WARNING: The following contains spoilers for 30 Coins Episode 3, "The Mirror," now airing on HBO.
HBO's 30 Coins shocked fans when it was revealed the demonic cult seeking the Judas coins was the Vatican. As Father Vergara drew attention to Pedraza, a sect of red-robed priests in the Christian establishment was using possessed agents, monsters and other sinister forces to find the relics.
However, the latest episode takes it a step further by confirming who the cult belongs to and how the payment the traitor received connects to their apocalyptic mission.
Vergara's brought in by a reluctant Elena and Paco to analyze a magical mirror showing them the Gospel of Judas on a table. It doesn't exist in the real world, so this means the mirror's some sort of gateway. He explains these relics are said to have divine power that can rival God's, which is why they're being hunted.
Vergara admits apocryphal items like the gospel and coins are very powerful because of the message contained. The crown of thorns and the spear of destiny, for example, were used to harm Christ in order to destroy the religion and beliefs. As for this book, the gospel purports Christ asked Judas to betray him, so in essence, Judas was a saint. He became the fall guy, making the crucifixion a manipulation. It then becomes clear that the payment itself holds a dark power, one greater than the Ark of the Covenant. The cult wants to harness this, and by using the power of their ruse, the wielders can bring about the end of days.
When Vergara gets trapped in the mirror, his dark version emerges to try to trick Elena into giving him the coin. He wants to join the sect because the good side of Vergara spurned their recruitment drive in the past. But this evil Vergara wants to be on the winning side as almost all the coins have been collected, so he tries to lure Elena and Paco into a false sense of security, confirming the cult inside the Vatican belongs to the Cainites.
For centuries, they've infiltrated the world's highest positions, from business to politics to religion with agents all over the world. It's why he's goading them into giving him the coin so he can "protect" it, but as Elena rightfully suspects, this priest belongs to the cult. The real Vergara isn't so confident, and as she knocks this doppelgänger out and heads to the mirror to pull the real priest out, she and Paco are worried because they have no idea how to take on a corrupted Catholic Church with supernatural soldiers.
Starring Eduard Fernández, Megan Montaner, Miguel Ángel Silvestre, Macarena Gómez, Pepón Nieto and Manolo Solo, 30 Coins airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and is also streaming on HBO Max.