3 episodes in and a 5 star is fucking insane. This show might just be top5 by the end because no way it’s this good already. This episode was not only completely character driven, but also solely focused on one character. Yet, it still managed to be a masterpiece. Not only was this one of the most anxiety inducing episodes I’ve ever seen, but also one of the most enjoyable. The amount of development that Matt had in one episode and this early on is incredible. Before I talk about the episode, I have to say the soundtrack is genuinely masterclass it is pulchritudinous. It adds so much to the scenes it’s unreal whoever composed that needs to be studied. Also the intro is actually great I usually don’t talk about them but it really excites me for the episode when I hear it so props to that. The episode started out pretty crazily with Matt getting beat the fuck up. At this point i was interested in his character but im so happy that they decided to dedicate this episode to him. The way his hopes are slowly crushed throughout the episode pained me to watch and it started when his feeling of gladness that his praying worked being crushed by the doctor. I do like his ideology and thought process when it comes to the departed but not entirely. I believe those who are murderers and sick humans shouldn’t be remembered but something like selling drugs to college students, which is still awful, shouldn’t cause for them to be publicly humiliated. 1 wrong doesn’t define a person which is perfectly described through Matt later on in the episode. Hearing about his church at the start had me feeling sad for him and even worse when he shows his sheer desperation when begging Nora. However, he doesn’t take the money when it comes to having to change his ideals and beliefs about the departed. This was a great scene for me as it really solidified him as a character and showed how he is his own man and fixates on what he believes is right. His scene with Nora was amazingly acted by both and actually added to Nora too which was wonderful to watch. His true desperation clearly shows mid way through the episode. We see how tragic of a life he is living to the point where he has to get a worker for his house(idk the name) and he can’t even afford to pay. Seeing what I know now is his wife was heartbreaking to watch. Even though I don’t believe in god in real life, I believe something exists in this show. He is shown a calling, acts on it and is heavily rewarded for doing so. I genuinely thought he was going insane when he went to the casino and it ensued one of the most nerve racking scenes I’ve seen. I knew when the guy showed up at the table that he was gonna rob him. This made me all the more terrified for what’s to happen which is what this episode did perfectly. When it came to it though, I was in utter shock. I knew he was going to get robbed when he showed up at his car but I did not expect Matt to do what he did. It, once again, showed his desperation, which was explored perfectly as a theme throughout this episode. Him beating the fuck out of him was so satisfying and even though he has now committed a great sin, I love him more. The final 10 minutes was a masterpiece and probably the most developing sequence for him. The dream sequence was so immensely tragic and awful to watch. We found out so much of his backstory including his wife, parents death and where he was in the 14th. The way that it linked back to the beginning scene of the show was genius and really showed the severity of the incident. This is where the soundtrack peaked in my opinion, when he wakes up. It’s used to give us hope for Matt and to show that he has time to make his dreams possible, until it ultimately shatters these dreams in an instant. Finding out that it was 3 days too late had my jaw dropped but also feeling depressed for him. It was all for nothing. Sure he has the money now but his true enjoyment and devotion in life has been ripped from him. And of course, it was the GR. fuck then the final scene of him looking at the church he knew and loved being practically wiped from existence was heartbreaking. Genuinely a masterpiece of an episode. I yapped quite a lot but If this is how good the show is already, expect a lot more of it. 9.6/10