Hulu’s The Path
Season 3, Episode 10: “The Strongest Souls”
Directed by Michael Weaver
Written by Lorna Clarke Osunsanmi

* For a recap & review of the previous episode, “To Lift the Veil” – click here
* For a recap & review of the next episode, “Bad Faith” – click here
Eddie (Aaron Paul) and Sarah (Michelle Monaghan) convene together privately before he takes the stage to speak for a large crowd. Little does he know a sniper rifle is perched a ways off. Then, a shot rings out hitting Eddie in the chest, right around the heart. People scream as their leader dies, engulfed by the Light.
Cut to Lilith (Sarita Choudhury), who’s received “the Light‘s message” – she sees “the End” in the death of Meyerism’s current leader. She was also heavily sedated while finally having one of her eyes removed. Oh, my. This is all so dangerous.
Meanwhile, Eddie is finding that being a growing entity in the corporate world doesn’t particularly lend itself to the ways of their cult. Then there’s Vera (Freida Pinto) – she’s becoming more a part of the daily fabric around the Meyerist group. She’s also discovering that she and Cal have a past neither of them were aware of prior to recently. Cal takes her out to the big tree in the field where they carved their names. He’s figured out exactly who Vera is to Dr. Steve Meyer. But he’ll be keeping the secret, so that the truth doesn’t trickle out, which will only force Eddie into abandoning the movement.
Sarah and Lilith are continuing to get to know one another, after the former witnessed a vision during their ritual featuring “black rain” and much darkness. Now I’m becoming truly worried that Sarah is falling into the madness, rather than seeing through the lunacy. Lilith takes her new friend to see a Meyerist bunker they’ve been putting together, including bunk beds, weapons, gas masks, and more. This is basically the point of no return. If Sarah goes over this edge without turning back, there’s no saving her anymore. After Sarah’s talk with Lilith, she goes to see Eddie, wanting him to meet the woman. All it does is cause more issues.
“There may not be a Garden of Eternity in the sky, but there‘ll be one here, on Earth. And we will build it.”
We see a nice, progressive church where Hawk (Kyle Allen) takes in a sermon. Pastor Vivienne Jones (Daisy Eagan) is a welcoming and warm person at the head of the Unity Church. Hawk is there to try finding a place for Caleb (Titus Makin Jr.) to worship because he wants him to have an accepting place to practise his faith. It’s obvious that Pastor Jones wants to reach out and help, as she doesn’t force anything on Hawk, but rather reassures him that living your truth is better than not.
At a dinner, Eddie talks about possibly meeting Lilith, which comes as a surprise to Vera, of course. Then it all gets touchy when Vera can barely hide that she’s affected by the news. All the while Cal is starting to see how much there was surrounding his life that he didn’t even know about. Worse, he’s trying to sort through his trauma about what Steve did to him and spinning his tires, as Vera’s more concerned about stopping the Meyerist leader from meeting her mother.
Because of this, Vera is able to get Cal on her side to try convincing Eddie otherwise. I keep wondering how Mary (Emma Greenwell) is going to react when she starts to see more of what’s happening in Cal’s life; she’s become part curious, part suspicious, too. And their relationship is being affected already.
Hawk finds that Caleb’s being sent away to conversion therapy. He wants his new friend to find some other way to retain his faith. When Pastor Matthews (Kevyn Morrow) confronts Hawk he makes clear that his son’s been brainwashed, further complicating things. The Meyerist tries to tell Caleb about Unity Church, though he’s met with only resistance on all fronts. So, so sad.
At a small ceremony, Sarah, Eddie, Gab (Deirdre O’Connell), Russel (Patch Darragh), and Nicole (Ali Ahn), plant a tree for Hank before saying their goodbyes individually. By herself, Sarah says a little prayer, then she cuts her hand and squeezes blood onto the patch of ground where they’ve planted a tree for her father; this is, apparently, a ritual Lilith wrote about. Tumbling further down the rabbit hole.
At home, Vera reveals she’s becoming part of Meyerism and completing her “1R.” She rages at her mother for scarring her as a child, leaving her in the clutches of Dr. Meyer. Yet in some way the daughter believes her father took care of her; simultaneously raping young Cal. Nevertheless, Vera tells her mother to stay away from Eddie. Although mom’s consumed with the vision of the Meyerist leader’s death. She says the End is the only hope, and that it’s going to all fall apart once Eddie unravels the layers of mystery himself.
There are worrisome things happening legally behind the scenes. Even Gab is troubled by the latest contracts, some of which suggests there’s an authoritarian shift in the leadership of the movement. Eddie tries convincing her it’s all part of a larger change; his mother-in-law isn’t buying it.
“You call it progress, I call it loss.”
Cal is taking advice from Mary – without telling her – and forcing himself to go to therapy. Despite not believing in it. However, he wants to unblock old memories, so that he can discover the deep truths about his childhood, as well as Steve. I’m willing to bet that Mr. Roberts is going to see the benefits of “Freudian analysis” and the talking cure once he recovers a few of those long lost memories. Either way it’s gonna get nasty.
After everything, Vera goes to Eddie and tells him that Lilith is her “very sick” and “obsessed” mother. She wants to try preventing anything worse. Furthermore, she tells Eddie that Dr. Meyer was her dad. This is all a shocking revelation for him to swallow, like his entire world is starting to crumble. Vera tells all, including that mom sent her to the Meyerist movement to help destroy what Steve started, but that she’s been indoctrinated since she was a child by her mom.
Cal continues sketching, trying to pull the past out of his head. He remembers a “cave with the painted flowers“; where Sarah found those notebooks, the place on that tape she saw featuring a hidden Lilith behind the camera.
And across town, Eddie goes looking for Lilith himself. He can’t find her, but remains determined to meet her. Who knows what will happen then.
Another great chapter leading into the tail end of Season 3. Really excited to see how they decide to cap off the season, and I hope there’ll be a Season 4 because there’s no way everything will clue up in the final three episodes. You never know. I just know that I don’t want to leave these characters any time soon.
“Bad Faith” is next time.