Coincidentally, I rewatched Alex Gibney's "Going Clear" just this morning, so I was primed for an anti-cult tirade, which your essay was not, thankfully. I need to rewatch "The Master" too, but the first time I did I came away suspecting that for someone who is a big a mess as Freddie Quells, The Cause might have actually kept him from becoming something even worse... no matter how stupid the belief construct is that enabled this faint accomplishment.
Coincidentally, I rewatched Alex Gibney's "Going Clear" just this morning, so I was primed for an anti-cult tirade, which your essay was not, thankfully. I need to rewatch "The Master" too, but the first time I did I came away suspecting that for someone who is a big a mess as Freddie Quells, The Cause might have actually kept him from becoming something even worse... no matter how stupid the belief construct is that enabled this faint accomplishment.