forces that want to destroy our family." He means the blackmailers, but what does Kelvin think he's talking about? An ex-Satanist that he attracted to?
We cut to Jesse's wife Amber meeting with the church ladies to defend the Gemstones' excessive wealth.
Jesse's Crew Sees the Tape: Jesse shows Kelvin and his crew, the guys who were at the party, the tape. Kelvin ignores the boobs, but wants to know who belongs to the cock -- Chad. He points out that his cock is bigger. Everybody's cock is bigger, dude.
Kelvin will be obsessed with his cock size through the series. I wonder if it is scripted as small, or the same size as Adam Devine's.
So, will Kelvin to chip in half of the million dollars? He considers it, but after Jesse calls him "a shitty brother and a shitty minister," he refuses.
We move on to a church service -- very money-grubbing. Eli, Kelvin, and Jesse perform, while Keefe stands in the balcony. Apparently he is working security. After the service, they find all of the cars in the parking lot plastered with fliers about how evil the Gemstones are. No doubt Rev. Season is responsible!
Suck your Satanic boyfriend: After a confrontation with Rev. Seasons about the fliers -- he denies responsibility -- Eli and his family head to dinner in a private dining room on the second floor of Jason's Steakhouse. Trivia alert: Really the Liberty Taproom and Grill in Mount Pleasant, a suburb of Charlesotn.
The siblings are generally sniping at each other. disapproving of BJ for being a nonbeliever and Judy for planning to move away from the compound. They consider this a betrayal. Why do they care?
Kelvin accuses Jesse of "betraying your family" in another way. They stand, preparing to fight.
Kelvin: "How about you tell the family what kind of man you really are?"
Jesse: "How about you just go on and suck your Satanic boyfriend Keefe off?" This is the first time Keefe is named on the show.
"Suck your Satanic boyfriend" is a parallel to "what kind of man you really are," comparing two illicit sexual acts. But what is illicit, sex with a boyfriend or sex with a Satanist? From Jesse's statement that he has gay friends earlier, we can conclude that he means "Satanist," just as Judy is inadequate because of her non-believer boyfriend. But Kelvin responds as if Jesse has criticized him for being gay: instead of defending Keefe, he throws a water glass.
The Devil is a Top: They start throwing things at each other. Jesse throws a water glass at Kelvin, but hits BJ in the nose. Kelvin yells that they should have Jesse arrested for assault, and he responds "I hope the Devil fucks you dry!"
Again we see parallel threats, getting arrested and getting "fucked" by the Devil, both humiliating losses of power. It is interesting that Jesse adds "dry," that is, without lube. He assumes that Kelvin, being gay and into anal sex, would otherwise enjoy the act. In Season 3,we learn that Kelvin is in fact a bottom, and Keefe a top.
Kelvin cock and Scott Wolfe bulge after the break