In this YouTube review, the host recaps and analyses episode 9 of The Young Pope. The episode opens with a heated intellectual debate between Pope Pius XIII and Cardinal Michael Joseph Presley about abortion, highlighting their scholarly depth and Vatican knowledge. The narrative then follows Father Gutierrez’s fraught investigation in New York of Archbishop Kurtzweil’s alleged pedophilia, his personal battle with alcoholism, and his pursuit of evidence—including a confrontation with Kurtzweil’s son and a blackmail plot involving the Pope’s unsent love letters, which ultimately fail to become scandalous. A flashback reveals a childhood miracle where the young Pope heals a dying woman, prompting a profound prayer that fills the room with sunlight and hints at the mystery of his mother’s survival. The review also touches on Esther’s subplot, showing her baby’s growth and a beach scene where a picture of the Pope appears, underscoring his lingering presence. Throughout, the reviewer shares personal reactions—initial fatigue with recent episodes, renewed enthusiasm after this episode’s revelations, and a prediction that season 2 will delve deeper into the Pope’s mysterious powers and his mission to revive the Church. The video concludes with a call to like, subscribe, and a promise of a final episode review.
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Hey guys, welcome back to the channel, and today we will be reviewing The Young Pope episode 9. And so we open up, uh, with this week's episode and we get the Pope having this intense intellectual debate with Cardinal Michael Joseph Presley, and the debate is centered around abortion. And what we get to see in this scene is we get to understand just the high, uh, intellectual capacity both of these men possess in history. When we think back to the clergy, the monks, These are people who had a lot of time to read, to study. So, uh, very high IQs I'm sure both of these people had, um, in their discussion. And we get to see a lot of that in this scene as they go back intensely and quote historical accounts and quote a lot of, you know, cases within the Vatican. We then move over to, uh, Gutierrez, who was sent to New York to investigate Archbishop Kurtzweil, I believe his name is, on charges of, uh, pedophilia. And Gutierrez, he's basically, um, having a hard time. He wants to, uh, bring this, uh, person to trial, but he's a very powerful, uh, member of that particular area of New York in that borough, and He has a lot of influence, and seemingly he has a lot of dirt on a lot of people to keep them at bay. A lot of influence, so he's not easy to take down. So what Gutierrez is doing is he's going around, he's trying to find, uh, people to help him to bring this guy down. He's even, uh, trying to get this one young athlete to try to lure uh, Kurzweil in, and so that he can have the evidence against him, you know, that he is a pedophile and things of that nature. Gutierrez is as well having a hard time in New York. His drinking problem is still pretty much, uh, an issue he's, uh, not able to have— who, uh, had— he hasn't dealt with. And so He just has alcoholic bottles all over the room. There's a scene where the Pope calls him to check in on him over like, um, you know, via, via, you know, a video cam. And so the Pope can kind of see what's going on with Gutierrez, uh, as far as his living arrangement, what, what, you know, what, what, you know, what he's doing. And so Gutierrez, uh Uh, let's— the Pope sees the room because the Pope wants him to move the camera all around the room to see what's going on. And we just see alcohol bottles all over the place. And the Pope basically tells Gutierrez, you've done all you can do, just come on back home. But Gutierrez really wants to bring Archbishop Kurtzweil to trial. He wants him to answer for his crimes. For his sins, and he catches a break. There's a strange person wearing this wig. It's like a blonde wig, and he's trying to— he's basically following him all over the city. And finally, Gutierrez confronts him and asks him, why, why, why are you following me? The young man reveals to him that he is Kurtzwell's son, the Archbishop's son, and that he collaborates a lot of the stories about how bad he was treated as a kid, uh, his abuse, that Kurtzwell is a, you know, basically a pedophile, and that he's, you know, willing to you know, go on record with that and things of that nature. And so this gives Guterres all he needs in order to have Archbishop Kurtzweil brought back to the Vatican. However, before Guterres can even give that information to Kurtzweil, Kurtzweil confronts him um, in this, in this, I guess it's like a diner, and he basically tells him that, hey, look, um, the Pope is jealous of me, basically, and that you all are just wasting your time because I have enough evidence on the Pope to bring him down. So if he tries to bring me back to the Vatican I'm going to basically, uh, release this evidence to the press and it's going to destroy the Pope. And Archbishop Kurtzweil then calls the Pope and explains to him exactly what he's going to do if he keeps pushing this issue and trying to, uh, make him answer for charges. And the Pope simply responds to him, well, everybody loves a love story. So basically the Pope tells him, do what you need to do. Um, and, uh, so Kurzweil goes into this vault where he finds, uh, this information that seems to be letters of some sort, and they're love letters that the Pope wrote to his girlfriend. And Kurzweil calls this reporter. He wants the reporter to, uh, you know, uh, publish it, to, to post it. And as the reporter's going through the information, he finds out that although the Pope did say a lot of things in the letter that could be considered a scandal, he also, uh, notices that the letters were never sent. You know, they were never delivered to the person they were intended for. And, you know, basically that makes it fall under— because he never sent the letters, uh, it's basically considered like a work of fiction, something to, you know, something of that nature. So, uh, that makes it, you know, more so they can't— it can't be considered a scandal, and this basically destroys, um, you know, Kurzweil plans on trying to bring down the Pope, as it's, you know, not, uh, valid in that regard. But, you know, as I had been saying earlier, guys, about where I was with the show and how I felt about the show, uh, specifically pertaining to the last few episodes, that I felt it kind of uh, slowed down my enthusiasm for the show. Uh, this week we kind of got redemption, uh, in, you know, for those last few episodes. And, uh, uh, you know, for me anyway, it kind of went back to the story that intrigued me. And, uh, we get this scene where Cardinal Michael Spencer is dying and he calls for the Pope, and he basically wants the Pope, before he dies, to tell him about the miracle. Tell him when, you know, when he was a boy, this miracle that he allegedly performed. And, you know, we know all throughout the series the Pope doesn't like to talk about, you know, the miracles he's performed or allegedly performed. He He ends those conversations. He doesn't like to deal with them. But as, you know, the Cardinal's on his deathbed, the Pope grants it, you know, grants his, you know, his request. And we get to see what happened when, uh, the Pope was a child. When he was a, you know, he— it was one of his friends' moms was dying, and, you know, the Pope came in and he knew he had to do this thing in order to, you know, to help his friend's mom. And so he asked everybody to leave the room. And what we get to see is we see this intense praying where he goes— it's like he has this, um, it's similar to what we saw in the last episode when he dealt with the sister in Africa, is where he, he falls down with his arms outstretched and he really prays. I mean, he really, really prays. And he goes Uh, God, we have to have a talk about my friend's mom. And it's very similar to what he did with, um, you know, when he prayed that the sister's, um, you know, the evil that she was doing back in Africa, that she had— she has to answer for that. And it's a very similar style prayer in this, um, scene. And You know, next scene we get is, uh, Sister Mary and his friend Mom's, um, or his, his, or the, uh, or the friend comes back in the room and the, the room is filled with sunlight. Uh, oh, I'm sorry, rather everybody was, uh, in the room. While he was praying. And they— sunlight filled the room, and you can just see the look on their faces as they were just amazed by what they were seeing. And the mom, she's sitting up, she's smiling, and she's well. And Lenny just leaves the room and just takes off running. And my guess is he's very concerned about why it is he's able to do this thing. This is as big a mystery, I think, to him as it is to everyone else. And I think that upsets him a lot that he doesn't understand why he has this ability. Uh, so Cardinal Michael Spencer, he— and then after Lenny tells the story, where the Pope tells the story, he then lets Cardinal Michael Spencer know that The woman is still alive to this day. And Cardinal Michael Spencer turns to him and says, and I believe your mother as well is still alive to this day, and you will find her. And the Pope just breaks down. It's very emotional for him to hear Cardinal Michael Spencer say that he will have that need of his met, and that he will find his mom something that he's, uh, you know, been, been wanting all throughout the course of the show. So I really like that scene. That was my favorite scene in the episode. And, uh, it just really— I really loved, um, when they visit, uh, the miracles and the mystery behind, you know, behind, you know, what's going on with the you know, with the, with the Pope. And so, um, the letters do get published, these love letters that the Pope, you know, met, you know, wrote, uh, but because he never sent the letters, because, you know, it wasn't considered a scandal. And whereas the, the letters kind of being read aloud in the Pope's voice, uh, we get this cut scene to Esther and, uh, you know, and the baby. And, uh, the baby has gotten bigger, you know, because it's, you know, it's been about a year, I think, since Esther left. And, and, um, the Pope doesn't— he doesn't, he doesn't visit her directly, but they're on the beach. Esther's on the beach, and there's this big picture of the Pope that he's left, uh, for her and the baby to discover. And she's just she sees the picture and she's just shocked. And she's looking around trying to find the Pope and who left it and where he's at. And she looks up and his helicopter's flying overhead, you know. And, you know, so he doesn't make any contact with her, but he just, I guess, lets her still know that, you know, he's still thinking about her and he's still very much, you know, in the, you know, in the picture. So, uh, was a good episode. I like this episode. Like I said, uh, this episode kind of brought my hope back a lot in the show. Um, you know, them revisiting the mysteries of him being the Pope. And, you know, one of my predictions is this is what season 2 is going to be about. You know, we know we're getting a season 2 of The Young Pope, but I think that the second season is going to really deal a lot more with the mysterious side of who he is and why he can do the things he does, you know, as he further goes through his, you know, uh, his, his, uh, trying to, uh, uh, get followers back into the church, get the, get the pews once again filled and get everybody back in there. And Kurzweil, you know, he's been taken down. This is a victory for Gutierrez, you know, despite his, uh, dealings with alcoholism, he was able to find the strength to pursue this, not come back in defeat, but come back, uh, having Archbishop Kurzweil, uh, us, you know, to, to face the music, to face the charges, uh, with the Pope. So, uh, strong episode. This is episode 9, so we only got one episode, uh, remaining. Um, I will probably have that review ready to, uh, tomorrow. And guys, I hope you've enjoyed this review. I hope I hope you enjoyed this episode of The Young Pope as much as I did. Don't forget to like and subscribe, guys, and until next time, take care.
