Night Sky's Mysterious Cult Explained

A mysterious cult plays a major part in Amazon’s science fiction drama, Night Sky. Here's everything season 1 tells us about the Cult of Caerul.

Warning: Contains spoilers for Night Sky season 1.

The plot of Amazon’s science fiction drama, Night Sky, is defined by the villainous Cult of Caerul, but the group is never properly explained. Starring Sissy Spacek and J.K. Simmons as Irene and Franklin York, and Chai Hansen as the mysterious Jude, Night Sky at first appears to be about the Yorks, health, and their past. However, as Night Sky season 1 continues, it becomes clear that there is something more at work with the mysterious Cult of Caerul.

In Night Sky season 1, Franklin and Irene York have discovered a strange portal in their backyard that can teleport them to a distant planet. After twenty years of keeping it a secret, they find Jude covered in blood on the planet and in need of help. However, members of the Cult of Caerul are keen to find Jude and his father Gabe who have deserted their order and it complicates Irene and Franklin’s lives.

While the Cult of Caerul is rarely spoken about in direct terms, its structure and the basic tenets can be divined by the elements shown and discussed in passing. While the cult is shrouded in mystery during Amazon’s Night Sky season 1, the finale suggests that there is more to tell. The Cult of Caerul will certainly be central to the plot if Night Sky is renewed for season 2, so here is everything that Night Sky has revealed so far.

Caerul: The Home Of The Cult

In Night Sky season 1, Caerul is not mentioned until Cornelius (Piotr Adamczyk) brings it up as a place that it might be time for Toni to finally see. Caerul is the thing that the cult is protecting and is a city located on the strange planet that Franklin and Irene visit. Caerul is only visible in the final moments of Night Sky season 1 as Franklin is saved by Irene after having gone looking for Byron (Adam Bartley) and the bells of Caerul can be heard ringing in the distance.

Jude’s Mother Is The Head Of The Cult

Jude’s mother is never mentioned by name in Prime Video’s Night Sky; however, she has an important presence in the story. Hints from the members of the Cult of Caerul reveal that Jude’s mother sits at the very head of the cult. When Cornelius gives Stella (Julieta Zylberberg) the assignment of tracking Jude down, he highlights the task’s importance by saying that it is “her” son. The fact that he doesn’t need to say who she is shows her importance, and when Jude meets Stella in Night Sky episode 8 he says that he remembers seeing her when she knelt before his mother. The Cult of Caerul is run by Jude’s own mother.

Night Sky Guardians Explained

Caerul is a far-off place on a distant planet, but it can be reached by a huge number of teleporters, like the one in the York’s backyard, and the Cult of Caerul are intent on keeping this a secret. For this reason, the Cult of Caerul has a network of Guardians, faithful members of the cult who are assigned to guard the different teleporters. The most prominent member of the Guardians is Stella, who guards a teleporter in Argentina, hidden in a chapel that was guarded by her grandfather before her. At the end of Night Sky season 1, Stella and her daughter Toni (Rocío Hernández) plan to leave the cult, with Stella telling Hannah (Sonya Walger) that she is no longer a Guardian.

Nick (Stephen Louis Grush) is also a Guardian, though he is more technologically oriented and irreverent about his duties. Cornelius appears to be in charge of the Guardians and may be the head Guardian. As Jude notes, the role of Guardian is respected but somehow tragic as they guard Caerul but do not get to live there like other members of the cult.

What Are Night Sky’s Apostates?

Night Sky references different people as Apostates throughout season 1. This includes Jude, Jude’s father Gabriel, and the person that Stella kills in a flashback scene. An apostate is simply someone who renounces a political or religious belief. So Night Sky’s apostates are people who have left the Cult of Caerul because they no longer believe in the cult’s tenets or they have learned something negative about the cult.

Given that the Guardians hunt down the Cult of Caerul’s Apostates in Night Sky, it is clear that the cult is not something one can voluntarily choose to leave. This is particularly apparent given that Jude had to fight for his life when escaping. As well as guarding the teleporters, the Guardians guard the secret of Caerul by killing anyone who knows about it who no longer supports their beliefs and is a part of the cult.

Fallen World Splinter Cult Explained

When Irene, Jude, and Denise (Kiah McKirnan) go in search of Jude’s father, known both as Gabe and Gabriel, they meet Hannah. While Hannah claims to be a bed and breakfast owner who once had a relationship with Gabe before he moved on, that is clearly not the truth. Hannah has surveillance equipment in hidden rooms of her establishment maintained and her final appearance in Night Sky sees her and her group running Stella and Toni off the road before kidnapping them along with Cornelius.

Hannah is also referred to as an Apostate by Cornelius and Hannah welcomes him to the “Fallen World.” While this might simply be what the Cult of Caerul call Earth, this seems unlikely as Cornelius spends a reasonable amount of time on Earth in Night Sky. Rather, the Fallen World seems to be a splinter cult, a group of people who know Caerul’s secret but are not a part of that cult and now seek their own ends. Gabe likely left Hannah and her establishment after learning the truth of her organization as he clearly didn’t trust her, hence leaving behind coded messages for Jude to find one day. While the Cult of Caerul will likely be a big part of Night Sky season 2, their conflict with the Fallen World will likely define their future story.