Summary
“For the Good of the Republic” hardly provides a happy or complete ending, but it proves how some monsters can get away with anything so long as they’re charismatic and have the Lord behind them.
This recap of The Kingdom season 1, episode 8, “For the Good of the Republic”, contains spoilers, as well as a discussion of The Kingdom’s ending.
Netflix’s The Kingdom is an Argentine political thriller created by Claudia Piñeiro and Marcelo Piñeyro, all eight episodes of which were released today (you can check out our review here if you’re interested). It’s good! But it’s also pretty long and complex, fraught with conspiracy plotlines, clashing themes, assassinations, and a complicated mystery that the main character, a controversial televangelist, finds himself embroiled in after his political running mate is assassinated.
That murder kicks things off, with Armando Badajoz being killed by religious nut Remigio Cardenas, thrusting Emilio Vazquez Pena, leader of “The Church of the Kingdom of Light”, into the presidential race. But when it becomes increasingly likely that Remigio was working on behalf of someone else, and that Emilio might have been the intended target in the first place, Emilio has more than just politics to worry about.
You can factor a lot of family drama into this as well. Emilio’s daughter Ana is the lover of Julio, the son of the leader of Emilio’s opposition who also becomes Remigio’s lawyer since he and the man have a history. Remigio and the matriarch of Emilio’s family, Elena, also have a history of their own. It’s all a bit complicated.
The Kingdom season 1, episode 8 ending explained
You can see the outline of a standard police procedural in the D.A investigating the case and getting stonewalled at every opportunity by the power of the church, while flashbacks flesh out the family drama and criminal origins. But Emilio’s run for president is also a prominent thread since it highlights not only his ambition but a longstanding habit of religious bodies in enabling and covering up egregious crimes, particularly against children, and thus it’s eventually revealed that Emilio is a child molester, justifying his heinous crimes as the will of God.
That’s always the excuse, isn’t it? Fittingly, The Kingdom season 1, episode 8 doesn’t exactly provide a happy ending, either. Consolidating all his power as the head of the church, his charisma, and his perceived godliness, he’s able to become president and essentially get away with all his crimes. After Remigio’s “suicide” and forced “confession”, he’s able to raise himself up to new heights, his loyal followers forming his voting base, and his empty promises to rid the country of false prophets the cruelly ironic speech of a monster.
