The Netflix mini-series Midnight Mass was fun.

I like pretty much everything that Mike Flanagan puts out.

The midnight club was probably better, the fall of the house of usher was probably not quite as good. And on.

But my favorite part of Midnight Mass?

It was when we see how the old priest meets the “angel” in the desert.

From R1:

Pruitt, who is much older and suffering from dementia at the time, is on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. During a sandstorm, he becomes separated from his group and stumbles into a remote cave. Inside, he discovers a strange, winged creature that appears both angelic and monstrous. The creature is pale, emaciated, and has large, bat-like wings, but it also exudes an otherworldly, almost divine presence.

Pruitt, in his confusion and awe, interprets the creature as an angel sent by God. The creature attacks him, biting his neck and drinking his blood. However, instead of killing him, the creature feeds Pruitt its own blood, which begins to reverse the effects of his aging and dementia. Pruitt is rejuvenated, his mind sharpens, and he feels a profound sense of purpose and vitality.

This encounter is presented as a moment of divine intervention for Pruitt, who believes he has been chosen by God to spread miracles and save his failing congregation on Crockett Island. However, the audience is left to question whether the creature is truly an angel or something far more sinister. This ambiguity is central to the series’ exploration of faith, fanaticism, and the nature of evil.

The scene is visually striking, with the desolate desert setting and the eerie, almost biblical imagery of the creature. It sets the stage for the tragic events that follow, as Pruitt’s misguided faith in the creature leads to devastating consequences for the island’s inhabitants.

Great summary, matches my memory (rewrote my memory? how to tell?).

There is a lot of meat on this bone. It could be a whole short story.

But why this scene?

The rest of the series is pretty fuzzy, but I remember this scene vividly. It was really fun.

I guess it’s the vibe - it feels like we are going a little “Indiana Jones”, getting some secret history and its ambiguous, raising questions like “maybe angels really were vampires”. Give me that movie!

I guess we also see that the young guy really is the old priest and we see how that happened. Before this scene, we didn’t know. So the understanding of the plot clicks into place after this. Or so I can tell myself years after my viewing, I don’t remember.

Good stuff!