For most regular folks who think they had a fairly decent understanding of Mormonism and its history, the TV miniseries adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s epic true-crime book, Under the Banner of Heaven, may spring a few surprises. And most of these surprises are far from pleasant. It takes you by the hand, tip-toeing into corners of Mormon church practice and history that had been hidden from unassuming onlookers. Under the Banner of Heaven weaves a compelling yet intimate true-crime narrative with an overarching history of the Mormon Church, and how some of its beliefs and practices fueled the brutal murder of a woman and her infant child.
The plot focuses on the Lafferty family, led by domineering patriarch Ammon Lafferty, and his six sons — Ron (Sam Worthington), Dan (Wyatt Russell), Robin (Seth Numrich), Sam (Rory Culkin), Jacob (Taylor St. Pierre), and Allen (Billy Howle). Propelled by fundamentalist Mormon beliefs, the Lafferty brothers, after the death of their father, embrace even more radical Mormonism in the form of a zealous splinter sect known as "the School of Prophets." The first major casualty of this radicalization turns out to be Brenda Lafferty (Daisy Edgar-Jones), Allen's wife. Brenda's liberal and progressive Mormonism is at odds with the more fundamentalist views of her husband’s brothers, hence the decision by two of the Lafferty brothers (Dan and Ron) to eliminate Brenda “in the name of God.”
Much of the crux of the miniseries is based on true-life events premised in Krakauer’s 2003 book Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith. The series is brought to life by Academy award-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, a former Mormon who left the Church as a teenager. One of the elements of fiction brought into Black’s narrative of the story is Detective Jeb Pyre (Andrew Garfield), a devout mainstream Mormon who is left questioning and wrestling with his faith as dark shades of Mormonism pop up in the course of his investigation into the murders of Brenda and Erica. Throughout the investigation, Pyre questions his more "conventional" beliefs, as opposed to the extremist version practiced by the Laffertys, which led to the killing of an innocent woman and infant.
Another fictional character in the plot is Bill Taba (Gil Birmingham) Pyre’s partner, a veteran detective who recently relocated from Las Vegas and is astonished by the Mormon faith and its beliefs. Bill is the cynical skeptic who doesn’t buy into any of Pyre’s sympathy for Mormonism and can’t wrap his head around the practices and religious laws of the Mormon faith. In addition to these two fictionalized characters, the identities of some members of the Lafferty family were changed in an effort to expand their characters and make them more connected to the overall arc. While Brenda, Allen, Dan, Ron, Matilda, and Dianna Lafferty are all portrayed with their real names, other family members, Robin, Sam, and Jacob are fictional. (The names of these Lafferty brothers in real life are Mark, Watson, and Tim.) A few more historical inconsistencies emerge throughout the course of the 7-episode miniseries; however, they are not enough to say that the whole story isn't based on true life events. These additions were seemingly made for dramatic effect.
The first episode opens with Detective Pyre being called to investigate the crime scene of the murder of Brenda and her 15-month-old daughter which, by Pyre's reaction, was terribly gruesome, as it was in real life. Much of the rest of the episode stays true to its source material and true-life events, from Brenda being a former beauty queen and TV journalist to Dan's refusal to pay taxes which eventually led to his arrest as depicted in Krakauer’s book. However, while the Laffertys were vocal about their anti-tax stance, as the book states, there is no source to prove that they were indeed members of “Patriots for Freedom” an organized, anti-tax group as depicted in the miniseries. The book includes that Dan was in fact arrested for a series of tax crimes, and not Allen, as portrayed in the miniseries. The fourth episode almost accurately depicts Dan's arrest with the only change being that his wife, Matilda, was present with him in the car to witness the arrest which occurred after he was pulled over by the cops.
Sam Lafferty’s young daughter, Jenny, was never questioned by officials at the police station about her father, and uncles. This was added in Episode 3 by the show creators in an effort to include flashbacks of Allen and Brenda's wedding from an entirely new perspective. Given that the names of some Lafferty brothers were changed in the series, it is not certain who is supposed to be Jenny's real father. In the real-life case, no minor is reported to have been brought into any of the investigations, meaning that no child of the Lafferty brothers was questioned. Also fictionalized is the scene in the third episode where one of the Laffertys is pointing a gun at the police at a cabin while speaking bible verses, there is no mention of this in the book nor is there a credible source to prove that it actually occurred. Again, it was perhaps part of the creator's efforts to emphasize how irrationally radical the Lafferty brothers were.
In Episode 4, Dianna Lafferty writes to the LDS prophet, and Bishop Low asking for help concerning the Lafferty brothers’ questionable behavior and beliefs. Though she expressed concerns and confided in a few people, according to the book, there was no mention that a letter was sent to Bishop Low or the LDS Prophets' office. Towards the tail end of Episode 5, the Lafferty family patriarch is sick and dying. He eventually dies after Ron refuses him medical treatment, recalling times in their childhood when their dad would do the same to them. Krakauer's revelations in his book include that in true Mormon fashion, Watson (who is depicted as Ammon in the miniseries) was against taking medication or seeing doctors. As a result, his family refused to offer him medications in keeping with his beliefs; however, the book does not state in detail if Ron was actually the one who solely denied his father's wish to get medical help.
Under the Banner of Heaven wouldn't have been deemed complete without touching on the controversial (in the eyes of the Mormon church) topic of homosexuality. Though frowned upon by the LDS church, homosexuality and sexual freedom, in general, were embraced by the LDS polygamist community of John Bryant, in which Ron Lafferty eventually gets involved. In an effort to portray his involvement with the community, the sixth episode includes a scene where Bryant gets intimate with Ron in a hot tub after baptizing him. On the contrary, there is no source to confirm if Bryant was ever sexually involved with Ron.
The curtains draw on the chilling miniseries with the seventh episode where the murderers of Brenda and her infant daughter are finally brought to light. As with the rest of the series, little liberty is taken with the depiction of what really transpired in real-life events. In real life, as detailed in Krakauer’s book, there is no mention of Brenda ever writing a letter to Dianna dated July 24, 1984, the day she died. The miniseries shows Dianna reading said letter after learning of Brenda's death and consequently making the attempt to save Matilda from her rogue husband, Dan. Dianna had been seemingly safe from Ron, as she had divorced him following his indoctrination into the School of the Prophets. Unlike Dianna, Matilda seemed to have accepted her ill fate by staying married to a polygamous Dan. Krakauer's book includes a statement from Matilda's testimony during Ron's trial where she revealed that leaving Dan was a difficult decision she couldn't make as it meant that she would also have to leave her kids behind.
The moment when Detective Pyre arrests Dan and Ron also seemed to have been slightly tweaked from what really happened. While it is true that the detectives arrested them at a Nevada casino, according to Deseret News, both were just waiting in line at the casino rather than Ron attempting to kill Dan as portrayed. Ron's attempt on his brother's life, however, happened after their arrest, behind bars in Utah County Jail whilst sharing a cell. Ron had attempted to kill Dan after telling him that he had a revelation from God to do so, to which Dan agreed.
The title of the miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven comes from a speech delivered by John Taylor, the President of the LDS Church in 1880. In the speech, Taylor defends the position of the church on polygamy as opposed to the US. According to him, “God is greater than the United States, and when the Government conflicts with heaven, we will be ranged under the banner of heaven against the Government.”