As the first episode of Midnight Mass begins, we see the scene of a car wreck, medics trying to resuscitate a victim, and one man handcuffed nearby. The handcuffed man, Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford), slurs while asking an officer if the female victim is going to be okay. When medics give up on the woman, Riley freaks out and immediately begins praying. An officer tells him to ask God why he always takes the kids while the drunks walk away with scratches. We jump forward to a hearing in which Riley accepts the sentence of 4 to 10 years in prison. He’ll also have to pay the family more than $140,000 in restitution. We see him in a cell checking his letters and pictures. He also receives a Bible. Riley can’t stop seeing the victim of his crime a girl named Tara. Moments later, we jump ahead four years and are taken to Crockett Island which has a population of 127 people.

Riley’s mother and father prepare for Riley’s arrival. His younger brother, Warren (Igby Rigney), tells them he is going to meet Ooker (Louis Oliver). Warren’s mother tells him that Ms. Keane says Ooker is into bad stuff in the Uppards, but Warren doesn’t believe it. He promises not to drink and to be back before his curfew. Warren leaves on his bicycle before eventually cruising past St. Patrick’s Catholic Church. On the church’s sign, we see that Pruitt has returned and mass will resume on Sunday. Warren meets with Ooker seconds later. Ali (Rahul Abburi) joins them a few moments later. Bowl (John MacDonald) arrives and doesn’t want to sell drugs to Ali because of his father. Ali says screw them all in hopes of changing Bowl’s mind. Once they leave, Ooker and Warren try to make sure Ali isn’t going to tell his father who is the sheriff in town since Bowl is the only one willing to get them stuff.

They stop near a house and tells Leeza (Annarah Cymone) about the weed they just scored. Leeza refuses to go with them before her mother comes out and she wheels herself inside. Then, we see someone enter a house and unlock a large chest of sorts. Warren asks his friends if they brought life jackets before they paddle out into the water in the middle of the night. They continue telling Ali not to tell his father while Ooker says he patched the boat so it shouldn’t have any leaks. They go onto a mysterious like where a bird soars over them and an army of cats surround them. It is believed people from the mainland brought the cats up there. Warren claims the cats have been eating bodies that wash up when it floods. They sit around, get high, and talk about Warren and Leeza. Ooker says his brother Bobby and others used to say the Uppards was haunted by a fisherman named Harpoon Harry.

Warren spots something nearby that startles him but he says he only thought he saw something. The next day, Riley rides out to the island and gets picked up by his mother. A strange woman nearby pays particularly close attention to them. That woman, Bev Keane (Samantha Sloyan), asks about Pruitt who wasn’t on the boat and Sturge (Matt Biedel) hasn’t seen him. Dr. Sarah Gunning (Annabeth Gish) talks to a soon-to-be mother about her ultrasound and the fact there was a little bleed in there. She admits she isn’t worried about it and shouldn’t be anything to worry about. Sarah’s mother comes in believing Peggy is in there. However, Sarah explains it is Peggy’s daughter Erin Greene (Kate Siegel). As Riley and his mother walk through town, Annie says hello to Sheriff Hassan and that she’ll be in later. Hassan goes inside his office and wakes up his inmate Joe Collie (Robert Longstreet) before offering him a cup of coffee.

Joe learns he was drunk on Jim Beam when he tried to break into the general store, so Hassan locked him up. He also claimed he was being followed by a giant albatross. Joe understands that since albatross is bad luck. They go outside where Joe’s dog scares Bev who complains and calls the dog a menace. When Bev leaves, Joe tells his dog to ignore her because she is a meanie. Joe is allowed to leave before Riley learns that the Millers went last year. Annie admits nobody is trying to sell anymore. They’re just leaving. Riley is hesitant but he eventually steps inside with his mother. He learns his father has been storing stuff in his room. He complains about him not showing up, but his mother says he is just treating him normal. We learn about a spill and the father smelling like diesel. Annie complains that there are limits for the boats but not the oil companies.

She says they’re worried about population decline although the island’s population has shrunk considerably. Annie calls the island a ghost instead of an island and community. Seconds later, Hassan and the Mayor meet with locals to talk about the upcoming storm since it is the sheriff’s first. Sturge agrees to turn the pumps off to prevent problems. The classrooms will be used for shelters. Bev interrupts to explain the church was always used as shelter. She mentions the rec center which holds twice as many, but Hassan doesn’t think that matters. She tells Hassan he’ll have to ride it out with them unless he is going to get on a ferry and go to a mosque. Hassan relents and agrees to tell everyone to head to the church when it gets back. Later, Warren learns his brother has to go to the mainland for AA meetings once a week. Riley learns about Erin Greene teaching at the school. The old Mrs. Greene passed away, so her daughter is teaching there now.

Riley learns that Erin is back, and she is living in Peggy’s old place. Erin fled the island, got pregnant, and returned. Riley is told he’ll see her at the church tomorrow, but he confesses he wasn’t planning on going to church. Annie mentions that Pruitt traveled despite being 80 now. He spent two weeks in the holy land. Warren says that Pruitt is losing it since he has been spotted wandering around the island at night. Annie isn’t positive it was him but she says he belongs there with them anyway. Riley’s father gets mad at him because he doesn’t want to go to church after what he did. He demands his church go to church every Sunday even if his heart isn’t in it. Later, Bev goes looking for Monsignor Pruitt and finds the large chest in her room. She goes on about everything that has happened while Pruitt was gone before finding someone else in the house.

On the Uppards, a cat is attacked and killed by something we do not see. Riley’s father approaches him to say his mother has been going to the church every day since the accident to say a rosary for Riley. They talk about the spill and Riley’s wish not to go to church. His father tells him to sit back. He shouldn’t take the sacrament since it would be disrespectful if he did. Hassan puts his son to bed and tells him not to text anyone. When Hassan leaves, he hears his son on the phone, so he gives him 10 minutes to use it. Riley watches through the window as his brother sneaks out. When Riley jumps in bed, he sees his victim once again. He imagines himself on a rowboat. In the morning, Ooker and Warren talk about the storm, and both agree it likely isn’t going to be as bad as they say. They get dressed for the upcoming church session and learn that someone has been there before them. Before Bev begins speaking, Riley and Erin glance at one another.

Everyone is surprised when a new priest enters the church. He introduces himself as Paul Hill and explains he is going to fill in for Pruitt for a few weeks. Pruitt fell ill and is recovering in a hospital on the mainland. He insists Pruitt will be back and he is only there to help. Paul goes through the rituals as the congregation listens patiently. Soon, he begins communion. Riley stays behind while his mom and dad walk up to Paul. After the session, Bev tells everyone about meeting Paul at the rectory last night. Paul stops Leeza, Wade, and her mother outside to say he’ll see Leeza at every service. He apologizes to Mayor Scarborough for surprising him, but Wade doesn’t seem to mind. They talk briefly before Paul is introduced to the Flynn family. He asks Riley about sitting in the back for communion. Riley explains he isn’t in a state of grace right now.

Paul says Jesus tended to focus on the people who weren’t in a state of grace. Riley welcomes him to the Crock Pot before walking away. He approaches Erin and they go for a walk. Riley learns she was up in upstate New York, but he already knew that. He admits everyone had a theory, but he thought she went there for the covered bridges. She is surprised he remembered her saying that before admitting she went west first and traveled all over. Erin goes on to say they’re idiots since both are back where they started. Erin says he went to Chicago, went to school, and partied too much. He made a lot of money, but it went all away. He isn’t married. Erin was but no longer. Both say it is weird for Erin to go to church although it has been good for her. Riley talks about not turning to the Bible or any religion during his prison stint. Instead, he came out an atheist.

Then, they begin talking about Erin’s pregnancy. She admits the baby, little foot, saved her life. Back in the church, Bev asks Paul about the gold chasuble he is wearing today. It is meant to be worn during special events so Paul admits he couldn’t find the green one. He believes he’ll find it after she offers to order more. Meanwhile, Riley and Erin talk about being back at home. He wants to know why she came back on purpose. She doesn’t answer and instead asks him how he is. Riley doesn’t know how he is. It was easier in prison because he had things to do, and it is odd that he doesn’t now. He has no money or prospects and just seems to exist now. She encourages him to ride out the storm tomorrow and find a new project tomorrow. Erin tells him she is sorry for everything he has been through. We jump forward to the storm as everyone tries to stay safe.

In the middle of the storm, Riley believes he sees Pruitt outside in the rain, but his family claim he is on the mainland. Riley goes outside and tries to chase him down. The person who looks like Pruitt gets away. Once the storm ends, Annie tells the family the phones are still down. They decide to go to the rectory to settle it. When they go out, Riley spots something behind their house and moves closer. They see seagulls eating dead cats on the shoreline as the episode ends.

 

Midnight Mass Review

Before watching Midnight Mass, I didn’t read any synopsis or watch any trailers so I had little clue what it was going to be about. Even after the first episode, I am still baffled as to what is going on and whether I should care. Some of the things I do know are that Riley spent time in prison for manslaughter while drinking and driving. After his release, he returns to his family on Crockett Island where he is forced to go to church and reunites with a possible old flame named Erin.

The old priest Pruitt has gone missing after a trip to the Holy land and was unexpectedly replaced by another guy named Paul Hill. Near the island is another one called the Uppards where cats mysteriously show up and die. It is supposedly haunted. After a storm, Riley and his family go outside and find seagulls eating dead cats on the beach. Other than that, the episode didn’t have a lot going on.

It is often hard to judge an entire series based on the pilot episode, but Midnight Mass could be good as long as it focuses on what matters. We need more scenes with the primary characters as well as whatever paranormal phenomenon is going on. With roughly 15 or more characters competing for the spotlight, I fear there is too much going on at once and most of the characters aren’t interesting anyway.

From here on out, Midnight Mass needs to be more direct in its approach and stop wasting time with characters and things that won’t matter in the long run. The opening episode was decent although a bit boring and jumbled so it scores a 7 out of 10. Future recaps of Midnight Mass will be available on Reel Mockery here.