HBO’s new documentary series Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God is a sobering parable of how spirituality can fall prey to ego and excess. It’s also a heartbreaking story of fractured family. In a new clip from the third and final episode, shared exclusively with The Mary Sue, Tara Carlson finally makes contact with her estranged sister and cult leader, Amy.
Love Has Won tells the story of how Amy Carlson, a.k.a. “Mother God,” turned an online following into a cult in 2006. Through interviews with family members and former followers, along with archival footage from the cult’s many live streams, Love Has Won shows Amy’s rise to a Christ-like figure and her deterioration into alcoholism and illness.
In this new clip from episode 3, streaming on HBO and Max on November 27, Tara reaches out to Amy after watching her health deteriorate on the cult’s live streams. Tara describes how, in a Skype call, she could see Amy’s declining health firsthand, including blue-tinted skin caused by her consumption of colloidal silver as a supposed cure-all. “I wanted to hear her,” Tara says in the clip. “I wanted to know what was going on with her.”
(Courtesy of HBO)
Love Has Won is a heartbreaking story of spirituality gone wrong
Amy’s story begins much like those of other spiritual seekers: In 2006, she left her job and family behind and found like-minded people on the internet. However, Amy’s sermons and conspiracy theories eventually attracted a following of spiritual seekers, some of them lonely, others struggling with addiction and chronic illness.
Love Has Won documents how Amy, calling herself “Mother God,” claimed that she was an avatar of God and grew a small spiritual empire. Amy and her followers spent years selling healing sessions and spiritual products and recruiting followers through social media. However, Amy’s excessive drinking and reliance on alternative medicine led to a decline in her health, even as her followers celebrated her supposed ascension to godhood.
Episodes 1 and 2 of Love Has Won are currently streaming on HBO and Max. The finale, episode 3, will debut on Monday, November 27.
(featured image: HBO)
