07-04-2025
'The Righteous Gemstones' Season 4, Episode 5 recap: 'Teenjus' and Kelvin's quest to Top Christ Following Man
If you're still trying to cope with the finale of the other show on Sunday nights starring Walton Goggins, The White Lotus, you can have some laughs The Righteous Gemstones Season 4, Episode 5. And after Jesse (Danny McBride), Judy (Edi Patterson) and Kelvin (Adam Devine) walked in on their dad Eli (John Goodman) 69-ing Lori (Megan Mullally) in last week's episode, there are a lot of questions around how those relationships are going to move forward.
Additionally, we get further into Kelvin's quest to be crown Top Christ Following Man. And we've reached the introduction of Baby Billy's (Goggins) new show, "Teenjus."
SPOILERS FOR THE RIGHTEOUS GEMSTONES SEASON 4, EPISODE 5 INCLUDED BEYOND THIS POINT
The episode begins with Vance Simkins (Stephen Dorff) evaluating the damaging at his church, after Jesse's group of goons torched it.
That sparks a fight between Vance and his brother Craig (Gogo Lomo-David), who calls out Vance for spending money they don't have to compete with the Gemstones, and they'll still never respect him.
But Vance thinks that wining Top Christ Following Man will make everyone see his worth.
Vance has an opportunity to confront Jesse at The Cloak and Pistol Society. Of course, Jesse claims to know nothing about what happened at the Simkins church, but Vance threatens to drop a yellow kerchief on his foot. According to Cloak and Pistol rules, it's sign that Vance is calling him a coward and prompts a pistol duel.
That results in a hysterical back-and-forth as Jesse pulls a "new phone, who dis" with Vance, but in person, pretending to not know who he is.
While Vance thinks he's going to win Top Christ Following Man, so does Kelvin (Adam Devine). But things don't go as planned for the youngest Gemstone in the television panel discussion between the competitors.
While Kelvin believes he's thriving with Prism, Vance is there to knock him down and remind him that the Evangelical Christian community is still full of people with "traditional," meaning oftentimes discriminatory and homophobic, values.
"As a Christian, I have love for everyone, but a homosexual being included here, something's not right," Vance says during the panel discussion.. "Sadly, your nomination means that this great honour has strayed from its core values, to now being more about just checking off a box. ... God's word is clear on this issue."
But while Kelvin is dealing with the pressure of the competition, he also joins his siblings in trying to figure out how to get rid of Lori. Especially after Kelvin's Top Christ Following Man nomination party where Lori suggests she's going to be their "wicked stepmother."
Jesse's goons start to look up information on Lori, and actually find some interesting things. Her ex-boyfriend, Big Dick Mitch, is a missing person. But even more odd, multiple men tagged in her social media photos are dead or missing.
When Jesse, Judy and Kelvin ask their uncle Baby Billy what he knows about Lori, he says she asked him if should could be part of the telethon, because she's "broke" and in debt. And they quickly connect the dots that Eli could easily help her financial problems.
But when Eli's kids tell him what found out about Lori, he calls Jesse, Judy and Kelvin liars.
In order for the Gemstone kids actually get the information about Lori from their uncle, they had to agree to green-light his new TV show, "Teenjus." Which was originally called "Teen Jesus" before Baby Billy decided to shorten it, after snorting a line of cocaine. It's a show about Jesus being a teenager in Nazareth.
Baby Billy shows the script to Tiffany (Valyn Hall), saying he plans to build "generational wealth" for his family. While Tiffany is hoping the success of "Teenjus" will mean he's be able to retire and spend more time with their kids, Baby Billy's priority is to expand his career.
In Judy's home, BJ's (Tim Baltz) frustrations with his injury are stronger than ever.
"I'm helpless. I'm broken. I'm half a man," BJ says to Judy, after he fell in the bathtub. Adding that the doctors who said he'll walk again after rehabilitation are "full of shit."
That leads to Judy finding help in a pretty unlikely person, Jesse's wife Amber (Cassidy Freeman). Amber brings over Dr. Watson, a capuchin monkey. She's been working with a charity that trains the monkeys to be service animals to help disabled vets with everyday tasks.
With just the ring of a bell, Dr. Watson appears, and is even able to get Judy a White Claw from the fridge. He brought Citrus Yuzu Smash instead of Black Cherry, but as Judy says, "still rad."
While things seem to be working well with Dr. Watson, watching the monkey look at Judy suggests things are going to get messy between them.
But the episode ends with Eli and Lori spending time together when they notice that someone set Eli's car on fire.
"Eli, there's something I haven't been straight with you about. Me and you have to have a talk about my ex," Lori says in the final line of Episode 5.
