I love the symbolism of the jewel becoming part of the new cross after the events of Wake up dead man. I am literally chewing dry wall over how perfect this ending is for Jud Duplenticy, specifically.
Throughout the movie Jud keeps repeating that religion should not centralise the ego, hatred and violence. It should centralise community, love and acceptance in line with the teachings of Jesus. And then Jud takes this jewel that has caused so much pointless violence within the community. That has caused so much pointless violence against him. And what does he do? He gives it to Jesus.
He doesn’t keep it for himself, he doesn’t throw it away or give it to the church. No, he gives it to Jesus. Jesus who internalised all sin to give the world a clean slate after his death. Jesus who forgave humanity.
Jud forgives and lets go of the grief the community and church brought him. He acknowledges the sins his community and his church have committed and counters the hatred and violence with love. Because that’s what Jesus believed in. That’s what he fundamentally believes in. He is not here to “fight the wicked or bring them to justice”, but “to serve them and bring them back to Christ”
By “displaying” the stone as the heart of Christ Jud also buckles down on his belief that we need to openly acknowledge our shame and not hide it away. We should not let it fester until it consumes everything good in us, but acknowledge and accept it as a part of us. Because God acknowledges and accepts it as a part of us.
It’s a poignant callback to the exchange between him and Benoit Blanc where the detective accuses him of only joining the church, because it gave him a place to hide from his mistakes and to get a clear way to absolution. And Jud, who has openly talked about the mistakes that lead to him joining the church from the very beginning of the movie, counters that he didn’t find his way to god, because he wanted to find absolution.
He says he made these mistakes with open eyes, but that his faith helped him acknowledge those mistakes. He believes that his mistakes don’t condemn him for eternity in the eyes of God. He believes that God does not hide or fix people who have made mistakes. He believes that God loves people when they are guilty.
So he takes this jewel that has been tainted by violence and hatred. That represents the sins of the community. And makes it the heart of Jesus. Symbolically the community is not only forgiven, but also told they are loved even though they are guilty. Because that is the heart of Jesus’ teachings in Jud‘s eyes.
Thematically it fits so beautifully into Jud’s character arc. Honestly one of the most satisfying endings I have seen in a while
