John Goodman and Megan Mullally Starred Together in ‘The Righteous Gemstones’ and Put on an Unforgettable Performance

When an episode of a TV show kicks off with a character engaging in naked water-skiing, you know you’re in for an interesting time. Particularly, if that character is Baby Billy Freeman (played by Walton Goggins) in The Righteous Gemstones, get ready for some entertainment. And if that same episode concludes with Eli Gemstone (John Goodman) and Lori Milsap (Megan Mullally) caught in a compromising position by his kids, well, you’ve just witnessed an exceptional episode.

In the latest installment of the hilarious comedy series created by HBO and Danny McBride, Eli and Lori find themselves facing strong opposition from Judy (Edi Patterson), Kelvin (Adam DeVine), and Jesse (McBride) to their budding romance as they struggle to accept their father moving on from their deceased mother. As typical 40-something offspring, the trio concocts a scheme to split up the couple, featuring efforts to lure Lori, crafting songs to guilt-trip their father, and a wild disguise plan that ranks among the show’s most outrageous moments.

The success of the scheme relies on bringing Eli, Lori, and their respective families to Galilee Gulch, the Gemstone family’s lakehouse teeming with memories of Aimee-Leigh (Jennifer Nettles). However, the plan’s execution hits a few bumps along the way. This is where the unique and off-the-wall humor of The Righteous Gemstones unfolds, demanding the adult siblings to go to extreme lengths, including questionable antics like attempting to stage incidents to create doubts about Lori’s intentions by falsely accusing her of being after money and favors.

That entire scene with Patterson and Mullally is a masterclass in rolling with the punches as Patterson — who is also a writer on the show — told Decider that much of the actions between the two were improvised, including Judy trying to hump Lori’s leg. The lines, too, deserve all the credit in the world as “why don’t you slide right out of that cotton dress and let me snack on that pussy” is delivered with such earnestness, it’s impressive. It only gets funnier as Lori responds, “Come again,” prompting Judy to retort, “Yeah, you will come, Miss Lori.”

In general, Episode 4, “He Goeth Before You Into Galilee,” should be lauded for so many reasons. The name, alone, is incredible as it foreshadows Keefe’s (Tony Cavalero) truly insane plan to try and haunt Lori and Eli into breaking up. The title comes from Matthew 28:7, which teases Jesus’ resurrection after his crucifixion. Seeing how unhappy Kelvin is over the relationship between Eli and Lori, Keefe dresses up in Aimee-Leigh’s clothes and crawls into bed with the couple, singing “Misbehavin’” and telling them to end their relationship.

The Keefe scene could have ended there, but in true Gemstone fashion, it’s always good to kick things up a notch. Waking up in a stupor, Eli kicks Keefe out of the bed and Sola (Kerstin Schulze), Baby Billy and Tiffany’s (Valyn Hall) intense German nanny, steps in and kicks the ever-loving shit out of Keefe. Earlier in the episode, we watched as Sola practiced her kung fu moves down by the lake as Baby Billy watched in horror, also giving us one of my favorite lines of the season: “She got them old-world villain vibes, make me feel like Indiana Jones.”

And just when you think it cannot get any better, the episode ends with Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin agreeing to apologize to Lori and Eli, only to walk in on them going to town on each other. Frankly, I don’t think there’s a prize on this earth that is enough to give to McBride and the writers for having Goodman — the same man who voices Sully in Monsters Inc. and plays Fred in The Flintstones — do the down and dirty with another comedic legend so graphically.

It’s all a testament to the undeniable humor and wit of the series, which has shockingly never been nominated for Best Comedy Series at the Emmy Awards. In labeling Season 4 their best season yet and Episode 4 their funniest to date, I hope that mistake is finally rectified.

The first four episodes of The Righteous Gemstones Season 4 are currently streaming on Max.