Under the Banner of Heaven Episode 3 is the third part of an 2022 American true crime drama television miniseries based on the nonfiction book of the same name by Jon Krakauer. The premise involves a police detective who’s faith is shaken when investigating the murder of a Mormon mother and her baby daughter that seems to involve The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
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Entitled “Surrender”, Under the Banner of Heaven Episode 3 basically reveals that the Lafferty brothers are behind the murder depicted in the first episode. Unless there is some kind of twist to come, this revelation strips the miniseries of all tension moving forward and that is never a good thing. So is it just a case of making a connection between original LDS teachings and heinous crimes, or something more?
READ OUR ANALYSIS OF UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN.
The first half of Under the Banner of Heaven Episode 3 is spent on the stand-off between Sam Lafferty and the police as he spouts Mormon teachings as a justification to disobey the law of the land and perhaps worse still, a divine right to commit murder. There is more disturbing revelations as Sam’s wife Sarah parrots her husband’s insane ramblings which is of course shocking to a devout Mormon like Pyre (Andrew Garfield).
Garfield, with his baby-faced innocence, is perfectly cast as Pyre as his Mormon faith begins to slowly crumble with each revelation concerning the beliefs of the Lafferty brothers. The scene between Pyre and his bishop where he is told to leave his questions on the shelf, is so typical of most religious faiths. Trust your leaders is the mantra.
Under the Banner of Heaven Episode 3 is troublesome, as the tension has been washed away and one wonders how engaging the rest of the miniseries can truly be. Hopefully, we are proven wrong.
Now streaming on Hulu.
… still there’s more …