Messiah Recap: The Truth Will Set You Free

By Jonathon Wilson
Published: January 1, 2020 (Last updated: last month)
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Messiah (Netflix) Season 1, Episode 7 recap: "It Came to Pass as it Was Spoken"
3.5

Summary

“It Came to Pass as it Was Spoken” reveals more of Al-Masih’s backstory and news of his deeds continues to spread.

This recap of Messiah Season 1, Episode 7, “It Came to Pass as it Was Spoken”, contains spoilers.


After his recent exploits strolling across the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, news of Al-Masih’s (Mehdi Dehbi) exploits are spreading, his apparently miraculous feats being debunked online by “hoax hackers”. But his influence is also spreading, especially among Felix (John Ortiz) and budding photographer Rebecca (Stefania LaVie Owen), even if Anna (Melinda Page Hamilton) remains skeptical.

After his own minor miracle in the previous episode, Messiah Episode 7 finds Jibril (Sayyid El Alami) being hailed as a liberator and a hero. He and the others are being kept by a sheik, though he’s kept separate and treated differently, and has caused something of a ruckus on the West Bank.

Collier is frustrated by the situation there, which Eva (Michelle Monaghan) calls a new kind of war of ideas. But it’s still very reminiscent of old kinds of wars, especially those of West vs East since Al-Masih has a connection to Russia, where Oscar Wallace is currently in hiding. The private plane which spirited him to the States was hired by a shell company behind the Iron Curtain. “It Came to Pass as it Was Spoken”, like the episodes before it, has no interest in confirming or denying Al-Masih’s apparent divinity.

In a brief feint towards always-online topicality, Rebecca has her faith challenged somewhat by a wealth of negative comments — most of them ad-hominem attacks — below her photos of the Messiah. Potential terrorist or not, Al-Masih’s message of inclusivity is one that more people could stand to embrace. But some, like Felix, are already fully converted. He holds a prayer meeting asking why this is the generation God has chosen and lets the attendees know that they need to heed his call. Let us pray, indeed.

Staci (Emily Kinney) and Raeah (Nicole Scimeca) are running out of time in Messiah Episode 7, so they track down Al-Masih in the hotel. He agrees to see the child, but only her. Eva and Will (Wil Traval) spy on the meeting via CCTV, but they do nothing but sit there.

“It Came to Pass as it Was Spoken” suddenly remembers that Keon (Siddiq Saunderson) exists, albeit only briefly, as we take a couple of moments to witness him storm out of a lecture and fondle a Quran. He later nervously roams the streets, witnessing a robbery, religious people reveling, and riots.

Eva has a drink with Avrim (Tomer Sisley) in “It Came to Pass as it Was Spoken”. She describes Jesus as a populist politician with an axe to grind against the Roman Empire, and she has a point. She also reveals to him that Al-Masih is connected to Russia. Describing how her mentor used to say things were black and white, recalling the premiere episode, she explains how that same mentor was killed in “the attack on Turkey last year.” She occasionally checks on his nephew — Keon from the diner, though he has no idea who she is, or how important his uncle was to her.

In the hotel, as Will (Wil Traval) looks on, a woman visits Al-Masih. She heard he healed a little girl, and apparently requires healing of her own, but as she describes how it felt watching him walk on water, and how the room is filled with him and his warmth, is becomes obviously that she probably requires something a little more than healing. But Al-Masih won’t be fooled by skimpy negligees. He tells her that sex won’t heal her; that she wants to be close bu doesn’t know how to be. He knows she’s a prostitute, and that someone paid her to come. He’s able to get through to her true self and she cries, confessing. He says he loves her and God loves her. Will, still watching, is a bit taken aback. Is he becoming a believer?

Rebecca sees the woman leaving Al-Masih’s room and storms off in a huff. He follows her, and when she asks why, he replies, “We are going in the same direction.” How enigmatic. Apparently, she isn’t going to understand everything that happens, but he has a special place for her nonetheless. Keon passes them on the bridge and (I believe, anyway) whispers “false prophet”. Al-Masih asks Rebecca to do something impossible — to shed her burden, her shame, so she can speak the truth.

Elsewhere in Messiah Episode 7, Q (Assaad Bouab) interviews Al-Masih’s brother about their background. Their parents are dead, which might be a viable justification for an anti-America position. They were raised by an uncle, a traveling magician who taught them all he knew. “The trick is making you believe.” Looks like Al-Masih has accomplished that, at least.

But perhaps Al-Masih has accomplished a little too much. Messiah Season 1, Episode 7 ends with him returning to his hotel room, only for a bag to be pulled over his head.

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