Last episode we got some good insight about how Keith feels about women and it’s about what you’d expect. Catherine, Sarah, and Mark all met with the FBI.
We open with archival footage of Mark Vicente setting up a camera to film Keith. A woman futzes with Keith’s hair as he says he once wrote a fable about a “mighty king” who ruled with torture and fear to create obedience. I don’t care so, I’m skipping it. But torture and fear? Keith’s favorites! Intro.
We are at Catherine’s house. Frank Parlato calls and tells her Keith hasn’t been seen in Albany for weeks. Catherine lets the gang know. “What a fucking coward,” we hear Sarah say. Everyone tries to figure out where he might have run off to. The possibilities are endless, because he has all that Bronfman money to finance wherever he wants to go. They all guess various places. Paris? Connecticut? Fiji? “I see him on a beach,” says Frank.
A former ESPian sends video to Mark of Keith going on a walk in Monterrey, Mexico. Mark says they need to inform the FBI about Keith’s whereabouts. “There are thousands of loyal ESPians in Mexico,” he says. Emiliano Salinas is running an ESP center, for example, and he is the son of former Mexican President, Carlos Salinas de Gortari. Mark calls him the JFK Jr. of Mexico. The point is, Keith has a lot of political clout there. The investigators have told the gang to hang tight for the time being. Mark is frustrated.
Mark tells us that in about 2009, Mexican members of ESP talked with Keith about the pressure they were under and the fear they lived with in their country. Kidnapping had become a professional business and there was incredible tension between the classes. Keith said he could solve the problem so, ESPians from Mexico came to Albany to hear what Keith advised. His grandiosity just makes me laugh. The man who rarely stepped out of Albany, New York, knew the solution to an entire country’s economic and societal struggles.
Mark says Mexican ESPians “seemed to live in some kind of rarified air. A lot of money.” Reaching the most influential people in the country was part of the mission statement for the ESP center. It was believed that since the powerful and the wealthy influenced Mexican society, it was important to reach as many of the elite as possible. That way the ESP “education” would trickle down to the lower classes.
“I think you guys are numb to your own condition,” Keith lectures to the group. “Class neutrality is one of the biggest problems” and it is “generating a lot of fear, if you will.” Indeed. The poor fear they are nothing; the rich fear they’re undeserving because they haven’t worked for their wealth. He rants about what ten dollars means to a poor family. The rich spend that on drinks at a bar. It’s like they’re saying, “I piss on your family!” The wealthy need to learn to respect the power and privilege of their money.
What have we learned today, boys and girls? Nothing! Okay, I didn’t grow up in great wealth. Maybe very rich people are genuinely that out of touch. But did they need to haul their butts to Albany to be given this rather pedestrian, if you will, awareness?
Keith had Mark follow everyone back to Mexico to see what they would do with this information. He wanted it filmed, of course. “This thing will not work if you do not resolve the class struggle,” Keith says. They have to be on the radio and in the news, day after day… talking about the class struggle in Mexico and how to resolve it. Emiliano says he’s not sure where to start. “Well, start small,” says Keith.
Emiliano started a peace movement called “In Lak’ Ech” (“You Are My Other Me”). The movement grew—we see clips of Keith cheerleading and offering guidance. He would have been a really good coach if he wasn’t evil. Every Sunday thousands of people all over Mexico would recite a pledge of peace. “We’re going to reclaim Mexico from fear and violence,” we see Emiliano say in a public speech.
Inspired by Emiliano’s efforts—from the clips we see, it does seem like he and his fellow ESPians are working hard to connect with people—Mark decided to make a documentary called “Ecender El Corazón” (“Ignite the Heart”). I am not recapping this part, respectfully, because I am here to mock Keith. But, this serves as an example of how there were good things that could happen in Keith’s universe. Not by his efforts, of course, but because there really were people in ESP who had the means and the motivation to contribute to their communities in a positive way.
Or at least had the intention. With almost zero community outreach from Nxivm, I have no clue what ESPians managed to achieve in all the years of the organization’s existence. But I guess my point is, the desire was there. Even if the desire wasn’t used to actually do anything concrete, Keith was able to hide behind it and keep his dark intent underground.
Present day. Mark and Bonnie are outside of Catherine’s home in Malibu. Catherine gives them a long hug good-bye. The two are flying out to Albany.
Mark and Bonnie, back in New York. Bonnie tells us they put all of their belongings in storage when they left Nxivm and moved back to LA. Now that Keith is gone, they felt it was safe to return to Albany and get their stuff.
Bonnie and Mark drive to the neighborhood of their old townhouse in Clifton Park. They tell the filmmakers they are most likely being watched as it is typical for ESPians to have cameras set up for security. Bonnie is afraid they could possibly be served if anyone knows where they are.
As we watch Bonnie walk, tensely smoking a cigarette, we hear her say in voiceover back in the day Keith would test her to see how submissive she would be. He would call her at three in the morning to go for walks with him. “And I just jumped right out of bed and went, like it was an honor.”
We hear recorded conversation between them. Keith asks if she believes she is a hard worker. Bonnie says yes, when it is worth it to her to be so. She tells Keith it seems he is proposing she drop any plans she has and just move to Albany. “Well…” says Keith in a snotty voice. The tone of voice is irritated teacher to failing student. He says something about if she doesn’t want the answer, be respectful enough to not ask the question. “For you to say I am proposing that is either an excuse or a misconstruance [sic],” he tells her.
Bonnie tells him she doesn’t want to make excuses, but she is feeling a lot of fear. Keith tells her to get over it, because it’s not that hard. Then he tells her she is being too controlling. If you listen to the whole conversation he is just mind fucking her. One minute he tells her to hurry up and get over whatever she’s feeling. The next, he tells her she is being too controlling with her emotions, because she isn’t bawling her head off.
Bonnie tells us on other walks he would test her to see how obedient she was. He once told her to run into a tree. When she stopped short of smashing herself into it, he judged her for being protective of her body. Bonnie says she felt ashamed. Another time he had her lick a puddle, because he told her she was too fastidious. She obeyed. She tells us she was trying to open herself up to his teaching and let down her guard. “I think I failed whatever his tests were.” It would have been cool if failing his tests meant she turned around and kicked his ass.
It’s the next day and we cut to Bonnie and Mark as they head to a coffee shop. The filmmakers were allowed inside the store so, customers drinking coffee ask about the reason for the filming. Mark gives them a very fast rundown. Someone asks what the name of the organization is and when Mark tells them Nxivm, many of them recognize the name. One woman had a meeting with some Nxivm people once and says she could see how entrenched they were and dedicated to their “mission.” Sounds like typical ESPians. To her, it seemed obvious that it was a cult. The woman says she is “way too aware” to ever get sucked into such a thing. Maybe too aware to get involved in a cult, sure. But we all can be vulnerable to different cons, large and small. Don’t kid yourself.
As Mark, Bonnie and the coffee shop customers continue to chat, we hear Bonnie say in voice over dealing with the shame is very hard. Bonnie tries to explain to them that it’s not a question of being stupid or bad; she thinks of herself and Mark as good and sensitive people. “You’re really very trusting people,” one woman says. “Not anymore,” Mark and Bonnie say.
The pair drive out to the storage facility that has all their belongings. “Oh, geez,” says Bonnie when she sees how much stuff there is. Bonnie shows off her Star Wars action figure. Mark shows off the book he wrote named after his documentary, “What the Bleep Do We Know?” “It’s a lot of shit to go through,” he says.
Bonnie says she has some old ESP modules as she holds up some paper work. One piece of paper has the vocabulary words for ESP. Bonnie reads the definition of “suppressive person.” It’s a person who wants to destroy anything good they see. After leaving Nxivm, Bonnie was called suppressive. She tells us the concept was explained further in the module “The Fall.”
The Fall.
Keith is talking about the epic poem “Paradise Lost” by John Milton:
“It’s about the fall of Lucifer from the Garden of Eden,” Keith says. “At one point he’s personifying Lucifer and Lucifer looks up and sees Heaven and then sees Heaven’s creation which is man… [Lucifer] is amazed by man. He admires, even loves, man. But then you know what his reaction is? ‘That creature reminds me of what I lost. The perfection of that creature brings such hate, such memories, such awful things in me. I must destroy that. I don’t want to see Heaven embodied anywhere.’ So he seeks to destroy.”
I’m not convinced Keith actually read “Paradise Lost.” Or, he read it a very long time ago in school and wasn’t paying much attention. He gets the details wrong and he really misrepresents Satan’s motivation. I think he was projecting. I’m harping because Keith liked to appear as more well read than he actually was. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to read “Paradise Lost” in a literature class several years ago. It’s an incredible work of art. I know Keith lacks the depth of human emotion to appreciate it.
Bonnie explains what Keith means by the term “The Fall.” It is a state of being where if a person’s self worth bottoms out, they discover they can do things that can make them feel better and that is by hurting people. Such a person, according to Keith, is called a Luciferian.
In video footage Nancy tells us a Luciferian is the worst possible thing a person can be, because they look and act like normal human beings, but they aren’t at all. Well, Keith would know.
In “Paradise Lost,” Milton only references Lucifer as the angel before his fall from grace. Lucifer means “morning star” or “light-bringer.” Satan is the angel after he was cast out. Shouldn’t the term be Satanarian, then? I mean, if you’re going to go full goofball with this shit at least have some accuracy.
We cut to video footage of Keith yakking to Mark. “If Luciferic people didn’t exist, we’d have to invent them,” says Keith. “They’re very important for us.” The look on his face when he says this. I can’t even describe it. It’s kind of like, “Sociopaths are very important people. Yes, we are. We definitely are.” Somehow this tumbleweed has convinced himself that he and his ilk have made great contributions to mankind.
We then cut to Keith lecturing Emiliano saying it could be argued that Luciferians are “genetically superior people,” because they aren’t “burdened” by a conscience. Leave it to a sociopath to think sociopaths are genetically superior.
Keith says sociopaths are why human beings understand compassion. The way Keith explains our ability to feel things like compassion and empathy makes it sound like it’s just an algorithm as a result of various data input. Sociopaths provided data. You can be 100% science minded about how human beings are wired for thoughts, emotions and behavior and this argument still wouldn’t hold up. The shot is pulled in so Keith’s face is close up and fills the screen. There’s a malevolence in his facial expression, I swear to God. Sometimes the editing in this series is next level.
As Keith continues to ramble on, I can’t tell if Emiliano is genuinely fascinated by Keith’s blathering or borderline bored. To me, it looks like he is trying not to fall asleep.
Mark tells us he loved Keith and was afraid of him at the same time. We cut to footage of Mark and Keith talking together in a gym. Mark admits to Keith he sometimes has suppressive thoughts towards him. Keith gets all excited, “Suppressing in what way? You want to kill me, or?” Mark hesitates a little, but admits sometimes he feels uncomfortable and just wants to get away from him. Keith almost seems disappointed Mark’s thoughts weren’t more dramatic when he says, “Well, examine them. See where they come from.”
Mark tells us about a document he found on his computer. It was a story concept Keith had written about a sociopath preying on a man by pretending to be his mentor. The man comes to realize that his corporation is being destroyed from the inside and it’s his mentor doing it. The way Mark tells the story is better than my summary. His telling has more emotional punch.
Mark was horrified reading it knowing it was Keith telling him exactly what he was about. “It was like, ‘you fucker.’ Ten years ago you showed me exactly what you were gonna do to me.” Mark thinks for Keith it was fun to know how much hurt he would cause. “It was the best practical joke ever,” Mark says.
Encender El Corazon. Production call.
Mark is talking on the phone to Keith about how his hair changes throughout the various reels of footage. Does Keith want to get rid of all the scenes with his long hair and reshoot them? Keith says yes. He looks less like a crazy cult leader to people who would be inclined to see him that way. He also doesn’t like that his hair looks so messy.
It is fascinating how time and time again, Keith picks the pockets of other people’s accomplishments and claims them as his own. The documentary seems to be less about Emiliano’s peace movement and more about glorifying Keith. How did that happen?
We see old footage of Keith giving his lectures and then new footage. Clip by clip he is able to repeat the same lectures, the same way, almost word for word, even with the same arm gestures and cadence. It’s creepy as fuck. We see a woman holding cue cards, but that doesn’t change the creep factor.
We cut to Mark in present day who says, looking back, he was an obedient servant. We then hear recorded conversation between Mark and Keith. Mark is saying he is struggling with the wounds of injustice and immorality. Keith counters that there is no such thing as injustice. Keith thinks there is only cause and effect. He posits that Mark is facing the question of whether or not morality means anything.
Mark tells us in present day he knows Keith got pleasure from the hurt he has caused. Mark’s pain is very raw. He is really struggling with what he, his wife and his friends are feeling as they deal with the fallout of waking up. He is certain their pain gives Keith joy.
To quote Milton, Keith is like Satan, stuck in hell. “Which way I fly is Hell; my self am Hell.” The people Keith sought to destroy will rebuild their lives and they will heal. But Keith will always be Keith, because there’s no cure for that shit.
We cut to Mark and Bonnie who have driven to Silver Bay which is where V-week used to be held. As they crunch through the snow, Bonnie and Mark talk about how they have some good memories of their time spent there. Mark describes how beautiful it is in the fall with the oranges of the mountains contrasted with the green grass. He’s a filmmaker, so he’s good with the visuals, but it does sound like it was really beautiful.
Mark and Bonnie receive a call from a former ESPian who tells them Keith has been arrested. He is in FBI custody and will be extradited to Brooklyn. They send out a massive group text to all of the “rebels,” as Bonnie calls them, informing them of the news.
We cut to all the whistleblowers as they hear the news. Sarah is crying from joy. Toni Natalie is thrilled and can’t believe it. Catherine can’t speak she is so excited. A friend of Mark’s, former ESPian Toni Zarattini, films himself in a store in Mexico, holding a newspaper; Keith’s arrest has made the front page.
We then cut back to Monterrey where we see footage of Keith’s arrest. He is brought out in handcuffs and put in a police car. Nicki Clyne and others are there. Nicki says that they will follow him in another car.
We cut to Catherine who is laughing about the shot someone sent to her of Keith in the backseat of the police car.
We cut to Mark and Bonnie. “They fucking got him,” says Mark, giving Bonnie a hug.
Brooklyn Courthouse. Keith is being arraigned. We hear the judge say he is ordering a permanent order of detention.
Keith’s lawyers are talking to the press. They say of course he is pleading not guilty and he will have his day in court.
Sarah and Nippy watch the news from Vancouver as Keith’s lawyers say everything that has happened was consensual. They look angry at that.
We see Allison Mack leaving court and a reporter says she is in “a world of hurt,” because she is facing charges of sex trafficking and forced labor. She looks like a little girl with her hair up in a pony tail, wearing a jean jacket and backpack, clinging to her lawyer.
Clare Bronfman is seen coming out of court looking mildly annoyed. Her bail was set at 100 million. Wow.
Nancy Salzman is hounded by photogs as she leaves court with her lawyer. She looks tense. I can’t think of a word to best describe her expression when she is asked why she thinks she was arrested with Raniere. Just fucking pissed, I guess.
We cut to an old video of Nancy Salzman where she says that she wanted to have Keith as her mentor and the one requirement he made was that it would have to be for the rest of her life. “A vow,” Keith says to her in some more old footage we see. “A vow,” Nancy repeats back to him.
In voice over, Nancy says loyalty, depending on context, can be a very good or very bad thing. That’s for damn sure. We see old clips of Nancy with Keith and she looks like she adores him.
We then cut to a shot of her at home wearing an ankle monitor. This is a teaser shot though, because we only see her legs and her hands holding the gold scarf she used to wear as Prefect. She says something about getting lost in the movie of your life. We will have to wait till next season to hear from her perspective.
September 2020
We cut to outside shot of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. The filmmakers have called Keith. We hear him say a documentary can be shallow or deep depending on how much truth the filmmakers want to present. “So, talk to me,” says Keith in a voice that makes it sound like he is in the power seat of making a deal. Which he’s not of course, but his facade is firmly in place. End.
Season 2 Episode 1 “Tests of Loyalty”
Recapulet 
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