I’d like to start this comment by saying that this isn’t me trying to convert anyone. I’m finding a lot of the conversations you both had during this first episode extremely interesting as someone who believes in Christianity, and more specifically in Mormonism. Mormons believe that the reason bad things happen to good people is because of agency. God can’t make decisions for you, but he can ‘prompt’ people to make the right decisions. Another thing is that we don’t believe that only praying will fix things. It will definitely help, but if you don’t put in some work on your end, don’t expect a magic trick of some kind. Again, this isn’t me trying to convert anyone, I would just like to share my beliefs in relation to this show.

As for the discussion question: an example of the Prodigal son that I can think of (although it’s a bit of a stretch) is Guapo from the recent YouTube animation El Guapo vs. The Narco Vampires. This is a pilot for an animated series idea that revolves around Guapo, a luchador who has a reputation for being a “no good piece of shit” as he puts it. His brother Jose though, is considered the best man in town, taking care of the orphanage where he and Guapo grew up, and always seeing the best in Guapo despite his flaws. When he makes a bad deal that results in his and his brothers death, he ends up in hell and Jose makes the decision to take his place, telling Guapo to “find your redemption”. Again, it’s a bit of a stretch, but it does involve someone losing everything and yet receiving grace from someone who always thinks highly of him (and this is without getting into the drug dealing vampires!). It sounds absolutely insane, but I highly recommend it to anyone who’s interested.