‘Righteous Gemstones’ Kills Off Another Character in Series Finale

Danny McBride’s HBO comedy hit The Righteous Gemstones just ended this week, but not before leaving audiences with one final shock.

Gemstones is centered on the Gemstone family, who are all a group of megachurch pastors and televangelists. Most of the storylines in the raunchy comedy revolve around three siblings named Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin, who aren’t exactly the most Christ-like group around.

Throughout its run, the show was often called the best comedy on TV, right up until it ended its fourth and final season on Sunday.

The penultimate episode, On Your Belly You Shall Go, saw the group finally take down Cobb Milsap (Michael Rooker), the gator-park owner who kidnapped Eli (John Goodman) and Baby Billy (Walton Goggins). With every villain defeated and every main storyline brought to a close, it seemed there were no more loose ends to tie up and the finale would be a heartfelt send-off, but series creator Danny McBride had other plans in mind.

The feature-length series finale, That the Man of God May Be Complete, shocked viewers by having Corey Milsap reveal he was involved in his father’s dastardly plans all along. In a home invasion-esque horror sequence, he seemingly fatally shoots all three Gemstones in their lake house, leading viewers to believe that the show might just end with the funerals of the despicable siblings we’ve all grown to love.

Thankfully, in a bit of comedic excellence, the monkey that Judy’s husband BJ has been training all season is useful enough to bring Eli his gun so he can thwart Corey’s plan before he goes for a coup de grace. Mirroring the season premiere with Bradley Cooper, Jesse shoots Corey in the head and the siblings pray over him as the light fades from his eyes. It’s one of the best, funniest and surprisingly heart-felt sequences in a show full of them, proving that there will never be another Righteous Gemstones.

Of course The Righteous Gemstones finished perfect. Probably the best show ever. Edi Patterson Emmy time. And Dr. Watson. pic.twitter.com/uQPXUEjFL7

— Piecing It Together Podcast 🧩 (@PiecingPod) May 5, 2025

All four seasons of Gemstones are available to watch on HBO now.