Midnight Mass: The Best Monologues

By now, there's a good chance you've attended Midnight Mass, Mike Flanagan's recently released Netflix horror drama. And once you've gotten past the shock (whoa that angel) and the angst (soooo much heartbreaking loss), you've probably noticed something else: In typical Flanagan fashion, the show contains some great monologues.

Both of Flanagan's previous Netflix series, The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, were hallmarked by extended speeches that allowed viewers a special kind of insight into the characters' inner thoughts. Midnight Mass is no different — and we thought we'd go back and highlight some of our favorite moments.

The list below contains what we feel are the best monologues from the seven-episode season. From the galvanizing (go Leeza!) to the gutting (pretty much anything Riley uttered!), we've drawn attention to the passages that really moved us. In each case, we offer a little context and the best bits — in case you want to go back and revisit those episodes at your leisure.

But warning: The rundown contains spoilers, so if you haven't yet watched and don't want to know what happens, make sure to bookmark this page and return after you've seen through to the season finale.

And if you're already good to go? The power of the Lord compels you to scroll down and see our picks! 

A Little Context: To fulfill a court-ordered mandate that he attend one Alcoholics Anonymous meeting a week, Riley (Zach Gilford) agrees to meet with Father Paul (Hamish Linklater) for one-on-one sessions. At the first one, they discuss the notion of God's ability to make things happen (or stop them from happening).

The Most Powerful Part: "Nothing good came out of my drinking. Nothing good came out of me killing that poor girl. Nothing good came out of Joe Collie's drinking. Not a single good thing comes out of Leeza never being able to walk again. Nothing good came out of a metric ton of crude oil filling up the bay. And the only thing, the only f–king thing that lets people stand by, watching all this suffering, doing nothing, doing f–king nothing, is the idea that suffering can be a gift from God. What a monstrous idea, Father."

A Little Context: Having just regained the ability to walk, the mayor's daughter (played by Annarah Cymone) has a little talk with the man (Robert Longstreet) whose drunken carelessness left her in a wheelchair for years.

The Most Powerful Part: "You stole from me. Not just who I was, but who I could've been. You stole from me things I didn't even have yet. You reached through time, Joe Collie! You reached through time and you stole. All of that is true, and all that is still in here, but that's not why I came here today. I came here today... I came here today... I forgive you."

A Little Context: In the confessional, Father Paul comes clean — he's actually Crockett Island's beloved Monsignor Pruitt — and details the encounter with an otherworldly being that brought him home a much younger man.

The Most Powerful Part: "Those eyes. Eyes and skin and hands, but also wings. A sense of great wings enfolding him, and his mind finally found the word. The word was unearthed by his fear like the tomb was unearthed by the storm. And the word was 'angel.' Angel. And he was so afraid."

A Little Context: After Erin's miscarriage, she and Riley sit on her couch and talk about what they think happens after you die.

The Most Powerful Part: "All of the other little things that make me up... the microbes and bacterium and the billion other little things that live on my eyelashes and in my hair and in my mouth and on my skin and in my gut and everywhere else, they just keep on living. And eating. And I'm serving a purpose. I'm feeding life. And I'm broken apart, and all the littlest pieces of me are just recycled, and I'm billions of other places. And my atoms are in plants and bugs and animals, and I am like the stars that are in the sky: There one moment, and then just scattered across the goddamn cosmos."

A Little Context: When Dr. Sarah Gunning tries to enlist Sheriff Hassan's help investigating what's going on at St. Patrick's, Rahul Kohli's character relates how difficult it has been for him as a Muslim man in the predominantly Catholic community — as well as why he took the job of sheriff on the (previously) sleepy island.

The Most Powerful Part: "Dignity. Ali is bored to tears, but he's safe. And I still think I could maybe move the world that one millimeter. You know, maybe here's where we make a difference. Not in the big city, but in this tiny village. Win over the f–king PTA and call it a victory for Islam."

A Little Context: After the angel feasts on Erin (Kate Siegel) and she lies dying, we see an alternate version of the conversation about the afterlife she and Riley had in Episode 4.

The Most Powerful Part: "There is no time. There is no death. Life is a dream. It's a wish made again and again and again and again and again and again, on into eternity. And I am all of it. I am everything. I am all. I am that I am."