[Editor's note: The following contains spoilers through the finale of Midnight Mass.]So how about that church scene in Episode 6 of Midnight Mass? Yes, there were some harrowing moments in the show leading up to that one, but that set piece is just pure chaos.
In Episode 6, after all that preparation, the time finally comes for John Pruitt (Hamish Linklater) to execute his plan and end death for the residents of Crockett Island. In order to do so, he'll need to convince them to drink the poison so that they can be resurrected. However, before those who drink arise - bloodthirsty - Mildred (Alex Essoe) shoots John and Bev Keane (Samantha Sloyan) doesn’t prove to be the best person to lead the resurrected through the transformation and then, frankly, all hell breaks loose.
It's a downright wild sequence that involves just about the entire Midnight Mass ensemble, a whole lot of blood, mayhem and complicated choreography. During our extended spoiler interview with Midnight Mass' Annabeth Gish, she described what the vibe was like on set leading up to filming that sequence:
“It was at the end of our shoot so we had all grown comfortable now with the protocols and everything and yet, we knew that they were saving this big church sequence with however many extras and all of us in one room with lots of fluids — all of the things that the government was not advising to do during a pandemic. And I think we’d all worked in different pieces so much that we were really excited to come together in the church, you know? And in the green room off set, because we just had so much fun. But yes, again, it was mayhem. It was very orchestrated, choreographed, controlled mayhem, but it was mayhem. And lots of moving parts and you had to pay attention and didn’t want to get hurt. But it was violent and it was crazy because you’re looking at this set and there’s blood everywhere, you know? [Laughs]”
While that sequence was mayhem, it was a moment that came later on in Episode 7 that proved more challenging for Gish to film, the scene when Sarah is shot by Sturge (Matt Biedel) immediately after Pruitt reveals that he's really Sarah’s father.
“It was getting shot because you’re squibbed and it's a stunt and a special effect or whatnot, and I don’t know, it’s just a hard thing to fake, so that for me was hard. And then just the emotional moment of realizing that he’s my father and rejecting his offering of blood, which I think is also such a profound statement. Sarah does not change her conviction, at all. I don’t know that I would have done that. As Annabeth, I might have chosen to drink everlasting life.”
Eager to hear more about Gish’s experience working on Midnight Mass? There’s loads more in our spoiler interview at the top of this article! Gish also went into detail on Sarah’s past, discussed her collaboration with Essoe, talked about what compelled Sarah to have faith that the kids made it to the boat in Episode 7, and loads more!