Julieann Linger

I was intrigued by the concept and the first few episodes but then I felt the series seemed to take on a political agenda. A few examples-the focus on illegal immigration with the stereotypical older, white judge only making the "right" decision because he is dying, the anti American rhetoric implying that America is responsible for all the world's problems, the portrayal of Christians as hapless, superficial fools, the emphasis on making sure the audience knew the FBI agent was a member of the LGBTQ community which was totally irrelevant to the story, the ineffective President with the evil Dick Cheney esc Vice President, the Messiah with his hair in a man bun working out on a treadmill wearing a Nike sweat jacket and many others. I did binge watch the whole series because I thought it was attention grabbing and suspenseful but I felt it was unnecessarily pushing a political agenda rather than focusing on people all being children of God capable of goodness and sin. Additionally, I found the actor's portrayal of the Messiah unconvincing and uninspiring. I do not believe he come off as a charismatic leader capable of inspiring the masses with raw, visceral emotion. Even after seeing him perform miracles and reveal his ability to know intimate details of people's lives, my opinion of him remained as an insensitive, uninspiring, anti social jerk. I thought the actor blended into the group rather than standing out as a leader. In the whole series the Messiah only spoke in public a handful of times with the other times being one to one conversations. Just because one is able to reveal intimate details that he should have no way of knowing does not translate into an emotional connection. Even with devoted followers like Felix, he appeared distant and uncaring. What did the Messiah do when arriving in Texas? He hung out in his tent ignoring his followers. Did he go among them spreading his message, providing hope and knowledge? No. He remained in his tent until the whining of a dog dying disturbed him so much that he shot the dog in front of a young boy in a cold, uncompassionate manner. Then he spent the next days being driven cross country in the back seat of a van, occasionally posing for instagram photos. Again, not reaching out to his followers but just sitting in the back of a van. He did his short speech, walked on water and then spent his time enjoying the posh, luxury hotel making sure to make use of the exercise equipment. Did he go among the poor and provide comfort and guidance to the most vulnerable? He set up Felix to look like a fool and left just as he did with the Syrian boy and those followers. He used his followers, got what he wanted and left their lives in ruin.