Under the Banner of Heaven Faithfully Explores the Dark, Violent Underbelly of Fundamentalist Belief
Photo Courtesy of FX
In an increasingly secular world, telling nuanced stories about faith has become more and more difficult, to the point that most mainstream networks rarely even try to do so. Perhaps this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, given how eagerly prestige drama has embraced the edgy antihero and the idea that we’re all essentially doomed to become our worst selves on a long enough timeline. (The days of Touched By an Angel are long gone, is what I’m saying.)
In recent years, the idea of religion as a primary narrative driver has often found itself regulated to shows that carry a vague whiff of the supernatural, like Paramount+’s Evil or Netflix’s Midnight Mass. But although these series often use monstrous metaphors to interrogate ideas of belief, temptation, and human corruption, they’re still primarily based on an easily understandable framework of good and evil. Yes, both shows poke at various uncomfortable truths about religion or the harms we have often done to one another in God’s name. But, as a general rule, they understand the emotional and cultural value of keeping faith with something larger than ourselves and refuse to punch down at believers. Despite their often outlandish premises, these are shows that take faith seriously and treat religion with respect.
Unlike its supernatural brethren, FX’s Under the Banner of Heaven is a true crime drama that follows the investigation into a horrific murder. But what sets this series apart from the dozens of other murder shows on TV these days is that it’s as concerned with questions of belief as it is with finding the answer to a whodunnit. This is a story that delves deep into the uncomfortable space between faith and fanaticism, acknowledging the tension between the historical precepts of religious belief and the demands of modern society. Where do they intersect? In what ways are they eternally opposed? And what drives believers to cross the line into violence in the name of their God?
Based on the bestselling true crime book by Jon Krakauer, Under the Banner of Heaven follows the story of Jeb Pyre (Andrew Garfield), a 1980s Utah police detective, dedicated family man, and devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He’s horrified when he’s called to the scene of an especially violent homicide where the victims are members of his small town’s most prominent Mormon families: the double murder of Brenda Wright Lafferty (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and her 15-month-old daughter in their own home.
Though suspicion immediately turns to Brenda’s husband Allen (Billy Howle), the investigation quickly begins to point to larger, darker forces at work: Mormon fundamentalism, of the sort that the modern-day church is quick to disavow and condemn. But to this fringe subset of believers, their version of God’s word is more important than any human edict. Faith-based violence in the name of Heavenly Father is not only acceptable but expected, and archaic practices like plural marriage or “blood atonement” are openly encouraged. A bright, ambitious girl like Brenda would not only have had no place in this world, many of its members would have seen her as an active threat.
As the investigation into the Lafferty clan continues, it becomes increasingly clear that elder brothers Dan (Wyatt Russell) and Ron (Sam Worthington) have not just embraced these sorts of fundamentalist beliefs, they’ve been encouraging their friends and neighbors to do the same. And as Jeb digs further into their increasingly bizarre and often frightening faith, he begins to uncover uncomfortable truths about the religion he has devoted his life to, from its dark historical roots to the lengths its current church leadership is willing to go to cover its secrets up.