Messiah – Season 1 Episode 5 Recap & Review

Camping and Waiting

Episode 5 of Messiah starts with various people being interviewed about Al-Masih before we cut to Eva waking up to a very busy motel, full of people desperate to meet Al-Masih. We then see just how many people have turned up as hundreds of tents and caravans have been set around Felix’s church. One of the women from the interviews, Staci, arrives with her daughter who is suffering from cancer, looking for a miracle. She doesn’t waste any time and quickly introduces herself to Felix, asking when she will be able to see Al-Masih. He replies that she will soon and he’ll put her on the list.

In a sad contrast, we see the Syrian refugees struggling in the desert without food or medicine as they face harsh conditions. Samer tries to convince Jibril to return to Syria as he believes Al-Masih has betrayed them. However, he refuses as he still believes he will come back to help them. In the evening, Eva starts talking to Rebecca who reveals that she has epilepsy and sometimes sees things in her head while her father speaks to Al-Masih who tells him he doesn’t really have a plan for what’s to come next.

Back in her motel room, Eva receives a visits from Agent Mathers who makes her listen to the recording he took of her interrogation with Al-Masih. He reveals that his words come straight out of a book called Cultural Terrorist by Oscar Wallace who became a magnet for radicals and terrorists. The agent believes he may be following Wallace’s manifesto by causing confusion in society.

Meanwhile, Aviram’s ex wife is becoming worried about him as she sees his car has been abandoned in front of her house. She decides to seek the help from her brother who actually turns out to be Zev. He tells her that he has been suspended and will be attending a hearing about it soon. In Texas, we see Aviram heading into a gun shop with a fake ID to get his hands on one before we cut to the church where Anna’s dad, Ed, has arrived to see what has been happening and offers to help them out.

The next day, some of the Syrian refugees are becoming impatient and plan to leave for Jordan while Felix speaks to the people around him. We then cut to Aviram who seems determined to find and shoot Al-Masih. He reaches his tent and points his gun at him but quickly stops as he watches him walk away towards a broken down house. There, he finds a boy and his father trying to get their injured dog out from under the rubble. However, instead of saving the dog, he takes the father’s gun and ends its suffering.

Noticing Aviram, Eva rushes towards him, confronting him about his reason for being here as she knows that Shin Bet doesn’t have jurisdiction in the USA. He remains vague but she realises that Al-Masih probably got under his skin. Standing at the edge of a bridge, Rebecca contemplates jumping before being joined by Al-Masih who claims to be there for her and stops her from doing anything drastic where the episode ends.

As Messiah concentrates more on Al-Masih’s effects in the States, we see just how many people are desperate to believe he is indeed the new Messiah with many looking for a miracle. This is quite interesting to watch as it shows just what would happen if this was to really occur in our world.

We also see the first signs that Al-Masih might not be quite who he claims to be when he shoots the dog, especially with the hints that he may be connected to a terrorist. Still, the way he manages to manipulate and lead people is quite fascinating and very clever to watch. The contrast we see between the people camping in Texas against the Syrian refugees is quite harrowing too and makes the show that much more interesting and globally encompassing.

Messiah has been quite the enjoyable series so far and thanks to its original storyline, borrowing elements from Homeland, looks set to kick 2020 off in the right way.

Messiah is available to watch on Netflix. Feel free to click here and sign up now to check this show out!