Considering 2020’s hatred of Christianity, it makes sense that 2021 begins with a totally illiterate perspective of Christianity. HBO’s Spanish drama 30 Coins brings back the classic myth of the Gospel of Judas to poison our screens once again. Much like The Da Vinci Code, this story never seems to die.
The January 11 episode “The Mirror” continues the story of small-town mayor Paco (Miguel Ángel Silvestre) partnering with local veterinarian Elena (Megan Montaner) to look into the strange occurrences happening after the arrival of Father Manuel Vergara (Eduard Fernández).
When Paco and Elena come across what appears to be a possessed mirror, they find a connection to the Gospel of Judas. This leads to Paco asking Father Vergara about the subject, and the priest introduces this group called the Cainites who follow the gnostic Gospel of Judas which states that Jesus and Judas planned his betrayal.
Basically, the Cainites believe in doing evil because “there is no good without evil” and everything is part of God’s plan, as if the Gospel wasn’t blasphemous enough for viewers. Father Vergara is quick to remark that this is only what the Cainites believe, not necessarily true. However, the show seems to go against him at every turn. The entire series is built around evil demons and members of an ancient organization hunting down all thirty pieces of silver once given to Judas because they allegedly have supernatural powers.
This episode also reveals most of the members of the current Cainites “belong to the Church,” which squashes the idea that this is a fringe conspiracy. 30 Coins seems to be following the Gospel of Judas more than anything from the actual Bible.
Even beyond that, the show itself isn’t exactly a pleasant watch. There’s dismemberment, foul language, and a lot of blood. The smoking, tattooed, former felon Father Vergara also comes off as a terrible representation of the religious sect, aside from the ones that are literally evil, of course. Even without the Cainites, the show seemed eager to show the Vatican as a ruthless cult-like organization. It almost makes the blasphemy seem tame by comparison.
30 Coins continues HBO’s decline into anti-theism. Well, we can’t say we weren’t warned.