Dr. Eli Gemstone is one of the main characters in the T.V. series, The Righteous Gemstones. He is the founding pastor of the megachurch, Gemstone Ministries, in Charleston, South Carolina. He is portrayed by actor John Goodman and his younger version is played by actor Jake Kelley.
Background[]
Originally starting as a televangelist with a TV show akin to Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker of PTL fame, Dr. Gemstone eventually built a religious empire with their main sanctuary averaging 17,000 attendees during peak religious holidays such as Christmas and Easter.
Eli is also the patriarch of the larger Gemstone family, which includes his sons Jesse Gemstone and Kelvin Gemstone, alongside his daughter Judy Gemstone. His wife, Aimee-Leigh Gemstone (née Freeman), was his partner on the Gemstone television show, as well as an accomplished child singer and clog dancer. Aimee-Leigh would pass away in 2018, leaving the job of keeping of the church network and the family together to Eli.
Eli and his family currently live together in a gated community adjacent to their church's amusement park. This bears great similarity to a nearby venture, where Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker created a gated community with an amusement park in Fort Mill, SC that once numbered third in visitors behind Disneyland in Anaheim, CA and Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, FL. Each of Eli's three children live in the compound, with separate mansions housing each of the Gemstone offspring. Eli also provided a mansion for his aged father until his death.
Eli's ministry at Gemstones Ministries is primarily based in expanding beyond his current church network. The opening episode introduced him participating in a mass baptism in China, and the first season primarily deals with Eli's expansion into the Locust Grove community, to the chagrin of the already-established Christian churches, namely the First Baptist Church headed by Reverend John Wesley Seasons. Part of the expansion had to do with his own ideas, but other parts were to posthumously honor ideas of Aimee-Leigh that never came to fruition during her lifetime, such as the Chinese mass baptisms and amusement park.
Plot[]
Season 1[]
Starting in the first episode, Eli opens a new church location in Locust Grove. Based in an old Sears location at a mall, Eli taps his estranged brother-in-law, Baby Billy Freeman, to become the pastor for this new location. As the new church gains traction, this attracts the scrutiny of John Wesley Seasons, who believes the Gemstones' new church will siphon away members from his and other local churches.
Both Baby Billy and Seasons cause major headaches for Eli in his new endeavor. Baby Billy still harbors grudges against Eli for stealing his sister away from their musical duo, along with spiking a 1989 reunion tour when Baby Billy and Aimee-Leigh are in their 40s. Eli decided to do because Aimee-Leigh was pregnant with Kelvin at the time, and because Baby Billy lied to Aimee-Leigh about selling portions of their ancestral property, Freeman's Gap, located at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains in Upstate South Carolina.
While Eli deals with his expansion and the fallout that follows, his children engage in a blackmail scheme being perpetrated against his oldest, Jesse Gemstone. This scheme involves a recorded video of Jesse and his friends participating in drug abuse, alcohol consumption, and parts of the group soliciting prostitutes (excluding Jesse, who noticeably does not engage in sexual activity in the video). The extortionists targeting Jesse eventually agree to meet up for money in exchange for the hard drive containing the video, but Jesse proceeds to run over and seriously maim two of three extortionists. Jesse enlists his siblings Kelvin and Judy in this endeavor, which they also find was recorded by a local auto parts store adjacent to the parking lot where they ran over the extortionists.
It is later revealed that the extortionists are colleagues of Jesse's estranged son Gideon, whom had been working in California as a stunt man. The three involved were actually Gideon, his friend and fellow stuntman Scotty, and Scotty's girlfriend Lucy. Scotty and Lucy were seriously injured by Jesse running them over with his SUV. Scotty ended up coming to before making it to the hospital, and the two of Scotty and Gideon decided to dump Lucy's unconscious body down a ditch.
Scotty and Lucy would later recover from their injuries and escape the hospital in favor of a dive motel in the area. Gideon and Scotty then planned to infiltrate Gemstone Ministries as a way to pull off a massive heist in collection plate cash on Easter Sunday. Gideon used a ruse of reconnecting with his family as a means to an end of learning the church's financial practices, culminating in his training under the tutelage of church executive, Martin Imari.
While the heist and blackmail schemes were occurring, Eli also dealt with tension between him and his brother-in-law, Baby Billy. While Baby Billy had been tapped for the Locust Grove location, Billy did not accept immediately believing his feud with Eli to be still active. Baby Billy had been planning on quitting the location shortly after starting, however a break-in at the Locust Grove location occurred and nearly cost Baby Billy and Tiffany their lives. However, Eli had been planning for some time to apologize and reach a catharsis with Baby Billy, and arrived at the Church location exactly as the burglars discovered Baby Billy and Tiffany. Eli then ordered the burglars at gunpoint to strip down naked, and then run through the mall out the church exit. This would prove fruitful for Eli, as he and Baby Billy would come to a temporary truce.
However, this truce would be short lived due to Eli's treatment of his daughter, Judy. Judy had always resented being assigned to low-level jobs or tasks for the Church, having perceived the ultimate snub for not being chosen for anything substantial on Easter Sunday. Believing herself to carry her mother's talented genes for singing and dancing, Judy reached out to Baby Billy about joining the Locust Grove location as a cantor and co-pastor. Judy would later perform a sing and dance cover of Baby Billy and Aimee-Leigh's hit song, Misbehavin' in front of Baby Billy, after which Baby Billy agreed to hire her on the spot. However, this would be one of many petty steps taken by Baby Billy and Eli, reigniting their old grudge. Eventually, Eli caved and agreed to let Judy have a part in the Easter service, however, Judy got cold feet and eventually returned to Locust Grove because she felt valued by Baby Billy. Eli would later show to Judy that Baby Billy is only concerned with himself, leading to Judy's split with Baby Billy and Baby Billy abandoning his post as the Locust Grove location's head pastor.
Although he and Gideon had a major fistfight and disagreement, Scotty was later introduced to the family and invited to live at Jesse's house alongside Gideon, the two then use a guise for stealing the upwards of $3 million from Gemstones ministries that is collected on Easter Sunday. However, Gideon later had a change of heart and wanted to back out of the heist. He tried to inform his father Jesse, however Jesse interpreted Gideon's change of heart to be Gideon's coming out to his father.
Instead, Scotty would catch up with him that night and force Eli to open the church's vault and then force both Gideon and Jesse to fill bags with the cash collections for Scotty to then abscond with Lucy to Thailand. Scotty would then disappear with his red utility van and $3 million in cash, driving away like a maniac after his heist.
Following the heist, Gideon explained the heist scheme to Eli, leaving out that it was part of a blackmail attempt on his own father. Jesse's wife, Amber Gemstone banished Gideon from the family for his role in the heist. However, upon trying to locate the missing cash (which had then been stolen by Baby Billy and his wife Tiffany after they were hit broadside by Scotty while the two were engaging in fellatio), Judy and Kelvin would eventually come clean to Eli about the entire ordeal. Eli then fires his three children from their positions in his church, realizing that the three engaged more in petty squabbling or in crazy schemes, as opposed to living like the true Christians he wanted them to live.
Season 2[]
Glendon Marsh Sr. and young Eli
At the beginning of season 2, it is shown at church service what the Gemstones had to endure during the interim with the COVID-19 pandemic. It shows Jesse and Judy protesting COVID restrictions, and Jesse eventually contracting COVID, as evidenced by the photo showing him and Amber separated by a sheet of plastic. Eli announces a new remote form of worship, Gemstones on Digital Demand service. There is also a flashback to Eli's early life, dating back to 1968. Eli grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, where as a young adult, he worked as a semi-professional wrestler and part-time muscle enforcer for his wrestling promoter, Glendon Marsh Sr. and his son, Junior Marsh. In 1968, Glendon enlists young Eli to help intimidate a local resident into paying extortion money. Eli, as a large and strong man at the time, was normally not inclined to this behavior, but with egging on from Junior and Glendon, he would unleash fury that he kept bottled up, eventually coming up with a wrestling-style finishing move that involved breaking his opponents' thumbs. He would perform this on said resident, staking his legacy as the "Maniac Kid". His father, Roy Gemstone, did not approve of this work and behavior, and believed it was a bad influence on Eli's younger sister, May-May.
Fast forward to the present day (2022), Junior goes to Charleston and confronts Eli. Eli at first is skeptical, but Junior appears to have no ill will or nefarious purpose for reaching out to Eli. They agree to get dinner and drinks at a local restaurant, where an altercation with another patron occurs. Eli and Junior overpower the man outside, where Eli performs his finishing move for the first time in decades, reigniting his friendship with Junior. Junior would spend a few nights with Eli, even coming to a church service and lunch afterward. He even pointed out the similarities between Christian Ministry and wrestling, noting how things have to stay within narrative, or "kayfabe" in the wrestling industry. However, Junior's presence would unearth a great deal of painful trauma in Eli, who was confirmed to be acting strangely by BJ, who noticed him riding the Exodus roller coaster in their amusement park, by himself repeatedly. This proves too much for Eli, who eventually severs his friendship with Junior, about whom he can't shake suspicious gut feeling. Junior then states that since he and Eli are no longer friends/associates, they're enemies.
Simultaneous to Junior's appearance, fears of a journalist sniffing around the Gemstones have arose. Previously, another megachurch pastor was removed from ministry over a hit piece published by New York Times journalist, Thaniel Block. Eli was part of a council of fellow megachurch pastors where the article was discussed, deciding the fate of its subject, Makawon Butterfield. Butterfield and his wife engaged in consensual, but adulterous acts with a prostitute, and Block revealed this to the public. Eli and the rest of the council decided it was best Butterfield was no longer head of his congregation, and Butterfield attempted suicide by jumping off a balcony, only mangling his limbs and not dying. Thaniel would then turn his sights to the Gemstones, renting a cabin outside Charleston and even meeting with Eli to discuss his investigation. Thaniel is mainly going after the deceased Aimee-Leigh, stating former staffers had less than glowing reviews for her management style. Eli fears something more, and notifies the family of Thaniel's presence in Charleston. He urges the family to stay silent and not speak to Thaniel, but Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin decide to take matters into their own hands. Believing Eli to be old, past his prime, and overdue for retirement, Jesse convinces his siblings that it is now their time to take control of the family and express to Thaniel that a new generation of leadership with more progressive and forward thinking is on the horizon for the Gemstones. They proceed to go to Thaniel's cabin in Judy's Tesla, where they discover bodies of two different men and Thaniel, who had a bullet go through his head. Jesse and the kids proceed to slip into Thaniel's pooled blood, and then struggle to escape in Judy's Tesla. They clean themselves off in a water fountain at the family compound, where Eli shows up also bloodied. Believing Eli had some part in Thaniel's crime scene, the kids are spooked by Eli. They eventually confront him over his blood-stained clothing, and Eli offers a humorous explanation. Eli had been on his first date since Aimee-Leigh's death, and was going to engage in intercourse. Before doing the deed, he snuck off to the woman's bathroom and tried to manscape himself. He was unsuccessful, and cut his genitals, leading to his bloody clothing. All three Gemstone siblings are disgusted by this story of their father's sex life, and actually wished he had murdered someone or was involved with Thaniel's death and crime scene.
At the same time, Jesse and Amber are linked up with two fellow megachurch pastors, Lyle Lissons and Lindy Lissons, hailing from Texas. Lyle and Lindy propose a business deal for Jesse and Amber, investing in a timeshare resort in Florida called Zion's Landing. Eli is skeptical from the start, resisting Jesse and Amber's attempts to get him on board. When Jesse and Amber propose the deal (requiring $10 million) to Eli, Eli expresses his wariness about the project. Jesse had his wife Amber get involved, even using a revealing outfit to try and convince Eli to help fund the venture. Eli continues to delay and deflect, until he and the rest of the family visit the site with Amber, Jesse, and the Lissons. Upon arriving back in Charleston, Eli decides he will not be involved but allows Jesse and Amber to invest independently of him or the church, which angers Jesse. Kelvin and Judy side with Eli, believing the project to be a boondoggle like Heritage USA in nearby Fort Mill, SC.
Separately, BJ agrees to be baptized and saved in a ceremony conducted by Eli, Baby Billy, and Judy. Eli notices the public extravagance of the ceremony and following reception, which seems to be a make-up for BJ and Judy not marrying within the church. BJ has a large argument and fight with his family, with Judy consistently antagonizing them over various petty issues. Eventually, BJ attempts to throw a piece of cake at his sister, KJ Barnes, who ducks and the cake subsequently hits Eli. Eli loses his temper and denounces the opulent reception, proceeding to leave. While exiting through the hallway, Eli is confronted by Kelvin and his God Squad. Kelvin was angry about Eli not engaging him on his pipedream with the God Squad, where he wanted to take them in the Gemstone private jets to the Israeli Desert, akin to Jesus' exile in the desert in three of the gospels. Kelvin pushes Eli into a tower of balloons, and Eli fights back and subdues Kelvin. He has Kelvin in the thumb-breaker position, threatening to use his wrestling move on Kelvin. Kelvin overconfidently believes Eli wouldn't go through with the move, but Eli does and sends Kelvin to the hospital with his broken thumbs. This fight draws all the attention away from BJ and his family feud, and most of the guests witness Eli and Kelvin's fight.
Eli and his ailing father, Roy
Later, in the episode Interlude II, more of Eli's past is revealed, going back to 1993. Eli and Aimee-Leigh have a successful ministry, but their three kids are dysfunctional and fight often. Eli blows up at them over a Christmas photo. Eli's former wrestling manager, Glendon Marsh Sr. comes to Charleston and approaches Eli with a business deal to launder cash through his church ministry, which is outside the IRS' purview as a religious organization. Eli agrees at first but then backs out after discussing the proposal with Aimee-Leigh at Christmas. At the same time, Baby Billy resurfaces after abandoning his family, and stays with the Gemstones for the holidays while also performing (for a fee) at the Gemstones' holiday video programs. Glendon is angered by Eli reneging, and kidnaps a young Martin Imari at gunpoint, intending to force Eli to agree to his laundering deal. However, Eli's senile father, Roy, comes out and shoots Glendon dead unexpectedly. Martin and Eli go and bury Glendon's body underneath the site of the Exodus roller coaster construction area, explaining why Eli rides that coaster over and over after Junior reappears in his life, the same way Glendon did in 1993. This also gives background as to why Martin is Eli's right-hand man and most trusted assistant.
Amber and Jesse are left scrambling, having been told by the Lissons that the Lissons ended up removing Lyle's father from their church leadership over similar attitudes to Eli. The Lissons pressure Amber and Jesse to secure funding, which they need from Eli or the church. Jesse continues to antagonize Eli, believing himself to be Eli's successor and angling to force Eli into retirement and taking over the church. Strangely, a group of mysterious assailants starts attacking the Gemstones, trying to murder Eli. Jesse dubs them the "Cycle Ninjas", as they ride motorcycles and wear matching helmets and outfits. After a failed attempt that nearly killed Amber and Jesse in Eli's personal Gemstone bus, confirming Eli as their target. They would eventually ambush Eli while he was driving alone, shooting him at a rural crossroads with no witnesses. Eli would fall into a coma, leaving Jesse and Amber to run the church in his place. Amber proposes to Jesse that they use their newly found power and positions to fund the Zion's Landing venture, but Jesse refuses knowing full well the ramifications should Eli survive, which he would.
During Eli's coma and recovery, Jesse creates a ridiculous diversion plan to try and ambush the Ninjas. Announcing his hospital location to the congregation at a Sunday service (where it was believed the Ninjas were in attendance), Jesse would have Eli secretly moved to a more secure location inside the Gemstone compound, while acting like Eli was still at the hospital. Jesse hired armed guards to deal with the ninjas, whom would eventually bail on Jesse. This left only Jesse, Gideon, Martin, and BJ to fight the Ninjas. In true Jesse form, the plan goes awry but Gideon is able to chase down each Ninja and force them to crash or abandon their motorcycles, leading to their arrest.
Jesse incorrectly believes the Ninjas are associated with Junior, so he gets a group of male churchgoers to join him on a trip to Memphis to intimidate Junior. Junior, who is not affiliated with the Ninjas whatsoever, is confused and befuddled by Jesse's lame attempt to intimidate him. Jesse later learns that the Ninjas were actually working for Lyle Lissons.
Once Eli has come to a full recovery, he has a changed attitude and new lease on life. He goes to Memphis and speaks to his former friend, Junior Marsh, to clear the air. Eli tells Junior the truth about Junior's father - Glendon approached Eli in 1993 with a proposal to launder $3 million in illegal cash, and Eli said no. Eli also told Junior that Glendon threatened him and Martin Imari at gunpoint, and Eli's father Roy shot Glendon in self-defense. Junior reveals that Glendon had actually liquidated his businesses, legal or otherwise, and took that ill-gotten money and wanted to launder it in a place that wouldn't attract attention from the IRS, like a church. Junior also states Glendon left him absolutely nothing for all the work Junior did for his dad, and actually respects Eli for both turning Glendon down, and for having the courage to tell Junior that Roy killed Glendon. Junior and Eli then mend their friendship.
Having a much rosier outlook after his shooting, Eli blesses Jesse and Amber to use Gemstone funding in the Zion's Landing project. He also insists on preaching, and not relinquishing his duties to Jesse, much to Jesse and Amber's chagrin. The project moves forward, and there's a soft opening/party at the beach location (actually filmed on Hunting Island, SC). Lyle reveals to Jesse his knowledge of the three sibling going to Thaniel Block's cabin, as well as being the one that hired the Cycle Ninjas. Jesse fights Lyle and knocks him out, believing Lyle to be dead. Jesse gets his siblings + BJ to help him dispose of Lyle's body. Lyle awakens, and starts fighting the Gemstones again until Lindy Lissons appears with a gun. She threatens the family, and even shoots BJ in the kneecap, before forcing all them into the ocean, where they escape. The Lissons then go on the lam to Alaska, where Martin Imari was tracking them the whole time, allowing the Cycle Ninjas to dispatch Lindy, and Lyle left to die in the freezing cold. It is shown later that the Gemstones took over control of the Zion's Landing resort, cutting the Lissons out completely.
The finale ends with a church service with Eli preaching, and almost everybody in attendance: each of his children and their families; BJ's family; Baby Billy, Tiffany, and Baby Lionel; Baby Billy's son Harmon and his family; and Junior Marsh are all in attendance at the Sunday service.
Photos[]
References[]
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