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saltyobjecttheorist · 7 years ago

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Close Reading ‘The Path’ Season 1 Episode 1.

This is not really a recap. More of a series of observations regarding the storytelling, symbolism, and subliminal foreshadowing in The Path.

I’m not an academic and this may all be obvious stuff to you guys but the show made an impression on me for its use of visual symbolism. I thought I’d start at the beginning but I’ll be referencing future plot lines and episodes. There is a LOT of foreshadowing in this series, appropriate given that prophesy is a major theme and I will be talking about what is being foreshadowed. so if you haven’t watched both seasons you might want to stay away from spoilers.

For more erudite discussion of symbolism on the show please see the wonderful @theyellowsnake who says all perfectly.

So The First Episode of Season one of the The Path is pretty much the perfect Pilot. It sets the scene and leaves you hungry for more.

There is a little too much exposition in there . But it also, almost subliminally, tells you everything you need to know about… Well… Everything. Every twist, every character, every hidden agenda is right there in the pilot. If you’re looking closely enough.

SPOILERS from here on in folks. For both Season 1 and 2.

Intro Scene: Rindge Trailer Park.

The Trailer Park. Symbol of American poverty, destroyed by a literal act of God.

The ‘ Church of Faith’ sign, Church destroyed, useless and empty

The Schoolbus on its side destroyed.

Both Church and School as institutions have failed this society, a ruined society as symbolised by the trailer park. They are unable to offer sanctuary or comfort to these people. They have not been able to fulfil their purpose. IE. to prevent people from sliding to the bottom of the economic and spiritual ‘ladder’ in the first place.

A woman clutches her baby and literally cries “Somebody help me!” Into the chaos. “Oh God!”

We meet Mary. Crawling through the trash. She looks for water and finds antifreeze or similar poison. She tries to drink again from a pipe and someone stops her, that water is also poison.

Poisoned water is a huge part of the Book of Revelation in regard to the Apocolypse.

“ Revelation 8:11

The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter like wormwood oil, and many people died from the bitter waters.”

We hear the sound of Horns. Like the horns of angels at Armageddon. ( Also Revelation 8-11) It’s no wonder Mary later compares Cal to an angel.

Mary climbs the garbage heap. Metaphorically this is the start of he rise from the ashes of her old life. As well as an early climbing metaphor. She sees Cal from the top of the trash mountain. This is their first moment of connection. Even though he doesn’t see her. Something about him is compelling to her.

Here come the Meyerists into this apocalyptic scene. But to them it’s no metaphor. They believe the end times are really coming. The Tornado is, for them, a real harbinger of doom.

Its a curious thing that when institutions fail people. When the Law, Healthcare, Schools and Church fail to provide what they should. That is when religious cults step in to fill the gap. This is well illustrated here.

Mary gets what she needs the most at the at moment. Not water (she barely drinks it). She gets her salvation, her Angel. We don’t know yet that she’s been waiting for him since she was a little girl.

The Woman with the baby gets her prayer answered.

“What do you need’? Cal asks the shocky old man. He wants the picture of his wife- all he has left of her memory. Cal doesn’t try to get him to calm down. Or lead him away from the carnage like an EMT would. “Help this man find his wife!” He shouts, as though its the most important thing he can imagine. Because he knows in a spiritual sense , it really is. In that moment the old man needs that scrap of paper more than water or medical care.

The Meyerist eye is prominent. They “See” the people’s need. “Need” is often reference thought the series. “There is so much Need!” the characters say repeatedly. The Church, the School, the Hospitals, the Society itself have all metaphorically failed us.

We ( humans) are let down in a spiritual sense by religion that offers no real substance, physically by bad or absent food and medicine, mentally by a schooling system that doesn’t educate the whole person. The list goes on. The Meyerists think they are the answer to this very real need. In this way the show is quite a scathing social commentary.

As a viewer I’m subconsciously pumping my fist in the air saying “ Yay Cult!” Although I don’t even realise how I’m being manipulated yet.

Animated Credits Scene:

Four figures climb a mountain, presumably this is an interpretation of Meyerism’s origin myth and the figures are Steve, Silas, Felicia and Bill. With Steve reaching enlightenment at the summit of Huayna Picchu.

But there is an alternative interpretation:

Look at the placements of the credits:

The close up of the climbing figure’s hands as he struggles up the rocks in the rain remind you of anything? Mary’s climb up the garbage heap visually mirrors the climb in the intro.

Emma Greenwell - Mary’s real name.

This is not an easy climb. Its a struggle. The man makes it to the top, stands at the summit and raises his arms in victory. He made it.

Hugh Dancy Cal’s real name.

The figure could just as easily be Cal, who, like Mary ( except in a more metaphorical sense), has struggled to the ‘top of the heap’ through his own personal suffering and stands victorious. Having finally made it into a position of power. This is one of many themes that connect Mary and Cal. (More on that later.)

We see The Future : Tornado -Fire - Flood.

A Tornado ( the one that levels the trailer park.) Is the opening of Season 1.

There is a prominent flash of lightning. Which is perhaps a portent to the lighting that scars Eddie and kills Steve.

The Fire ( Richard’s self immolation and burning of records room) closes Season 2.

The Flood… Could be foreshadowing of season 3. It seems to wash away the structure of the burning building. Much like the water scandal coverup helped wash away Sarah’s trouble regarding the blackmail ( using tapes Richard set on fire in same building).

Or it could be a symbolic flood washing away the movement forever?

We see the barns, the compound growing in size and number.

A figure running in room - Eddie in the therapy room?

Snake wrapped around Steve’s corpse. Open to interpretation as the Yellow snake symbolises psychic ability as well as betrayal in folklore. It also symbolises Cal at various points in the tale. (Hugh Dancy even starts to look snakelike toward the end of season 2.) A lot has been said on this elsewhere. It is perhaps not an accident that is portrayed wrapped so closely around Steve. Snakes are rarely positive symbols to a western audience. In a religious context we are reminded of the serpent in Eden. ( More on that later too.)

Speaking of Eden. Heres Adam and Eve. Or Eddie and Sarah or whichever archetype you choose. Accompanied by the name of the literal creator God of this particular universe: Jessica Goldberg. have I mentioned that I love symbolism?

Scene: Dinner at The Lanes:

Lane means Path… Glad thats out of the way. Now on to saying grace.

“Thank you for this gift of bread to sustain these vessels, our bodies, so that we may have the energy to create a more beautiful world and break through our blocks and barriers in this life and ascend the ladder of enlightenment so that someday we may be free of these earthly forms and live as light together in the garden. We express deepest gratitude for this day, and every day, for the gift of this passage, and that we found the ladder. There is one spirit whose name is Truth.”

So this sums up their whole belief system in a few seconds and its great because the show doesn’t hammer you over the head with the basic tennants every five minutes after that. they just assume you get it. It also has beauty and a sinister undertone, lets never forget that they’re a doomsday Cult.

But lets look closer:

“Give us this day our daily bread” says the Lords Prayer. The daily bread is just what sustains us for this day. Its the bare minimum of care, which so many people don’t get.

And whom we see in this comfortable scene, the Lanes have a comfortable life, if not extravagant. They have what they need. Their needs are met.

Have you guys heard of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? it’s a motivational theory in psychology comprising a five tier model of human needs often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid… Sound familiar?

Someone Like Mary doesn’t even have the lowest level of needs met. She couldn’t even get clean water. Her basic safely was compromised and she was terribly abused by the people who should have loved her.

Sarah has her Psysiological, Safely and Love/Belonging needs met. It’s debatable if at this point in the series she has fully achieved the Esteem level but she’s well on her way there being an 8R and well respected within the community. It’s the last level. Self- Actualisation, which is problematic for her (and all the characters). Because its the level no Cult can allow its members to reach. Particularly that pesky ‘ Acceptance of Facts’ one.

Eddie, upon his return from Peru is struggling with this level. With his own Self-Actualisation. He knows his Esteem needs are at odds with the truth. And while he lives a ‘Life of Lies’ he isn’t getting his needs met. He NEEDS to live an authentic life. Its the only thing he can do. His ‘path’ leads toward truth one way or another. Hence the great irony of the Meyerist creed: “There is one spirit whose name is Truth.” … That, at least, is a lie. The Truth in this series is multifaceted and subjective.

Cal pretends to be at the top ( of The Ladder and The Pyramid.) But he ascended in a dishonest way. Though nepotism, prostitution and maybe blackmail.

So while he struggles with morality, problem solving and the sad acceptance of facts he is also struggling with the Esteem level. He so desperately wants to be respected and he has no real confidence ( see his self help tapes for evidence.) And while he struggles with that he is also struggling with the Love/Belonging level. Because the one thing he really can’t have is intimacy. For reasons that later become clear. He is a lonely person. he has no real friends , no family and no sexual intimacy, ( he’s either a virgin or celibate when we meet him.) His image is one of a Self- Actualised leader. But he is living a lie. In truth he’s still a child desperate for safety.

In fact I speculate that the truth of the matter is that each Meyerist convert entered the Movement while struggling with Need. I think that If they left the movement they would revert back to the same point they entered it. Because the movement provides for them ( or should) but it doesn’t give them Self- Actualisation, which is what they need in order to be independent and masters of their own fate.

So we have the usual Exposotional Dinner Talk. we learn that Eddies just back from Peru. Cal is coming, Steve is writing and Russell is a useless asshole. Also that for a person to ascend the latter all the way they probably shouldn’t get married. Hawk isn’t old enough to start the Ladder yet and everyone feels bad about the tornado.

We like these guys, weird Peruvian drug trip religion aside they seem like our kind of people. (Except Joy though , she’s goddam annoying.) We find ourselves identifying with and liking members of a closed religious cult. This is quite an achievement for the writers.

Sex Scene 1:

Until the slip scene. because no one in history, male or female has ever been aroused by a slip.

The sex though. is it necessary? Not really… But yes really. Much like in real life, the way people fuck on this show tells us a lot about their emotional state. Its code for all the things they can’t say. If that happens to line up nicely with a networks desire for lots of sex on their show then… Cool I guess. Also. the eye is front and centre because Meyerism is at the centre of their personal life in an uncomfortably voyeristic way. No one has privacy in this place. Not really. There is a disturbing disrespect for boundaries within the extended Lane family and within Meyerism in general. and maybe cults in general too.

Eddie and Sarah are emotional sex havers. They laugh, they cry, they make eye contact. The whole things very uncomfortable for the viewer who may be watching with their parents, but very intimate. Contrast and compare:

Scene: Cal’s return:

Cal. The no sex haver who reunites with old flame Sarah. He pretends to be over it. He isn’t. She broke his heart by leaving him for Eddie when they were young. How young? We never know, Eddie and Sarah were likely in their mid- late teens when they Met. We don’t know how long Sarah and Cal were together or when they met.

Can we assume that they grew up on the compound together? I think so. Cal mentions to his mother on Episode 3 that, while they used to live in tents, they now have a campus. So he probably grew up there with Sarah, Russell and Tessa. But he’s been in California for three years happily avoiding the East Coast winters. ( he doesn’t like the cold because his drunken sot of a father did, in fact, keep him in a tent in the middle of winter.) Its perhaps worth noting here that he is returning to his childhood home. This is important because its where his neurosis re- surfaces. Its where his pain lives.

Anyway he meets Sarah, knows her well enough to see something wrong and immediately twists it to his advantage. Its the first, rather obvious , look at his manipulative personality. But he’s sincere when he says its good to see her. And that he’s going to “come stalk you , like old times.” He probably did too. hanging out with Eddie and Sarah to be close to her, or maybe to them both, for friendship but certainly with an agenda of infiltrating their relationship. Which is probably why Eddie doesn’t trust him. We don’t either. Because he’s always acting. Pretending to be someone he’s not ( Self- Actualised leader of men. ) We only rarely see glimpses of the real man beneath.

School: Hawk and Eddie scene.

No Symbolism here but I love the relationship between these two. Hawk is annoying in the way teenagers actually are annoying not in the way precocious “ Talk like adults with philosophy degrees” teenagers on TV usually are. Both he and Summer are excellently written in this respect. Eddie is a real dad, not a perfect dad. Just a guy who enjoys time with his kids. Hawk hates school. Didn’t we all?

Scene: Mary Sees Cal again/Conversation with Eddie:

So like so many scenes on this show , what appears to be a throwaway moment of filler is actually telling us something. While the music and stylised camera work distracts us from the dialogue between Cal and Eddie this is what they’re saying (according to the closed captions.)

Cal: “Hey, man, I’ll come join you later. Sit in on your testimonial.”

Eddie: “Oh, no. You don’t have to do that. Same old story. You’ve heard it a million times.”

Cal: “Are you kidding? I love your story.

Gets me fired up every time.”

Cal wants to sit in on Eddie’s testimonial, despite the fact that he’s heard it many times and its depressing as holy hell. Eddie would rather he didn’t. Why?

Skip ahead to Eddie telling his story. Interesting, isn’t it that we barely learn anything about Eddie’s life before Meyerism? So lets look at the facts. What do we know about Eddie Lane at this point?

He had an unhappy home life. We know this because he lived with his older brother instead of his parents ( The original script had a line about his mother being mentally ill which they later edited out, because I believe it would have made future twists too obvious. The subtext is still there.)

He loved his brother. His brother killed himself. Eddie Has. Not. Dealt. With. It. This is so clear. His own dialogue tells us this. He ran. Ran from the situation and straight into a cult.

He starts telling his story. His relationship with his brother was “the one thing he had.” And when he lost it he lost part of himself. He breaks down, he can’t finish the story. Meyerism didn’t heal this particular pain. Cal to the rescue!

“ Oh yeah and then you found us and it was all cool right?” He essentially says.

So Cal does probably step in here to help Eddie. But at the same time theres something censorious about it. He is clearly steering the story in a different direction than it was going? Something is missing from Eddies narrative. Perhaps the fact that he is still suffering, that despite the ladder, his brother’s death is still an open wound for him. ( This kind of adds a layer of creepy to Cal’s assertion that he “Loves him like a brother” Later on.) Also…What happened between ‘Discovered Johnny’s dead body’ and ‘ Ended up in a bookshop’?

Something smells fishy. But we are told enough to piece a few things together. There was some mental illness in his family, he doesn’t want to look too deeply at his past. He had a lot of anger. (When he arrived he was murderously angry. (We learn this later from Sarah.) That’s not what he looks like now though. Not at all. Meyerism’s victory or his own? Was Sarah his saving grace?

In a way Eddie is the biggest enigma on the show. Maybe even moreso than Steve.

Which brings us to…

Scene: Sarah talks about Steve.

And the fact that she thinks the light shines out of his ass. Literally.

So this is our first proper introduction to Steve:

We are told that he lives so deeply in truth that he is one with the Light. His followers believe him to be an ascended master of sorts and therefore an immortal spiritual being rather than just a man. and once again and one of many times… There is a dichotomy between what we are being told and what we are seeing. The sound and the visuals are often at odds on this show.

Because hanging behind her on the wall is a picture of a dude. A dude named Steve. and he’s handsome, charismatic looking I guess but just as prosaic as his name ( Which incidentally means’ Light Bringer’ in Hebrew.) . (He also has that same high collar, uptight shirt thing going on as Cal does.) This is one of may times that the placement of the Steve photo is telling us something.

Later Eddie reads to Summer from the junior edition of The Ladder. Whilst having a very confusing existential crisis.

And we learn about Steve’s past. What do we know about Steve?

He was a military doctor, who did terrible things to soldiers at a hospital. Had a crisis of confidence, lost his shit and took a very long walk… Also I dare anyone to say that isn’t Kodiak in the illustration.

Sooo… What do you guys know about Project MK Ultra?

From Wikipedia:

“Project MKUltra – sometimes referred to as the CIA’s mind control program – is the code name given to a program of experiments on human subjects, at times illegal, designed and undertaken by the United States Central Intelligence Agency.[1] Experiments on humans were intended to identify and develop drugs and procedures to be used in interrogations and torture, in order to weaken the individual to force confessions through mind control. Organized through the Scientific Intelligence Division of the CIA, the project coordinated with the Special Operations Division of the U.S. Army’s Chemical Corps.[2]

The operation began in the early 1950s, was officially sanctioned in 1953, was reduced in scope in 1964, further curtailed in 1967, and officially halted in 1973.[3] The program engaged in many illegal activities,[4][5][6] including the use of unwitting U.S. and Canadian citizens as its test subjects, which led to controversy regarding its legitimacy.[4](p74)[7][8][9] MKUltra used numerous methodologies to manipulate people’s mental states and alter brain functions, including the surreptitious administration of drugs (especially LSD) and other chemicals, hypnosis,[citation needed]sensory deprivation, isolation and verbal abuse, as well as other forms of psychological torture.”

Read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_MKUltra

Lovely.

So… You guys Steve was totally one of those mad scientists. Who tortured Vietnam soldiers to try an achieve mind control with drugs ( and also sarin gas and other agonizing tortures. This isn’t a bit of weed and a walk in the woods. These people were psychopaths of the highest order.)

Lets me just repeat that… To achieve mind control… With Drugs. Does this throw up any red flags for anyone else?

What else do we know about Steve? I mean FOR SURE He went to Peru and started a cult. Which used Ayahuasca and other drugs to induce hallucinatory states.

Manipulation into shared delusions? Maybe. Theres no doubt Felicia believes she burned her hands on a Burning Ladder of Truth. But her husband Bill reminds her that there was a bonfire… And that they were ‘Really High.” He wouldn’t have had to convince many people, just a handful, to engender belief in many.

Ok so lets give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he did have an ethical crisis while working for the CIA… He still used drugs on people… Afterwards.

And then theres the trope of the Morally questionable doctor who runs to South America. Don’t tell me we’re not supposed to get slightly Megele-ish vibes from this guy.

Then we cut from Eddies Life of Lies directly to Cal’s life of lies:

Scene: Cal and Mary.

So this scene has a lot going on in it but I think the main takeaway the first time I saw it was that Cal was married to The Ladder. We’re not sure exactly how much he believes in it at this point or how much he’s manipulating Mary into becoming an acolyte. But upon Re-Watch… Oh boy.

So Cal doesn’t have personal relationships. Certainly not with newbies. So why does he go out of his way so much for Mary?

Well the thing is that she has now met her basic needs. Remember our pyramid of pop psychology?

So she’s no longer about to die, she’s physically safe, had a shower, has a place to stay. Now she wants a sense of love and belonging. Which she tries to get by the only means she knows. Sex. Boy did she ever pick the wrong guy.

Or did she?

Heres the thing. Cal is also stuck at this level. He and Mary have the same need. Officially there is a huge power disparity in the relationship and its highly inappropriate. He may be a leader and she may only be a possible. But under the skin they are both needful of the same thing and can’t ever get it because they’ve been damaged so badly. It’s doubtful that either of them will ever move beyond this need.

This scene tells us everything we need to know. Though the performances mostly. Theres a disturbingly childlike quality to both of them. Visually compounded by Mary’s little girl nightie and butterfly underpants.

When Cal gently rebuffs her advances, Dancy’s performance tells us a few things. (In interviews from Season 1 era He described Cal’s relationship with Steve as ‘Complicated.’ I’m sure they had the back story planned from the outset.)

For those into micro gestures. When he said the word ‘ Sex” he flinches and wrinkles his nose in disgust. There is a lot of barely repressed anger in that tiny moment. Because he understands Mary’s Damage. Really understands it. Unfortunately.

They are also reflected in the window, and refections of one another figuratively speaking. Which is why they both love and hate each other at various points. But never, ever do we get the feeling that they don’t understand one another.

Mary says “ All my life I’ve had this fantasy that one day an angel would fly down from the sky and save me.” She feels as though she is fulfilling her destiny. This may be the only time in her life that an authority figure hasn’t taken advantage of her.

At that point there is a moment of recognition, almost elation from Cal. That could be interpreted as religious fervour at having saved a soul. But I believe it’s meant to be identification, the discovery of a kindred spirit.

“We were meant to find each other.” He says. he doesn’t say “ You were meant to find us” or “the movement”. But “Each other.”

Where was his Angel? Who does he call an Angel later in the series?

“My colleague is a fucking angel.!” He tells John Ridge in episode 5 and to Sarah in Season 2 “I miss your light. The way you looked at me that saved me as a kid.” Suddenly his obsession with Sarah takes on a more tragic, if more disturbing angle. She was a ray of light in his otherwise miserable childhood. He sees her, we learn later, as a role model for what is good and right behaviour. What does this tell us about his other role models in the movement?

Scene: Eddie’s Retreat.

We see the retreat at the Cousco compound. Which appears to be a converted Spanish church. Interestingly a lot of Catholic imagery is associated with Eddie on the show. In the courtyard Silas is helping a bald dude, Miranda Frank is dancing, and Eddie is tripping balls.

Ayahuasca as a therapeutic substance helps people come to term with their past trauma. Causing them to re-live it. In a Arthur Janov “Primal Scream”, cleansing sort of way. They come out of the experience feeling reborn and with neurosis cured. It is not a particularly safe drug cocktail however. It can be an especially strong potential trigger for those predisposed to Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, Dissociative Disorder and other psychosis.

So we can see what Eddie might not be having a particularly good trip, what with his past trauma and all. And unsurprisingly his brother comes back to haunt him. With a secret message. In the hallway to Steve’s room is an Owl sculpture.

Silas’ totem is an owl. Presumably this is his main hangout. As well as a shamanic symbol of wisdom the owl is a Gnostic symbol of demons, illness, disease and death. There are some oil painting on the wall which look like Steve might have painted them ( They look a bit like his ‘flowers’ from season 2.)

Heres the thing… Is Eddie experiencing a moment of genuine clairvoyance here? I thought at first it was all a drug trip and he hadn’t really moved from the courtyard. His brother’s ghost certainly leads him to the room. But…

Isn’t this compound actually where the movement is storing Steve? Could Eddie conceivably have wandered of while tripping and stumbled into Steve’s room? We do find out later that he literally got up and walked off somewhere for a while because Miranda Tells Cal so in Episode 4. Once again the truth is subjective but maybe less so if witnessed by more than one person. He also, quite possibly saw more rooms on the way.

Eddie sees a vision of Johnny twice more in the series. Once on the shore at Coney Island in S1 and once in his near death vision of the garden in S2. All three times Johnny is guiding him towards a major spiritual decision. But two out of the tree times Eddie was tripping on Ayahuasca. The time at the shore could be a genuine moment of psychosis, we don’t know. Eddie doesn’t either. It seems real to him, and he wasn’t expecting it.

Either way. He knows Steve isn’t a immortal ascended ball of light. And those extra rungs that were supposed to enable them to ascend to the garden ‘aint coming, and by extension Cal is lying to them all. Thats a lot of doubts for one day.

Scene: Eddie and Sarah fight:

The thing about Meyerists is that there supposed to be 100% honest at all times, as a result they are actually secretive as hell. Eddie lies repeatedly to Sarah during this scene, she assumes he’s sleeping with someone else, specifically Miranada Frank. , and he lets her think that because its less painful than the truth.

There is curious bit of dialogue here.

“ Sarah: All right, I love you, and I chose you.

Eddie: You chose me?

Sarah: I chose you.

Eddie: What do you mean, you chose me? Chose me over Cal? Is that what this is?

Sarah: No, no! That is not what I am saying.”

What does this tell us about their relationship? It’s important to her that she “Chose” him. But everyone chooses their partners right? I mean, unless they have an arranged marriage. and the Meyerists don’t… Do they? ( more on this later. I have a theory.)

In any event. She clearly feels that she took a risk on him ( maybe because he was a convert, an outsider, and she was the golden girl of Meyerism who was ‘supposed’ to end up with Cal? Eddie reacts so strongly to this, perhaps because it implies that he held her back from her birthright somehow?

So maybe the subtext here is “ I sacrificed so much to be with you, how could you cheat on me after that?”

” Look at me.

You are everything to me, okay? You’re it.

I remember the day.

I never imagined a future for myself before you,

but then there there you were with that glass of water,

and I didn’t have to try to imagine one anymore.

I had it.”

Reassuring her, she is the be all and end all for him. She is his salvation. Period. He was suicidal when he met her and she saved him. ( Much like she ‘saved’ Cal as a child.) Sarah as saviour figure is also a running theme on the show. (NB:We'll see Eddie as "Chosen One" again too)

‘There you were” he tells her , remembering when they met ‘ With that glass of water…”

Oh hello WATER my old friend!

We can imagine a young Eddie, bereft and suicidal, thirsty being given comfort by the Meyerist movement. Water. the shows favourite symbol of salvation. Actually the shows favourite symbol period. Besides Ladders. She pulled him out of his private apocalypse. Just like Mary at the trailer park. They gave him survival. His doubt is a very big deal. He stands to lose everything. As he says to Allison in the next scene:

“I don’t know what the hell I’m doing here.

You know,

I was high as a kite,

so what I saw, or what I think I saw, was it real?

You know, I mean, was the vision of my brother even real?

I mean, am I gonna blow up my life,

a life that I love,

because of something I don’t even know if I really saw?”

Yes he is. Because he feels the truth of it in his bones and he can’t live his life without Self- Actualisation. He is willing to give it all up for his personal truth. He loves her more than anything. But he will give her up if he has to. Contrast with Cal who holds onto his past infatuation and can’t let it go.

Speaking of which:

Scene: Sarah visits Cal.

Ok so this scene tells us an awful lot and is pretty damn creepy.

The Meyerists have no boundaries, we knew this, so Sarah going to tell her friend Cal about her marital problems is disturbingly par for the course.

Also I think Cal painted that bird. Remember he used to enjoy art once?

Then theres the dialogue:

“I was so scared of you when we were young.

Before Eddie.

You’d sneak into my bed.

Your hands were like fire.

I thought, “This guy could never really love a person.

Not for the years.

He needs too much.”

Firstly… WHAT??? He sneaked into her bed and felt her up? And she was scared? Ok so she seems to be implying that it was exciting but… Also HOW young are we talking here. This seems like a rather strange normalisation of something dark.

So Cal was probably sexually inappropriate with other kids his age. No surprises there its a classic sign of sexual abuse. We also learn that he couldn’t be emotionally intimate in the way she Wanted because he NEEDED too much.

Hello Pyramid my old friend.

He was stunted forever in survival mode because of Steve and couldn’t quite crack the sex and romance thing. And the horrible thing is that he remains silent the whole scene and literally can’t seem to respond to her because the dude is literally so full of secrets if he speaks he will open the floodgates and destroy the Earth.

So this is where we come to my theory:

That terrible dialogue:

Its so out of place. It doesn’t sound like her. ( She even quotes it like someone else said it.)

But you know who does sound like that? “ Flowers on Your Walls of Doom”, arch manipulator of the young, Steve.

On the few occasions we hear Steve speak in flashback. He sounds theatrical. Almost Shakesperian.

My theory is… That Cal’s later behaviour with Mary and Sean the ‘arranged marriage’ is part of an abusive cycle. I think he repeats what was done to him. I think maybe Steve sent a young Cal to Sarah’s bed in the first place.

In the same way Cal later sends Mary to Sean. Then gets a full report from her. THAT scene in ep 4 is very reminiscent of incest or something like it.

Oh and would you look at who’s watching them from the photo on the wall Behind Cal?

Hence why Sarah “Chose” Eddie. But for some reason didn’t have the agency to “Choose” Cal. Maybe Choosing Eddie was her one act of real agency within the movement? Lets not forget she nearly ran away with her sister. We might want to ask why?

Then perhaps Steve sent Cal away. Because he couldn’t have him getting to close to anyone. Offering him a life of vocation instead.

I don’t know for sure but it seems like something like this might have happened. And here’s why…

Scene: Cal and Mary visit Dad/ Plato’s Cave:

Right after this scene, Cal goes straight to Mary and suggests they “make it better” with a visit to her dad. Going to Mary is something he often does when his past comes back to haunt him, because she is,to him, like his inner child. She is his past writ large, open and honest and bleeding on the floor. No secrets. He acts out through her, processes his own trauma through her. How self aware he is about it is debatable. But his meeting with Sarah seems to have triggered him.

When you understand a bit more about Meyerism it’s shocking just how off the script Cal went by going to her Dad’s place and beating the shit out of him. Why did he feel the need to do it rather than just give her some Ladder Therapy? If he believed in Meyerism wouldn’t he try and get her to forgive? to move beyond it?

Because when she says the Ladder won’t help make it better he knows thats true, even if he can’t admit it to himself yet. And he goes very, very transgressive. Almost as though the act of violence is a rebellion against everything Steve stood for. Although at first all he wants is an apology. Demanding Mr. Cox to kneel and grovel in the dirt for forgiveness. ( Which is actually pretty Meyerist of him.) Its also possibly exactly what he would like from Steve.

But the turning point comes when Mr. Cox spits in his face. THEN he loses it. We find out later that Cal used to hand out flyers on the street as a kid and people used to spit on him. He may have a neurosis about it. But the whole confrontation with Mr. Cox becomes more about him than Mary at this point. If it ever was about her at all. But he does give her exactly what she needs. Vengence, justice, closure. And as a viewer, honestly. I was cheering the crazy bastard on.

So what do we know about Cal at this point?

He doesn’t believe, deep down, in what he’s preaching.

He has a lot in common with Mary.

He has a terrible temper.

He is capable of extreme violence.

He doesn’t appreciate being spat on. At all.

This does not make for a safe cult leader.

But it does beg the question whats more dangerous, a cult leader who doesn’t believe in his own propaganda, or one who does? Think of The Branch Davidians or Heavens Gate. Or the very Steven Meyer-esque David Berg and The Children of God cult? Belief can be a very dangerous thing too.

The scene is beautifully edited with Cal’s Plato Speech. Illustrating his hypocrisy even while he preaches.

Plato’s cave.

My favourite scene. Ironic and the perfect analogy. Cal essentially narrates his own life story without knowing it. The guy is somewhat less self aware than he pretends to be… And now we know it for sure. It ties into the episode title; “What The Fire Throws.”

Shadows of reality. We all live in our own version of reality with our own version of truth. Eddie has decided he’s had enough of this one. Cal is actually heading in the same direction, belief wise, as Eddie but he’s trapped in the institution in a way that Eddie isn’t. Steve literally made him paint a false reality for himself and without it he’s staring into the abyss.

Sarah has never even questioned her shadows. She was born in that cave. He presents the perfect argument against religion, and closed communities in particular. All the while railing against regular society and the untruths therein. The point is. There are many cults and we all live in one. Do we put our faith in a person to lead us? Eddies path is a lonely one, because the Room of Truth can only fit one person at a time. Would I let him lead me? Well.. I’m not pumping my fist and yelling “ Yay Cult!” anymore.

And as a viewer? We are presented with a reality on screen. And we are manipulated by that reality and shown shadows of reality, angles on things. This story isn’t all it seems. Theres an element of 4th wall breaking here too. Because it looks , at points, like he’s preaching right out of the screen.

And speaking of TRUTH:

Eddie admits his. But not to the people he loves. To a stranger in a motel room. Because sometimes the lie you’re living is the one you love the most.

#thepath #the path symbolism #the path #thepathonhulu #analysis #over analysis #idontreallyknowwhatimdoing

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saltyobjecttheorist · 7 years ago

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Close reading The Path: Season 1 Episode 2: The Era of The Ladder.

WARNING! HUGE SPOILERS FOR SEASON ONE AND SEASON TWO!

Welcome to my obsessive close reading of The Path. you can read Episode One Here

Episode Two opens with a recap of Episode One… In which I notice something I missed from the Pilot. Eddies library research on NotGoogle.

This is what the official Meyerist website says about Steve:

So this is what the official Meyerist website says about The Doc:

He’s “The spiritual and emotional heart of Meyerism.”

Born in 1940.

Into a third generation family of farmers.

He was a bookish child, always more comfortable reading than helping his Pop out with the hay or whatever people do on farms. (The same farm, incidentally where the compound now sits.)

He was the first person in his family to go to college.

He had a PHD in mindfukery ( Psychology)

and joined the Army to pay off his student loans.

This is what Allison Kemp’s website says about Meyerism:

Meyerism is being led from the light because of corruption at the highest level and needs someone to BRING IT BACK TO THE CORRECT …. PATH... Eddie LANE will later try and do this. This indicates to me that , despite the dissatisfaction of some critics with Eddies season 2 arc. His return to Meyerism was planned from the outset.

Ok So Did I mention that “Allison Kemp” is a name of Latin and Saxon origin meaning “Chamipon of Truth?” More about her in a moment.

Scene: Richard and Therapy.

This scene introduces of one of my favourite characters, Richard. And contains a revealing conversation about Meyerist beliefs surrounding sexual infidelity.

We also see how utterly terrified Eddie is of the ' in house” therapy, which is telling in itself.

It opens with a flashback of a youthful Sarah and Eddie, in a 90s backwards cap, working on their house. He’s a carpenter you guys! Like a certain popular prophet names Jesus. Just throwing that out there.

Sarah says that she” Lost Something.” That she “ stopped wanting ( Eddie) Like that.” and that she is partly responsible for his infidelity. ( Contrast and compare Cal’s speech to Miranda Frank about thought and action in Episode 4.) Sarah thinks That her innermost thoughts ( Lack of desire or satisfaction with their relationship.) Caused Eddie to transgress. This is a Meyerist belief.

This interests me for several reasons. Mainly because it implies that there was a problem in their marriage ( above and beyond the usual ‘less sex in established relationships’ thing.) Before the series started.

When he acted distant after the retreat…Her immediate assumption was that he was having an affair. This may point to her own desire to stray from the marriage.

Secondly, that she blames herself for this supposed infidelity. This perhaps points to a vicim blaming culture surrounding Adultery and sexual indiscretion within the movement. (This is exceedingly creepy when you think about Steve’s personal transgression.)

‘The Eye Sees, The Eye Knows” Richard tells them, in a plea for total transparency from Eddie. The movement is obsessed with transparency. It makes sense. Because they have weaponised trust as a method of control. (This makes Sarah’s actions involving blackmail Season 2 an especially horrifying betrayal.)

“Adultery is a terrible affront to the Truth Eddie.” Richard tells him. This is where we see why transparency is such a big deal. Its because its an affront to the Movements all seeing eye. If people are having affairs then they’re keeping secrets from the movement… And secrets can lead to mutiny.

Eddies affair is an affront to THE TRUTH ( Meyerism.) But no mention is made of his wife’s broken heart. His crime, in Richard’s eyes, has nothing to do with Sarah or how she feels.

The beautiful irony of this scene is that Eddies terror of the ‘In House’ therapy is because he is trying to protect the truth. Because he doesn’t want to lie. Aaron Paul’s performance here is almost painful to watch.

Scene: Cal Meets John Ridge.

This is a long scene and an important one.

Cal’s Self help tape tells him to try and relate to his audience. This scene tells us just how hard that is for him.

“ Connect with your audience.” The tape tells him.

These are manipulative sales techniques. The Amused eyes, the Empathetic glance. “Well Placed Smile, To Seal The Deal.”

This is Cal, or at least this is Cal as we see him communicate with other people. The Cal he projects onto the world. Who wants to bet he learned the ‘sincere hand on the shoulder’ from one of those tapes too?

Wait a second… Gurus don’t need life coaching! It’s almost like all this Self Actualstion, Ladder stuff is bullshit that Cal hasn’t actually done!

So the first few seconds of this scene are disturbing, in that they show us that the confident 10R leader is, in fact, a manipulative salesman. Someone who hasn’t learned enough about human connection to even have a real conversation with anyone outside the cult. It’s indicated that he might be faking his personality literally ALL THE TIME. Who exactly is there under the facade? Well he describes himself in Season 2 as “ A Husk” and later in Season 1 says his greatest fear is being “ A Nothing.”

Q: Who is Cal Roberts?

A: He is an invention.

Cal’s damage is all based around intimacy and connection. He probably has what psychologists call an ‘Attachment Disorder.” From Wiki:

"Attachment Disorder is defined as the condition in which individuals have difficulty forming lasting relationships. They often show nearly a complete lack of ability to be genuinely affectionate with others. They typically fail to develop a conscience and do not learn to trust.”

Remind you of anyone?

What separates Cal from the common TV Antagonist, is that he’s not evil. He’s fucked up. Neurotic in identifiable ways, and he’s capable of positive change. Over the course of the series he does start to develop more of a conscience for example.

The cause of Attachment Disorder? “Severe parental neglect, abuse and...Ahem! The failure to find a preferential parental figure.”

So John Ridge...

John Ridge has an original Matisse in his sitting room. This is all you need to know about him.

The Hedge fund, the lobster on the veranda, even the Rubens and Modigliani... All that is unnecessary exposition. because we saw the Matisse already.

Cal says He used to try and use Art to understand people.

Cal tried to educate himself.

We find out much later that he never went to school, that he was raised in isolation, We already know he couldn’t connect with the rest of the human race. But he did try once. Then, for some reason, he gave up and devoted himself to Steve’s vision.The Light giveth and The Light Taketh away.

He pretends he never really understood the despair of a Francis Bacon or ‘Existential Drift’ of a Dylan ballad... But its clear from Hugh Dancy’s performance that he’s lying.

Just like he lies when he says “We can definitely help your son” With no room for doubt.

Then theres Bacchus by Rubens: Probably the most valuable thing in John Ridge’s art collection.A work that Cal regards for a long moment.

God of wine and orgies. Symbol of excess and overindulgence. The kind of Excess that Cal, who was raised in abject poverty, and who devotes his life to helping the poor and disenfranchised, who can’t allow himself to feel sexual pleasure, who can’t allow himself to lose control... Ever. Hates. With. A. Passion. John Ridge and his ostentatious wealth rub him up the wrong way… Now this rich bastard wants something from him… Now he has the power.

NB: Bacchus is primarily the god of … Alcohol. Cal’s main weakness.

Scene: Hawk and Ashley/ Dinner with the family:

Hawk meets up with Ashley Fields. Ashley is an old Anglo-Saxon word meaning Meadow or Field. Fieids means… Well… Fields. There is an association with wide open spaces and broadened horizons.

Ashley needs help. Hawk, being the spiritually enlightened one, feels he is supposed to provide it. “Help where help is needed” being the Meyerist Maxim. Much to Sarah’s consternation.

What is Ashley’s need? Well Ashley goes to the weird cult kid at her school or help because the unloving society we exist in is about to make her family homeless.

Not to be too hard on the Meyerists, who, after all, are doing more for the planet and the people therein than most of us will ever attempt. But a lot of what they do is based on a kind of Stockholm Syndrome. Except they don’t need to do the beating and abuse part. The world does that for them, then they step in with a helping hand and a glass of water. Catering to the basic needs that people have been denied… And hey presto, bonded for life!

So at dinner, there are ironic glances between Eddie and Sarah over “There is one spirit whose name is TRUTH.”

Why is adolescence a “dangerous age?” According to Steve’s doctrine? Well for starters it’s when kids start to rebel and question, and also when they start to self actualise. And that is something no fundamentalist dogma can allow.

We subsequently discover that Tessa left the Movement at the age of 15. This is probably why the Armstrong clan are so overprotective of Hawk. We discover in Season 2 that Sarah almost left with Tessa. This throws her worried reaction to Hawk’s interest in Ashley into perspective.

I feel that in a religion where Gardens have such significance the silly throwaway conversation about relationships is worth closer examination:

The conversation between Sarah and Nicole:

S: I wish I could manage my own garden.

N: You're so busy with more important things.

I'm a gardener.

It's just who I am.

We are well aware that Nicole gets her sense of self worth from being a wife and Mother. We get the sense that she judges Sarah slightly for having a career and climbing as high on the ladder as she has. We know from EP1 that Joy doesn’t want to get married and have kids, because she wants to climb. So while it’s not forbidden or even discouraged to have a family and a Meyerist career ( Or Sarah wouldn’t have done it.) Its a little like the outside world, where women often feel a conflict of interest between family and career. Cal says in Season 2 that Steve told him that having kids is a conflict of interest for a religious leader… This is probably true ( Its one of the reasons the Catholic Church bought in the celibacy rule for clergy.) Nicole “ Tends her Garden” nurturing her family. While Sarah is “ more busy with other things.” i.e.: Climbing the Ladder/Working in the higher levels of the movement. Its worth noting that Sarah is two full rungs higher than Eddie and makes more money than he does. She is the primary breadwinner and the Meyerist version of a high ranking business woman.

“My mother used to say the best relationships have a gardener and a flower.” Says Nicole. What does this mean? One nurtures the other to grow? Gabby and Hank argue playfully over who is flower and who is gardener. Sarah is almost certainly a Gardener in her own relationship. Or thinks that she is.

We learn that Sarah’s Family are held in such high esteem by Steve that they can get special Treatment.

Gab and Hank were, after all, founding members of the movement. They may not have been with Steve when he found the ladder like Bill and Felicia but they flew to Peru right afterward. I wish the show had fleshed out their relationship with Steve a bit more. How did they meet and become so close?

Meet Abe Gains/Mary’s Dad Again/ Cal and Sarah Talk.

Abe is the outsider here, the token Non-Meyerist. The one we identify with… Well, except he still uses AOL so we can’t identify that much.

So his Partner foolishly thinks that the government actually did their job in regard to tornado stricken the citizens of Rindge. No. Abe tells him, a religious movement helped them.

“Scientologists?” His partner asks.

“Oh no! Noooo, no no no, Definitely nothing like the Scientologists!” Abe doesn’t say. “Not based on them in any way shape or form! Absolutely NOTHING LIKE THEM.”

Scene: trailer park Rindge Mr. Cox’s trailer. The EMTs are there. Cal really fucked him up. The trailer looks like a second tornado hit it in the form of an angry man. On the table is a small blowtorch. What were Mr Cox and his buddy doing when May and Cal walked in? Something drug related? I assume so.

The camera pans through the trailer to the bedroom. On the door is a picture of Mary as a sad little girl. I’m glad this show doesn’t do childhood flashbacks.

Meanwhile, at the compound. Cal discusses Freddy Ridge with Sarah.

He doesn’t like hypocrites! AHahahaha! Its understandable. Cal has sacrificed more than most ( one could argue more then anyone) for the movement. He resents the hell out of the John Ridges of this world who can give the movement lip service but not actually practice it.

Sarah has absolute conviction that she can fix Freddie. She has genuine Faith. This visibly moves Cal. Whose faith is on the verge of shattering.

In a weird way Cal and Sarahs relationship is more of an equal one that Sarah and Eddies. They are both upper rung, both get each other on a fundamental level. In another way, as with everything Cal related, it weirdly lopsided.

Cal hero worships her. Holds her up as an example ,not only of a true believer, but of what it is to be a good person. We don’t realise this yet, but Sarah is Cal’s role model. He stares at her longingly and worshipfully then asked her how the ole’ marriage is fairing. Subtle Cal.

She tells him more than a person normally would. But Meyerists are open like that.

Cal Tells Sarah that a local news station asked for an interview. Cal wants an Ego massage and Sarah thinks Steve wouldn’t like the public scrutiny I WONDER WHY THAT MIGHT BE?

They stop to talk to May Cox, who is doing really well since he beat the shit out of her dad and she bonded to him like a baby duck.

We learn a bit about the System. How to become a novice ( it involves a fee and a large time commitment.) Here are the official forms used on set for joining up. I love that someone put in the effort to think about this stuff. The production design on this show is second to none.

So we can see that each Novice has to, among other things, commit to Never lying to ones family, or other members…Ever. This is really important. It’s literally a qualifier for being a Meyerist, and while they are open with each other to the point of having no privacy at all, they also keep secrets like crazy. because thats what you do when everyones up in your business all the time.

They are also contracted to financial obligations and work hours and expected to consistently ascend the ladder throughout their lives.

But most interestingly, in return, the Movement itself is contracted to serve the Novice and fulfil their Emotional, Spiritual and Physical needs.

Speaking of needs remember this little guy from last recap?

So much of this EVERYWHERE.

Scene: Abe at The FBI

Abe asked His Boss about the Meyerists

“ You know the ones who got to Rindge before FEMA?”

“ No One got to Rindge before FEMA.” His boss admonishes him.

Ok. So this is a government cover up. This is actually a really big deal and implies corruption at the higher levels of Abe’s department and further up.

The FBI is a hierarchical structure with a strong sense of purpose, stringent rules and ( supposedly) total transparency within the organisation… DOES THIS REMIND YOU OF ANYTHING EYE SHAPED? The Cops are a cult too. Just saying.

Scene: Out Convertin’

Cal, Hank and the Novices are in the park, soliciting for The Light. We get a look at an average Meyerist work day. As usual there are ten layers to Hugh Dancy’s performance and the whole thing makes me queasy.

So the show came under fire from a few quarters for its rather insensitive use of the Marysville school shooting in Sean’s backstory. I guess they could have made up a fictional town.

School shootings are another example of a decedent and corrupt society. One the the Meyerists surely associate with The Future and the coming Apocalypse. I can totally see why Sean might have wanted to enter a more loving world. Which, for the most part, it actually is. Thats the genius of the show. They might be a corrupt and controlling cult…But they’re not necessarily wrong. It does give love and understanding, a home, a family and fairly decent therapy. And in return? A modest fee, a few hours work, and your immortal soul, your individualism. That’s less than the IS world charges.

Through their compulsive truth telling and compulsory therapy the Meyerists are forced to confront their demons. Sean can now move past his sisters murder while his parents are sill “ Zombies” living in grief. In a weird way they’re healthier than we IS types are. Of course how well Sean would fair outside the movement is questionable. If he’s anything like Eddie then his grief might not be as far behind him as he thinks.

Scene: Eddie Meets Allison Again.

Eddie breaks it off with Allison. In a platonic sense. Y’know since he’s actually not having an affair. I love this scene, the abandoned lot was a great find, the camera work too. Love it.

Allison is an interesting character. We see she’s terrified. Certain that the movement killed her husband. That they are pursuing her with intent to kill. She is sure of it. this is her truth.

Although we eventually learn this wasn’t, and isn’t the case. She’s still not wrong about them. The movement is corrupt even to its roots, even to its founder. This is part of an ongoing theme of relative truth running though the story. Characters are, again and again, shown to be both right and wrong at the same time.

Eddie is certain that if he does the IRP ( Infidelity Rehab Program.) He’ll go insane, “Give up names that don’t even exist…Or worse, I’ll tell the truth.”

It sounds like he’s talking about torture. Which, in a way, it is. Therapy is entered into of ones own free will out of a desire to change . This is coercion, and its terrifying.

Maybe it doesn’t matter if Meyerism is real or not? Eddie posits. Maybe he can just pretend, and focus on the good work that they do. “Isn’t that what the rest of the world does?”

He’s not wrong.

It is what the rest of the World does. I know good Catholics who attend mass every Sunday despite being Atheists. Hell, I know Priests who don’t believe in God. They do it for the culture and the community and their family, and the good work. There isn’t anything wrong with that... Is there?

There are cops like Abe Gains who say nothing about their crooked boss because they know they’re doing good work. Because their job is supporting their family.

There are people who turn a blind eye to abuse because their identity rests on a belief system.

Eddie can justify this. He can live a lie to keep his beautiful world intact.

The whole scene is dominated by and old shipping container with the word YANG on it.

Yang (in Chinese philosophy) the active male principle of the universe, characterized as “male” and creative and associated with heaven, heat, and Light. The word itself translates as “Brightness” or “Light.”

Contrast with its counterpoint YIN the passive female principle of the universe, characterized as “female” and sustaining and associated with earth, dark, and cold.

Given later events in the series this is very interesting. Especially given that “Light” in this context, and this scene in particular, isn’t associated with anything particularly good.

Throughout both seasons Eddie is constantly associated with light, heat and heaven. I’ll return to this again if I recap future episodes.

Allison tells Eddie to look up her husband by name Jason Kemp

The name Jason mean “ Healer” in Ancient Greek. Jason Kemp was a doctor.

Scene: Hawk Eats at Ashley’s.

Ashley tempts Hawk to the dark side using delicious sirloin. I won’t lie, if this were me I would have fallen long ago purely because I love steak. It’s an obvious Garden of Eden reference but I’m cool with it.

Hawks adorably innocent Rod and Tod-ness is out full force here. Although innocence can translate as awkwardness and social death in the real world.

“ The door… “ He asks when Ashley gets him alone in her room “ Could we open it?” This is worlds away from the precocious Dawsons Creekery of your average TV teen, Kyle Allen really sells it.

Ashley has good taste in art and she loves the Arcade fire! I like this kid!

We get to see how Meyerist transparency works in the IS world when Hawk asks Ashley if her dad died “ In a bad way.” This kid would not survive in the wild you guys.

But, as it turns out the Field’s family secrecy isn’t helping anyone either. Their mom wouldn’t ask for help and now they’re losing the house.

This contrasts strangely with the threatened foreclosure on the compound in Season Two. In both cases secrets lead to the foreclosure and loss of home.

Ashley’s predicament is actually heartbreaking. She has to be the adult in the house because her mother isn’t mentally capable. She reaches out to Hawk because she knows he’s compassionate. In fact, this becomes his defining characteristic.

And speaking of people with Mommy issues…

Cal and Hank talk in the Van.

Hank likes his weed. We pretty much never see him without a joint. And its served him well. He was high when he and Gab got the call from Steve. He was probably high while the compound was being built I’d bet my life he was high throughout his daughter’s childhood and adolescence. Hell he was probably Sacred Herbing at Sarah’s wedding.

I posit to you all that the man self medicates. I think there are things he has turned a bind eye to over the years with the help of the old herb.

Exibit one: Cal’s dad had him handing out flyers on the street when he was five years old. This in itself doesn’t sound too bad until we remember that the Novice contract says they have to do 500 hours community service. Now I’m assuming children don't sign the novice contact but I’m also assuming Cal’s dad dragged him out there a lot… To the extent that someone called CPS.

So we have a situation where a five year old was on the streets getting spit on by strangers instead of being in kindergarden. We never learn very much about Cal’s dad ( not even his name.) . But we know he was a violent drunk, who joined the Meyerists in their infancy then left them at some point, leaving his son behind with a manipulative pedophile.

Hanks appraisal of this guy?

“ Well, your dad was a good man.”

In response to Cal remembering the Child services incident he says “Terrible”. But only because he thinks its bad that someone called them.

There is a huge generation gap between first and second generation Meyerists. And in fact this is reflective of the high cultural gap between the 70s and the 90s. The 1970′s “ find yourself” new age culture was incredibly selfish, and children were often of left to raise themselves. Cal’s straight laced, buttoned down, control freakiness is perhaps indicative of a rebellion against their stoned laissez-faire attitude.

So can we trust Hanks judgement? To me, he and all the ‘old guard’ Meyerists, are morally suspect. They are now so entrenched in the belief system, so dependant on it and ( I suspect) so deeply guilty that they don’t dare examine their memories or actions too closely lest they realise they were complicit in some twisted shit.

We learn that Steve wanted a “ Media Blackout” on the movement. There are many reasons why a small religious movement might want to keep a low profile. One of those reasons is endemic illegal drug use. Cal thinks its time to end both.

Cal taps into the Theme of Need saying that they could reach more Needy people through the media if the Movement wasn’t stuck in the 70s.

“ Those Who Need The Ladder Find The Ladder.” Quotes Hank. Wary of this new Televangelist angle. Cal has big dreams.

“ Can you Imagine?” He asks, misty eyed. “ If the whole world lived as we do? We could achieve world peace.”

Or… You know… world domination. It’s kind of one and the same to Cal.

Hank puts out his spliff and throws it out the window. He looks tearful. Either moved by Cal’s big dream, or by his own guilt.

Also… Jews For Jesus tried to convert me once. They don’t mess around.

Eddie and Sarah at Home

This scene… Kind of freaks me out.

First of all let me just say that The cinematography in this scene is beautiful. From the lighting to the framing to the colors in the clothing choices. Also the Eye doesn’t feature once. Which is telling because this scene is about The Truth.

I want to understand Eddie. I think the show wants us to understand him too. But then it throws out something like this that makes him an enigma again.

Who is Eddie Lane?

We don’t know where he comes from. His backstory is alarmingly vague. At this point we know a hell of a lot more about Cal just from inference. Eddie remains a mystery. Although we learn a little more about him from this scene.

He makes a really good point. “ You’re just going to forgive me if I sit through 14 days? “ He asks her “Your pain will just go away?”

The fact is that the IRP isn’t about healing or about what Sarah might feel or want. It’s about Dogma.

Eddie says maybe she made a mistake marrying him, he says “ everyone knew it. I was a wild card.”

He asks her why she “ Perfect Sarah” wanted him? “ You knew that this would happen somewhere along the way… That I would fuck up”

“Me and my family, We’re all the same” She says. “ You were different, like a window… I saw the world differently through you”

This tells us so much about young Sarah. We know in retrospect that she was born and raised in the movement, had perhaps been homescooled like Cal. And in Eddie she saw a window into the rest of the world. And she loved what she saw. We also know that when she was in her early teens she tried to run away had her bags backed and ready to go but chickened out. The adventure she longed for. The freedom…She saw reflected in Eddie.

Maybe… The reason she “ Stopped wanting him like that.” was because he had become too Meyerist for her?

I get that Sex on this show it supposed to be a refection of the characters emotional and spiritual states. In that sense the sex scenes aren’t at all gratuitous. They’re always telling us something. In Eddie and Sarah’s case they have a lot of feeling they aren’t able to talk about and are both very passionate people, and they are, at this point fighting and quite angry with one another.

He has her against the fridge where Summer’s little crayon drawing of their happy home is. He starts kissing her and she said “Stop” and “No” repeatedly. He doesn’t.

Part of me really hopes that this is a hint that Eddie has a darker side. Yang, male energy, passionate and violent. We do get occasional hints that he’s capable of violence or has been in the past. But another part of me thinks it might be because TV producers love their “Edgy” borderline rape scenes.

Ambiguity is kind of The Path’s thing though. She then asks to go to the bedroom. They have angry, emotional, loud sex in the bedroom.

Hawk comes home and hears his folks fucking and his mother saying weepily “How could you do this with someone else?”

He throws up. We don’t blame him.

Eddie Lane.

What do we know, concretely, about his character so far? Well in regard to Sarah:

Hes passionate.

He’s insecure in his marriage.

He thinks he loves her more than she loves him.

He has integrity, but is willing to compromise it for her.

She saved his life. He thinks he owes her.

Her status is greater than his own in their society and he feels it acutely.

He feels Sarah holds the power in the relationship.

She totally does.

It’s tempting to read Eddie and Cal as opposites. But in fact they have a lot of the same issues. Insecurity in their ‘place in the world” being one. Cal’s damage runs much deeper than Eddie’s, into his very identity as a person. But they both struggle with secrets, self worth, guilt over their doubt and how worthy they are of Sarah’s love. .

But mostly… Eddie really is a Wild Card. We don’t know what we’re going to get.

So the next day…

The morning after. Hawk is traumatized after learning his dads having an affair and hearing his parents rough sexing.

Cal lies through his teeth to Sarah and Hank to get on TV. We discover Richard isn’t exactly a paragon of discretion, surprise. We also realise that Cal’s conversation with Hank in the van may have been a deliberate manipulation to get Sarah on board with the whole TV spot thing. Cal plays the Steve card HARD.

Eddie takes a look at Jason Kemp’s file. Suicide.

Hawk gets in a fight at school. And we get a closer look at why he might be so desperate to drop out. Eddie scolds him for fighting saying “ We don’t fight. We’re above that.” Hey Eddie, remember when you fought with your wife last night and had borderline abusive sex?

Hawk wants things to be simple, like when he was a kid, before he started questioning things. Eddie knows the feeling. Even Hawk knows something happened on Eddies retreat. “ I can hear the truth” he says, failing to add “ Through your bedroom door.”

Scene: Cal and Mary in the Church.

Ok so cast your mind back to the last Sex scene and compare it to this one. OH BOY is there a lot to unpack here.

Both scenes are beautifully shot. Kudos to whoever directed this episode. Where the Eddie/Sarah scene was all warm tones, soft lighting and dialogue, this scene is all stark shadows and silence. The whole thing takes place in near darkness.

The eye watches from the window above. I notice that often when a character does something illicit on this show the eye is watching them.

Anyway its also framed in a similar way to Cal and Mary’s meeting scene in the first episode. with a window between them. But this scene is stripped of the intimacy of the first one. Its colder, dispassionate, dangerous. Cal and Mary’s “ theme” on the soundtrack is also a dangerous sound. Like something from a horror movie.

So lets look at whats actually happening here?

Mary has feelings for Cal, he is her salvation, she is infatuated. But she also senses a kinship between them deeper than mentor and student. Mary is often shown to be a really intuitive person when it comes to other people’s psychology. In that way she’s a lot like him. They’ve both had to learn to read people and manipulate to survive. Mary has low status and lower self esteem. She is used to sex literally being her currency. Consent is possibly not in her frame of reference at all.

Cal has feelings for Mary. Which he can’t even begin to unpack. He certainly can’t articulate them. In fact, when anything related to his damage comes up he freezes and becomes totally silent. He literally doesn’t have the vocabulary for it. Mary is like a ghost of his former self unlocking his neurosis. On one hand he’s well aware of the status differential between them. From an official perspective, he really shouldn’t have feelings for any novice, let alone a confused, infatuated abuse victim. From a personal perspective he really shouldn’t have feelings for anyone. Because he is meant to be a leader without attachments. And that suits him. Unconsciously he’s absolutely terrified of emotional and sexual intimacy.

We don’t actually know exactly how Cal feels about the abuse he suffered as a child. We might infer from scenes in Season Two that he may have been too young to understand what was being done to him. We knows he carries a lot of anger from it ( as evidenced by his beating of Mary’s father.) We can be fairly sure from this scene that he can’t say no effectively. In fact his notions of consent, as they apply to himself, are warped also.

In episode one he denied Mary sex when she approached him, for obvious reasons. In the space of an episode this has changed? Why?

Well lets look at this scene itself. Physically the roles are reversed. In Episode 1 Cal kneels before her and instead of giving her oral sex, as she assumed, he pulls up her nightgown.

In this scene Mary kneels before him, when he complains she begs him. “Please?”

He starts hyperventilating before she can even get his belt off. He immediately becomes passive and lets her give him head. At one point it seems like he doesn’t know if he wants to push her away or not. As soon as he either climaxes ( its not clear) or is about to. He pushes her away. He looks disgusted. She looks worried.

You guys this is the least happy blow job I’ve ever seen.

Much like the earlier Eddie/Sarah scene the whole thing plays out uncomfortably like a rape ( with the roles reversed.) But where the sex between Eddie and Sarah was fraught with emotion communication and passion, this is clinical, cold and not at all intimate. The only emotions we sense from either of them are shame and regret. Its like a replay of the dirty secret they both carry with them. Sex and the emotions associated with it have been forever tainted for these two. The shadow of the eye is literally on them.

When Cal raises Mary back up into the ray of light he shakes his head sorrowfully and tells her to “ Love Sean.”

This in itself becomes an abusive act, his power over her being such that she actually goes and does it. But to Cal in this moment it’s lessening his sexual guilt by diverting her attention to someone who can love her back. As this scene makes abundantly clear. That is not him. And it calls back to Sarah’s assertion that when Cal came to her bed in her youth, whatever they got up to made her think “This guy could never love a person.”

It also raises the question for me, of whether or not Cal is repeating something that Steve did to him.

Also this: Remember YANG? The Chinese principle of fire light and heat? Meet the other side of that symbol. YIN ( in Chinese philosophy) the passive female principle of the universe, characterized as female and sustaining and associated with earth, darkness, and cold.

In the Same way Eddie is associated with light, heat and the element of fire: Throughout the Series Cal is consistently associated with darkness, coldness and the element of Earth. ( I’ll return to that in Episode 7.)

So maybe they are opposites after all?

Scene: Eddie Agrees to Do the Programme.

Eddie and Sarah lie in bed together and they both express the desire to get back to a simpler time. Much like Hawk did earlier. In fact it seems it was his conversation with Hawk that changed Eddie’s mind about doing the IRP. “ Getting back to before” is what they all want. Hawk wants to be a kid again. Eddie wants to be ignorant again and Sarah wants her unexamined life back.

Its kind of what we all want, deep down. Its a major part of Meyerism too. Separating the ‘True Self” aka who we were before the damage, from the “Neo Self” that sustained all the damage.

The thing is, as much as they might want to get back to their state of Grace, their innocent, unquestioning selves., it just ‘aint going to happen. No adult can ever have that again.

This is, perhaps the reason for the Adam and Eve/ Garden of Eden imagery in this episode. Once you eat of the tree of knowledge you can’t go back into a state of blissful ignorance ever again. Sorry Eddie. Theres a yellow snake in your garden.

Scene: Cal Goes on TV.

Cal gets his TV spot, and does a fabulous job. His interviewer is a little hostile. Calling Meyerism a cult. He sets the record straight, Using every tactic he ever learned from those car tapes.

He also comes full circle with the Episodes Garden of Eden imagery.

As he gives a beautiful sales pitch for Meyerism, the camera pans over the idilic compound, the crying baby from the opening scene of Episode One is soothed, human beings are at peace, working happily together in a beautiful garden.

By the end of his speech people have tears in their eyes and I’m pumping my fist yelling YAY CULT! again. Because he’s just that good. Oh my Steve! The show has just manipulated its audience like Cal manipulated that talk show lady. Well played show.

“ If you listen very carefully” Cal says. “ You can hear the souls crying out for help. and you will find that some of them are in your back yard. And maybe if you listen even more closely, you’ll find that the soul in need of care is your own.”

A beautiful bit of dialogue and heartbreakingly ironic coming from the most fucked up person in the room.

“ Sign me up” says talk show lady.

And then… HE CLOSES THE DEAL WITH A WELL PLACED SMILE! Good job life coaching tapes!

Scene: Cal kidnaps Freddy Ridge.

With his parents permission of course.

So now, validated by his success and imbued with a new sense of purpose Cal returns to the Ridge residence. Cal has never been as pure in purpose as he is here, he’s even wearing white.

And now that he has leverage over John Ridge he does what Cal does when he has even a whiff of power… And abuses the shit out of it.

John Ridge gets an offer he can’t refuse. He is going to believe…Whether he likes it or not.

Scene: Eddie in the IRP Room.

Eddie walks around with an EMP machine on his head getting interrogated by Richard. The IRP looks a little like a severely bastardised form of Primal Therapy, where people are pushed into a state of emotional collapse. Then, I presume, given “ The Medicine” and interrogated some more untill the truth falls out of them.

This is all played out in an amazing hallucinogenic montage illustrating Eddie climbing the walls as he begins to doubt his own reality, all the while desperately trying to keep the truth from Richard. He only manages this by throwing and innocent Miranda Frank under a bus.

You have to feel a little sorry for Richard in this scenario. As he has no idea why a seemingly simple thing isn’t coming to light.

“ Whats the matter with you?’ He yells in frustration “ You’re driving me crazy! I’ve devoted my entire life to this work and I’ve never had anybody’s difficult as you!”

But unfortunately for Eddie, this unorthodox therapy does actually work. Eddie can’t escape from the truth. He is once again assaulted by the vision of Steve and the Yellow Snake. Eddies life is a lie.

Incidentally Miranda Frank’s house number is 127. Genisis 27 says:

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

Which, if intentional, is a nice little shoutout to Cal’s speech from earlier.

Scene: Cal goes to Cusco.

One of a handful of times we ever see Cal and Steve in the same room. Even though Steve is comatose, we can glean something about their relationship. As it often does, the soundtrack provides subtext .

Cal is talking disturbingly to Steve as though he were still awake. I know that there is some evidence that coma patients can hear but I think this may have more to do with the Meyerist idea that Steve is an incorporeal being that can communicate out of body. Cal tells Steve about the TV Spot. “I think you would have been proud.” He says to his unconscious, dying father figure. “ This could be a new era for us. The era of the Ladder.”

The song on the soundtrack ( “Nothing To Do” by Daniel Spaleniak) plays over the last shot of Steve’s body.

“There is only a few words I want to say

there is nothing I can think of today

I wish that I had something that is true

that I think that lying is easy to do”

From this scene I think we can infer that Cal still greatly desires Steve’s approval and that Steve wouldn’t approve of Cal’s plans if he could speak. As Silas later tells Cal. Steve isn’t pleased with him.

What else might a dying Steve want to say to Cal?

I don’t think Cal was consciously planning to lead the movement until Steve got sick. Whether he believed the doctrine or not, we are never consciously prepared for the death of a parent. I think that until now he has been much more an acolyte than a leader. But he went fairly rouge as soon as Steve was incapacitated and already did something ( the tv spot) he knows Steve wouldn’t condone. But, as the life coaching tapes show us. He still needs his guru. He’s not secure in the role.

Cal isn’t as invested in the future of Meyerism as he thinks he is. It’s more about his own damaged ego.

As with the last episode, the title comes from the final scene.

#thepath the path symbolism the path thepathonhulu closereadingthepath analysis idontreallyknowwhatimdoing

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