See No Evil: c4 documentary on John Smyth

[Lalgarh]

Trigger warning. CSA, violence,

1st of 2 episodes shown last night. Based on the Andy Graysmith book Bleeding For Jesus.

2nd part tonight (Thu 11 December 9pm)

Review of 1st episode
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/10/see-no-evil-review-documentary-channel-4-anglican-church-child-abuse

From his family
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8e9xl7e37wo

Whenever cases like this arise the Church always issues a statement saying "we will learn from this" or something along those lines. But they never do. They are one of the oldest and strongest pillars of the patriarchy and run largely by privileged and out of touch men who will always protect their own, no matter how odious. Justin Welby's resignation speech in the House of Lords fully exemplified this. His words and body language clearly demonstrated a total lack of awareness and one can only conclude that it mirrors the attitude of the Church as a whole.

That fixed rictus grin on his wife.

And now she's recounting how he asked her if the boys in his charge should be "whacked".

"But they're not your children"

Her son has now had flashbacks and realised he was abused by his as well

This is so well articulated and I agree with every word.

Dh and I watched this in stunned silence,it was really powerful TV.

I didn't see the first episode but watched the one last night. How unusual and important that it was shown without ad breaks.

Yes @Lalgarh , that rictus grin.

I noticed when she was apologising at the end she closed her eyes. Perhaps she's still disassociating.

I didn't even realise there were no ad breaks.

I note towards the end of his life after a young man died at his camp in Zimbabwe, he moved to South Africa.

There's also a few fugitive private/ boarding school teachers there who like Smyth were packed off abroad rather than being reported to authorities as covered in the In Dark Corners

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00174kd?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

Alex Renton has done some amazing work that should never have been necessary.

I’m watching it now.

JFC, he’s despicable and I’m struggling to paint his wife as a victim TBH

I flip flopped throughout but by the end I agreed with the daughter that she was his first victim. Also very hard not to view the situation through modern eyes, there was no safe guarding, he was an extremely powerful man and she was extremely vulnerable.

So am I, how could you know and not do anything!?

She was under his spell. As was her son, until he wasn't.

It's very easy to look in from the outside and wonder why people don't just stand up to him or walk away. As one of his now adult victims said there was love there too - you get to know the 'nice' side and when little things are introduced you dismiss your doubts because you are so fond of him ... until there's more nasty than nice but you can't do anything because you are held there by the bond. It often takes a big event for that bond to start fraying or break.

One of the victims said he had a knack for identifying vulnerable boys. The Winchester boys were away from home and one was an orphan and he groomed them and made them feel wonderful/loved and hooked them in before starting the abuse.
Fucking horrific. I wish he'd been jailed as soon as it started.
I haven't been to church recently but I would hope the safeguarding is much better now like it is in schools compared to how it was when I was at school

Not finished the second episode. Watching it now

I wish this could have been shown when he was still alive

The same way women stay with men who beat them, it's coercive behavior. She also has the religious side of it too so she felt she had to stay with him as he was her husband .