Sarah has acknowledged her doubts about Meyerism with Cal's help, and is at peace with herself until Vera's new outreach strategy leads her to believe that the true essence of Meyerism is at risk. An angry couple attempts to forcibly remove their daughter from the Meyerist Center putting Eddie in a difficult position. Cal continues to try to reinvent himself without Meyerism, but he's breaking down due to flashbacks surrounding an event from his past.
Another solid installment of The Path has Eddie feeling the heat of the expectations placed upon him by the Meyerists and those outside the movement as he attempts to balance his faith, his fears, his responsibilities, and what everyone else wants and needs from him. Ultimately, leaders struggle to be symbols of what others expect them to be, a fluid target at best. The decision to ask a young girl whose controlling parents want her out of Meyerism to leave, then reversal of that decision under pressure reflects Eddies struggle with this conflict. The outcome is detrimental to the movement, but Eddie is unwavering in his principles. Scenes between Sarah and a PhD in Religious studies in which Sarah makes a joke and then is tricked into speaking to a group of students are show a new and refreshing side of her. The suspicion of the influence of marketing and other outside ideas reflects the struggle any religious movement to adapt to its own success. I once attended a church in which people left when they started locking the Sunday school room doors during the week to prevent theft. To them, it didn't "feel right anymore". Just how people of faith will interpret these things can be completely individual and unpredictable. Its exploration of the chaos of conflicting personal conviction and individual, faith-based interpretation is what makes this series so interesting.
Another solid installment of The Path has Eddie feeling the heat of the expectations placed upon him by the Meyerists and those outside the movement as he attempts to balance his faith, his fears, his responsibilities, and what everyone else wants and needs from him. Ultimately, leaders struggle to be symbols of what others expect them to be, a fluid target at best. The decision to ask a young girl whose controlling parents want her out of Meyerism to leave, then reversal of that decision under pressure reflects Eddies struggle with this conflict. The outcome is detrimental to the movement, but Eddie is unwavering in his principles. Scenes between Sarah and a PhD in Religious studies in which Sarah makes a joke and then is tricked into speaking to a group of students are show a new and refreshing side of her. The suspicion of the influence of marketing and other outside ideas reflects the struggle any religious movement to adapt to its own success. I once attended a church in which people left when they started locking the Sunday school room doors during the week to prevent theft. To them, it didn't "feel right anymore". Just how people of faith will interpret these things can be completely individual and unpredictable. Its exploration of the chaos of conflicting personal conviction and individual, faith-based interpretation is what makes this series so interesting.
