The following contains spoilers for FX's Under The Banner of Heaven episodes 1-4, now streaming on Hulu.
Andrew Garfield has added yet another historical figure to his resume by playing Detective Jeb Pyre in FX's Under The Banner of Heaven. And while he may have been snubbed at this year's Oscars, he has a chance at taking home an Emmy for his performance. The actor has delivered a stunning portrayal of the fracturing of a man's faith and worldview when faced with an ultimate evil.
Portraying Pyre is a welcome change of pace for Garfield after months of being asked about No Way Home's "Butt-Gate." The limited series is a dramatic retelling of a horrifying true crime case revolving around a double homicide connected to a sect of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Each episode has pulled back a layer of the church's history and posed a new challenge to Pyre. Will the chaos that is revealed by his case push the detective away from his Mormon faith?
At the start of the series, Pyre is the textbook definition of a well-mannered Boy Scout. He is a dedicated famliy man who cares deeply about his community and keeping it safe. But in the fictional city of East Rockwell, Utah, there usually isn't a hefty load for the detective to bear. That changes when two members of the town's most influential family are found dead. The second Pyre steps foot into the home of Allen and Brenda Lafferty, his life changes.
While this may not be the first murder Pyre has investigated, it is vicious, and Garfield does a brilliant job of capturing that terror. From that moment on, he constantly finds worldly challenges to his Mormon ideals. The most present example is his budding friendship with Detective Bill Taba, a Las Vegas investigator played by Gil Birmingham from the neo-Western Hell or High Water. But these temptations are found in everything from his exposure to fundamental Mormonism to sneaking a couple of Taba's McDonald's fries.
Episode 4, "Church and State," presents the biggest threat to Pyre's faith so far in Under the Banner of Heaven. Taba and Pyre have been led to the conclusion that the murders had to have been committed by another member of the Lafferty family. After the patriarch left for a mission, a power struggle developed between eldest son Ron (played by Sam Worthington, about to be seen in the highly anticipated Avatar 2) and his younger brother Dan (Marvel Cinematic Universe alum and NHL All-Star Game player Wyatt Russell). But as Pyre zeroes in on Dan, his own mind seems to fall apart.
When tasked with leading the family in their father's absence, Dan becomes completely unhinged. He is swamped with the weight of responsibility and turns to a radically fundemental version of his already strict faith as a way to justify his inadequacies. As Pyre investigates Dan's tax evasion and political campaign, he is forced to come to terms with the building blocks of his faith. And when he starts to see the cracks in Joseph Smith's foundation paired with the modern-day horrors of the murders and the failing health of his elderly mother, it all becomes too much for him to bear.
These tensions all come to a head when Pyre's Stake President -- a high-ranking member of the Mormon Church -- contronts Pyre at the police station. Stake President Stowe asks the authorities to stop investigating the Lafferty murders to keep from embarrassing the church. This realization of the church's selfish motives that might be the thing that pushes Pyre's faith to the breaking point. With Garfield having announced a hiatus from acting recently, the actor is certainly leaving on top as Under the Banner of Heaven has him playing a man who is challenged in every possible way.
Under the Banner of Heaven streams Thursdays on Hulu.