The Midnight Gospel season 1 premiere recap: Taste of the King

In the season 1 premiere of Netflix series The Midnight Gospel, zombies, drugs, and Buddhism are all addressed in different ways.

Every episode of Netflix‘s The Midnight Gospel promises to be winding, psychedelic road. The season a premiere gets us right into the action. We are barely introduced to the central character, Clancy (Duncan Trussell) before he enters a unique simulated reality simulated universe, which has a steady supply of zombies called “Zombos.”

Interestingly, Adventure Time, Pendleton Ward’s other popular animation, prominently featured zombies in its premiere episode, too. However, be warned: The Midnight Gospel is not quite as PG (though, the be fair, Aventure Time sometimes landed on the “hard PG” side of things).

Anyway, as the episode progresses, issues of marijuana protests are tied into the zombie apocalypse. Clancy fends off zombos, with the assistance of Little President (Drew Pinsky), who was called “glasses man” before the simulation.

As they shoot zombos from the simulated White House roof, the two start a long-winded discussion on the interesting issues of marijuana vs. opiates, and how to best tackle the drug problem. Clancy mentions being embarrassed by almost od’ ing on sleeping pills.

They both agree that, rather than there being good drugs vs. bad drugs, humans make these chemicals good or bad. The main example given is valium, which has different relationships to the body, depending on circumstance.

During an impromptu game of pool, Little President initiates alpha protocol to address a surprise giant attack. They escape quickly and end up creating a campfire. However, their nanosecond of tranquility is quickly interrupted by…you guessed it, more zombos.

Chuck Charles…not in charge

The Midnight Gospel then introduces a strange action-hero character, Chuck Charles (Joey Diaz). First, he appears on TV. However, he later crashes through the walls of a shopping mall, only to quickly be devoured by zombos.

As a subplot develops involving donuts, various doctors at the mall find a cure for zombies. Clancy and Little President have already decided to escape in Chuck Charles’ vehicle, however, and discuss Buddhist philosophy while doing so.

Little President likens anger to a “sweet flower with bitter roots.” A pregnant woman (apparently named Peggy and voiced by Natasha Leggero) escapes with them. Little President gets bit by a zombo, but this is basically ignored as he and Clancy continuously discuss philosophy.

While eluding more monsters on some skateboards, they branch out to discuss “meeting reality on reality’s terms,” awareness of awareness, and use a hot air balloon as a metaphor for consciousness. Basically, they agree that, when you are the “thing” and the observer simultaneously, you can see that you’re creating the illusion of self.

They don’t discuss much whether groups and identities are illusory, however, because such sweeping realizations are interrupted by the scientists and their antidote harpoons. This prevents both Clarence and Little President from reaching the hyper-serenity that seems to emerge from a zombified state (a creative premise, to be sure).

So, if you’ve managed to wrap your head around this, you have understood some parts of The Midnight Gospel. Given the breakneck speed of the premiere, it’s very possible to overlook some interesting elements. In other words, feel free to give the episode a rewatch and tell us what key points we missed.

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