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Obey the Shirt is the seventh episode of the adult animated series Pork and Konjac. After expressing concerns over the treatment of a student who is the son of a family of Jehova's Witnesses, Anthony and Alex gets their friends and others involved in an intervention. Things boil over when the son falls ill and the family refuses to send him to the hospital, with the frenzy worsening overtime.

Plot[]

The episode begins with Colleen being confronted by a pair of Jehova's Witnesses. She would bring out Alex to talk to them and they are driven off flustered. Alex would introduce a social experiment where she would show individuals a relevant inspirational quote on her shirt.

At school a birthday party is being celebrated for one of the students, and Anthony notices one of the students, Deke sitting alone. Assuming he's shy, he would bring him some of the treats given so he wouldn't be left out. Anthony brings up the situation to the school's principal, but he claims that his parents insist that there's no issue and that he's better left to his own, though details on why are not brought up. Anthony would discuss the experience with Alex, who would encourage him to act if something was wrong.

The next day, Anthony would witness a fight between Deke and another student after the former apparently lost a toy he was tasked with holding onto for the day. Deke would be taken to the infirmary, though would protest when he would arrive. As he gets into an emotional fit, he would soon suffer a seizure and Anthony would call the police while the principal contacts the boy's parents. The parents, Mary and Richard Hind, would tell Anthony to word off the ambulance and that Deke would be taken under their care. When Anthony protests this, Mary would claim that Deke's health would be left up to god.

When talking about this with his friends, the group laments not being able to intervene, as well as how Deke's life would turn out if he would either break from it or would ultimately let it consume his life. Though also fearing for his health, Alex suggests that Anthony only intervene when Deke's condition worsens to a point. The next day, Anthony would learn Deke did not come to school, and when he contacts his parents he would learn that Deke is bedridden. Hearing Deke's pained cries incenses Anthony into pressing charges, getting Alex, Colleen and Mace involved. However each are dismayed to learn that because of statutes protecting religious individuals, the police will not intervene and Deke's fate is left up to his parents.

Due to the extent of Deke's condition, implied to be multiple, the group fear Deke may die if he isn't taken to the hospital. Alex would opt to protest the situation, but would try to recruit others for additional support. She would contact one of her old friends, Cameron, who would agree to help them due to his own pursuits having gone nowhere. He would run the idea by friends in a support group he is part of, one that also includes Alyson and Drew, and they would agree to help based on the idea of undermining the more abusive side of religion. The group would travel to Alex's house, where Mace would be shocked to find Alyson and Drew there, the latter two just as well. An argument would break out but Alex quells it, reminding both sides that they would be sharing a common enemy.

The perpetrators would be brought up, and Drew would claim to know extensively about them; Richard Hind served as a basis for Drew's psychology thesis, and he would reveal that Richard was a former atheist turned religious fundamentalist following an interview with a cult leader. Richard would bring in Mary, previously a liberal activist who tried to debate him and would meet a similar fate. The group would watch a number of productions Richard was attached to in order to get a better understanding of who they're up against, one of them would demonstrate his opposition to hospitals. They would find Richard's house and try to convince him to send Deke to the hospital but he refuses. The group would then launch an ambush and kidnap Deke, with one of the members knocking Mary into a wall knocking a bust loose and cracking her skull.

Richard would locate Anthony, the police in tow, and he and the others would be threatened with jail time if they act again. Anthony reluctantly gives up Deke and the others intend to give up knowing how much harder the situation has become. Later at night, Simeon would be at Richard's house, intending to cause a trash fire in order to scare Richard with a religious sign. After igniting the dumpster, the embers catch on a dead tree which causes a big fire that would make it to the house. Anthony and co. are suspected for the accidental arson, while the rest of the group are arrested as they took Deke in their own car. Simeon would break the group out of jail and they would go into hiding, and they would learn Richard had left town. They discover his YouTube channel, where they would determine he had fled via RV. A flashback would reveal that Richard was the grandson of a religious sex cult leader, one who would be sent to a hospital after a cancerous tumor was discovered on one of his ventricles. That among other ghoulish sights would cause Richard to oppose hospitals thereafter.

While checking on Mary, Richard is horrified to learn that she has died from her injuries. Richard launches a livestream attempting to encourage viewers to send prayers to Mary to bring her back, while Deke uses the opportunity to try and escape from Richard. He would catch onto this and run after him, the group witnessing this happen and soon finding a clue revealing Richard is in West Quincy, Missouri. Realizing they will be caught at some point, the group is determined to finish their mission so they could leave off with some level of accomplishment. They travel to West Quincy and find him in the outskirts. Anthony attempts to apologize for the trouble the group caused for Richard while making clear where his intentions lie, but Richard would curtly deny them. He would go check on Deke, but find his window open, unaware Deke is still inside and would knock him out, running to the group.

They would drive off, wanting to make it to Blessing Hospital in Quincy, Illinois to drop off Deke, with Richard and soon the police being in pursuit. They would make it to Quincy Memorial Bridge, where Richard would see a vision of Jesus on the road, the shock making him hastily break and nearly get flung off the side of the bridge. The cop car would crash into the side, making the RV fall off, as the group make it to Quincy. Deke would be stabilized and they would learn about the root of Richard's aversion to hospitals, and that Deke would be put into therapy. The next day, Richard is revealed to be alive and would launch an attack on a Jehova's Witness Organization location in Crocker that would see many casualties and the destruction of their building. The incident would be enough to make Jehova's Witnesses no longer feel safe in the town and many would elect to not return to it. It would also be revealed that Deke had been put into foster care, but it's unknown where he will currently reside.

All of this is relayed in a news report watched by Colleen. She would soon be visited by the witnesses from before, but they only came to get advice on how to abandon their faith, to which Colleen would agree to help them. It would then go to the community center, where a group of remaining witnesses would discuss their trauma surrounding the attack on their church, only for them to be curtly hushed by a neighboring group.

Credits[]

Starring[]

  • Julie Rei Goldstein: Alex
  • Stephanie Hsu: Mace
  • Julia Wolov: Colleen
  • Wyatt Cenac: Anthony
  • Olivia Thirlby: Alyson
  • Charlie Day: Drew

Also Starring[]

  • Joy Osmanski: Kate
  • Olivia d'Abo: Rhonda
  • Beverly Mitchell: Ferris
  • Barry Watson: Larry
  • Jerry O'Connell: Oscar
  • Kirsten Schaal: Fiona
  • Melissa Disney: Adelaide
  • Sarah Silverman: Alison
  • Scott Drier: Donovan
  • Elizabeth Gilles: Donna
  • Brian Poeshn: Josh
  • Mike Henry: Simeon
  • Dana Min Goodman: Mina
  • Aubrey Plaza: Ruth
  • Kathleen Wilhoite: Mercury
  • Justin Shenkarow: Tommy
  • Josh Weinstein: Burt
  • David Herman: Richard Hind

Special Guest Stars[]

  • Lajon Witherspoon: Cameron
  • Tom Kenny: Drive-thru clerk

Written by[]

  • Wyatt Cenac
  • Elliot Strange

Teleplay by[]

  • Bill Oakley
  • Josh Weinstein

Directed by[]

  • Elliot Strange

Executive Producers[]

  • Wyck Godfrey
  • Marty Bowen
  • Michael Rotenberg

Trivia[]

  • The episode properly reveals Anthony's line of work, that of a school guidance counselor.
  • First instance of writer, producer and actor Mike Henry working on a series outside of Seth MacFarlane's works.
  • Richard Hind's name is a formal version of the derogatory term "dick butt"
  • Colleen compares Hind to Sir Oswald Mosley, a politician who would turn to fascism. Though they imply it was due to him being brainwashed by Benito Mussolini, historically Mosley turned to fascism due to a loss of faith in mainstream politics.
  • Hind is loosely based on former Westboro Baptist Church leader Steve Drain, who came into the cult to make a documentary of it only to wind up joining it.
  • Donovan calls himself Caesar when he shoots one of the cops with a stun gun. This is actually a reference to the film Rise of the Planet of the Apes where Caesar kills Franklin by spraying him with a hose, electrocuting him as he held a cattle prod.

Connections to The Halloween Kids[]

  • Robert is mentioned in passing by Richard in a derogatory fashion. His activism against faith healing and more liberal perspectives on Christianity are brought up, as well as confirmation of a black eye given to him in that series' episode If Mirrors Could Kill due to an incident in a confessional booth.
  • Rhonda, Ferris, Adelaide, Donovan and Alison attend Anthony's rally. It is implied they had moved to Crocker after the events of The Halloween Kids. Alison was confirmed to have attended college out of state and returned to Michigan soon after.
  • The Fiona in this episode has no relation to the Fiona in The Halloween Kids.

Reception[]

Obey the Shirt has been considered one of Pork and Konjac's quintessential episodes. The episode received positive reactions for its humor, characterizations and dramatic moments, but its depiction of religion and perceived mean-spiritedness was met with more critical reactions.

Controversy[]

Obey the Shirt served as the basis for a lawsuit filed by actor Kevin Sorbo. Sorbo was previously contacted to play the role of the antagonist Richard Hind, though he was not informed of the episode's subject matter. At some point during the recording process Sorbo would be quietly let go and replaced by Dave Herman. Sorbo would file a wrongful termination suit, alleging poor treatment by writers Elliot Strange, Shadi Petosky and Sajeet Convoy due to his religious views. He would also cite a scene where the characters watch a movie that lampoons Left Behind: Rise of the Antichrist, a film Sorbo had directed and alleged that Hind was a mean-spirited depiction of himself. Strange would file a countersuit against Sorbo alleging transphobia and poor conduct. Both parties would reach a settlement, with Sorbo putting out a notice to warn religious actors and associates to not work with Strange.

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