Like any crime story, the hunt is part of the draw. Given the brutality of the crime that serves as the backbone of Under the Banner of Heaven, tracking down the practically definitive list of suspects is part of the series’ intrigue. “Surrender” doesn’t offer too many clues that get its detectives any closer to uncovering what happened. However, “Surrender” does manage to add a bit more detail to the Laffertys, even though the episode’s focus is elsewhere.
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“Surrender” shifts the focus from the state of Allen and Brenda’s (Daisy Edgar-Jones) relationship amongst themselves and their family to the struggles of Detective Jeb Pyre (Andrew Garfield). Early on, Jeb discovers young Jenny Lafferty (Carina Battrick) in the woods, who is of the same age as his own daughters. As Detective Pyre questions Jenny about her parents and any knowledge she has of Allen and Brenda’s wedding, he picks up on Jenny’s reluctance prompted by the fear of what her parents have told her. Detective Pyre’s own daughters are being prepared for their baptisms, making the internal struggle for Jeb that much more difficult to master. To make matters worse, Allen Lafferty’s revelations about what has transpired, make Jeb reevaluate his own views on his faith and how strictly he and his family abide by it.
“Surrender” is full of back-and-forth play between the Laffertys and the Pyres. Jenny reminds Jeb of his daughters and the confinement Jenny has fallen into because of her parents’ beliefs, sticks out in Jeb’s mind. He pushes back the baptisms of his daughters, upsetting his wife, who he playfully reminds that he is the man of the house. That playful line of obedience bites Jeb when he meets with Allen, who delivers a compelling monologue about the way women are confined. He remembers asking Brenda to have children and put her career on hold, and that by doing so, he was only changing the form of her cage. When accompanied by a previous scene of Dan (Wyatt Russell) telling Brenda that should he get into office, he’d eradicate all amendments after the tenth, Allen’s words ring painfully true. As the father of two young daughters, with a wife and sick mother all waiting for him at home, Jeb wonders if he’s committing the same sin, just in four different ways.
The challenge Under the Banner of Heaven has is weaving three timelines together, while also contrasting the intensity of the religious practices of Detective Pyre and the Laffertys. In solving the murders of Brenda and Erica, the flashbacks to Brenda’s run-ins with the various Lafferty family members are entirely necessary. Without them, it would be impossible to comprehend her and anything that could have led to her death. The struggle for Under the Banner of Heaven is weaving the history of Mormonism into the plot. In the first two episodes, the brief glimpses of its history were abrupt and the only reason for their appearance was the reminiscent words of the detained Lafferty brothers in their conversations with Detective Pyre. “Surrender” makes some improvement with this, but it doesn’t make them feel any less out of place.
As Detective Pyre and Detective Taba (Gil Birmingham) plan the best way to get to Sam Lafferty (Rory Culkin), who has shelled himself inside a cabin with his young sons, Pyre tells Taba about The Haun’s Hill Massacre. His words are accompanied by a reenactment of the event, where a Mormon settlement was massacred by an armed militia. This leads to Pyre approaching Sam’s cabin unarmed, insisting that in Sam’s mind, the police stationed outside with guns are no different from The Haun’s Mill Massacre. Visually, the images are nothing alike, but the devotedness of the Laffertys supports Pyre’s speculation. The inclusion of these historical tie-ins tries to further illustrate the difference in interpreting scripture. Viewers get to see a reenactment of the event, Detective Pyre tries to make sense of it in his own way, while the Laffertys view it in another. These historical instances further separate Pyre and the Laffertys, but this is accomplished best in what follows these historical lessons. Their conversation about the detail of each event is what matters – not the scenes themselves.
Garfield continues to shine as Detective Pyre, and the scene he shares with Battrick is as upsetting as it is intriguing. The scene shows a different side to Battrick, who recently starred in the Chucky series. Battrick’s eyes remain full of fearful tears as Garfield softens his voice to question her about what she knows. However, one of the best takeaways from “Surrender” is due to the introduction of Sam. Culkin’s performance is the most jarring of the Lafferty brothers thus far. The contrast between Sam’s behavior in the flashback sequences of the family’s past, to his present-day servitude, appears as nearly two different people. In the past, Sam is a clean-shaven, low-spoken man who allows his older brothers to make the decisions. When he’s brought into custody, he’s a bearded pioneer who loudly shares his religious affirmations. At this point, it’s difficult to see how the dots connect for Sam from then to now, though Under the Banner of Heaven’s remaining episodes will surely put the pieces together.
The first three episodes of Under the Banner of Heaven are now streaming on Hulu.
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