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History Headscratchers / MidnightMass2021

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*** Joe was the town pariah and barely talked to anyone except Bowl and Hassan - who also weren't exactly at the middle of the social whirl on the island. He probably just didn't tell anyone.



** The subtitles on the first episode indicate that Bev offered Erin the wine during Riley's first mass home. So she did take at least a little of it then. If Paul had started spiking the wine as soon as he arrived, that's probably where she got it.

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** The subtitles on the first episode indicate that Bev offered Erin the wine during Riley's first mass home. So she did take at least a little of it then.then (a literal sip of wine once a week isn't going to hurt the fetus). If Paul had started spiking the wine as soon as he arrived, that's probably where she got it.



* Why didn't Paul try to give Sarah communion when he made his house calls to deliver it to Mildred? He knew she hadn't taken any of the Angel's blood before the Easter vigil, and his and Bev's plan for the vigil did not seem to involve giving blood to people who hadn't taken it by that point before they poisoned themselves. It would have been easy on one of his last trips to the Gunning house to at least try to persuade Sarah to take the sacrament herself, knowing what was coming in a few days.

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* Why didn't Paul try to give Sarah communion when he made his house calls to deliver it to Mildred? He knew she hadn't taken any of the Angel's blood before the Easter vigil, and his and Bev's plan for the vigil did not seem to involve giving blood to people who hadn't taken it by that point before they poisoned themselves. It would have been easy on one of his last trips to the Gunning house to at least try to persuade Sarah to take the sacrament herself, knowing what was coming in a few days.days.
** It would be beyond weird for a priest to try to cajole someone who wasn't a practising Catholic to take communion, and Sarah would be instantly suspicious. Pruitt/Hill might have been hoping that the miracles would persuade Sarah to return to the fold and take the sacrament of her own accord, or maybe just that he could slip some blood into her coffee at some point but never got the opportunity.
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Removed racist term 'off the reservation' replaced with 'off piste'


*** By Catholic doctrine, mixing ''anything'' into communion wine other than water renders it invalid matter for the Sacrament, so it's pretty clear Father Paul is already off the reservation in terms of sticking to rules. (It's also standard Catholic doctrine that angels are not physical creatures and don't have blood in the first place, so Paul's conviction about the "Angel" is even more self-delusional than shown -- or possibly the result of a psychic whammy from the "Angel".)

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*** By Catholic doctrine, mixing ''anything'' into communion wine other than water renders it invalid matter for the Sacrament, so it's pretty clear Father Paul is already off the reservation piste in terms of sticking to rules. (It's also standard Catholic doctrine that angels are not physical creatures and don't have blood in the first place, so Paul's conviction about the "Angel" is even more self-delusional than shown -- or possibly the result of a psychic whammy from the "Angel".)
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*** Even if her legs were just asleep, she'd feel a sensation. Leeza is telling Warren she can't feel them at all. The reason Warren isn't shocked or concerned is because he's aware the mobility she gained was because she'd been repeatedly infused with the vampire's blood. Both Warren and Leeza saw the vampire flee the island, and were wondering if it would be able to find a place to shelter itself in time. Her losing feeling in her legs meant that the power of the vampire blood was gone, which was a clear indication Erin's damaging of its wings prevented it from reaching shelter, and it burned in the sunlight.
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** Erin is shown getting up to join the line for communion in the first episode, not staying seated.

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** Erin is shown getting up to join the line for communion in the first episode, not staying seated.seated.
* Why didn't Paul try to give Sarah communion when he made his house calls to deliver it to Mildred? He knew she hadn't taken any of the Angel's blood before the Easter vigil, and his and Bev's plan for the vigil did not seem to involve giving blood to people who hadn't taken it by that point before they poisoned themselves. It would have been easy on one of his last trips to the Gunning house to at least try to persuade Sarah to take the sacrament herself, knowing what was coming in a few days.
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** Sarah theorizes that a person's physical response to the affected blood is based on how much blood they have in their body and its proportion to their own blood. Erin's sample catches fire, but her blood is left unharmed while the Angel blood burns away, because it's still mostly her blood. Mildred's sample, however, burns almost completely. It's possible that if a person only has a small amount (one or two sacraments' worth) in their body, their own blood would eventually replace it, maybe causing its effects to "wear off" in a way. But as they continue taking in more and more, it would grow new cells just like real blood does and eventually be more than their own blood. It took several communions for Leeza to be able to walk, and for Mildred to recover from her dementia, so they probably needed more than one or two small doses to make big recoveries. It's possible that Leeza's body had processed out the Angel blood, just like bodies do with ordinary blood cells. And without more to replace it, and not being a vampire herself, its effects "wore off."
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** The subtitles on the first episode indicate that Bev offered Erin the wine during Riley's first mass home. So she did take at least a little of it then. If Paul had started spiking the wine as soon as he arrived, that's probably where she got it.

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** The subtitles on the first episode indicate that Bev offered Erin the wine during Riley's first mass home. So she did take at least a little of it then. If Paul had started spiking the wine as soon as he arrived, that's probably where she got it.it.
** Erin is shown getting up to join the line for communion in the first episode, not staying seated.
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** Father Paul didn't say that Joe told him he was visiting his sister. He said that Joe was "visiting his sister, I think," which could mean that ''he'' thought that's what Joe was doing, not what Joe told him. The problem there is that Bev made a point of "filling in" Father Paul (when she thought he was new) about every single detail of the islanders' lives, and also made a point of telling everyone she had done that. So she probably would have mentioned to Father Paul that Joe's sister had died a few months ago, especially since it was adding to Joe's struggles with his sobriety and Father Paul would be leading the [=AA=] meetings.
** It's a weird slip, in any case, because Monsignor Pruitt would also probably have known that Joe's sister died (he had only left the island two weeks previously), and thus Paul should have known about it.

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* How did Riley turn? The show made a point that he never took communion after returning home from prison so there shouldn't have been any vampire blood in him and we see him die from the angel without it giving him any blood (it wouldn't make sense anyway since it didn't give any blood to it's other victims after Pruitt).

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* How did Riley turn? The show made a point that he never took communion after returning home from prison so there shouldn't have been any vampire blood in him and we see him die from the angel without it giving him any blood (it wouldn't make sense anyway since it didn't give any blood to it's its other victims after Pruitt).



** It's shown that giving someone vampire blood as they're dying will save them, and Riley's injuries (neck broken in three places) after the angel attack would certainly have been fatal otherwise. The only way he could have survived the attack was if Pruitt intervened and gave him some of his own blood before he properly died. The result is the same--he is brought back to life and transformed, he just didn't have the blood until right before his fatal injury. Pruitt could have saved Joe Collie the same way, but was too overcome by hunger (and probably his own judgment) to do it.



** The subtitles on the first episode indicate that Bev offered Erin the wine during Riley's first mass home. So she did take at least a little of it then.

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** The subtitles on the first episode indicate that Bev offered Erin the wine during Riley's first mass home. So she did take at least a little of it then. If Paul had started spiking the wine as soon as he arrived, that's probably where she got it.
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* When and/or why did Erin get exposed to vampire blood, leading to the reversal of her pregnancy? As a pregnant woman, she could not drink wine at mass, as shown when Riley and she are the only ones who stay seated the first time Riley goes to mass.

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* When and/or why did Erin get exposed to vampire blood, leading to the reversal of her pregnancy? As a pregnant woman, she could not drink wine at mass, as shown when Riley and she are the only ones who stay seated the first time Riley goes to mass.mass.
** The subtitles on the first episode indicate that Bev offered Erin the wine during Riley's first mass home. So she did take at least a little of it then.
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** After being turned, Father Paul comments on how he can hear the "voice of God", which is heavily implied to be the vampire.
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* When and/or why did Erin get exposed to vampire blood, leading to her pregnancy reversing ? As a pregnant woman she could not have drunk wine at mass. She and Riley are the only ones who stay seated the first time Riley goes to mass.

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* When and/or why did Erin get exposed to vampire blood, leading to the reversal of her pregnancy reversing ? pregnancy? As a pregnant woman woman, she could not have drunk drink wine at mass. She and mass, as shown when Riley and she are the only ones who stay seated the first time Riley goes to mass.
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** "visiting his sister's grave" would have been something of a leap, it's not a common turn of phrase or interpretation regarding a deceased relative. The former might be a decently likely interpretation, though Collie didn't need to visit the mainland to get drunk. I read the scene as Riley becoming suspicious from Paul's slight nervousness and odd story. It's also not impossible Riley was being paranoid, but correct in his paranoia.

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** "visiting his sister's grave" would have been something of a leap, it's not a common turn of phrase or interpretation regarding a deceased relative. The former might be a decently likely interpretation, though Collie didn't need to visit the mainland to get drunk. I read the scene as Riley becoming suspicious from Paul's slight nervousness and odd story. It's also not impossible Riley was being paranoid, but correct in his paranoia.paranoia.
*When and/or why did Erin get exposed to vampire blood, leading to her pregnancy reversing ? As a pregnant woman she could not have drunk wine at mass. She and Riley are the only ones who stay seated the first time Riley goes to mass.
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** He doesn't say that there's no crime, only no "intentional violence". We know for a fact that Bowl is dealing drugs, and theft or vandalism aren't ruled out either.

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* Father Paul tells Riley that Joe Collie went to the mainland to visit his sister. Riley knows that Cillie's sister died a few months ago so this isn't true. Riley decides that this means that Father Paul is hiding something and even warns a couple of people that he is a liar. Wouldn't it have been more reasonable to think that either Collie lied to Paul about his reasons for visiting the mainland (say to get drunk) or that he meant he was visiting his sister's grave?

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** Pruitt was in the room as it happened, having already become a vampire, he might have fed Riley some of his own blood out of a combination of fear of being found out early, compassion for Riley, and a desire to "redeem" him via vampirism like he thought he'd been. Given he is later supernaturally aware Riley had truly died, it makes sense as an existing blood bond. It's also not impossible the Angel did feed Riley some of its blood, either at Pruitt's urging or to further its own goals because the mass conversion was just a couple of days away, growing its agents and avoiding any more heat from Riley going missing.
* Father Paul tells Riley that Joe Collie went to the mainland to visit his sister. Riley knows that Cillie's Collie's sister died a few months ago so this isn't true. Riley decides that this means that Father Paul is hiding something and even warns a couple of people that he is a liar. Wouldn't it have been more reasonable to think that either Collie lied to Paul about his reasons for visiting the mainland (say to get drunk) or that he meant he was visiting his sister's grave?grave?
** "visiting his sister's grave" would have been something of a leap, it's not a common turn of phrase or interpretation regarding a deceased relative. The former might be a decently likely interpretation, though Collie didn't need to visit the mainland to get drunk. I read the scene as Riley becoming suspicious from Paul's slight nervousness and odd story. It's also not impossible Riley was being paranoid, but correct in his paranoia.
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* How did Riley turn? The show made a point that he never took communion after returning home from prison so there shouldn't have been any vampire blood in him and we see him die from the angel without it giving him any blood (it wouldn't make sense anyway since it didn't give any blood to it's other victims after Pruitt).

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* How did Riley turn? The show made a point that he never took communion after returning home from prison so there shouldn't have been any vampire blood in him and we see him die from the angel without it giving him any blood (it wouldn't make sense anyway since it didn't give any blood to it's other victims after Pruitt).Pruitt).
*Father Paul tells Riley that Joe Collie went to the mainland to visit his sister. Riley knows that Cillie's sister died a few months ago so this isn't true. Riley decides that this means that Father Paul is hiding something and even warns a couple of people that he is a liar. Wouldn't it have been more reasonable to think that either Collie lied to Paul about his reasons for visiting the mainland (say to get drunk) or that he meant he was visiting his sister's grave?
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** It's likely there really weren't, with the groundwater level from being at sea being problematic enough that most cellars would flood or be moldy. Most of the houses are seen to be on stilts to avoid storm waters washing inland. Add all of the houses being on fire, even a house with a cellar is likely to see the burning house collapse on top of the cellar.

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** It's likely there really weren't, with the groundwater level from being at sea being problematic enough that most cellars would flood or be moldy. Most of the houses are seen to be on stilts to avoid storm waters washing inland. Add all of the houses being on fire, even a house with a cellar is likely to see the burning house collapse on top of the cellar.cellar.
*How did Riley turn? The show made a point that he never took communion after returning home from prison so there shouldn't have been any vampire blood in him and we see him die from the angel without it giving him any blood (it wouldn't make sense anyway since it didn't give any blood to it's other victims after Pruitt).
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* There were no cellars on the entire island? Nowhere at all that the vampires could shelter from the sun? The Angel itself just needed a box, and it was made clear that only direct sunlight had a damaging effect. Just grab a canoe, head for a secluded area and hide underneath it until nightfall. Go down to the dock and hide under a pier. Hell, just grab a thick blanket or shove everyone under a tarpaulin.

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* There were no cellars on the entire island? Nowhere at all that the vampires could shelter from the sun? The Angel itself just needed a box, and it was made clear that only direct sunlight had a damaging effect. Just grab a canoe, head for a secluded area and hide underneath it until nightfall. Go down to the dock and hide under a pier. Hell, just grab a thick blanket or shove everyone under a tarpaulin.tarpaulin.
** It's likely there really weren't, with the groundwater level from being at sea being problematic enough that most cellars would flood or be moldy. Most of the houses are seen to be on stilts to avoid storm waters washing inland. Add all of the houses being on fire, even a house with a cellar is likely to see the burning house collapse on top of the cellar.
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*** Or, and this is based on Warren's complete lack of shock or concern when Leeza tells him she can't feel her legs, she was kneeling in that position in the boat for a good long while watching the island burn. How many times have you been sitting or kneeling in a strange position and said "I can't feel my legs" because the blood flow has been cut off? She just panics a little because she's only had the use of her legs for a few days.

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*** Or, and this is based on Warren's complete lack of shock or concern when Leeza tells him she can't feel her legs, she was kneeling in that position in the boat for a good long while watching the island burn. How many times have you been sitting or kneeling in a strange position and said "I can't feel my legs" because the blood flow has been cut off? She just panics a little because she's only had the use of her legs for a few days.days and hasn't experienced the sensation before (she's was paralysed when still a very young kid).
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**** Or, and this is based on Warren's complete lack of shock or concern when Leeza tells him she can't feel her legs, she was kneeling in that position in the boat for a good long while watching the island burn. How many times have you been sitting or kneeling in a strange position and said "I can't feel my legs" because the blood flow has been cut off? She just panics a little because she's only had the use of her legs for a few days.
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* How were the vampires even planning to stay fed, if they converted the entire population of an island that had been deliberately cut off from the mainland?

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* How were the vampires even planning to stay fed, if they converted the entire population of an island that had been deliberately cut off from the mainland?mainland?
** By taking boats to the Mainland. Bev is visibly shocked and angry when Sturge tells her the boats have been burnt by the heroes. In their absence she says she'll just have the Mayor recall the ferries for the following night and they'll use them instead.
* The issue of Leeza losing the use of her legs again when (it's implied) the crippled Angel is destroyed by the sun. This opens a whole can of worms regarding the nature of the transformation those who imbibe Angel blood undergo. It seems, and Sarah hypothesises, that some kind of virus in the Angel blood changes human bodies at a cellular level, healing wounds, restoring functions and returning those bodies to their 'peak' of youth and vigour. But if the healing of Leeza's spinal injury is reliant on the Angel remaining alive, that would mean all of the changes it wrought in the Islanders were ephemeral, illusionary, and temporary. Her spine - wasn't - healed, the Angel blood simply somehow mimicked the effect of restoring her lost functions. But then, what about the other injuries sustained by those who drank the blood and those who converted into full vampires? Pruitt and Mildred both had dementia, but recovered fully from that as they became young. Pruitt himself was shot in the head, Bev in the chest, others had their throats torn open. Did these wounds not 'really' heal? Would the vampirism itself have simply vanished with the dawn for any of the vampires who avoided being burnt up?
** There are clear hints that all of the Converted are somehow connected via the Angel. Pruitt hears its voice in his head, and he 'knows' that Riley is dead even though his suicide occurs out at sea. The horror hunger and lack of guilt (most of) the vampires suffer from may also be transmitted from the Angel via this connection. How this telepathic connection somehow translates into the physical changes the Islanders' bodies undergo being instantly reversible is anyone's guess.
*** One possibility is that the Angel's blood acted as a medium through which the Angel could temporarily morph human biology to start mimicking its own, and the more Angel blood one consumed, the greater the effect, with the fullest convergence of human and Angel biology taking place after the human body's own functions had been shut down by physical death (meaning the vampiric Islanders really are Undead in the literal sense). Remove the Angel from the equation and its blood would no longer be active, meaning the human bodies would return to the state they had been in before being morphed (no longer young, immortal, physically whole and to one degree or another, vampiric).
*There were no cellars on the entire island? Nowhere at all that the vampires could shelter from the sun? The Angel itself just needed a box, and it was made clear that only direct sunlight had a damaging effect. Just grab a canoe, head for a secluded area and hide underneath it until nightfall. Go down to the dock and hide under a pier. Hell, just grab a thick blanket or shove everyone under a tarpaulin.
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** Though the Angel can restrain their appetite, it visibly enjoys feeding, and it may be that its' end goal is as "simple" as creating a world where it can do so freely. The Angel certainly seems intelligent enough to clothe itself figuratively (and in the case of the finale, literally) in Catholic symbolism, so creating a "sect" of proselytizing vampire disciples on the island to spread to and infect the mainland is what it really wants.

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** Though the Angel can restrain their appetite, it visibly enjoys feeding, and it may be that its' end goal is as "simple" as creating a world where it can do so freely. The Angel certainly seems intelligent enough to clothe itself figuratively (and in the case of the finale, literally) in Catholic symbolism, so creating a "sect" of proselytizing vampire disciples on the island to spread to and infect the mainland is what it really wants.wants.
* How were the vampires even planning to stay fed, if they converted the entire population of an island that had been deliberately cut off from the mainland?
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*** By Catholic doctrine, mixing '\''anything'' into communion wine other than water renders it invalid matter for the Sacrament, so it's pretty clear Father Paul is already off the reservation in terms of sticking to rules. (It's also standard Catholic doctrine that angels are not physical creatures and don't have blood in the first place, so Paul's conviction about the "Angel" is even more self-delusional than shown -- or possibly the result of a psychic whammy from the "Angel".)

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*** By Catholic doctrine, mixing '\''anything'' ''anything'' into communion wine other than water renders it invalid matter for the Sacrament, so it's pretty clear Father Paul is already off the reservation in terms of sticking to rules. (It's also standard Catholic doctrine that angels are not physical creatures and don't have blood in the first place, so Paul's conviction about the "Angel" is even more self-delusional than shown -- or possibly the result of a psychic whammy from the "Angel".)

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