WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for The Righteous Gemstones season 4, episode 5!The Gemstone family is up against a few big rivals in The Righteous Gemstones is ending with season 4, the final outing had to pull out some big emotional stops to wrap up the family’s story, which still sees the Gemstone siblings Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin as a united front. This time around, the siblings are primarily at odds with two main figures: Lori Milsap, their late mother’s best friend, and Vance Simkins, the leader of a rival church.

Initially, Lori’s introduction in The Righteous Gemstones season 4, episode 2 is a welcome reunion. Lori was Aimee-Leigh’s beloved best friend, and the siblings grew up alongside her son. However, their opinion of Lori completely changed after discovering that she was dating Eli, leading to accusations of adultery against Eli and gold-digging against Lori. All the while, the Gemstone family is trying to finally rid themselves of the threat of Vance Simkins’ rival church empire. Both Lori and Vance present very different obstacles to the Gemstones’ stability and control, mirroring the dual antagonist trend of The Righteous Gemstones’ previous seasons.

The Righteous Gemstones Season 4 Repeats The Show's Trend Of A Family Villain & Church-Related Villain

Lori & Vance Follow A Familiar Villain Pattern For The Righteous Gemstones

Like in previous outings, The Righteous Gemstones season 4’s main villain is a close friend or family member from the Gemstones’ past, coming back to threaten their peace or power in some way. In season 1, that person was Walton Goggins’ Uncle Baby Billy. In season 2, it was Eric Roberts’ Junior Marsh. In season 3, it was Eli’s sister May-May and the Montgomery family. For The Righteous Gemstones’ final season, the titular characters are up against Lori and the Milsap family. However, their rivalry is further complicated by John Goodman’s Eli falling for and siding with Megan Mullally’s Lori.

Meanwhile, The Righteous Gemstones season 4 also follows in the footsteps of previous outings by making the secondary villain a church rival. Season 1’s villain in this category was John Wesley Seasons, whose church was threatened by the Gemstones’ new shopping mall-based church. In season 2, the family faces obstacles from megachurch leaders Lyle and Lindy Lissons, who are secretly trying to expose other televangelists and eliminate competition. Vance Simkins serves this villain role in both seasons 3 and 4, as he continues to open churches near the Gemstones’ territory and try to take their resources.

For the most part, these villains are completely separate from each other. The more personal, family-related villain typically has a greater focus and bearing on the Gemstones’ story each season, while the church-related antagonist is secondarily used to progress or hinder their business empire and status in the televangelist industry. For instance, Vance’s feud with the Gemstones was largely ignored until they finished dealing with May-May and their cousins before The Righteous Gemstones season 3’s ending. So far, the Gemstone–Simkins and Gemstone–Milsap feuds have also been isolated in season 4.

The Church-Related Villain Is Typically More Dangerous Than The Family Villain In The Righteous Gemstones

Vance Seemingly Presents A Bigger Threat Than Lori

Though the primary focus is on the more personal family-related villain from their past, the Gemstones’ biggest threat each season tends to be the one trying to sabotage their church empire. In The Righteous Gemstones season 2's ending, the Lisson couple turned out to be much more dangerous than Junior. Though the Montgomery family did have a more significant and potentially dangerous battle with the Gemstones, they ended season 3 on loving . Meanwhile, it was the Gemstones’ battle against the Simkins family in Baby Billy’s Bible Bonkers that proved to be the biggest challenge to upholding their empire.

As such, while Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin’s biggest focus in season 4 is to break up Lori and Eli, their past adversaries indicate that they should be more concerned about Vance Simkins. In The Righteous Gemstones season 4, episode 5, Vance even challenges Jesse to a duel, quickly escalating the stakes of their feud. Meanwhile, although Jesse’s friends discovered that several of Lori’s ex-boyfriends are now dead or missing, it’s starting to look like her villainy will be a red herring. Instead, the siblings should put their effort into working with Eli to stop Vance’s plans against them.

The Righteous Gemstones' Villain Trend Hints Lori & Eli Will Get A Happy Ending In Season 4

The Family-Related Villains Tend To Make Amends With The Gemstones

In the past, the Gemstones and Baby Billy successfully mended their relationship, Junior finally forgave Eli, and the Gemstone and Montgomery families learned to get along and move past their grievances. If The Righteous Gemstones season 4 follows that same family-related villain pattern, then Lori and Eli will likely stay together and have a happy ending. It’s probable that the mysterious disappearances of Lori’s ex-boyfriends are a misunderstanding, though it’ll almost certainly still get the Gemstones and company into trouble before they all make amends.

It would be a fitting bookend for the show to end with Eli and the kids moving forward but still respecting and honoring Aimee-Leigh’s memory as a united front.

Ultimately, it’ll be a matter of figuring out how to get the siblings to accept Lori and Eli’s relationship. The “kids” have continued to struggle to move past Aimee-Leigh’s death, so their anger at Lori is primarily based on their inability to see Eli with anyone but their now-deceased mother. However, considering The Righteous Gemstones’ conflicts began with the family adjusting to Aimee-Leigh’s recent death, it would be a fitting bookend for the show to end with Eli and the kids moving forward but still respecting and honoring Aimee-Leigh’s memory as a united front.

New episodes of The Righteous Gemstones season 4 release Sunday nights on HBO and Max.