Seen But Not Heard

Miniseries

The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin

The Way Forward

“I believe the devil is a myth, but I’ve met Gwen Shamblin.”

bro just so fucking sad and scary!! the ending gave me chills and i hope all these people get justice. also i’m kind of glad that many of the leaders are not around to reap any sort of bounce back fame from this doc 

Honestly the most remarkable thing about this otherwise standard-issue cult docuseries is how visible the production timeline is. There's a shot in episode four of a billboard being erected for the very series you're watching, and I was surprised by how jarring that felt. However, this gives an interesting flavor to the season finale, where a number of former congregants volunteer to be interviewed. (EDIT: I guess episodes four and five came out like six months later lol)

There's a moment where one of these ex-members addresses the commentary by strangers online, in particular being called stupid for falling into Remnant Fellowship's trap. This feels important considering the fact that the series is an HBO Max original, which to me just feels like code for 'made for the coastal elite'. I'm not a religious person, and I'm certainly not from the south, but I do think that a lot of what is happening in the US right now comes from our inability to recognize the humanity of these people. Like of course they're going to be drawn to these charismatic megalomaniacs who pretend they're listening, the other side has been looking down their noses at them for decades.

Special mention goes out to the custody battle storyline -- heartbreaking to watch! I hope she gets into law school!!

Documentary

HBO Max

Explore how the late Gwen Shamblin Lara, who founded the controversial Remnant Fellowship Church and created the Christian weight loss program The Weigh Down Workshop, rose to fame as a diet guru and church leader.