Brother Tom was a bit of a challenge to us as scriptwriters. His arc is perilously close to a line: he doesn’t go through any real changes and, almost without exception, gets everything he wanted from beginning to end. It’d be one thing if he were simply planning to kill himself in a way that he’d get to savor the dying screams of a planet joined with his own: it’s okay for the villain to feel unstoppable if they end up getting stopped. But Tom is even planning on getting a premature climax, so to speak. By the time the heroes foil (some of) his goals, that won’t really be his problem any more.

So Flo gives him an interesting detour here, with a challenge to his faith that briefly startles even him.

That alt text is something to think about, all right.