OUTCAST, Ep. 4 - A Wrath Unseen - A TV Review

Whoa, doctor! After last week's mostly wheel-spinning episode, 'Outcast' returned to top form, in a superbly chilling episode. Let's discuss!

Spoilers - Yes, there will be spoilers here, both for the show, and for the comic. Bewaaaaaare!

There were a few moments where my eyes bulged wide and either shrieked with a sort of high-pitched quality or audibly gasped during the last episode of 'Outcast'. It. Was. Skurry. The story delved a bit deeper into everyone's fears, each subplot was expertly crafted and horribly tense, and the pieces were moved around in a way that gives the viewer a clearer idea of where the season will go from here.

The main story was obviously the source of most of the chills. It took me a while to recognize Grace Zabriskie - this week's possession victim. She played Susan Ross's mother on Seinfeld. This was...um... quite a departure for her. After Anderson and Kyle bury Norville, Kyle goes along with the reverend to visit one of his previously exorcised parishioners, Mildred. It's clear from the start that something isn't quite right with her, and what we eventually learn about her is truly frightening on multiple levels.

Despite his insistence that the exorcisms Anderson performed prior to Kyle's arrival were successful, the Reverend speaks with the sort of shaky overconfidence of a man who is trying to convince himself of the power of faith, as much as he's trying to convince Kyle. And while Anderson certainly can't deny the existence of God - it would stand to reason if demons exist, then God exists - perhaps he can't quite muster the faith that the Almighty is actually on his side. But the terrifying point that drives that thought home is not the fact that Mildred is still possessed, but the fact that she's happier that way. 

Mildred professes to like how she feels now, that her soul feels greater than before, fuller; almost as if she's chosen to cohabitate with a demon. She toys with Anderson, deliberately frightening him and making no effort whatsoever to hide her true nature. It frightens Anderson to his core, and his blames himself, his sin of pride, rather than admit that maybe God's power isn't all he believes it is. He's not the only one who is shaken to their foundation, either.

While Anderson struggles to maintain that his faith will resolve the situation with Mildred, Kyle, Megan and Mark are taking matters into their own hands when it comes to Donny. After Megan's former abuser interrupts her date night with Mark, the truth about her horrible past comes to light, and everyone scrambles to deal with the matter. Kyle gets into an ill-advised bar brawl* with him, Megan contemplates killing him (and the episode goes out of its way to make the audience think she's going to pull a gun on him), but in the end, it's Mark who quickly and efficiently beats the everloving shit out of him.

*in the comic, Kyle and Donny are fairly matched and Kyle comes out the victor, before Mark immediately breaks it up - then gets a few shots of his own in, too. But casting decisions may have affected how that played out in the episode. Patrick Fugit is much smaller than Scott Porter (Donny), who, burly as he is, is much smaller than David Denman (Mark). But having Kyle get his ass kicked also shows that, despite being outmatched, his rage and his duty to Megan gives him enough courage to throw the first punch at Donny. And that is an example of the kind of courage it takes to fight demons.

In a time when rape culture is at the forefront of the public consciousness, Donny's attempt to throw guilt on Megan seemed particularly realistic, if incredibly repulsive. But Wrenn Schmidt handled her scenes like an absolute boss, convincingly playing everything - frightened, disgusted, haunted, vengeful and courageous - with aplomb. Her confrontation with Donny in his hotel room was especially moving. She stood her ground, trembling, and verbally tore him down, while asserting her own self-worth. She looked her rapist in the eye and stood up for herself. Schmidt simply owns these scenes.

Mark's final solution to the Donny situation is obvious, but effective. The moment I saw Donny driving down a darkened road, I fully expected to see cop lights pop up behind him. Telegraphed though it was, when it happened, I smiled to myself, waiting for this piece of shit's comeuppance. But despite the satisfaction of the beating, I found myself immediately wondering about Mark's dashcam video. The fact that we're shown the beating from that perspective certainly seems to indicate this piece of evidence may come back to haunt Officer Holter.

But then again, Chief Giles is busy with his own secret mission and may not have time to investigate Mark's shenanigans. Following up last week's story of the creepy-ass camper in the woods, Giles finds out his neighbor is somehow involved with it and stakes it out long enough to see said neighbor come out in the middle of the night and burn it to the ground. For a while, before the neighbor arrives, it seems like Giles is up to no good, but once his true intentions are made clear, the woods become that much more dangerous. Giles takes off his safety vest, for instance, and I immediately became wary that another hunter would "accidentally" shoot him on purpose. So for a scene where a man sits in the dark watching an abandoned camper, it certainly was heart-pounding.

So much happened in this episode, and it was all weaved together so expertly that disparate storylines all seemed equally relevant, and never once made me feel like "aww!! get back to the creepy old lady story!" The episode definitely gave the feeling of a show rounding into form. Characters are starting to come into focus, and the season/series arc seems to be coming into focus. Even Sidney joined in on the fun, introducing himself to Kyle and Reverend Anderson with his typical conviviality. The board is set and the pieces are moving into play.

And it is scary as shit! 

FINAL SCORE 9/10

Outcast airs on Cinemax, Friday nights at 10/9c