I remember watching this with my former boyfriend and he was crying. He was battling terminal cancer and I tried to lighten up the mood, and when he wasn't looking; I'd turn around and cry my eyes out because I knew he didn't have much time left. Ronnie Potts January 26th, 1982- March 18th, 2022 Gone, but never forgotten
Dude this scene was the first time in many many years where a TV show or movie had ever left me speechless just in shock because I had never heard someone say exactly what I believe happens before and he put it in such a beautiful way and with so much emotion I feel like this wasn't even a scene to him whoever this actor is that that was him It made me feel like I could really see him
I love the fact that this isn’t an atheist preaching to a Christian or a Christian preaching to an atheist or one side being elevated over the other. None of that bullshit. It’s a simple, intimate, loving scene between two people with different perspectives discussing their beliefs openly and without an agenda. Two friends who are open and vulnerable and letting their hearts run free. And the nice little touch of having “Nearer my God to the” slowly being played on the piano in the background to emphasis the somber moment brings it all together in a way that genuinely made me shed a tear. Showing that the concept of death and where we go, if we go anywhere at all, is sad and yet in a bittersweet way beautiful. That in the end regardless of what happens, we have that in common. We die and we travel to a place of beauty beyond anything we’ve ever known in life as we shuffle off the mortal coil. This was a treat of a series to watch.
I remember seeing people complain about the monologues in this show and I couldn't help thinking you're either too dumb or too impatient to get this show. This is a limited series done right. Netflix hit it outta the park with this one.
This scene went on for far too long - This isn’t even the whole conversation. It’s nothing to do with being impatient (or dumb! Come on let people have differing opinions), there’s not a lot of development - it’s overwritten and inefficient use of space and time. Don’t get me wrong I love this show, but this scene had me rolling my eyes big time. Yeah we get it, one person is atheist and one is not.
I’ve been dealing with death anxiety for nearly a year now and this scene (along with the final) made me cry. It gave me comfort, and it really helped me a lot. This was a special scene and series. I hope this scene helped anyone dealing with death anxiety as it did I.
@@bigbobabc123 weren't you in peace before being born? Remember death is the most normal thing in the universe. The universe is billions and billions of years old. It will live on billions of billions of years after you die. The human as we know it, has existed in the past 300.000 years. Imagine how little your lifespan is, in all those years, and if we exists millions of years moving forward. Death is happening every day, to the ants in your garden, the birds in the trees, your family dog, and your grandparents/parents. It wouldn't make sense if death was such a bad thing, when it is the most normal thing. You die so another life can live and get their chance to get something out of their life. Death is your last and best sleep. When you die, you stop worrying, you stop thinking, you take one last breath, and get the rush of your life, like you are floating. Pain stops, bad thoughts stops, feelings stops. I don't see death as a bad thing. Your story ends. The best stories are those who ends.
My favorite scene in this series. I understand a lot of people might not like all of the monologues and quieter moments but for me they made up the best part of the series.
This scene stands out the most for me. Not the killing or transforming to vampires. Just this one. Silence and cricket on the back ground and a life like reality. Its very comforting and soothing.. and sad and full of longing...
When you like this scene, you have to see one of the last scenes when the girl is dying and remembers this conversation with Riley. What Riley answers here is beautiful, but pure analytic and rational. When she is dying she remembers all his words, and adds a spiritual dimension to it. Retroactively is this her final answer and she puts beautiful and understandable words to it. She makes the most clear and loving explanation, I have ever noticed, about the dream of the ego and the reality of the Self (the cosmos/ God)!!
@izero8697 Exactly the same for me. I loved the whole show, but when I think of it, this scene and the one with Erin talking about her idea of "what happens when I die?" are the ones that come to my mind and fill me with melancholy and amazement. This is ALWAYS what I think of.
This is the standout scene of the series. I've always been interested in the point where science (quantum physics) meets faith and philosophy, and for decades I've believed the exact same thing about death as Riley expresses here. Afterlife exists, but not in the way most religions teach it: we will exist forever, as disparate atoms, at once nothing and yet part of everything. That connectedness isn't just a belief: it's quantum entanglement. Science and faith are two sides of the same coin. This scene expresses that so well.
Genuine question because I feel that this could be what happens also but my question is; will we have a conscious? and will we realize what is going on? Will we be aware of anything at all after life? That’s what I constantly get stuck on.
@@WilkyWonka I don’t think so. Consciousness only exists due to the formation of a brain as a way to store information and make decisions that influence the main drivers of life - survival and reproduction. I think a major difference between religion/spirituality and science is that science accepts humans are animals. The most intelligent and self aware to date, as far as we know, but still animals. The same way as if our most genetically similar species that currently exists, the bonobo, dies. The consciousness dies with the brain.. the cells and proteins decay and are eaten by other animals and microorganisms and those atoms are recycled into other forms of life. If a chimp dies, you don’t assume there is an afterlife or that it’s consciousness lives on some how, it’s just ends with its death. Like a machine that runs out of a power source, it just stops.
We are energy, and energy is eternal. Maybe all we are, all we ever were, is the light from a star that dreamt it was something different, that dreamt for a lifetime and forgot it was a star, forgot it was a beautiful, warm ray of light that was shooting through the cosmos at 186000 miles per second.
I cried when i watched this. This and her final scene where she's dying and she's talking about dying again. I cried and I don't even know why. It felt cathartic, like I finally felt this sense of my idea of death and what happens afterwards made sense. I wasn't the only one who felt maybe that's what happens. It's sad but also a sign of hope that even in the brutal end of your life as death is a solitary thing one goes through that I assume is painful is just one step in a series of many to keep proceeding. It felt good to hear. I don't think I've ever had that kind of deep moment of reflection when watching a series. Haha. I don't think any piece of content wether it be a series or a movie has ever really made me think and feel that much about when I die. There's so much fear and anxiety all around death and there really doesn't need to be.
I felt the same way. I rewatch that last scene with Erin often. It gave me peace in a way. I lost my Mum this year & it feels like the truth. Truly bittersweet.
a deep, thought-provoking poetry about faith & death, or a beautifully written tale of justification of extremism in religion, ‘penunggang agama’; Midnight Mass is a masterpiece.
This scene put into words how I had felt about death. I have spent years questioning my faith, until I finally came to the conclusion that religion isn't for me. This show helped me come to terms with that. This show really shows how hypocritical and hateful religion can make people, but it also shows how heartwarming and beautiful it can turn others. I walked away not only having a deeper understanding of my atheism, but also having a deeper respect for the religious people who don't use their religion as a weapon. I was able to talk to Mike Flanagan about how much this show meant to me and he was super touched. Midnight Mass was a personal project he wanted to make for years, and it shows. There's a reason why he's one of my favorite directors and screenwriters.
I usually hate dramas, but this show absolutely got me. This scene, and the boat scene, both had me absolutely devastated and crying. Two of the most masterful scenes of acting that I've ever seen, and this show will be in my top favorites list for a very very long time.
this hurt. this really hurt. in the best kind of way. as someone who survived a suicidal episode where i tried to go through with it and was saved by someone else, this, this rang true. Everything stopped. Yet i remember one moment of bliss. Credit to the writers for a powerful moment. I had to pause after Riley’s monologue because truly, it resonated. To those thinking of ending things. don’t. come back.
As a fellow suicide survivor, this also hit me super hard. Really every Flanagan series does a great job touching on death, but yeah this monologue combined with the beautiful, light piano rendition of “Nearer My God to Thee” (I believe the first use of it in the series at this point) was gorgeous. Stay strong, friend. Glad you’re still here.
My girlfriend and I both cried during this scene. I tried to fight it and hide it from her because I hardly tear up over anything, but this really got to me and I couldn’t fight it haha
Didn’t realize it at first, but the slow piano improv in the background is “Nearer My God to Thee” the song played in the final death scene of this series (and also famous for being the last song played as the Titanic sank). And during Erin’s speech, you get “Were You There” an old spiritual commonly associated with Palm Sunday and Good Friday services as the death and burial of Jesus Christ is remembered.
A beautiful scene, ended too early in this clip. After Riley, Erin gives her monologue about her unborn baby. Personally, both versions of 'What happens when we die' in this scene were perfectly written and performed. From the crickets chirping in the background, to when the piano plays the first note of 'Nearer my God to Thee, just as Riley begins his full on philosophical thoughts. Both versions I found very similar and romantic, both referring to 'living' on into eternity. I'll be back to listen many times over, I'm sure of that. On a related note, if you like this monologue, you'll likely enjoy Carl Sagan - Pale Blue Dot.
Truly one of the most magnificently written and acted scenes I have ever seen from a TV show or a movie. Something that is so existential yet beautiful and unbiased.
I lost two loved ones this week. Came back to this video because I like to imagine this is where they are: Everywhere, scattered across the goddamn cosmos.
This is the 'I am the one who knocks' scene of Midnight Mass. What a great performance. Standout scene for me. When I saw it first time around, it was just 'wow'.
Thank you for posting this clip from the show. I’ve never related to anything more in my life. I love this actor as well. Hopefully we’ll see more of him.
This and the last monologue of Erin when she was dying, make death appear the most beautiful thing and it probably is ❤️ A masterpiece after a long long time for me.
Erin honors Riley’s death by repeating his soliloquy while she lays dying. And Erin’s description of death is brought to life by the characters, “everyone you’ve ever met, perfect in time, etc”, right before the sunrises on them for the last time as they sing the song being played softly by a piano in this scenes background. Such a wonderful show 😢
Something I loved about this is that when Rileu talks about death, his face is kind of shadowed and darkened, shoeing that he has a more grounded, sad, and realistic idea of post-death. Erin, however, is shown in the light, displaying a positive idea of the afterlife. Symbolism.
This show really leaned into the monologues and it could have been a mistake, except every one of them was fantastic. This is the standout though. Truly one of the great monologues from any show. Great performance too. This series was just incredibly satisfying and well constructed.
I have been rewatching the Criminal Minds Reboot. Zach Gilford is an amazing actor. He plays a psychopathic serial killer. Why he has not gotten more roles is beyond me.
I just watched this scene...and I must say, that's some of the best writing I've seen in a long time...it almost sounds, beautiful, as they describe both their ideas of death. Truly an amazing series, I can't believe it took me this long to find it.
I just showed this series to my mom who recently lost her best friend Marilyn to a massive heart attack and she literally teared up by the end of it. This is a beautifully written show.
Riley's theory is kinda like the mix of idea of the spiritual message of the movie The Fountain, the words of Neil deGrasse Tyson about the universe and also someone's who was on the Joe Rogan show who was talking about the DMT releasing in your brain when you die and makes you have an amazing experience just before it and thats why people see angels and shit who come back from death ( cant remember the person). Funny how before the show i was already fond with the mix of the three ideas....and Riley delivering the exact same thing i believe in, was chilling yet comforting.
Thank you Mike Flanagan for this scene (and the follow up to this in the final episode) Exactly the way I see it. Love this show, especially cause of those poetic monologues!
This scene was so powerful, I watched this series at 1 Am with my gf and I lil a bit in tears while watching this I said ‘i love this monologue so much’ and she was like smiling at me then we both cried
When you like this scene, you have to see one of the last scenes when the girl is dying and remembers this conversation with Riley. What Riley answers here is beautiful, but pure analytic and rational. When she is dying she remembers all his words, and adds a spiritual dimension to it. Retroactively is this her final answer and she puts beautiful and understandable words to it. She makes the most clear and loving explanation, I have ever noticed, about the dream of the ego and the reality of the Self (the cosmos/ God)!!
This scene made me bawl the first time I watched, since leaving behind my Christianity due to religious trauma. Being afraid of what happens to myself and loved ones after I or they die. This scene gave me so much comfort.
I guess I have always felt this way about....well....what happens when we die. But hearing someone explain it like this was like someone confirming my own hypothesis. I did cry when I first saw this scene and watch this video often (as sad as that seems). As other people have mentioned, this monologue is cathartic to listen to. I want to get the whole thing tattooed (slightly modified though - as I haven't killed anyone).
This scene is actually what made the entire show for me and consider it top shelf lol. Shame it was only a limited series, but it really didn't need more seasons to get it's story and message across.
Riley's "life recall" is a supported theory. Scientists recorded the brain activity of an 87 year old man at the moment he died, showing rapid memory retrieval at the time of death. Our life really does flash before our eyes
On another scientific note i also love how they inlcluded DMT in Riley's idea of death, i used to get death anxiety a lot, even from a very young age..weirdly i thought it would be more comforting if my death was due to 'the end of the world' because i wouldn't be the only one going through it at that given time but ever since experiencing DMT myself i have no fear at all, it's like i've already peeked behind the curtain and damn it's a beautiful place!
I’m a 26 year old guy and I bawled when I watched this scene thinking about my parents, and my mom in particular, going through a miscarriage before adopting me. I can’t imagine 💔
This is the beat description of death, no romantic, dramatic, just the realistic version. Still, i ve cried The first Time i watched this, incontralably and i did IT again today when i searched for The video. IT îs so touching.. 😢
I grewup in a cult that promised everlasting life on a paradise earth and when I became a teenager I always asked myself "how do any of us actually know if there's anything left of our consciousness after we die?" and to this day at age 25 having left the cult I'm still terrified of death. I have nightmares of a dark abyss of demons pulling me into complete nothingness and it's scaring the shit out of me and I just want to know that when I die I'm not going to feel alone or sad that all the atoms in my body will become a part of everything on earth and that everyone I ever loved will be so much closer to those atoms that were once me no matter what bad blood we had in life, that we will be as we were for billions of years before I was ever born or could ponder my own existence. Midnight Mass helps me with that alot.
I'ma be honest when I watched this unsuspectingly I didn't know I was witnessing greatness wish there was a selective memory drug I could take to watch this series over and over again Mike Flanagan is the best
When i watched this, all my friends and family, all those who were dear to me who had passed away just flashed before me, just as Riley described it, and i just broke down in tears. This is really well written stuff!
Mike Flanagan gets pretty much everything right in his shows, but one thing he does especially well are monologues, and this one, as well as nells dialogue at the end of haunting of hill house, are in my opinion, his tour de force
Mike Flanagan fought Netflix to keep this scene in. At the very least they wanted it cut down, but the fact that he wouldn’t concede makes this double monologue even more special to me. He knew it was the show’s center of gravity. (That being said I wish Kate’s monologue was included here with Zach’s, since they so perfectly complement each other.) Listen to his interview on the podcast Talking Scared, it’s fucking great. He also talks a little about his next movie The Life of the Chuck, which inspired me to read the short story it’s based on. Gonna be some pretty moving stuff…
This scene hits hard REAL HARD for me in several ways but mostly because 1) I do not believe in god, but I understand and respect those who do (and that goes for any belief/religion/etc) and I’m very happy this show openly discussed many views on religion. And 2) I lost both parents suddenly four months apart in 2021, I have had anxiety over losing them since childhood so to have it happen as a 35 year old I think has been even harder and this scene, I hold it together for most of it until, surprisingly, Erin’s monologue sends me into tears every time, I think it’s the “we’re loved, and not alone” line and talking about being whole and as perfect as your best day on earth. I don’t necessarily believe that’s what happens personally I’m more in Riley’s mindset always have been but it did bring a sense of some peace knowing my parents in some form in my head and grief, are okay, wherever they are. Thank you for this scene, this show, these actors, as hard as it is to watch, it’s a masterpiece.
For a lot of religious people, that may sound like a bleak outlook, but it actually sounds comforting to me. I'm gone, but life goes on. This is the process that life has always gone and likely will for the forseeable future, and I like anyone or anything else is a part of this bigger picture. I charish the people I know and what I value in this finite life I have know, but I feel I'm in acceptance with this innevitable cycle to be able to more easily let go and be at peace. The desire to try and hold on to things you can't thinking some fairy tale of a place exists where nothing is really lost sounds like a more painful life to live, needing fantasies to keep ypu going instead of facing the very possible reality of our existence.
Made me cry a lot 😭 I really felt for both of them in this scene. They were broken in different ways and still came together despite their belief systems. It was so beautiful and heartbreaking even when he cried for her when she lost the baby and he even agreed to pray with her despite not believing…again so beautiful and heartbreaking 🌹
I used to be suicidal a long while ago and I had this conversation with myself. My mind at the time was so scattered that I wasn't able to put my thoughts into words - but this is it. This is what I was thinking - and it's morbid and beautiful at the same time. I watched this show and was in awe of how amazing it captured all the emotions I felt when I was straight in the head. I would recommend 100%
This scene reminds of my dad in his final Moments…..what went through his mind and did he feel pain , fear, sadness. This scene really brought some sort of closure o my dads passing. So when my time comes I hope it’s a pleasant death.
the fact that i can't find one comment on here talking about the fact that they included DMT into Riley's speech goes to show how many people are yet to experience or learn about this amazing substance/molecule... i used to get death anxiety a lot, even from a very young age..but ever since experiencing DMT i have no fear at all, it's like i've already peeked behind the curtain and damn it's a beautiful place!
