This week we seem to be beginning a theme of
exorcism-of-the-week, with a possessed ex-cop killing and raping his partner’s wife
and being locked in the basement of a prison because all normal procedures
apparently don’t apply. This being Outcast
we have some brutally awful references to this rape
Rev Anderson grabs Kyle and they head off to do some
exorcising
Can we point out, yet again, that Rev. Anderson’s
exorcism is basically “the power of Christ does not one fecking thing!”. His
exorcism play acting, his recitation, his cross, his oil and water do nothing
to these demons (in fact, is demons even the right word here? We’re only
working on Rev. Anderson’s narrative for this and he’s clearly not right on
this). He was even willing to walk away and assume the possessed was a normal,
evil man rather than a demon because his holy toys didn’t work. Even Luke, the
current victim’s friend/partner played by “that guy whose name I can’t remember
but was in x” (one of those actors who seems to be in everything in some
capacity) focuses on Kyle who has the power to actually do something.
Even the current possessed taunts Rev Anderson that his
touch does nothing – and it’s something that makes the Rev so bad tempered
since he’s apparently given up his entire family (we even have a major freak
out about losing a picture of his child suggesting he doesn’t have a lot of
these pics or regular access to his kid) to fight demons when he doesn’t even
have the power to do so. While Kyle, who isn’t even a believer, has his
demon-hurting touch. The Rev is convinced that this is still god’s work – but I
think a far more interesting twist which would fit the narrative is that
Anderson’s religious context simply doesn’t apply. He’s throwing holy water at
spirits or aliens or who knows what else. Or it’s a different religious context
entirely. It’d be a fascinating twist on a rather tired exorcism trope.
During this the demon calls Kyle “outcast” and rightly
guesses that he has no friends or family because everyone is made uncomfortable
by his presence. Kyle wants answers from the demon far more than he wants to
save a strange man’s soul – he wants answers and it to end so he can actually
have a life and get his family back without demons dropping in like the worst
uninvited in-law visits ever.
But in this case they decide that this demon is “here to
stay” for whatever reason, and the guy unsaveable.
That leaves him in Luke’s care constantly pushing all his
buttons until Luke near suffocates him. But only near.
Meanwhile, Mark, Kyle’s sort-of-brother-in-law found a
caravan full of blood last episode and he would quite like to investigate this
murder mobile. Chief Giles-who-is-totally-not-suspicious decides there’s
absolutely no point at all in investigating the serial-killer-camp and Mark is
just wasting all their time by doing this investigating thing at a crime scene.
Pshaw, first he wants to arrest a child abuser and now investigating a crime
scene? What does he think he is, a cop?
Mark does gather lots of useful evidence that
totally-not-suspicious-chief-Giles decides to “take care of”. Uh-huh. Would
that involve taking care of it into the nearest rubbish bin?
And Megan, Kyle’s sort of sister, appears to be being
stalked by some man called Donald Hamil (he has an evil hat. We focus a lot on
said evil hat. I am assuming Megan is worried about this man for more reasons
than the fact a fedora-wearer has arrived in town). She is concerned enough to
break into this man’s hotel room, check his lap top and see he is following her
on facebook, a fact that drives her to tears. This guy also coughs up black goo
which is probably a bad sign. Of really bad environmental standards if nothing
else.
She’s so worried about this man that images of his face
haunt her even when she’s having sex with her husband Mark. In the middle of
sex she gasps and has to stop and he responds with concern and worry and no
pressure at all: it’s a depressing sign that I saw this as a positive sign. It
speaks volumes for how I expect rape culture to skew the media.
We also need more Kyle angst – so he finds his neighbour,
dead. Apparent suicide. Whelp, there goes half of the show’s POC, dead to increase
a white man’s angst and with no storylines of his own.
