Mike Flanagan is quickly becoming somewhat of a king of horror television, after delivering the brilliant The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor. Despite being separate from The Haunting series, Midnight Mass is Flanagan’s next spooky series and fans are searching for information on a certain character’s death.
Netflix’s limited series follows Riley Flynn (the protagonist), who was released from prison after he killed a woman in drunk driving. A wave of miracles accompanies Father Paul, a new priest who arrives in town to help Riley Flynn get back to normal.
How did Father Paul die in Midnight Mass?
Father Paul, once Monsignor John Pruitt’s name, was killed by poison.
It was told that John encountered the show’s creature – a blood-sucking vampire referred to as an angel – who gets John to drink its blood. John eventually finished his meal and de-aged by around 30-40 years. He was then transformed into Father Paul.
Despite John continuing to drink the angel’s blood, he hadn’t reached his full vampiric state because he had not died yet to be reborn as a full-bred bloodsucker.
About halfway through the series, we see Joe Collies’s dog, Pike, get poisoned and John ends up getting poisoned that same night, which causes his full vampiric transformation.
Is it possible that Bev poisoned Father Paul?
While the series didn’t provide concrete confirmation of who poisoned John, it was heavily implied that it was Bev.
Bev was caught with the poison in the pantry earlier in the series. She claimed that it was being used to control a rat infestation at her home.
After Pike and John’s death – and subsequent resurrection – we also saw Bev put the poison back in the pantry, which seemed to point to her as the culprit.
Who is Father Paul?
American actor Hamish Linklater plays Father Paul. He is the son of Kristin Linklater’s dramatic vocal trainer.
Linklater graduated from Amherst College and the Commonwealth School in Boston. He was the main cast member of CBS’s sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine.
Linklater’s other roles include playing Clark Debussy in Legion, Laure Dollard in Fargo, and Porter Collins in The Big Short.