Midnight Mass: Why Only One Person Recognized Paul As John Pruitt

In Midnight Mass, only one person was able to recognize Father Paul as Monsignor Pruitt, and here’s why. The twist regarding Monsignor Pruitt’s true fate is revealed fairly early on for audiences in Midnight Mass, and it is this gap in knowledge between the viewer and the characters that lends urgency to the mystery. After the reveal, several plot threads and dots start connecting – for instance, it explains how Riley was able to see someone in the Monsignor’s clothes during the thunderstorm, as it was the creature in disguise all along.

On his way to the holy pilgrimage in Jerusalem, Monsignor Pruitt loses his way due to his dwindling health, encountering the vampiric creature of Midnight Mass in an abandoned cave in the desert. After being bitten, the vampire’s blood restores Monsignor Pruitt’s youth, reverting him to a physically younger version of himself. Believing the creature to be a gift from God, an angel, Pruitt decides to carry the creature back to the mainland in an attempt to restore faith among the inhabitants of Crockett Island.

As mentioned by Annie Flynn at the beginning, Crockett Island was a fading maritime community, as it had taken a massive socio-economic hit after a disastrous oil spill. With most of the islanders being fishermen, it became difficult for them to sustain their livelihoods, prompting hundreds to move to the mainland. This depleted the population in a drastic manner, reducing the number of inhabitants to mere dozens. As most of the people who were around during the time of the spill were either dead or gone, no one on the island was able to recognize a young John Pruitt after his return. This allowed the priest the advantage to carry out his misguided mission and gain the goodwill of the townsfolk in time.

Perhaps the only person who was able to recognize John in his youth was Mildred Gunning, even when she was suffering from amnesia. This lines up with the scene in which Mildred is frightened by the creature in the old Monsignor’s clothes, telling Sarah that she had seen “her father” during the storm. Later on, when Father Paul arrives at their home to carry out mass for an ailing Mildred, the latter calls him “John,” the Monsignor’s first name. While this is chalked up to Mildred’s confused mental state at the moment, this is a true moment of recognition, as Mildred and John loved each other since they were young, and throughout most of their lives.

At the end of Midnight Mass, it is revealed that Sarah is, in fact, Father Paul’s daughter, and his reason for returning to the island was to help heal Mildred and be closer to his daughter. While nobody on the island was able to connect Pruitt with Paul, as the old Monsignor was around for a long time, Sarah recounts how the Monsignor would look at her the exact same way Paul did. Apart from Mildred, Bev Keane was able to piece together the mystery after coming across an old newspaper clipping of a young Pruitt in his chambers, which allows her to assist the priest in his machinations.

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Debopriyaa Dutta
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Apart from being a features writer and critic at ScreenRant, Debopriyaa is a news writer at /Film. She is also a contributor to High on Films & Fansided, and an editor at Digital Mafia Talkies. Her poetry has been published in a wide array of journals, such as Gideon Poetry, White Noise Magazine, and Literaria. Find her on Twitter @angelusatani.

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