In a way, Under the Banner of Heaven winds up being as much about fragile masculinity as it is about religion, though religion no doubt shaped the masculinity of the people involved. When Ron’s estranged wife Dianna returns to town in hopes of rescuing the other brothers’ wives before it’s too late, she confronts their brother Sam. “You’re not special,” she tells him, arguing that he and the other brothers turned to fundamentalism because they were unable to confront their own failures.

And that’s what it all comes down to, isn’t it? A failing chiropractic practice, a failing construction company, a refusal to pay fines and taxes—this is the quotidian bad luck and bad decisions that led the Lafferty brothers to collectively go mad. Every setback is refashioned into a challenge to be overcome with ever more fervent and violent faith. Anything but admitting that such mighty men as they could possibly have steered the plane into the mountain on their own.

Ditto the polygamy concept. These small little men, losing control in other aspects of their lives, no doubt treasured the power and thrill of having multiple wives (or “wives,” in the sense that simply having sex with a woman constitutes marriage to them). It’s an extension of the control they wish to have over their own original wives, and a reflection of the misogynistic rage that drove them to kill Brenda Lafferty and her daughter over her perceived meddling in their affairs. 

I reviewed the finale of Under the Banner of Heaven for Decider.

And where are we left, in the end? With Dan Lafferty’s browbeaten wife Mathilda, staring at the ground as if remembering her lines as she warns Brenda about blood atonement. With Jacob Lafferty, brain damaged by his father’s beating, sticking up a convenience store. With Detective Bill Taba arriving at Onias’s dream mine, invited in by the bearded racist himself. With Pyre, sobbing in his car in his home’s garage. In all cases, faith does not heal, it destroys. With only one episode to go, the only question is how deep the damage will go.

I reviewed this week’s episode of Under the Banner of Heaven for Decider.

Some families are hunting grounds. In these families, the man of the house sees his wife and children not as people but as belongings. Slap a religious imprimatur on it, give it the blessing of God Himself, and there’s no telling how far things will go.

That seems to be the story of Under the Banner of Heaven as of the show’s fifth episode, titled “One Mighty and Strong.” That title refers to a prophesied leader who will return the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to its true roots. Predatory losers Dan and Ron Lafferty seize on the concept and act accordingly. The bloodshed that followed was almost a foregone conclusion.

I reviewed this week’s episode of Under the Banner of Heaven for Decider.

Overall, I remain very impressed with Under the Banner of Heaven—with its fine cast, its depiction of the Lafferty family’s sort of group psychosis, and its sensitive but unsparing exploration of perhaps the most American of all religions. It almost plays like a lost season of American Crime Story, which is about the highest praise I can give a true-crime TV show. And despite knowing that the facts of the case are online for anyone to see, I find myself holding off, waiting to see what comes next.

I reviewed the most recent episode of Under the Banner of Heaven for Decider.

There’s a secretive group of Americans out there who believe their word is law. Mostly men, though at least one woman sides with them, they are religious fanatics who believe the Constitution as originally written is a perfect document, ordained by God. To them, subsequent revisions to the laws of the land are unconstitutional, illegitimate, and most importantly immoral. They want to return to the old days, to the old ways. Keeping women in their place through having children, whether they want to or not, is key to their plan—to God’s plan, as they see it. They’ve studied and prayed all their lives, and now their time has come.

Also there was a new episode of Under the Banner of Heaven.

Sigh. “See what I did there?”, the critic asked depressively.

I reviewed this week’s episode of Under the Banner of Heaven for Decider.

My main critical takeaway from this episode (“Rightful Place”)—as was the case with the first half of the two-episode premiere, this installment was written by showrunner Dustin Lance Black and directed by David Mackenzie—is how ultimately pathetic the behavior and motives of the Lafferty brothers really are. Wyatt Russell, in particular, is a perfect choice for would-be “man of the house” Dan; his snot-nosed “you think you’re better than me?!?!” performance here echoes his similar work as the replacement Captain America in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, of all things. (I wasn’t nuts about that Disney/Marvel show, but Russell was well cast, that’s for sure.) There’s a brilliant bit where he insults a client, then says “you can say that twice!”, then literally says it a second time. As for Robin, Seth Numrich gives him the air of an inveterate second banana, so determined to make a life for himself as Dan’s father-appointed right hand man that he’s called down the Word of God itself to justify his conduct. The fact that he’s grown a shaggy beard, prophet-style, shows just how far he and his kin have drifted from the conservative but straight-laced beliefs of their father. This generation wants to be seen as different from the norm.

All in all, it’s another compelling glimpse into the secret life of America, fueled by faith and resentment in equal parts. Good thing we’ve moved past all that, huh?

I reviewed the second episode of Under the Banner of Heaven for Decider.

Whatever the case, the story makes for fine true-crime television so far. Part of that is down to the casting, which is uniformly excellent. There’s a sort of echo between Andrew Garfield as Jeb and Daisy Edgar-Jones as Brenda, for example—they both seem like affable, guy/girl-next-door types, which helps root the awful circumstances of the story in an “it can happen here” way. Christopher Heyerdahl, who played a terrifying religious fanatic in Them, brings some of that dark fire with him here as Ammon, a guy who looks extremely unpleasant if you’re on his bad side. I liked Wyatt Russell’s smarmy smile as favored son Dan and Sam Worthington’s barely repressed emotion as passed-over Ron. Even a stock detective character like Taba is invested with verve and vigor by Gil Birmingham.

Aside from the cast, Under the Banner of Heaven distinguished itself so far with its use of blink-and-you’ll-miss-them snatches of flashbacks, often lit brightly by the sun as if in contrast with the night work of the detectives. This is how we see the story of Joseph Smith unfold as Allen narrates it; the cross-cutting between historical figures and the modern-day plot (which echoes the structure of Jon Krakauer’s original book) and between recent and distant memories takes on an almost hallucinatory rhythm at times.

I’m covering Under the Banner of Heaven for Decider, starting with my review of the first half of the show’s two-part premiere.