Finally Thelma’s getting some attention with her and her
fellow Lesbian ghost Peggy from the 20s, sharing historical sexual fantasies
and pork scratchings (which is so, perfectly, Thelma) . They quickly move from
that to discuss Azazeal (how sad is it that 2 lesbian ghosts with a bag of pork
scratchings still can’t pass the Bechdel test?) upsetting the natural order of
things, hence their existence. Said disturbance in the Ancient Egyptian times
(per ancient Egyptian tablet that was hanging around the school for convoluted
plot reasons) was caused by Azazeal’s lover, Herath, having a child. While
Cassie is not possessed, they’d expect the natural order to be restored – but they’re
still around so clearly not. That’s some subtle foreshadowing there guys.
Really
We move from the plot point dropped on us like anvils to
Azazeal looking tragic and sexy (not hard) staring at the school. I’m not sure
why but it’s a cool scene so I’ll go with it – Azazeal is sad, folks.
And since it’s morning, Thelma finds Cassie in the
bathrooms being sick. (At this point, if you haven’t guessed that Cassie is
pregnant, you probably need hitting over the head with a home testing kit. And no,
that doesn’t count as a spoiler. If they were any less subtle, Thelma would be
knitting baby booties and Azazeal would be mixing baby formula). Thelma gets
Cassie tucked up in bed with her “food poisoning” and Cassie asks Thelma to
stay with her, which is touching and lovely and sweet and more mixed signals.
The next morning Cassie is sick again and Thelma spares
us more foreshadowing with a gentle snark “it’ll only last the first few months”
and gets her a pregnancy kit, which comes back positive. Cassie leaps on the
best possible option and decides the baby’s Troy’s. Thelma points out that she
used a condom with Troy but with Azazeal Cassie didn’t use protection.
Which si a great time for teacher Jo to arrive (the
hypochondriac), even better for Cassie to pass out. While Jo panics and looks
to call a doctor (as the only staff member around during the holidays). Cassie has
to tell her she’s pregnant – and Jo, sensibly, goes to make a doctor’s
appointment anyway. Jo acts in a many kinds of awesome way, trying to find the
father relatively delicately (though she does hope it’s not Leon, which is
understandable). She then talks to Cassie about what’s she’s going to do – but advises
Cassie to wait (while making it clear she’s not a pro-lifer, in a disparaging
tone which balances her advising Cassie wait) before making any decisions. Cassie
says she doesn’t want to keep it and she’s sure – and Jo says “ok, your choice.”
After a night of nightmares, Cassie wakes up to ginger
tea, prepared by Azazeal who is by her bedside. He is talking strollers and
baby names and the legacy their child will have and how there’s no way Cassie
will kill their child. Cassie gives him the appropriate side-eye and goes to
Thelma. Where, they discover, Cassie already has a bump – the baby is growing
very quickly. There is snark, yes yes there is.
But when going to the taxi to take them to the doctors,
they run into Troy who has driven back to school to try and patch it up between
him and Cassie. He’s like an over-earnest puppy and won’t be put off. And then
he sees Cassie’s baby-bump – causing him to run into earnest “I love you” and “I
will support you.” Thelma’s facial expressions say it all. She says she’s
decided – he protests that it’s his child (even though she says it isn’t) and
she goes anyway.
At the doctor’s, Cassie finds that the super-speed growth
of her baby means she’s now 20 weeks along. The doctor, unnecessarily, asks if
she was using contraception and asks what she wants to do – she makes it clear
she wants a termination (and sticks to it when doctor questions it). He’s more
than a little judgemental.
Later Thelma slaps down the doctor’s judgementalism and cheers her up with a fun Jesus and Judas analogy. Meanwhile, Teacher Jo and Azazeal have got together and are in her room at the school. He also reminds us that he’s the leader of a whole pack of 200 fallen angels, the nephilim (in case we forgot).
Peggy returns to update Thelma on her research – to stop
evil and badness it’s not necessary to kill Cassie, but the child must not be
born because, if it is, it will unleash 200 demons. Yes, Thelma makes the leap
to the nephilim. But she also realises that if the child is killed the dead
will no longer be able to talk with the living and she won’t be able to see
Cassie again. Thelma cries at the idea of losing Cassie
Pulling herself together she reassures Cassie, who is
worried and afraid. But later runs into Teacher Jo and…. Azazeal (looking
yummy), in Jo’s room. Still Cassie is reassured and planning what they’re going
to do at New Years – after all 48 hours and it’ll all be over. But midplans,
Thelma breaks down since, in 48 hours, she believes she’ll be gone. Lots more
touching bonding between them – a really good scene with lots of heavy emotion.
In the hospital, her foetus is still growing quickly –
and Azazeal shows up to give her flowers and express surprise at how hostile
she’s being (he used mind control on her then raped her? Why would she not be
hostile?!) But no, she’s angry because Azazeal slept with Teacher Jo. Azazeal
urges her to keep the child and Cassie tells him to go (not nearly forcibly
enough).
And, sure enough, when Thelma arrives Cassie is having doubts. She can’t be sure she doesn’t love Azazeal, Azazeal really wants the baby and it’s not the baby’s fault. Thelma tries to blame the hormones but Cassie rejects it, but Thelma hits back with sense – this isn’t a normal baby and there’s no way Azazeal doesn’t have a diabolical plan. Cassie protests that she can’t be sure (Cassie, he’s a Fallen Angel and you’ve just gone through nearly 24 weeks of pregnancy in 3 or 4 days. Yes, you can be reasonably sure). Faced with Cassie’s blithering denial, Thelma reveals what she and Peggy have found out about Herath back in ancient Egypt. Cassie is shocked! She thought he really liked her! Oh, she should have known. Of course, Thelma goes into full comfort mode and again she’s there to stay with her as long as she can.
Of course, Azazeal has his own plots. Going to a church
meeting he speaks to a circle of people studying the nativity and how Mary was
an unwed mother, facing shame with courage and throwing pro-life rhetoric at
the circle. Of course, one of the small group of congregants is Cassie’s
doctor.
As a bonus, Cassie gets a nurse talking about how wonderful it is to have kids at Christmas. Wow this hospital is over-brimming with professionalism!
Cassie finally goes into her operation, comes out asleep,
without her bump. There’s a brief moment where we think Thelma is gone, the
abortion having removed the ghosts – but no, she’s there and still awesome. The
bad news is the doctor took it upon himself to intervene, urged by Azazeal –
and the baby is in an incubator. With the menacing words “God isn’t going to
forget this”.
It’s almost unique to have a woman pregnant and
unabashedly choose an abortion. And I do like that Jo is very quick to say it’s
her choice. There’s a lot of doubting going on, though, and, of course, Troy’s
histrionics. Unfortunately, the whole thing ends up magically derailed by the
super-speedy child so I don’t know how much this actually does subvert the
whole “ABORTIONS MUST NEVER EVER BE SHOWN!” Especially with the abortion being
stopped by religious intervention and the huge anti-choice speech Azazeal gives
– though said religious intervention is demonically inspired and leads to evil
happening, which somewhat derails it. It starts so very well and then crashed
awfully
The only reason Cassie slept with Azazeal was because she
was possessed. She was raped. To have her then be jealous of her rapist
sleeping with another woman? No no no, ye gods no.
And on that note. Cassie’s “I thought he really liked me.”
“I should have known.” Yes, you should have known. He’s a Fallen Angel who
POSSSESSED YOU into making you sleep with him to produce his demon baby AFTER
stabbing your best friend to death. And after you heard numerous stories of how
he killed and drove insane the McBains and drove your own mother insane. Seriously,
at what point in the proceedings does the demon guy earn the benefit of the
doubt here? How could anyone with the common sense of a concussed hedgehog believe
Azazeal has even remotely positive intentions here?
Series notes:
I dislike how Thelma was treated throughout the series.
She was constantly used and sacrificed, she revolved around Cassie. Even when
she had the very limited, semi-relationship with Peggy it revolved around
Cassie and Azazeal. She was poorly treated by Cassie well before the possession
with the constant mixed signals Cassie sent – she even lampshaded it, Cassie
flirted with Thelma which ended up controlling her. Thelma was a GBF – and because
they made her a ghost she was inherently required to orbit around Cassie and
have no independent exist. Which is a shame because she was a far more
compelling character than the rather dull and washed out Cassie.
I think there can be no greater proof of Thelma’s low
worth than the treatment of Azazeal – to not treat him as a monster, even think
he may be a potential love, after he stabbed Thelma, Cassie’s best friend, is
pretty gross.
Speaking of gross – Leon and Azazeal have sexually
assaulted and raped Cassie respectively, but it is never treated like that.
Both characters actions have been extremely downplayed.
On the good notes the settings are amazing and the
emotion and tension of the story was excellently portrayed (especially by Thelma).
We have many scenes that just exist to portray powerful emotion or to give us
the setting of building tension and they’re not boring or excessive – they’re
artfully well done and makes this series far more thematic and atmospheric than
most series. It’s very absorbing and the thing I loved about the series the
most.
