The reward thing.
This has been a principle objection of some of you who thought that the show was soft-peddling repentence. So there I was feeling smug because when Daniel first sits down with Jesus, and Jesus first says that life is hard and that is why there is such a good reward at the end, they follow up on that with a long riff on how banal that statement is. So, cool. Reactionary critics lose round one. But…. then Daniel repeats this bromide at graveside (but is it graveside? Where is the body?). So what are we to make of that? Surely someone seemingly so intelligent can’t have bought into this.
Or is he just seeking an end to a funeral homily? Either way. Yuck.
The Dad thing:
Can anybody not but be confused about the fact hat he has Bishop Ellen Bursytn, and then the bishop who is his dad? The deal is that his dad is the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. That hasn’t become clear yet, and heaven knows what sense non-Episcopalians will make of the double bishop thing once it is artculated.
At the end of this episode when Jesus says: “Didn’t see that coming,” leaving aside the whole ominiscient deal, it just isn’t as funny as when the heavy-set guy whose name escapes me says the same thing on Lost when the Korean woman speaks English.