Midnight Mass: 10 Best Characters Ranked

Poor Riley Flynn, it feels like we hardly got to know thee.

When we first meet Riley, it's right after he killed a young woman in a drunk driving accident, an event that lays the foundation for not just his arc, but many of the themes of the show. This incident would go on to change his world completely, transforming him from a god-fearing, ambitious venture capitalist into a broken, self-loathing atheist. Talk about a 180.

When he ultimately sacrifices himself to prove to Erin the danger the island is in, it doesn't feel at all like Joe's death in that he had so much potential for growth. Rather, Riley's death is the culmination of all the hard work he put in trying to rise above who he was and what he did. To call him a hero would be to trivialize the true humanity at the center of his character.

If anything, Riley was the kind of person most of us could only hope to be. He was someone who was loved despite all his flaws, and who was willing to put it all on the line for the ones who made him feel, even for just the briefest of moments, that all the pain was worth it.

You did good kid, you did good.