You Hurled Me Into the Very Heart of the Seas

Jesse (Danny McBride), Judy (Edi Patterson) and Kelvin (Adam DeVine) participate in a rehearsal for the "Aimee-Leigh Birthday Celebration Give-A-Thon", hosted by Baby Billy (Walton Goggins). However, during their attempt to lift up, the Gemstones' jet packs malfunction and ruin part of the set. Billy scolds them and demands that they find Eli, who has gone missing for the past few days, as he is vital to the Give-A-Thon's success.

Eli (John Goodman) has moved to Florida, living in a yacht where he drinks alcohol and has sex with strangers. Jesse, Judy and Kelvin arrive to get him to take part in the telethon, but Eli refuses, feeling he needs time to consider what he truly wants in life. Nevertheless, they force him to change his mind after repeating the word "pussy" to annoy him. BJ (Tim Baltz) now attends pole dancing classes, although Judy feels jealous of his female colleagues. Kelvin and Keefe (Tony Cavalero) have embraced their relationship and formed a new church program named "Prism", although Keefe wishes they would finally marry or kiss in public. The Gemstones have also launched "Prayer Pods" to the market, but sales are incredibly low.

Billy surprises the family by bringing Lori Milsap (Megan Mullally), Aimee-Leigh's long-time musical partner. She and Eli bond, reminiscing over their experiences with Aimee-Leigh. During the telethon, Eli is amazed upon seeing Lori singing, and has a flirtatious encounter with her backstage. After a cordial goodbye with Lori, Eli changes his mind and rushes out to the parking lot, where he surprises her by kissing her, and she kisses back. Jesse, Judy and Kelvin finally use the jet packs with success, but Jesse decides to defy orders and rises higher than expected. He approaches a gigantic disco ball near the ceiling, amazing the audience.

The episode was written by executive producer John Carcieri, executive producer Jeff Fradley, and series creator Danny McBride, and directed by executive producer Jody Hill. This was Carcieri's 19th writing credit, Fradley's 13th writing credit, McBride's 28th writing credit, and Hill's 14th directing credit.{{cite web|url=https://directories.wga.org/project/1181506/righteous-gemstones-the|title=The Righteous Gemstones – WGA Directory|website=Writers Guild of America West|access-date=March 16, 2025}}

For the scene where Baby Billy exposes himself naked to Jesse, Judy and Kelvin, Walton Goggins was offered the option of getting naked, but he declined. He said, "We've done lot of chaotic things over the course of our 12-year collaboration; I will follow Danny McBride anywhere — except there. That's one thing I won't do.{{cite web|url=https://tvline.com/news/walton-goggins-penis-righteous-gemstones-season-4-episode-2-1235419522/|title=Walton Goggins Sets Record Straight on Righteous Gemstones Nude Scene: ‘That’s Not My Penis’|last=Ausiello|first=Michael|date=March 16, 2025|accessdate=March 20, 2025|work=TVLine}} Danny McBride commented, "The beautiful thing about Walton is that he's never shown his actual penis on the show. It's always a stunt double penis. Another fun fact: it's never the same penis. We've cast different elderly penises — or Peni — for all his scenes."{{cite web|url=https://theplaylist.net/the-righteous-gemstones-danny-mcbride-cassidy-freeman-adam-devine-tony-cavalero-say-goodbye-talk-bradley-coopers-surprising-cameo-whats-next-bingeworthy-podcast-20250320/|title=‘The Righteous Gemstones’: Danny McBride, Cassidy Freeman, Adam Devine, & Tony Cavalero Say Goodbye, Talk Bradley Cooper’s Surprising Cameo, & What’s Next [Bingeworthy Podcast]|last=DeAngelo|first=Mike|date=March 20, 2025|accessdate=March 20, 2025|work=The Playlist}}

Tim Baltz did his own stunts for his character's pole dancing, saying "I was excited, because it felt like an evolution of the character; I felt like each season there was something more ridiculous that BJ was getting into. It made perfect sense that this was the hobby, but I wasn't prepared for it, so I just started pounding creatine and training hard."{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2025/03/the-righteous-gemstones-tim-baltz-bj-pole-dancing-season-4-1236327174/|title=‘The Righteous Gemstones’: How Tim Baltz Mastered Pole Dancing For BJ’s Season 4 Stunt & Actor Who Almost Joined Him As Both Got Injured|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|date=March 16, 2025|accessdate=March 20, 2025|work=Deadline Hollywood}}

In its original American broadcast, "You Hurled Me Into the Very Heart of the Seas" was seen by an estimated 0.264 million household viewers with a 0.05 in the 18-49 demographics. This means that 0.05 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode.{{cite web|url=https://programminginsider.com/sunday-ratings-abc-tops-in-key-female-demos-cbs-leads-in-total-viewers/|title=Sunday Ratings: ABC Tops in Key Female Demos, CBS Leads in Total Viewers|work=Programming Insider|first=Douglas|last=Pucci|date=March 18, 2025|access-date=March 20, 2025}} This was a slight decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 0.291 million household viewers with a 0.06 in the 18-49 demographics.{{cite web|url=https://programminginsider.com/sunday-ratings-cbs-and-espn-share-primetime-leadership/|title=Sunday Ratings: CBS and ESPN Share Primetime Leadership|work=Programming Insider|first=Douglas|last=Pucci|date=March 12, 2025|access-date=March 20, 2025}}

"You Hurled Me Into the Very Heart of the Seas" received mostly positive reviews from critics. Matt Schimkowitz of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A–" grade and wrote, "Not to be hyperbolic, but tonight's Righteous Gemstones was the funniest 36 minutes in television history. Okay, I won't go that far, but it was a series high. There wasn't a single punchline that didn't hit, a costume choice (or lack thereof) that wasn't a godsend, or a needle drop that was out of place. “You Hurled Me Into The Very Heart Of The Seas” launches the final season's story out of the deep and finds the production confidently and hilariously ascending toward that big disco ball in the sky."{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/the-righteous-gemstones-recap-season-4-episode-2|title=Baby Billy blesses us with one of the funniest Righteous Gemstones yet|last=Schimkowitz|first=Matt|date=March 16, 2025|accessdate=March 20, 2025|work=The A.V. Club}}

Scott Tobias of Vulture gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "As lowbrow laughs go, there's nothing funnier than full-frontal male nudity, and there's certainly no funnier moment than Baby Billy dropping his drawers in front of the Gemstones in the dressing room after their rehearsal goes awry. “Behold, look at this. That's my privates right there.” Indeed so."{{cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/the-righteous-gemstones-recap-season-4-episode-2.html|title=The Righteous Gemstones Recap: Wasting Away in Margaritaville|last=Tobias|first=Scott|date=March 16, 2025|accessdate=March 20, 2025|work=Vulture}}

Paul Dailly of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.15 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "After feeling a little short-changed about excluding characters we've grown to love from The Righteous Gemstones Season 4 Episode 1, the follow-up made up for it in a big way."{{cite web|url=https://www.tvfanatic.com/the-righteous-gemstones-season-4-episode-2-review-as-to-how-they-might-destroy-him/|title=The Righteous Gemstones Season 4 Episode 2 Pivots Back to TV’s Most Dysfunctional Family|last=Dailly|first=Paul|date=March 16, 2025|accessdate=March 20, 2025|work=TV Fanatic}} Hawk Ripjaw of TV Obsessive wrote, "After last week’s compelling prelude episode that focused on the advent of the family, The Righteous Gemstones S4E2, “You Hurled Me Into the Depths, Into the Very Heart of the Seas,“ catches us up with the Gemstones proper, as the family prepares for a birthday telethon to honor the late Aimee-Leigh. And, as expected, the return to the modern Gemstone shenanigans is as hilarious as it’s ever been."{{cite web|url=https://tvobsessive.com/2025/03/16/the-righteous-gemstones-s4e2-recap-you-hurled-me-into-the-depths-into-the-very-heart-of-the-seas-yall-want-to-see-this/|title=The Righteous Gemstones S4E2 Recap: “You Hurled Me Into the Depths, Into the Very Heart of the Seas” — Y’all Want to See This|last=Ripjaw|first=Hawk|date=March 16, 2025|accessdate=March 20, 2025|work=TV Obsessive}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.hbo.com/the-righteous-gemstones/season-4/2-you-hurled-me-into-the-depths-into-the-very-heart-of-the-seas "You Hurled Me Into the Very Heart of the Seas"] at HBO
• {{IMDb episode|35631344|You Hurled Me Into the Very Heart of the Seas}}

{{The Righteous Gemstones}}

Category:2025 American television episodes

Category:The Righteous Gemstones episodes

Category:Television episodes directed by Jody Hill

Category:Television episodes written by Danny McBride

Category:Television episodes set in Florida