r/unchosen

Things they got right.

-Their fear / distrust of outsiders, called “worldly” people irl.
-The churches absolute control over the congregation, and their ability to ruin members lives by shunning them / separating them from their families.
-The forced submission of women by their husbands and fathers, this part is played up a little for the show, but women ultimately have no say in church matters and little say in important family decisions.
-Financial malfeasance. While church members are instructed to pay their taxes, and most do, the church itself has been accused of hiding millions / billions in offshore bank accounts.
-Assembly discipline. While not as depicted in the show (in my personal experience) the church does / did isolate members as punishment and to “protect the community”.

Things they got wrong.

-The clothing. While the women do wear scarves, long skirts, and the men all wear white shirts on Sunday, most PBCC members wear modern clothing when out in public, in part to avoid drawing unwanted attention.
-Assembly discipline / physical aggression towards church members. I have never personally witnessed the following:
Members being manhandled or confined in locked rooms.
Members being forced to drink alcohol as a form of punishment.
The congregation literally turning their backs on members accused of sinning.
-The lack of technology. In the last 10+ years the PBCC has began allowing its members to use cellphones and computers, although they are heavily restricted and monitored.

Things that weren’t mentioned (yet)

-The financial might of the PBCC. Despite being a relatively small organization (50k members or less) the church has nearly unlimited resources for things like legal protection, security and political funding.
-The PBCC’s political influence. The church spends vast amounts of time, energy and money to promote / support / defend political parties whose policies best serve their own interests.

So far really enjoying the show, it’s obviously quite heavily dramatized but close enough to reality to give me and other ex-members a lot of “aha” moments while we are watching.

Became the leader of the cult? Because honestly I saw it coming from episode 2.

Not only was it obvious, but unrealistic. After Rosie left, there was nothing stopping her calling the police and telling them where Sam was.

Whatever "dislike" of the police that was mentioned in an earlier episode, doesn't come close to justifying it.

I know this is just a TV show, but it seems illogical to me that they had a funeral for Isaac when he is supposed to be shunned by the fellowship. As far as I understand in real life the PBCC act like you never existed if you leave. so if we apply that same logic to the show there would be no funeral scene or would they even be allowed to claim the body?

Perhaps Hannah was his next of kin? Thoughts?

After watching keep sweet and trust me I was primed for a good escape the cult fictional series, I had high expectations with the addition of the outsider romance.

Left super disappointed and I just have to rant. I’m only on episode 2 and I physically can’t watch anymore. Characters move for the plot not for real motivations.

Spoilers** Sam giving grace the corn doll? Why, it would just give him away.

Rosie leaves her bible behind on her secret mission? Why! Just makes me want to stop watching.

Sam just popping up in the getaway car with Rosie after dropping off isaac(how did he get in) tells her to drive, they got a location (why are they here?) then she spends all of one minute trying to convince them to go back ‘for her daughter’ (okay how is she going to make it back in time?) He gives in (didn’t take much convincing) they drive ALL THE WAY BACK then he starts expressing his emotions without being prompted (???) then they spend a few minutes chatting about religion calmly forgetting you’re about to be caught. (Wheres the urgency from before?) Like NONE of this makes any sense. It’s so frustrating to watch.

When Issac got let free, his wife decided to run to Adam (the man who got her husband publicly humiliated and tortured) instead of going to the leader mr Phillip, and using that against Adam to get him demoted. Makes no sense

The main girls husband feels flat and stereotypical villain, she’s in a cult for god sakes! The whole thing about a cult is it lulls you into a false sense of security and community. There’s no push and pull here, it’s all bad, yet the protagonist doesn’t seem to make any kind of character development to deconstruct her religion.

I wish there was more to show how a cult lures you into happiness, I wish Sam wasn’t some ‘bad guy but not actually bad just misunderstood’. It’s just a wishy washy plot and character motivations are all over the place. Overall narrative falls flat for what I expected considering all the real accounts we have of deconstructing religion and escaping a cult.

I get the larger concept was to have Sam be a problematic and manipulative character BUT I was so excited at their beginning/getting together. I really wanted him to be genuine and there for her. Guess it’s the romantic in me 🤷‍♀️

What happened to Mr. Phillips at the end? When Mason unlocked the attic door either

• a) he was convinced by Sam that Mr. Phillips was a threat that had to be eliminated or
• b) he realized Sam was crazy and this was the last thing he did before leaving the cult.

If a (and Mason did say his brother killing his girlfriend was justified because "she was going to leave him") then how did they cover that up?

If b then why wouldn't Mr. Phillips tell his version of the story at his trial? It's not like Sam's going to take the witness stand to contradict him.

U don’t get it; are you supposed to get drunk till you break and say you’re really sorry or? I know it’s serious but in my mind I was like shiit I can get drunk as a form of penance hahah. Is this actually practiced in any religions?

I can't be the only one that fell asleep while watching this. I was excited to watch it but I couldn't get past the first episode...when does the greatness start?

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Season 1, Episode 6

Release Date: April 21, 2026

Episode Description: When little Grace's safety becomes uncertain once again, Rosie's rising suspicions lead to a chilling question: who is the true devil among them?

This is the discussion thread for episode 6 of Unchosen. Please do not post spoilers for future episodes.

I didn’t pay 101% attention and didn’t hear how Sam’s brother got all of those bruises. Who was beating him?Tried to google but not even Gemini could find me an answer.

To former members of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church watching Netflix’s Unchosen, there are a few lines that prove beyond any doubt that the show is based on the cult they were raised in. In this article, I will give some examples of how the terminology, governance structure, disciplinary practices, and other details of the PBCC and Fellowship of the Divine are perfectly matched.

In Episode 2 at 04:40, Mr Phillips and Adam are talking:

“The Great Leader? How the secular authorities dare to question his tax affairs…”

Suddenly the Fellowship of the Divine expands – it is not a single community with Mr Phillips at the head – there is a higher level of administration – the “Great Leader” – presumably a figure of some notoriety, as Mr Phillips is reading about him from the newspaper.

Later in the episode, we find that the Fellowship of the Divine is an international cult. Mr Crane, an elder in Adam’s congregation, is sent to a congregation in Canada:

Ep. 2 – 04:46
“Mr. Crane's financial expertise, much needed in Canada. So… an opportunity, Adam.
Sorry, I don't follow.
A leadership role. Probationary period.
Goodness. I… I, uh… Thank you.”

Ep. 2 – 27:32

And as we welcome Adam into his new role, we bid farewell to Mr Crane.
Wish him well with his relocation. Canada's gain is our loss.

Later in the series, we find the names of two other Fellowship communities in the UK – Northampton and Norwich.

Ep. 5 – 31:56
Hey, uh… This is for a brother. Northampton community, he owns a Fellowship business, so—it's building supplies.

Ep. 6 – 19:27
Grace? You need to be quick.
We have to go.
I'll drive you to Norwich. My father's cousin, Martin, he's the elder there. It's building supplies.

These scattered lines give us the big picture of the Fellowship of the Divine – and we find that it is an exact match to the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church.

1. The Fellowship is an international cult, led by a single “Great Leader” – notorious enough that an investigation into his tax affairs is public news. The PBCC is also an international cult, led by a single all-powerful “Great Leader” – Bruce D. Hales – and it is currently in the news due to multiple Australian Tax Office investigations into its leadership’s tax affairs - see https://www.reddit.com/r/cults/comments/1s3r8do/the_ubt_scandal_millionaires_stealing_from_charity/
2. The Fellowship’s individual congregations are led by “elders” and are named after the cities where they are located. The PBCC’s 300 or so congregations are also named for their cities and led by elders. The city names are retained even though, in practice, PBCC members usually live in the rural commuter belt, avoiding urban areas. Unchosen’s rural setting reflects this PBCC practice.
3. The senior elder in a Fellowship congregation appoints junior elders to work under his direction. There is no seminary, ordination, or theological or pastoral training for the role – Adam is simply appointed on Mr Phillips’ whim. Exactly the same process operates in PBCC congregations. There is no formal appointment process or documentation of leadership roles – but each congregation unquestionably has a leader. In PBCC terminology, this man is described as “the local lead” and is said to be “giving the lead” in his congregation. His authority is confirmed by annual invitations to the “Universal Meetings,” where the “Great Leader” instructs and admonishes local leaders on how to run their congregations.
4. From the wider plot of Unchosen, we see that if local Fellowship leaders transgress, they are swiftly “confined” and replaced by another elder from the congregation. This is a recurring theme in every PBCC congregation globally. A PBCC local leader who lasts a decade counts himself lucky, and leadership succession always involves the disgrace of the incumbent, who is then publicly humiliated by his successor. If the deposed leader avoids actually being “confined” as Mr Phillips was, he usually has to “sit back,” i.e. he is no longer allowed to sit on the front row of brothers in the Meeting Room.
5. We also see that Fellowship elders from one congregation are directed to relocate to other congregations around the world where their “financial expertise” is needed – evidence of a powerful global organisation that overrides local control. This is a direct reference to the PBCC. Since 1990, thousands of PBCC members have been sent to congregations in different countries, not just to add numbers to small congregations, but specifically to bring business expertise and finance to congregations that lack these skills. Specifically, numerous PBCC members from the UK have moved to Canadian congregations for this reason.

Let’s take a look at some of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church’s internal Ministry that mirrors the language and governance structure we see in Unchosen. These quotes are from the Subject Index to the Ministry of B. D. Hales.

The references below to the Great Leader are from Bruce D. Hales, described on the PBCC’s website as “our most senior leader.” In the first quote, he is talking about his father and predecessor, John S. Hales, and in the second he is invoking the whole succession of PBCC “Great Leaders” back to the 1820s – J. N. Darby, F. E. Raven, James Taylor Sr., James Taylor Jr., James H. Symington, and John S. Hales.

>our beloved brother recently, last great leader, was
very much under reproach. You think of those years
when he was standing idle, you might say, but he never
quit, he never gave up ................. 39:117
Hamilton, Australia, Reading, Tuesday, 17 May 2005

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>These six great leaders that we've had have gone,
They were very distinctive, special, in a certain sense,
something ... immediately you're in touch with the food
supply .. 26:18:
Hamburg, Reading, Wednesday, 17 March 2004

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There is another, even more striking reference to the PBCC’s Great Leaders in Unchosen – and it is a visual reference, not a spoken one. In Mr Phillips’s office, there is a very prominent row of large portraits of successive cult leaders on the wall. This is a direct copy of PBCC practice. The PBCC’s business wing sells a large canvas depicting the seven Great Leaders of the PBCC – the six mentioned in the quotes above, plus Bruce Hales, the seventh. Every PBCC household globally is expected to have this canvas on display.

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The seven successive leaders’ portraits in Mr Phillips’s office from Unchosen.

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The mandatory “Canvas of the Seven Great Leaders” from a PBCC home.

The next reference is to the “local leads.” The scripture reference is to St Paul, whom the PBCC regard as the prototype for their own “Great Leaders.” Bruce Hales is giving this as a metaphor, to say that local leaders are qualified to lead by studying him personally, not by training or certificates. This quote encapsulates the whole PBCC hierarchy of control.

>Have you ever thought of that, you guys who are trying
to give leads or whatever, whatever you call them, take
the leadership roles, leadership roles? Did you do any
training for it? Have you got any certificates to prove to
me that you can give a lead? Timothy was an understudy
to Paul, that’s how he learnt to lead; he was qualified, he
was complete as to qualifications .............. 70:56
Oamaru, Reading, Monday, 3 December 2007

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The next quote brings in the specific terminology “confinement” – a disciplinary practice characteristic of both the PBCC and the Fellowship of the Divine.

>the procedure of persons being confined ... normally
would be to see how they get on, whether they make a
turn, whether they're accepting their obligations to get
right, and get into the clear. But if time is given, and
they're identifying themselves with what's worldly, what's
evil, what's against the principles of the truth, then you'd
have to look at what Scripture applies. It wouldn’t be
intended that the position be left indefinitely .. 34:224
Christchurch, Reading 3, Saturday, 21 August 2004

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The same term occurs in Episode 6 of Unchosen when Mr Phillips is confined:

Ep. 6 - 05:28
You are to be silenced. Stripped of your leadership. You are to remain in your home, forbidden to attend meetings, communicate in any way with any brother or sister… or set foot in any Fellowship business premises.

Ep.6 - 05:51
Hello. Adam, I'm at the Phillipses’. Bit of a situation here. Yeah, I need your help. Okay. Understood. Mr Phillips is out. He's broken his confinement.

The next quote is chilling and confirms the severity of the “confinement” punishment. Here, B.D.H. is asked about the permitted level of contact between the parties when a husband is “withdrawn from” (i.e. finally excommunicated) and the wife is in the intermediate position of being “confined.” The terms "Fellowship" and "Separation" come into this quote too - PBCC members often refer to their sect as "The Fellowship" or more formally as "the Holy Fellowship of God's Son". In Episode 1. Mrs. Phillips says:

Ep.1 - 21:41
"Separation is our sole principle. We must live our beliefs. I'm sure you'll find a way to demonstrate your repentance."

Here is the quote from Bruce Hales:

>The husband is withdrawn from, and the wife is con-
fined. How much contact would there be between the
wife and her husband, and the wife and the brethren?
B.D.H. Well, separation must be recognised, clearly.
If someone is under assembly discipline, then every
contact must be on a priestly basis, otherwise we're likely
to exclude ourselves from fellowship, even if accepting
the confined position. Should be care, there should be
care rendered to persons in that situation, where they're
under restriction because of the defection of someone
else. . . . . . 38:29:
Coventry, Reading 2, Friday, 22 April 2005

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The next quote is a question to B.D.H. (Bruce D. Hales) about how to correct matters if someone has been “confined” in error. It also uses the term “elder,” which is the standard term for a PBCC brother with administrative responsibility in a congregation.

>Where we've gone too far administratively, maybe in
confining or withdrawing from somebody, how would the
assembly meet that type of transgression? B.D.H. Well,
it would be that the assembly would ask forgiveness ...
It would be through prayer in assembly by the elders
taking the matter on in a responsible way and seeking
forgiveness, getting the matter settled ........ 13:228
Sydney, Reading 4, Saturday, 25 January 2003

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Are you feeeling the Unchosen vibe yet?

The term “relocation,” as used for Mr Crane in the Fellowship, is standard PBCC terminology – there is a whole section in the Subject Index to the Ministry of B. D. Hales headed “Relocation.”

Here are some quotes:

>RELOCATION—the Lord’s mind cont.

>It would raise with us what our mind is, what our
disposition is in making a move. Are we, are we equal for
it? Are our families together with us? Is the Lord going to
prosper it? Will it strengthen, will there be a strengthening
through the proposed move? Will that strengthen the
locality to which we’re moving? .............. 75:289
Redbridge, Reading, Tuesday, 20 May 2008

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>RELOCATION—to another nation

>These new assemblies that are being established, it's
very fine that persons are exercised to—it’s really on the
principle of self-denial really, it's the principle of sacrifice
... These brethren that are going overseas, you know,
once they get into a North American winter, up there in
that area where beloved Mr. Symington was, see the
hardship of winter—we wouldn't be able to take it 10:7
Sydney, Reading, Lord’s day, 6 October 2002

>I think it’s very fine that you'll get persons prepared
to move from one nation to another, I think it’s meant to
deliver us from national pride ................. 15:387
Lyon, Reading, Monday, 31 March 2003

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These are just some of the most striking references that link Unchosen’s Fellowship of the Divine to the PBCC. Some of these, such as the “confinement” practice, are major plot themes in Unchosen. Others, such as the “Great Leader’s tax affairs” comment, appear to the public at large to be just a throwaway line – but it is not. It’s a deliberate signal that unequivocally identifies the Fellowship of the Divine as the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church.

Here is a summary of the specific commonalities identified in this article between the fictious cult in Unchosen and the very real cult of the PBCC. The article only covers a few of these shared characteristics - there are at least 70 in total.

• Single central “Great Leader” with absolute authority over the entire organisation
• Operate as international networks, not isolated local churches
• Congregations are city-based and run by “elders” within a strict hierarchy
• No formal training or ordination — leaders are appointed internally
• Top-down control — leadership roles assigned and directed from above
• Local leaders are regularly removed, disgraced, and replaced
• Use of “confinement” — isolating members from community and communication
• Strong doctrine of separation from outsiders
• Members are relocated internationally to serve organisational and financial needs
• Business and religion are tightly linked across congregations
• Shared internal language — terms like “Fellowship,” "great leader" “elder,” “relocation,” “confinement”
• Leader veneration through lineage and imagery (e.g. portraits of successive leaders)

The ending was disappointing in a way, because part of me wanted to see a happy ending. But maybe the characters got one in their own way.

Rosie got what she wanted — she left the community, and even though Sam was portrayed as a negative character, he gave her a new experience and showed her a different side of life, helping her understand what life outside the community could feel like.

Adam didn’t want to leave, but maybe that’s exactly what he needed. Perhaps life inside the community never allowed him to truly be himself, and that’s where all his insecurity came from.

Mrs. Phillips was finally reunited with her son. Instead of spending the rest of her life in misery, she now has a chance to live her final years in peace and happiness.

Isaac didn’t get a happy ending, but his character is interesting in many ways. I still have so many questions about him. If leaving the community was his plan all along, he could have left much earlier instead of having so many children and then leaving his wife behind to deal with everything alone.

The same goes for his wife. To her, the community seemed more important than her husband, she never supported him and maybe that’s exactly why he never felt truly loved and wanted to leave. Rules are above feelings in this community. And that's not for everyone.

I think Adam and Hannah would fit each other more in the community. Same goes for Rosie and Isaac. But thats just a thought.

The ending itself also felt a bit unrealistic. The police are supposedly searching for Sam, yet he still manages to take such an important role in the community, and the main characters **just let it happen.**There were so many moments when they could have called the police, and realistically there would have been no consequences for them. Adam could have simply broken Sam’s phone with the video on it. I didn’t like how much power Rosie and Adam gave to Sam when, in reality, he had none. But some people can never cross the limits of their own character — and I think that’s what the show was trying to portray.

But I think the real purpose of the ending was to show what communities like this are truly about — control. They talk endlessly about sin, they punish people, and preach morality, yet the leaders themselves are often the biggest sinners.

One sinner simply replaces another and continues teaching others how not to sin. And people obey.

They teach people not to think for themselves. In many ways, that’s how the world works. We believe we join these communities to escape the demons, but in reality, we may end up closer to them than ever before. And along the way, we lose all common sense.

In reality, there are many people in leadership roles who are psychopaths because of their power to manipulate others. Especially those ones with victim mentality. Like Adam. He was struggling so much inside himself that he couldn’t see what was happening around him clearly and was easily manipulated. Or maybe he didnt want to take actions because it is easier to be weak?

So in the end, we see the devil in the flesh becoming the person who will teach those people how to live the “right” way.

Will control them and write his own rules. Funny isn't it? But very realistic, sadly.

In any community, common sense should matter more than strict rules.

But it's not how it works.

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Welcome! This is the discussion thread for all of season 1/the entire season of Unchosen.

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For episode-specific discussions, please use the individual threads linked below. In those threads, we ask that you keep the spoilers contained. (For example, no episode 4/5/6 spoilers in the episode 3 thread.) If you see a spoiler in the wrong place, please kindly report it so the mods can review and hide it.

• Episode 1
• Episode 2
• Episode 3
• Episode 4
• Episode 5
• Episode 6

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This post is the discussion thread for all of season 1, let us know what you think of the entire season! **Warning: Spoilers for the entire season may be in the comments below**. Please use the links above for episode-specific discussions.