Crap.
Whatever, let's talk 'Outcast'.
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| Anderson's tattoo goes horribly, horribly wrong. |
Spoiler warning - tv show spoilers, comic spoilers...warned!!!
Even if this week's episode of 'Outcast' wasn't chock full of action, I'd still call it a success because Kirkman and co. ratcheted up the tension to a point where it feels like danger and disaster loom around every corner and behind every shadow. When Kyle can't even look at a hot bucket of tar without losing his shit, you know things have gone pretty sideways. And even though the various subplots of the episode don't directly tie into one another, it feels like they do, because they all feel like they're reaching a crescendo of just straight-up bad news.
Kyle seems to be having a good little week at first. He's found himself a job tarring roads (which sounds like hell to me, but I suppose when the entire town hates you, you take what you can get) and is earning enough money to both keep him in beer and pizza AND to send a bit to Allison and Amber. He has a lighthearted lunch with Megan, and yet when she reveals Allison doesn't want Kyle's money, he seems to take it in stride.Of course, this all goes tits up when Mildred decides she wants a hit of whatever mojo Kyle has in his breath. In an extremely creepy scene, Grace Zabriskie returns to beat the shit out of Kyle and then suck the whatever out of him until an unseen force pulls her off. And the fact that her hummel figurines are her own version of a Joker card just makes it all the creepier, if you ask me.
Mildred's attack sends Kyle into a downward spiral. The assault leaves him unconscious and bleeding, and hallucinations cause him to walk off the job. He's powerless. And really, it's the first time we've seen the adult Kyle truly afraid. He has always approached the possessed from a position of, if not power, then at least caution and awareness. Yet this time, he's caught unaware, and gets pummeled by a little old lady who could have killed him were it not for someone else's intervention. Obviously, this has to leave him feeling pretty uneasy. So despite his conviction to stay away from Anderson, that's where he finds himself heading.
During her picnic with Kyle, Megan gets a phone call from Donny. Once he reveals that Mark beat the everlovin' tar outta him, then we really start to see that, despite their love for one another, Megan and Mark have some serious trust issues. Megan kept Donny a secret from Mark, Mark kept his attack a secret from Megan and now they're sleeping in separate rooms as Mark's choices have a major impact on Megan's state of mind. What is truly sickening though is that Donny is still turning the screws on Megan. His despicable attempts to blackmail her only serve to show that he deserved every bit of the ass-kicking Mark gave him. Once again, 'Outcast' shines a light on the mindset of a rapist, which I feel is pretty damn important in our current state of affairs. Donny isn't some creepy looking monster. He's a not-unattractive tire salesman, who publicly says the right thing, and privately spews venom. And in the context of this series, it makes him even more frightening, because his actions are not caused by demonic possession -- that's just who he is. A villain.
Chief Giles, too, is dealing with a man who seems to be A-OK on the outside. His buddy Ogden always has an answer, says the right things, but Giles knows he's lying. Once Mark finally tracks down the "missing" girl from the camper, she too says the right things. She was never missing, her DNA is all over the town (charming) and she was never in any danger. Yet she heads right over to Ogden's to compare notes and cover their asses. And while all this is going on, Giles has to deal with Anderson, too. He's got a stressful job, the chief.
At the heart of this episode, though, is Reverend Anderson, whose crisis of faith is reaching a boiling point. After shutting her out, Anderson pulls Patricia into his currently-failing exorcism, as if he needs a sounding board to convince himself both that God is on his side, and that Kyle isn't particularly special. That he is not a failure. He even cuts his hand open, believing any blood will have the same effect on the possessed as Kyle's blood. But once we learn that it's Caleb who is down in the basement, that Anderson can't save him, that he may not even want to be saved, and that faith and God's protection won't save you from either possession or a pissed-off Sydney carving a pentagram into your chest, Anderson is finally defeated. He can't honestly believe that God is on his side anymore. It's not a crisis of faith anymore...it's just a crisis.
Going back to Caleb for a moment, he underscores a lot of the same things Mildred first brought up in her conversations with Anderson. Caleb spoke of how good it felt to be "possessed" which raises the question of what is truly happening with them. Is it just like Anderson said, the seduction of evil? Or could it possibly be something more? Beyond that, Anderson has to feel even more like a failure for not being able to save arguably the most devout member of his flock; evil right under his nose. Again. And he couldn't do a damn thing about it.It was a turning point episode for both of the main characters - Kyle learning he can't hide from whatever this darkness is anymore, and Anderson, that he can't fight it alone. And while this storyline may not directly tie in to the Megan/Mark/Donny, or maybe even Chief Giles (we have't seen anything yet there that can definitely be said to be demonic), every single person on this show is dealing with some very frightening shit. And that palpable sense of dread permeates every plot, making it all seem intertwined.
Great episode.
FINAL SCORE - 8/10
Outcast airs on Cinemax, Friday nights at 10/9c
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