Priest

With Poppy gone, Tyler masturbates. Unfulfilled, he calls her, and they exchange sexual videos and pictures. While she’s on the phone, he ejaculates.

On Thursday, Poppy returns to Weston. Using a cincture (a belt that clergy members wear to symbolize purity), he ties her wrists to an apse. He scolds her again for not wearing underwear. Sticking to his “feminist ally” beliefs, he gets clear consent before he has forceful oral sex with her. They then kiss, and Tyler sees Poppy’s body as holy. He feels married to her. Poppy wants rougher sex, but Tyler is uncomfortable; he doesn’t want to harm his “lamb.” While she lies down on the altar, they have vaginal sex. He ejaculates inside her, and she says, “Amen.”

Finished with sex, Tyler uses a purificator (the white cloth used to wipe the communion chalice after each person sips the wine) to clean Poppy. She wants to have sex again, so they do, with her on top. They insinuate that they love each other, but they don’t say the specific word since Tyler feels that such love jeopardizes his work as a priest.

In the rectory, Tyler shares the details of Lizzy’s death by suicide with Poppy. He found her hanging in the garage while trying to find batteries for his flashlight—a storm knocked out the electricity. He fell and smudged his sister’s face. Now, he wants his life “clean.” Lizzy listened to pop music like Britney Spears. On the weekend of her funeral, Sean and Tyler took the car to Taco Bell, and her Spears CD started to play. Angry, Sean tore a hole in the car.

Poppy wonders aloud if Lizzy’s abuse makes Tyler uncomfortable with rough sex. Tyler admits that he thinks women who like rough sex have “issues.” Poppy says that she likes rough sex and isn’t damaged. Unlike Sterling, she separates her sex life and “real life.” Tyler admits that he’s jealous of Sterling.

The next morning, Poppy leaves before Tyler wakes. In the mirror, Tyler spots a hickey. He tells himself that he’s a good man. During the day, Poppy doesn’t text him. At the youth group’s back-to-school party, he tries to help the boys look less foolish in front of the girls. At night, he looks out his window and at Poppy’s driveway. He believes that the Church would label their relationship “fornication”; then again, the Bible features many characters who experience and act on sexual desire.

Poppy attends another pancake breakfast, and Millie tells Tyler that Poppy also attended the Come and See meeting. Millie believes that St. Margaret’s needs Poppy and that Tyler shouldn’t risk damaging her relationship with the church. Finally, Tyler texts her. Three dots indicate that she’s texting him back, but the dots vanish, and a text from her never appears.

Poppy goes to confession. Tyler says that he’s jeopardizing his career, and Poppy concedes that she’ll wreck his life. She then confesses. When they were on the altar, she felt like an animal and close to God. She didn’t text him because she didn’t know how to condense her feelings. She feels guilty, but she can’t stop thinking about him. She tried to pray; instead, she masturbated to the thought of him.

Poppy continues to detail her masturbation experience, and Tyler becomes erect. He unbuckles his belt and orders Poppy into his office. They have vaginal sex. Before they have anal sex, Tyler puts chrism oil on her anus. The oil is intended for consecration, and Tyler says that he’s “sanctifying” her. Poppy has had anal sex before, but never with someone who had Tyler’s “size.” Tyler starts gently; with her consent, he becomes rougher. He ejaculates on her, and she orders him to clean her. Afterward, they focus on the fundraiser. Tyler wants to be with Poppy at all times.

Tyler cites telling Poppy about Lizzy as another transformative moment. Once again, he toys with the word “love.” He goes to Poppy’s house and inspects her books. He sees that she obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance from the University of Kansas. He gifts her Lizzy’s rosary. After Lizzy died, his father threw out her things. The family viewed them as reminders of what she’d been through. Now, Tyler wants to let her go, too. He teaches Poppy how to use it, and he feels like he’s starting a new life.