After I Leave, Savage Wolves Will Come

Plot

Judy and BJ visit Eli at his mansion and meet Junior, leading Eli to dismiss them after they assume a relationship. Eli is later approached by reporter Thaniel Block, who investigates the Gemstones' scandals, including alleged abusive behavior by Aimee-Leigh toward staff; Eli refuses to cooperate. Jesse and Amber announce Zion's Landing to an enthusiastic response and attend a fundraising event where they meet investor Joe Jonas, but are surprised to learn the initial investment is $10 million.

They ask Eli for a loan, but he declines and warns them about Block's story. Despite the warning, Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin decide to protect the family from scandal. They go to Block's rental cabin, find the door open, and discover his corpse. After slipping in blood, they flee in panic, but are approached by a person before escaping.

They meet Eli at his mansion, finding him returning with Martin, his hands and pants covered in blood; he claims it is from a deer. When he asks what they want, they remain silent.

Reception

In its original American broadcast, "After I Leave, Savage Wolves Will Come" was seen by an estimated 0.190 million household viewers with a 0.1 in the 18-49 demographics, meaning 0.1 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode. This represented a 35% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which had 0.291 million household viewers and a 0.1 in the 18-49 demographics. The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics.

Critical reviews

Mike Vanderbilt of The A.V. Club gave it a "B+" grade, writing that Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin return to the compound and are discovered trying to clean up in the fountain by Eli, who claims to be on church business but is also covered in blood, calling it a pretty great cliffhanger that elevates a very funny episode with wild twists and turns. Scott Tobias of Vulture gave a 4-star rating out of 5, noting that the incident appears to propel the season forward much like the attempted blackmail last season, and suggests many twists to come beyond introducing a famous actor in the first episode and killing him in the second.

Breeze Riley of Telltale TV also gave a 4-star rating out of 5, stating that how the smaller plotlines play out will be as interesting and hilarious as the murder, and that during the lull of winter TV, The Righteous Gemstones arrives as a comedic saving grace. Dylan Roth of The New York Observer wrote that directors David Gordon Green and Jody Hill continue to blend thriller and horror notes into comedic scenes, and that there is something heartfelt about the affair that keeps him rooting for the rotten hucksters.

James Preston Poole of Full Circle Cinema gave a perfect 10 out of 10 rating, calling the episode the first course of a scrumptious meal of a season, with intrigue near Vice Principals level.

Did You Know?

• This was McBride's eleventh writing credit, Carcieri's fifth, Fradley's fourth, and Hill's fifth directing credit for the series.
• The episode aired back-to-back with the previous episode, "I Speak in the Tongues of Men and Angels".