In yet another case of Hollywood not being able to entertain without inserting its insidious propaganda, Hulu’s second season of Nine Perfect Strangers has already inserted a mess of anti-Catholic garbage into its first three episodes.
So far, we have a guilt-ridden ex-nun who misgenders God, a head nun so cartoonishly callous she’d let a woman bleed out in childbirth to honor “God’s will,” a man who claims he can’t be Catholic because he’s a scientist, an insult that the Vatican’s canonization process is a “money laundering scheme,” and a priest who blasphemes God as casually as a Hollywood writer pitches tired, anti-Catholic tropes.
Season two takes place at a remote Alpine resort with nine guests on a wellness retreat hosted by Masha (Nicole Kidman), an enigmatic “healer,” whose use of hallucinogenic drugs as a form of therapy draws both intrigue and controversy.
One guest, Agnes (Dolly de Leon), is a former nun who is there to “deal with her guilt” over a past “sin.” In episode 2, “The Crabapple Clubhouse,” Agnes meets Martin (Lucas Englander), Masha’s colleague, who is leading the retreat. When he remarks that Agnes’s life of service has been “an inspiration to us all,” Agnes asks if he’s Catholic.
Martin replies, “Uh, no, as a scientist, of course not.” Okay, sure, Martin. Let’s ignore the mountains of scientific evidence that support Christianity, as well as the numerous brilliant scientists, both historic and modern-day, who believe in Jesus.
The guests are later paired together to go foraging in the woods. Tina (King Princess), a lesbian on the retreat with her partner Wolfie (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) chooses to pair with Agnes since she and Wolfie have been arguing.
Apparently, they were foraging for anti-Catholic propaganda because Agnes refers to God as “She,” something no truly Catholic nun would ever believe or say:
Tina: You know, it was nice what you did for Brian, you know, quieting everybody down like that, it...
Agnes: You don't think it's true, right?
Tina: Like, what they say about him?
Agnes: I think what people say isn't always what people are. Sometimes the world can turn its back on a gentle soul, and sometimes it can shed light on darkness. Why are you so angry with your friend?
Tina: My friend?
Agnes: Roommate.
Tina: Oh, you mean Wolfie. You're f*ckin' with me. Hey, why did you, uh... why did you stop being a nun?
Agnes: Why'd you stop playing the piano?
Tina: It's not like I stopped. It's more like... like it stopped, you know? At first, it was like I could hear the music. I just couldn't make it come out of my hands. And then, I just couldn't hear it either.
Agnes: Something similar happened to me.
Tina: With music?
Agnes: With God.
Tina: Oh, so that's why you came here, right? 'Cause you stopped believing?
Agnes: I came here because I received a call. I answered it because that's what I've been doing my whole life. I came here because I'm looking for absolution. And only she can grant that.
Tina: Masha?
Agnes: God.
No truly Catholic nun would ever leave her vocation to search for absolution from a drug-tripping retreat with strangers, either. She’d undergo the sacrament of reconciliation with her priest.
In episode 3, “The Field Trip,” another guest, Victoria (Christine Baranski, asks Agnes what the canonization process is like. Victoria’s daughter, Imogen (Annie Murphy) who is also a guest, chides her, saying, “It’s the Vatican, Mother, not the Golden Globes.”
Victoria then quips, “Well, darling, they’re both just money-laundering schemes with fabulous wardrobes.” That… What… I mean… Sigh. How does one even begin to find the words to describe how ludicrous that claim is?
Even wilder is that the show appears to think canonization is for the pope, not for saints:
Us when we found out there's a new pope: pic.twitter.com/yC7Lqba5Mo
— Nine Perfect Strangers (@9StrangersHulu) May 29, 2025
Tell us you don't have any Catholics on your writing/production teams without telling us you don't have any Catholics on your writing/production teams.
When the guests are given their first dose of hallucinogens, Agnes wanders out of the hotel and follows the sounds of nearby church bells. She then flashes back in the church’s confessional to the “sin” she’s been carrying:
Agnes: Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. God has forsaken me. The divine voice, I can't hear it anymore. What if... what if it never comes back? What if... what if it was never really there?
(Flashback)
Agnes: Alright, alright. I'm going to check, okay? We're going to check. Sorry. Sorry. Uh... I'll be right back. Mother Irene.
Mother Irene: Yes, my child?
Agnes: She's bleeding, uh, hemorrhaging, and I... I don't think the pregnancy is where it's supposed to be.
Mother Irene: Every pregnancy is where it's supposed to be. You must not subvert the will of God, my child.
Agnes: But she's in pain. She could die.
Mother Irene: Then pray for her soul. He will listen.
(Current Time)
Agnes: She died, and the baby died. Mother was wrong. She was wrong. I'm begging. I'm begging. I need to be absolved. I need to be forgiven. Please. Aren't you going to say something? Father? Father, are you there? Father, answer me. Father, where are you?!
Obviously, Agnes didn’t do anything wrong, but the writers apparently wanted to play heavy on the “Catholic guilt” and “evil nun” tropes. And as if that wasn’t enough, they also had to add a blasphemous priest to the mix, just because:
Girl (In Foreign Language): Help, please!
Agnes: Forgive me. Forgive me, Father. Forgive me.
Priest (In Foreign Language): That G*ddamn hotel.
With five episodes left, we’re sure things will likely devolve even further since the writers appear more concerned with bashing Catholics than they are in entertaining us this season. If you prefer entertainment that doesn’t insult your intelligence as well as your faith, or if you want to avoid a show that spews anti-Catholic bile so pungent it could curdle holy water, you’ll definitely want to skip this season.
