This episode contains a whole lot of progress and development told at a really unnecessary slow pace
I’ve said before that this show is so in love with ATMOSPHERE that it’s dragged out far far further than it needs to be so we can all grasp the EMOTIONS.
Alison rejoins the cast at last. In the mental institute, for very-obvious-demons who share the ward with her seem to think that tormenting her is fun. Yes it makes for a very ominous feel but what do the demons get from this? If they want to kill her, why not do it? If they want to use her how is this happening? Instead we see one guy taunting her and vanishing with lots of personal information about her daughter he shouldn’t know. We also throw in a creepy kid. Because you’ve always got to have a creepy kid, right? Of course this happens in a mental institution so we have the classic mentally ill people used as background horror props because few things invoke horror like neurotypical people having to endure the presence of the mentally ill
Except creepy kids. There’s something weird about our culture that small children are some of the scariest things out there. And dolls. Dolls are worse than clowns.
Anyway, duly provoked, Alison demands to be released despite clearly-a-demon-woman trying to convince her to stay. She leaves and joins her daughter
Time for the next side plot which is even more brutal - we have Megan living with her parents and planning her future. Kyle is horrified she’s gone to them because her house is haunted - as he points out to her: “and this isn’t?”
Remember that Megan was raped as a child and this is the house where it happened. He offers his home to her but she can’t- she thinks Kyle is “crazy” which is talk of possession and dark forces. She needs to insulate her daughter from that so they can heal and get back on track
Of course it quickly becomes clear they can’t stay at her parents - even aside from her own memories, there’s also her parents who are terrible people. Hyper-religious they’ve decided that yes they did wrong by Megan when she was a child - they let her stop going to church! Not stopped the rape, but stopped her going to church. Megan chews them out gloriously. The best line beyond the brutal description of her rape: you did nothing but go to church
Now to the main plot and some actual development - starting with a flashback of daddy Kyle torturing Helen trying to get her to tell him about the Great Merge which sounds awful. He can’t possess her because she’s not full of black gas, she’s full of tentacles. Ew ew ew. Further ew - rather than talk to him she bites out her own tongue.
To the present and Anderson checks out his lighthouse church people - and they’re all apparently ex-possessed people. Looks like we have an army if necessary.
Things are heating up in town, Patricia’s death coupled with a whole lot of disappearances (which Kyle has found proof of in his dad’s house -there are a huuuuge number of people who have vanished from the town over the years). Giles does his best to calm them down while Rose wants to step up the fight and start profiling her neighbours based on who was friends and neighbours of possessed people. Giles isn’t thrilled with the idea of a witch hunt.
The battle between the mayor and Sidney continues - Mayor Boyd wants to hand over Aaron to calm down the town and is less impressed with Sidney’s messiah complex: interestingly he tells Sidney not to believe his own press about being the right hand of god, favourite of the angels:this pretty much says that Sidney is Lucifer morningstar… so demons looks more and more likely. But Sidney thinks he is special - not because of who he was, because they’re all the same, but because of who he became. Basically he thinks demons like Boyd bonding with decent people are just, well, weak because they’re decent and have relationships. While Sidney bonded with an evil serial killing paedophile so has no connections and is a ruthless monster - and he’s training Aaron up to be the most perfect host by turning him into an utter psychopath
He manhandles Boyd when he rightfully calls him out as awful.
The training continues by torturously treating Aaron’s burns, belittling him and telling him being a brutal monster is useful but only if directed properly - just killing for the sake of it is not helpful. Aaron sounds almost plaintive when he tells Sidney he killed his mother to impressed Sidney.
Sidney and his pet psychopath also go to see the Junkyard guy to check exactly how Helen was doing the merger because she’d managed a trick which greatly increase possessions. With some torture, he admits that Helen had found a way to change people like Kyle - who he calls the Beacons (ooooooh? beacons?) and make them more powerful. But he doesn’t know how
Mayor Boyd hasn’t finished - he sets up a town meeting in which he intends to depose Giles. And he intends to depose Sidney by telling Giles, Anderson and Kyle where Sidney and Aaron is
This doesn’t quite go as planned, when they arrive they find the building deserted, Sidney and Aaron have already cleared out - and Giles & co wonder just how Boyd knew this. When Boyd avoids Kyle touching him it’s confirmed he’s a demon. In doing so he reveals the rift between himself and Sidney - and that he considers himself to be Owen Boyd, the same Owen Boyd who swore and oath of office and has friends he cares about. I’m wondering what this revelation of humanity will do for Kyle and Anderson.
He tries to offer peace with Kyle - leave them alone and he’ll have everyone leave him and his family. Though he can’t guarantee everyone will listen to him especially new arrivals
We also get some major world building: he describes the possessing people as NOT HAVING a plan. He talks about banishing people like Kyle from their place and that started to destroy their world (we have confirmation! Kyle, Amber etc are also demon possessing people). There’s no plan, the world is ending they’re just running - and he doubt there’ll be enough room for them “here” (I think he means Earth, not just Rome). This promises a whole lot of awfulness to come - but for now they have more pressing concerns now
That was a whole lot of world building packed in a few lines
They let him go - but I think this may be as much Giles not being able to bring himself to shoot his friend.
To the town meeting and we have a speech off between Boyd (everything is fine, need new leadership, replace Giles) and Giles (demons! Demons! Dark forces! DOOM!) until Giles is possessed, right there on stage. No-one wanted that. Rose tries to intervene only to have Boyd use some very public super strength to knock her aside and leave with Giles. Kyle follows - the crowd of possessed try to stop him but it’s hard to stop someone whose touch burns like hot iron.
Outside all the action happens. Anderson and Kyle struggle with Giles who starts outright FLYING with Kyle clinging to him. Megan sees this. Megan really can’t doubt the supernatural now
While Sidney confronts Boyd who is bemused - what are the chances of a possession on stage! Sidney mocks him for not noticing there were TWO beacons in the crowd, one more focused than Kyle - which massively increased the effect. (So who is the second Beacon?) and has Aaron kill Boyd.
Kyle exorcises Giles and they fall to the floor - but Kyle is very badly hurt.
