It was a family reunion on Friday's The Exorcist: Rance family, meet the demon possessing your daughter! With its usual twists, superb writing, and incredible cast, the show continued to demonstrate why it deserves a renewal. The question remains: will a loyal but small following be enough to save the show from an exorcism of itself? Let's break down this week's episode to see why FOX should continue the possession for another season.
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| Collateral damage. |
Speaking of Casey: although Kasulka has sadly spent the last few episodes unable to properly use her acting chops, this week provided the perfect opportunity for the rising star to demonstrate her versatility a little more than usual. With a significant amount of lines (though of course not spoken by Kasulka), she was able to continue showing off that acting is more than spoken word. She started the season playing an innocent and sweet young woman, and now she's gripping viewers as a damaged and possessed version of the same character. Of course, credit is due to the fantastic FX makeup department, who have consistently helped Kasulka look the part, which is half the battle. Credit is also due to Kasulka (or her stunt double) for the excessive amount of head-banging and violent movements during the episode. It didn't look like a comfortable task, I have to say.
Before all the crazy exorcisms goes down, Angela expressed a desire to move the family away once Casey is saved. She's clearly committed to what she said last week about helping Casey through this, unlike her own mother did. Henry and Kat were both onboard with the suggested move to Canada, though grandmother Chris MacNeil (Sharon Gless) had another idea. With a spare residence in California, she offered the place up, commenting that there would be various college opportunities there for Kat. At first protesting, Henry eventually gave Kat his blessing, and it had me envisioning a spin-off: Kat and Chris take California. Imagine? That dream was short-lived, of course, but we'll come to that later.
Some dreams do come true though, as this week Lester (Ken Marks) and Cherry (Keira Naughton) appeared again. If you're unfamiliar with who the Rego duo are, let me refresh your memory: they're the caravan couple who have been helping Father Marcus for some weeks. This week they continued to work with Team Exorcism, treating Father Bennett (Kurt Egyiawan) for his wounds from last week's fight. I commented during my Chapter Seven review that I thought he was stabbed in the shoulder but I had doubts because he seemed to display no pain in the minutes that followed. This week, and the Rego's assistance, confirmed what I had suspected however. Once patched-up, Father Bennett spent the episode investigating the papal planning commission again, this time approaching Cardinal Guillot (Torrey Hanson) with his suspicions. Something about the Cardinal told me not to trust him and we'll discuss that shortly.
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| The girl that got away...though not anymore. |
The main event was of course Angela taking part in Casey's exorcism. In the lead-up to such, Angela was instructed to distract the demon, and as a result Pazuzu began spewing details about the past. It was revealed that Angela had aborted her first daughter, because she feared it would be rotten and dirty, similar to how she felt after the exorcism. It was heartbreaking (I use that word a lot in regard to Angela but it's true) to see her fighting for her youngest daughter whilst watching her hear gory details of her first pregnancy. I wonder whether it will have any repercussions, plot-wise, or whether it was merely a passing detail of the past, meant to simply add to Angela's suffering because of the demon. Moving on though, along with Father Marcus, Father Tomas (Alfonso Herrera) and Mother Bernadette (Deanna Dunagan), the concerned mother recited Biblical verses in an attempt to get her daughter back. It felt refreshing to see this character, who I would argue is the poster-child of fictionalised possession, to now be taking part in an exorcism herself. There is so much power in having been through something yourself, and then applying your experience to helping someone in a similar situation. You could see the confliction between the pain and the fury in Davis' portrayal, particularly when the demon transported her to the past.
Watching her younger self (portrayed by Sophie Thatcher) playing with the Ouija board which started it all, would evidently an uncomfortable experience for Angela. A quick sidenote regarding the casting of Thatcher: the actress portrayed post-possession Reagan a few episodes back, and to me, seems too old to be portraying her before her possession too. That was bad casting, though the actress does a fantastic job otherwise. During the scene though, Angela appeared so on edge, understandably, and no more so than when the sexual overtones began. With her younger self drooling, the Salesman / Pazuzu / Captain Howdy (Robert Emmet Lunney) reminded Angela of how much 'pleasure' she used to get out of contacting the spirit world. "I ruined men for you, say it" it added, before later commenting "I miss your taste". It was following this line that it proceeded to lick Angela's face, which was very disturbing to say the least. I've always considered The Exorcist (1973), and possession in general, to be a very sexualised thing. It's about something taking control of a body, often a young girl's, and this scene enforced my opinion. Another interesting point, which the scene reiterated, is that Angela wasn't chosen per-se. She contacted the demon, using the Ouija board, and so it was her who initiated the situation (not that I'm blaming her). Angela was explicitly told by the demon that it didn't choose her, she was merely in the wrong place at the wrong time, essentially.
The demon, in his explanation of her not being chosen, called Angela a "stupid bitch". Whilst I would disagree, I do think that from a fan's point of view, she did one stupid thing during the exorcism: when Casey was about to give us the twisted head action, she stopped her. Obviously, any parent would do the same (especially if you'd experienced it yourself) but I mean, come on - that's the money shot of the franchise along with the backwards stair crawling (which already featured, though in a tunnel). I was disappointed, I won't lie, though I hope they're saving that move for the finale: imagine Angela doing it instead? Another disappointing part of the exorcism was how ridiculous some of it was. The way the group fell down during certain parts was poor, considering the usual quality of the show. It felt like I was watching a student project for a few moments, with over the top acting and poor editing. That being said, it was generally a very compelling watch.
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| Father Marcus is part of the LGBT community? |
Talking of riding off into the sunset, Father Marcus had a little eye-flirtation with another gentleman in the bar, and my heart skipped a beat. I had no suspicion that he was interested in men, though I was pleasantly surprised (edit: I'd forgotten about the demon commenting that women weren't his flavour in a previous episode). He's such an interesting character, and a lovable one of course, so adding another layer like this is something I approve of. I just hope they explore his sexuality more than they did with Kat's. Father Tomas' sexuality was brought up again, this time by Jessica (Mouzam Makkar)'s husband, Jim (Andrew Rothenberg). Having found out about his wife's affair with her religious lover, the latter was not a happy man. You could've cut the tension with a knife when the confrontation took place, and although I do slightly ship Jessica with Father Tomas, I can't help but dislike her somewhat. I'm sure she has her reasons for cheating on her husband, but that doesn't make it right. Father Tomas is not an innocent party either, and it does reduce his character's morality for sure, and its often during scenes regarding his relationship with Jessica where he irritates me. Generally I'm a fan of the guy, though his relationship, and his constant back-and-forward desire to be with her, doesn't appeal to me that much. The writing however was entertaining during the scene, with Jim admitting that Jessica, in an attempt to cover up her feeling for Father Tomas, had stated "he's probably homosexual like the others" (wrong priest, actually).
Enough about Father Marcus and Father Tomas though. The episode saw the (potential) death of Father Bennett. After approaching the enemy, Cardinal Guillot, with his suspicions, the priest ended with a plastic bag over his face suffocating him. From the moment Father Bennett met with the Cardinal, I knew something wicked was coming. He was such a shady character, and Father Bennett lacks the judgement of Father Marcus. The former seemed quite naive throughout the previous episodes, like going to the Tattersal building alone and unarmed, and so he was likely to trust the wrong people. Poor Bennett though. I hope you get your comeuppance you sneaky French Cardinal. This is possible with Father Marcus, and the Regos, on the trial that Father Bennett was on. After seeing John Harplin (Alan Metoskie) mentioned as the mastermind behind the now-exposed plot against the Pope, Father Marcus realised the scheme isn't over. He had known Harplin previously, and stated that he was not wealthy enough to afford all the high-tech military gear found in the liar. He was merely a pawn in a bigger game. Let's hope Father Marcus treads more carefully than Father Bennett, and that the latter is still alive and breathing.
Casey is of course alive and free of possession finally. Saved during the exorcism which involved her mother, the teenager now has the possibility of moving on with her life. The demon had stated to Angela that she was the "girl that got away", and now Casey is that too. If anything she's the only one because Angela didn't get away. Yes, I am of course talking about that ending. There are not enough explicit words in the dictionary to describe how I felt during the scene. I had suspected the show may take the route of Angela being possessed since Chapter Five. It would be interesting to go full-cycle and have Reagan / Angela need to be exorcised, but I wasn't sure the showrunners would be so bold. I'm glad they aren't afraid to take risks like this, and hopefully it will pay off, just as Angela being Reagan has. Every episode has seemed to improve on the last, and this is particularly true of those following the Reagan reveal. It really helped establish the show as a class above what people expected it to be. Back to the scene itself though: it wouldn't have surprised me if Angela had rejected her mother now that everything was over, so that didn't particularly cause me to suspect the following moments. As soon as the pair moved towards the stairs though, I feared that Chris was going tumbling down them. Wow. That's all I can say. I did not expect that, in the grand scheme of things. Killing off Chris MacNeil is a very bold move indeed, but it ties to a bigger plot (a possessed Angela) which is hopefully worse the risk. Bye bye Kat and Chris take California though, damn...
Quote of the Week:
"You expect me to say you have some gift, some ability, something that sets you apart and makes you special? You were chosen? There are close to 8 billion human beings crawling this Earth: you're like vermin. Why me? Because you were under my foot you stupid bitch!" - The Salesman / PazuzuPerformer of the Week:
Robert Emmet Lunney really shined this week. His portrayal is disturbing yet in a way which truly captivates my attention. I don't want to look away, even though my skin crawls and shivers. His delivery of lines is wonderful, with a combination of attitude and a little sass. I feel as though he's perhaps in the shadows of many of his cast-mates, but this week he gets the recognition he deserves.The Exorcist returns next Friday on FOX for this season's penultimate episode. Whilst we impatiently wait for the ninth chapter, comment your predictions for the final two episodes below.
