#pope notes

Oh JESUS CHRIST this dude again

Whyyahahahaha

Brannox: “How am I?” Gutierrez, with oomph: “Dazzling.” Us: [inarticulate]

Brannox: “I missed you.” Cardinal “Spock” Gutierrez, literally: “I am and always will be your friend.”

All the punks and queer people are just so happy about their Pope! This is adorable.

Honestly? It’s a good speech. We felt real human emotions! They love him. <3 Gutierrez and Voiello are so moved, on a personal level!  

There does a hit a point where suddenly you realize John Paul III is painting the Catholic Church as a small scrappy forgotten underdog and it’s like, well, really? But the message of acceptance of all weirdos is very good!

Listen there are…distinct ~vibes~ between Esther and the leader of the Lenny Cult, I’m just saying

Gutierrez: “A good idea is one that minimizes damages, and maximizes profits. Outside of here they call it capitalism. But we’ve been practicing it since the time of the catacombs.” Jen: “WHAT.” Me: “Gutierrez explains economic principles to you, ASMR.”

But Sofia sends her husband and Spalletta and that government finance guy to prison ANYWAY. Because she’s post-capitalist I guess.

Noooo, Sofia don’t resign, you and Voiello are such good work buddies!

Sofia: “Please, Emminence, don’t make me say it. You are the most intelligent man in the world.” So right before Essence then.

Can’t exactly pinpoint why, just good casting, but we were both immediately so fond towards this young priest with his kids. He seems nice! :(

See, Voiello already knows that the refugees are just being used and manipulated in this terrorism crisis, he always knows where true blame lies. VOIELLO.

Jen: “Oh yeah, forgot they made Girolamo a real saint.” Me: “If a cardinal just declares you’re a saint in your eulogy I guess that does the trick?”

Lenny walks into the Sistine Chapel in priest garb, Brannox sitting alone on a chair, we’re just like [scrabbling] o shit o shit o shit — it’s happening

[peals of laughter]

Basically Jen and I were chattering and cawing like tropical birds for this entire sequence. When Brannox extends his ringed hand for him to kiss and Lenny just starts talking without looking up so Brannox awkwardly takes his hand back down! Brannox telling him that if he’s risen from the dead he may be a devil, while they shoot Jude Law in profile with his head titled up into a small smile! Lenny complacently stating “I could create a billion Catholic fanatics in a week.” Me remarking that Brannox is just a centrist huh and Jen quipping “The real Middle Way.” The reveal that Lenny really was astral projecting everywhere we saw him all season, then faintly drawling “Joohhn” at him!! CHEF’S KISS ALL OF IT.

And that was even before Papal Imp Lenny—best Lenny?—has his glorious ass carried in to a meeting of the cardinals with the whole imperious ostrich feather & cone crown getup from S1, while a whimsical-diabolical Arvo Pärt piece plays.

Before we started the episode I told Jen that I didn’t know if it would even be that much fun to to watch Lenny destroy Brannox when he’s so weak, but I was wrong it is ALWAYS. FUN. Always.

I’m this guy

Pope Daddy just goes “If you reveal to anyone that I’ve returned, I’ll know how to punish you. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)”

Lenny: “This is called power. Our most excellent Voiello exercises it over you all.” Jen: “Shout out to my boy Voiello.”

Of course Lenny loved JPIII’s speech about how the Church is for punks, as a punk ass bitch himself

Me: “Oh incredible, he’s validifying Brannox as Pope but he’s the one doing the validifying, so he’s set himself somehow higher!?” Jen: “The Überpope.”

Pope Daddy just goes “You will remain by my side, silent, obedient, and good.”

“I need my red backdrop.”

Vengeful God Lenny is also a Very Good Lenny. “I am not modern, I am ancient.”

Brauer: “Do you have any idea of the work we’ve been doing?” Us: “No! No we don’t! Who are you!”

Jen and I have so many questions about Bauer, not the least of which is: where is he from? If he were Italian he’d be speaking Italian with Voiello right now (and sound Italian), but it’s always English, with an accent I can’t really place. And yet he seemingly works for…the Vatican? Yet not Voiello, the Secretary of State? I think he seems sort of Soviet, Jen thinks sort of Israeli, which frankly: WILD.

Love Voiello just being like you can try to kill Lenny if you want to but he’ll just come back again

Bauer is sitting in perhaps the biggest armchair I have ever seen

RIP Kind Young Teacher Priest

The thing about Lenny is that while he is quick to self-aggrandize, he’s also quick to self-damn when he believes he’s done something wrong, like now

Obviously Voiello can speak Arabic. Also, !!!!! it wasn’t them!! Thank frick

This extremely ghostly art backdrop, woohoo

Jen: “I can never tell when Lenny is playing with someone, or we’ve just tapped into his very real daddy issues.” Me: [losing it] Jen: “He FULLY cried when Spencer died.” Me: “Ohhhh yeah.”

I do enjoy Pope Brannox finally pulling ecclesiastical rank on Lenny, Lenny bowing immediately, and then Brannox just using that to order Lenny to be the Pope again

No television show contains as many long long speeches and long long wordless scenes and also SO MUCH HAPPENS. How do they do it.

Somehow I did not guess that it would be the Lenny Cult all along and yet as soon as it happened I was like OH OF COURSE, and that’s writing babey. Fundamentalism and fanaticism! OF COURSE!

Man, when they first introduced the caliph plot, I said, here I’ll quote: “Paolo I’m trusting you on this, I’m trusting you do not fucking let me down with whatever this storyline is going to be, I trust you!!” And you know what? I think he actually landed this dismount! You are a bold man, Paolo Sorrentino. 

Me: “I can’t believe Sofia really fell in love with Sir John! It wasn’t just because he was Pope, it wasn’t just because of what was going on with her terrible ex-husband, no she really did!” Jen: “Well he does look like her favorite actor, John Malkovich.” Me: “Aaahhhahaha!!”

Bauer who do you work for!! Are you SELF-DIRECTED? Delicious, man of mystery

On his fucking enormous furniture

Bauer: “Even though I do all I can to dissuade people, in the end they always develop a soft spot for me.” Listen I can’t refute that

Really thought his line about how he’s been dining on clams here would be followed by “And now my cholesterol is shot.” It’s been like four times he’s been slurping on clams, that is so many times!

Amber: “Isn’t he the sweetest thing? My little Bauer octopus.” Bauer, raising his hand for her to grab it: “Please don’t say that sweetheart, you’re demolishing the legend.” Us: [laughing, love them]

Sir John has approximately 35 bottles of perfumes and tinctures and at least two ring holders on his dressing table, and Danny is the sweetest butler man

“There is a life of happiness to be found in in the sphere of gentleness, kindness, mildness, lovingness. We must learn to be in the world. And the Church must contemplate the idea of opening up to the love that is possible, in order to fight against the love that is abhorrent.” I call this Lenny Learns From His Friend Gutierrez

Oh that’s a holy wind for sure

“You know what is so beautiful about questions? It’s that we don’t have the answers.” Yeeesssssss, MY POPE. Love that MYSTERY !! So much.

Oh my god I’m just remembering this time, didn’t he once tell Tomasso that God’s house is in the Big Dipper? Fucking incred callback.

It does actually make such sense that poor abandoned Lenny really would just wish to embrace all the members of his Church

Jen: “His poor security guard, this is the worst day of his entire life.”

Jen: “Is he—” Me: “Oh my god—” Both: “The Pope is crowdsurfing.”

With his very Ecstasy of St. Theresa face. Really, wasn’t it all working toward this?

When it got silent, Jen and I also got silent. Oh man this was quite a thing.

Quite, quite a thing.

Wow

We had wondered if this might happen, if perhaps this time he really would die, that God just granted him time for one more task.

And also he had to die, like, Lenny being Pope for maybe the next 40 years? In this economy? Impossible! He is a HAPPENING, not a dynasty.

This character wrap up at the end though??? EXQUISITE. And to OUR FAVORITE SONG FROM THE YOUNG POPE!!!! SO HAPPY. It’s the perfect wrap up song!! Lyrics right on the nose, tone joyful yet somehow kinda profound? Just dancing, in my soul.

And Voiello fucking deserves it, oh god bless buddy, I love you so much.

- - - - -

The New Pope: First Episode, Second Episode, Third Episode, Fourth Episode, Fifth Episode, Sixth Episode, Seventh Episode, Eighth Episode

His vape pen is now a little dude in a double-breasted jacket

Wanna place bets on the *last* thing Bauer tells Voiello being that Lenny is awake

Oh! Oh I am legitimately surprised that someone else killed Francis II before you could get there!

Oh wait you just mean LENNY? Outrageous, so fun

About as fun as transitioning from Voiello learning that Lenny’s back into his beach creds

Hah he’s still in his Steve Rogers streetwear disguise

I want Lenny to smile appreciably at me like this. Is this what it’s like to have daddy issues.

And a fridge stacked with Cherry Coke Zero, THEY LOVE HIM

Oh you’re NOT organized crime?

Wait are we supposed to think Faisal did it, because I absolutely do not. As if he would risk hurting his baby mama! As if the Syrian refugee would be like oh I know the answer: bombs. No!

the fucking aesthetic! tho! Brannox!

Gutierrez always expected Lenny to come back, FAITHFUL 😩

UM, extremely UMm, is Assente trying to keep Gutierrez away from Lenny???!! A Plot!!

Javier this face!! This combination of sad affront and ‘mf you can try..’

“How is your toy boy?” Ohhhh no

Calmly and clearly: “His name is Freddy, and I think he’s fine.” Bernardo you are an entire delight.

Bernardo Gutierrez: “I read [your tract] and complied.” Bernardo Gutierrez: “Did you.”

hOLY SHIT Don Cavallo!!??!! the Assente plot really kicking the fuck up here isn’t it!

I gasped SO LOUD at Sofia’s “intimate” act being to start applying mascara to Brannox’s eyelashes! Ugh god bless this show

I love Sofia, she’s so right about people being drawn to someone revealing a tenderly dorky side of themselves, because we feel embarrassed about ourselves too

Who is truly a punk though is Cardinal Gutierrez, straight up ignoring Assente’s order to not fraternize with Lenny, and fraternizing the hell out of Lenny, Gutierrez-style: showing him all the boxes of letters children sent him while he was in a coma, and revealing that of course he has read all of them

Sofia rolling over in her bed and turning into Adam is….something we’re not gonna unpack!

“I was too strung out on heroin so I just sat there, and watched him bleed to death.” Whoa.

Aaah this abrupt transition---where Brannox is, is dark, and where Lenny is, is bright. And fucking asking Voiello who he is, in front of a small round empty swimming pool somewhere in the Vatican. SORRENTINO.

Uuuuugh, that Levo track from S1 coming in again as Voiello lays out his plan to reintroduce Lenny as AN AGENT OF CATHOLIC CHAOS. Lenny smiling slyly! LOVE YOU TWO LIKE THIS. LOVE THIS.

This dance as they can’t figure out if they should hug or what oh my GOD I’m cackling. Silvio Orlando and Jude Law are like acting soulmates, so glad you found each other.

“Do you remember Adam’s millipede? He thought it was God, but he was wrong, it was Satan. Even Adam made mistakes.” [mildly] What The Fuck

The Abbess walking back and forth on the table between them oh my god

Voiello is still referring to Lenny as the Pope as he talks to Girolamo

Oh no Girolamo!

Hah you got him, Sister Lisette. So into the revolutionary nun, would follow on Nun Twitter.

Oh this rock formation is very cursed, I don’t like it

This is the episode where everyone’s like Voiello we need you, and Voiello doesn’t even gloat he’s just like ah thank you. It’s good!

This man with his clams and his flip phone, I just..

It’s a good eulogy, Voiello

Sister Lisette was working with Voiello to get that kompromat, fuck yeah. The Nunnery Secretary of State.

I mean Assente I do enjoy you, but you are also cruel and you have to go

Lenny hugging his loyal little nun friend, pure, I MAY have teared up, it’s fine!!

Jude Law oh my god. IMPOSSIBLE to explain what it’s like to have this face be a drop reveal.

HooOowwwWw is Essence is so unnerving!

I would be very interested in Bauer actually, for reals, being God. Like why not.

I appreciate the girl letting out a single victorious “Hah” and Brauer echoing it in support of her

Fuck I love when Lenny preaches MYSTERY

He praises the sisters for being “different, and mysterious,” in comparison to the priests, whom he finds kind of lame. THIS IS ALL SO LENNY. He’s controlling them, and he’s not being progressive, he’s being strict, but he’s also being kind of Greater than that? PIUS XIII

Wow INTENSE strobe effect over the doctor in Vienna being mobbed by photographers

Lenny is standing bare ass naked in flip flops in the empty pool, gazing at his embroidered papal robes. STILL worried tumblr’s gonna try to Block The Butt so leaving this up (if I can) as a special treat! Anyway finale next.

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The New Pope: First Episode, Second Episode, Third Episode, Fourth Episode, Fifth Episode, Sixth Episode, Seventh Episode