Sunday, November 20, 2016

The Exorcist: Episode 8 Brings A Miracle and A Curse


Fans of The Exorcist received the most dramatic crescendo of the series thus far in Episode 8: "The Griefbearers" - yet it came with a price.    The stirring scene where Casey Rance is ultimately released from the hold of the demonic played out on the screen like a somber symphony, with well-timed musical accompaniment and chanted liturgies.  After Casey's mother, Angela, along with the rest of the family, is brought inside the convent, the demon attempts its trademark antics of personally addressing the weaknesses of each individual present.  Looking for a crack in their psychic armor, the demonic talks through Casey with personal knowledge of each person's most hidden, shameful secrets, hoping to worm its way into the spirit and take hold.  And one point, the force of hatred and evil finds leverage with Marcus and Tomas, as the two fathers suddenly devolve into an adolescent fist-fight.  Realizing what has happened, Father Marcus recalibrates the two of them, and they conclude the ritual by confessing their own faults.  The act of contrition, and the humility of admitting one's faults before God seem to be the final piece that allows good to prevail across the threshold to cleanse the evil entity from Casey.

However, during the process - and unbeknownst to the others at the time - Angela (or, Regan) has been lured into the devil's trap.  Finding its way into her consciousness, the demon takes Angela back in time to the possession experience of her teenage years.  There, he traps her.  Enamored, tricked, hypnotized by her mother's love, by some semblance of the past that she has refused to grieve and release, her soul is locked down.  On the surface, her body is now host to the demon that infected Casey,  having literally jumped from one Rance to another. 

It's momentarily refreshing, later, watching Father Tomas and Marcus celebrate their victory in a blues bar - kicking back a few beers, as if the Cubs just won a game at Wrigley Field.     But, alas, there is more serious drama to come. 

The harvesting of human organs by the evil infiltrators in the church - while noticed and called out by Father Bennet - is apparently an even more widespread operation than viewers might have believed.  One location is dismantled by police, and the Pope's visit is diverted; but the very Archbishop to whom Father Bennet pleas for help turns out to be on "the dark side" himself.   Moreover, Father Tomas' lover has been discovered by her spurned husband, who threatens to destroy the career of our childlike protagonist. 

All in all, though, this episode turned the volume up even higher in an already spell-binding series that has captured the imaginations and sensibilities of a large adoration of fans.  Some fans of the show, on social media, have even noted that this series has brought their faith back.  While it may sound cheesy to have a TV show do the work of a sermon, in this case, it is not an overstatement.  The show has captured the human angle of the age-old battle between good and evil, the one story, according to Steinbeck in East of Eden, that remains central to all stories.  Rather than glossing over recent problems in the Catholic Church, this series may even exaggerate them, but in doing so, it lends itself a credibility to modern viewers who have been disillusioned by organized religion.  The protagonists, here, are indeed very flawed (as all humans are) but one cannot help but see their earnestness of heart, especially in the two priests, Casey's father, and the nuns. The task of trying to do good, righteous work in a tainted world is given new breath and expression of the screen. 

Personally, one of my favorite aspects is the inclusion of the feminine aspects of divinity.  The nuns at the convent use a somewhat different method of exorcism.  Rather than commanding and expelling the demonic with masculine effort, they embrace and forgive evil: in essence, they love evil until it dissolves back into the good.  After all, it was Jesus who said, "fight not evil," and this, literally, is the new strategy presented here. This feminine approach is Father Marcus' key lesson from the sisters and their Mother Superior, and he immediately incorporates it into his own religious arsenal, growing in his vocation as an exorcist. 


Nothing in this series is static.  People change.  People get changed.  Broken, redeemed, and then broken again.  The refusal of the show to succumb to trite trivialities is praiseworthy.     Let's just hope it gets renewed  for another season.   -CLINT SABOM   [Clint Sabom also runs a blog and podcast on spiritual themes at The Graveyard Cowboy.]

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