The series premiere introduced a long-running arc where Jesse is blackmailed for an incriminating video, which was revealed to be part of a scheme orchestrated by his estranged son, Gideon.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.606 million household viewers and gained a 0.2 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.
He informs them that the police found the blackmailer's van, with no sign of the money but evidence that it was stolen after it was involved in a car crash.
Eli also informs Jesse (Danny McBride) that Kelvin (Adam DeVine) and Judy (Edi Patterson) told him about the blackmail.
Amber (Cassidy Freeman) informs Jesse that Gideon (Skyler Gisondo) has left for Haiti to do missionary work.
As Jesse laments his situation at the lake, Kelvin discovers that Billy (Walton Goggins) was involved in the crash as his Jesus statue was found in the scene, and therefore stole the money.
As Eli confronts Billy, he affirms that Tiffany accidentally killed Scotty and he does not intend to return the money as he was owed.
The show hardly ever wavered, balancing its comedy with pathos, thrills, family drama, and instantly infectious musical numbers.
"[5] Nick Harley of Den of Geek gave the episode a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "The Righteous Gemstones unsurprisingly turned out to be a compelling and truly funny comedy, but it also saw McBride and company stretch their abilities and deliver something more ambitious and poignant.
"[6] Kevin Lever of Telltale TV gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "The finale is a wonderful reminder that The Righteous Gemstones is one of the weirdest and hysterical shows on television, and that this character-driven comedy is deceptively deeper than initially believed.
"[7] Dan Jackson of Thrillist wrote, "Even if the first season felt like a contained narrative, it's hard to imagine McBride and the other writers struggling to find new stories to tell.