The Young Pope Episode 8 Recap: A Holy Mystery Revealed

The cat’s out of the bag and the pope is out of the Vatican. Only two episodes remain as we bring you the recap of HBO’s Limited Series The Young Pope Episode 8.

The selfish, cloistered tactics Pope Pius XIII has been utilizing since his rise to power are now beginning to work. The mystery shrouding Lenny Belardo (Jude Law) is finally starting to clear, and a message that’s fit for any God-fearing Catholic is beginning to shine through. HBO’s Limited Series The Young Pope Episode 8 proved to be one of faith, healing, and mystique. Something that could be taken away in an instant as a dreaded looming secret hangs over the Vatican’s head. For now, let’s dive into the recap that made this lapsed Catholic cry and want to run to the nearest 24-hour confessional booth.

Gianni Fiorito/HBO

The Fear of Guilt

Our opening shot starts on a submerged Lenny kneeling at the bottom of a pool at Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence. He speaks in a voice over, bidding a final farewell to Cardinal Andrew Dussolier (Scott Shepard), who was killed in Honduras in Episode 7. He asks for forgiveness and to leave his guilt behind, which he does as he emerges from the crystal blue water, a sort of baptism on this new chapter of Vatican life he’s playing into.

Meanwhile, Sister Mary (Diane Keaton) is beside herself with grief. While Lenny has a good time bouncing tennis balls off the walls of this historic villa, the sister lies draped over a bed, sobbing uncontrollably as she clutches a photo of her, Lenny and Dussolier. Everyone grieves in his or her own way, and Lenny’s patented nonchalance gives us pause over what else he may be thinking.

At this point, Lenny is just tired. He’s exhausted over the constant ping ponging of his faith and wondering where he fits. As it turns out, the world is raging with FEMEN protesters due to Pius’ strict abortion ban, yet he continues to stroll through the peaceful Castel gardens. A Cardinal tells him the story of Juana Fernandez, the woman we saw crying at the very end of Episode 7. She’s up for canonization, and has healed sick children with just her stories. Lenny is intrigued by this, but only “if it were true.”

Courtesy: HBO

Papal Opportunities

We welcome back the Vatican’s marketing director Sofia (Cécile de France), who we haven’t seen since Episode 2. He wanted to see her, and wants to know what the church is doing wrong. She offers him a suggestion to take a papal voyage to Africa, most notably for the 30th anniversary of Sister Antonia’s beloved “Village of Goodness,” a religious community built in the wilderness. It’s a great opportunity for him to finally show his face to the world, though Lenny still balks at the idea.

Back in Rome, Lenny gets another opportunity to meet with his favorite author, where they agree both writers and men of the cloth are obsessed with mystery. “They can’t afford to solve the mystery because the next day they’ll become irrelevant,” he says. At this point, Lenny has had all the relevance in the world, and the mystery of his appearance to back it up.

He also meets with Cardinal Michael Spencer (James Cromwell), who is sick and on an IV. Upon learning Lenny won’t resign the papacy after all, Spencer accuses Lenny of not believing in God, because he hasn’t had his second call to the faith yet. Lenny whines like a little kid, wanting Spencer to “show him the path” out of the darkness ahead. He can’t, because Lenny’s papacy is an adventure all its own. “You truly are my spiritual father,” says Lenny. Spencer suggests he goes to Venice and bury two empty coffins before his trip to Africa, essentially putting Leny’s never-ending parental abandonment issues 6 feet under.

Welcome to Africa

Lenny’s treasured Papal Kangaroo has been found dead in the garden. Just like the exotic pet, Lenny can no longer hide in plain sight anymore. So he decides to announce his trip to Africa during a face-covering Sunday blessing to a near-empty St. Peter’s Square. Media figures who have been stalking the papal palace dying for a scoop finally perk awake at this unprecedented news.

We’re then flying Pope Air, as all the journalists sit in coach while Lenny and Co. enjoy first class. One woman calls out to the pope, who is separated by only a plane door, about the Kurtwell investigation in New York. There’s whispers he could be blackmailing Lenny, and at the moment she lets that information loose, the plane hits massive turbulence. A warning from God to back off, or telling her she hit the nail on the head? All the while, Lenny continues to kneel on the floor of the plane, his prayers unaffected.

Finally, Lenny steps off the plane in a beekeeper’s kind of shroud and doesn’t greet any foreign dignitaries at the airport. He doesn’t even acknowledge all the hard work the people of Africa put into welcoming him. The jovial traditional African music plays over shots of the desolate, poor area he’s traveling to. Soldiers with huge guns keep the crowd at bay as Lenny travels via Pope Hummer through the streets. A young man lies casually gunned down in the middle of the road. Pope Pius XIII is a long way from the comforts of the Vatican.

Sister Act

Finally we meet Sister Antonia (Milvia Marigliano), who runs the entire missionary. Right away she wants a picture with the pope, but Cardinal Voiello (Silvio Orlando) nips that idea in the bud quickly. Antonia puts on quite the show for the Holy Father, hugging all her villagers while saying, “Enough, enough!” and acting like if Mother Teresa had Paris Hilton levels of noteriety. She shows her true nature when she nastily screams at women gathering water just outside the village. Armed guards stand outside the water pumps that she so lovingly brags about to Pius XIII.

Lenny just stands around, casually smoking cigarettes and surveying the village. He then confesses to an African priest about his impure thoughts about women, and ponders why Esther (Ludivine Sagnier) and Peter (and Little Baby Pius) just up and abandoned their home without even saying goodbye to him. All they left behind is a photo of the Pope with his baby namesake. Turns out the priest doesn’t even speak English. “You just let me rattle on and on for 10 minutes?” an enraged Lenny says. But the priest slips Lenny a small scroll which details how Sister Antonia hoards water and makes villagers do unspeakable acts just to get some. It’s very reminiscent of those who passed notes to Representative Leo Ryan during his only visit to Jonestown, where they were crying out for help to leave the cursed settlement.

Voiello is pleased to report a 12% increase in planned attendance for Lenny’s next mass, thanks to the international trip. He and Sister Mary sit out in the middle of nowhere to briefly discuss the Kurtwell case, but Mary shrugs it off saying they just worked together in New York. There’s another weird charged moment between her and Voiello, signaling that Lenny’s air of mystery is permeating through all facets of the church.

In this scene above, Lenny’s bullsh*t detector is off the charts as he questions during dinner if Sister Antonia is a good person. Members of the Vatican look on in horror as this could potentially be a PR nightmare, but we have no choice but to believe the old African priest’s note. Lenny believes it too. The priest stands up and smashes a water jug in front of the stunned sister, where no water comes out. She left them high and dry for too long, and we’re suddenly rooting for Lenny to put a stop to this.

A Good Person’s Speech

The stage is set for Lenny’s first public speech on his papal mission. As the country’s leader comes out in a sort of dictator-like fashion, his people Stepford smile and wave flags as we wait for the pope. But he never comes out. Instead, we only hear Lenny’s booming voice over a loudspeaker, as he tears into blights on humanity, like guilt and war.

“God is love,” he says, as a beautiful cover of Beyonce’s “Halo” by Lotte Kestner softly plays in the background. Lenny is truly becoming Pope Pius XIII here as he urges the country to find peace, not war. The message clearly hits all who listen as Lenny has a flashback to him, his mother and father sitting on the banks of a river in Colorado. This is seemingly the last time he felt happy, and felt the peace he desires for the world so he can help God’s light to shine through. Lenny’s dad also has similar facial hair to Jesus Christ, which can’t be an accident.

After the stunning speech, it’s time to head back home. Lenny silently walks through the plane full of journalists, all of them asleep. Only one is awake and notices the Holy Father, being the lucky one to lay the first gaze upon him. He smiles warmly and says, “It was beautiful.” Lenny, the ever-cocky holy assh*le just says “Yeah, I know.” Watch the entire scene above. It may make a believer out of you yet.

Gas Station Conversion

Back in Rome, Lenny says he needs to stop at a gas station. Smash cut to him kneeling in a massive parking lot, dirtying up his clean, white pope robes and looking towards the heavens. Rows of cop cars and armored trucks are behind him, acting as the holy escort so he can pray. “God,” he says, arms outstretched, “We need to talk about Sister Antonia.”

Lenny begins to pray his ass off as we see a shot of Sister Antonia getting out of bed and going to her refrigerator, where she takes a huge swig of water from a bottle. But suddenly, she collapses, and Lenny keeps praying. She panics, crawls to her bed, and dies. The episode ends on a shot of Lenny’s mom as she slowly breathes in and out. In, out, in out, until she takes her final breath until the credits are over. It’s a nice parallel to Sister Antonia’s final gasps in life, and what hopefully is a peaceful end to Lenny’s parental abandonment issues.

Next: The Young Pope Episode 7 Recap: A Profound Crisis of Faith

What’s Next?

As beautiful as Lenny’s speech was, we cannot forget the connection to Kurtwell he has in New York. There’s something Sister Mary isn’t telling us. “I’d like to put together a press release that states this pope is blackmail-proof,” says Sofia. It’s a good idea, because Kurtwell finally makes an appearance, threatening that Lenny will see all the things he’s done in all the newspapers of the world. It looks like he has a pretty extensive dossier on him too. Meanwhile someone is following Gutierrez as he’s in New York, and we’re left wondering just how bad the dirt on Lenny is.

There’s only two episodes left of this fantastic series and we can’t wait to bring you the full recaps. Join us next week on Sunday, February 12th and Monday, February 13th as The Young Pope Episodes 9 and 10 are set to air on HBO at 9:00 p.m.