"Our faith breeds dangerous men" is the throughline of FX's new detective mystery series Under the Banner of Heaven, a reminder that all the horrendous crimes and acts of inhumanity that we see throughout this series come back to one thing: religion.

In 80s Utah, Detective Jeb Pyre (Andrew Garfield) is a devout Mormon family man. When he’s not on the job, he’s mowing the lawn, playing with his twin daughters, and looking after his ill mother. When he’s called in one night to the scene of a double murder, it’s clear that Pyre is still relatively new to the sinister world of crime investigation, almost fainting and vomiting at the scene. The murdered are Brenda Lafferty (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and her fifteen-month-old baby, Erica. The most obvious suspect who seems to have been caught, quite literally, red-handed is Brenda’s husband, Allen (Billy Howle). What may seem to be an investigation into a domestic dispute gone horrifically wrong then becomes an unraveling of a family’s network of lies, abuse, and crime, all hidden under the comfortable blanket of Mormon faith.

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Image via FX

It should be noted that this writer was only able to watch the first five episodes that were provided to reviewers out of a total of seven. Therefore, I cannot comment on the quality of the ultimate whodunit. In spite of that, the initial five episodes are more than indicative enough of just how grueling, tragic, and fantastic this series is overall. The show is laced with Mormon lore to draw the reader into the suffocating, male-dominated and claustrophobic environment that this faith can sometimes harness. One must not drink, smoke, or consume caffeine. Women must uphold their devotion to their priesthood, meaning they must obey all that their husbands tell them to do. To the modern audience with little to no knowledge of the Mormon faith, it's all incredibly mind-boggling to learn.

Getting back to the plot: Brenda and Erica’s murders lead Detective Pyre and his partner, Bill Taba (Gil Birmingham), to learn of the extended and once-revered Lafferty family, which consists of six sons — Ron (Sam Worthington), Dan (Wyatt Russell), Robin (Seth Numrich), Sam (Rory Culkin), Jacob (Taylor St. Pierre), and Allen — and the show takes time to explore the dynamics between these six brothers, their parents, and their respective wives via flashbacks. Edgar-Jones' Brenda, on the other hand, comes from a devout Mormon family with a much more progressive and modern patriarch and is more concerned with earning an education leading to a good career — which stands in opposition to the Laffertys' values, as they believe breeding as many children as possible should be a woman’s main concern.

We learn of the Laffertys’ ties to anti-tax groups, fundamentalist Mormonism (polygamy and the like), and much more sinister pursuits. By contrast, Brenda is the outsider; she’s curious, independent, and wants to “have it all.” The cracks begin to form, however, and soon it becomes apparent that almost every member of the family has a motive to murder Brenda. But there’s more, in the form of a list of names of those Mormons who need to be “blood atoned,” or killed for the “sins” they have committed. Just when the detectives think they’re close to a break in their case, another overwhelming plot line muddies the waters, leading to the real culprit slipping even further out of reach.

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Image via FX

The pacing of the show may lead to a sense of impatience. There are scenes going all the way back to the 1800s that feature Joseph Smith (the founder of the Mormon religion), but leaning into the journey the story takes will inform viewers with more of an understanding of why these characters believe that what they’re doing is acceptable. Meanwhile, Under the Banner of Heaven is constantly throwing red herrings, new characters, and subplots to keep you at bay whilst the tension builds up to the grand finale — but you can't be mad because the writing is so strong, no matter where the plot goes.

One of the stand-out aspects of the show is undoubtedly the acting. At the front, you have Garfield, who is no stranger to ultra-religious roles, and whose performance enables us to see every changing feeling that Jeb experiences coursing through him. When he’s defending his religion, he’s angry and sanctimonious, but when he learns of how far the Laffertys’ faith has pushed them, we see doubt rear its ugly head. The show’s heart is unquestionably Edgar-Jones. Her strong-willed, harmless and inquisitive Brenda is what makes this story so tragic. Seeing her fall in love and trying to have the best of both worlds while knowing how it will all ultimately end for her doesn’t just raise the stakes, but brings the utter sadness of the crimes to the forefront.

In the background, you have the extended Lafferty family. It’s almost eerie how comfortable Russell is in such a horrendous character, making the audience’s bones chill as well as their blood boil. Meanwhile, Howle may be a new face to some, but he has remained firmly in the recent highlights of British television (Chloe and Mother, Father, Son). His portrayal of Allen is both unnerving and empathetic; at the beginning, we think he has to have done this, but as the truth slowly comes out, we see that he may just have been the good seed in a very bad flowerbed, and his wife and child were the collateral damage.

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Image via FX

Without a doubt, the most pleasant surprise has been Gil Birmingham. Taba is the audience’s surrogate, the outsider who is constantly flabbergasted by the Mormon faith and what they deem to be right. His outrage at Mormons when they take criminal matters into their own hands, reminding Pyre that religion has no place at a crime scene, is the well-needed and grounding perspective that the audience needs and Birmingham takes on that responsibility with devotion as well as charm. He's the cynical skeptic the story needs to contrast the extreme religion. When it comes to matters of explaining Mormonism and understanding their suspects, Pyre seems like the dominant detective — but when they need to get into the gruesome and more violent details and examine the investigation not as a human but as a cop, it’s Taba who assumes authority in the situation. It’s a wonderful take on the trope of two detective partners who are polar opposites; both of them have their fortes, and they use them to their mutual advantage and to aid their investigation, not to put the other in their place.

A slow-burn, compelling collision of faith and morality, Under the Banner of Heaven doesn’t ask the audience what is right and wrong but presents how morals can ultimately become skewed in the eyes of people who put their religion before their humanity, and the tragic consequences that inevitably ensue.

Rating: A-

Under the Banner of Heaven premieres Thursday, April 28, exclusively on Hulu.