Resurrection - Steal Away - Review: "Angels or Demons"

Resurrection managed to halt its slow, consistent slide in the ratings department with the twelfth episode of the season, Steal Away. The ratings had only slightly increased from last week's episode, True Believer, managing a modest 3.29 Million viewers for the hour. Only one episode remains for Resurrection's sophomore season with still no inclination of whether ABC will renew it or disappoint many fans that have come to enjoy the characters and story thus far.

The story opens with the 'returned' mindlessly walking towards Rachael's apartment, just above Twain's Bar. They stopped and stared up at her window from street level until Fred fires a warning shot to break them out of their trance-like state. They all have no idea what brought them to Twain's or what they were doing there to begin with. It was obvious that Rachael and her unborn child was the 'pull' that the 'returned' all gravitated towards, but it is still unclear as to why. I am certain the finale on Sunday night will focus on Rachael and the unborn child as well as it's significance relative to the 'returned'.

Meanwhile, at the government facility where Margaret is held, the 'returned' had all congregated by the window facing the general direction of Twain's Bar. Whatever Rachael's baby signifies it has far reaching powers and capabilities. The Preacher mentions it is an 'Evil' and he sets out to do (what he believes is) the Lord's bidding and extinguish Rachael and her unborn child from existence. Speaking with Jacob, Preacher James discovers Margaret's ability to make 'returned' disappear and comes up with a plan that would help him get rid of Rachael and her unborn child. He would first need to break the 'returned' out of the government holding facility. He devises a very clever scheme, with Margaret's assistance, that involved 'killing' all of the 'returned' in the government facility. In front of all of them, he asks that they take communion, which he poisoned with a lethal dose of the berries we saw him harvesting earlier. After all of the 'returned' died they would wake up somewhere outside of the building. I thought it was a smart way to break everyone out and a great scene.

Throughout the episode we hear Church Bells ringing in the background. At one point we hear it 6 times in a row and another time we hear 3 rings consecutively. Since the series has deep religious undertones I decided to look up what the bells ringing that many times could signify and came up with this:

"In the Bible, the number 6 symbolizes man and human weakness, the evils of Satan and the manifestation of sin. Man was created on the sixth day. Men are appointed 6 days to labor. A Hebrew slave was to serve six years and be released in the 7th year. Six years were appointed for the land to be sown and harvested. The number 6 is also associated with Satan in his temptation of Jesus. The bringing together of three 6's is the number and mark of the end time Beast of Revelation. As such, it represents the very best system of governance that mankind can produce WITHOUT God and under the constant influence of his chief adversary. Man's system on earth is made up of three parts (economic, religious and governmental) all of which are influenced and led by Satan. When 666 is multiplied by 7 it equals 4662, which depicts man’s total imperfection under Lucifer. When added across, 4 + 6 + 6 + 2 = 18; and 18 divided by 3 is 6."

Preacher James also mentions 'Revelation 13' while speaking with Margaret. He really believes that Rachael's unborn child is the Anti-Christ and he will stop at nothing to get rid of her and the baby. Preacher James quotes Revelation 13:11 to Margaret after they 'return' in the woods. The Bible verse is a s follows - "I beheld a beast come up from out of the ground". This line could mean many things as well as referencing the images that the Preacher and Marty each had. The image of the Cicada emerging from the dirt next to the Daisy. We have seen that image twice in this past episode. He goes on to ask a very important question to Margaret; he asks if she thinks the 'returned' are Angels or Demons. Perhaps the Preacher is the real 'demon' or it's possible that Rachael is carrying the Anti-Christ inside of her. I would love to know what all of you think. I hope it becomes clear or we get answers to this in the finale.

"Steal Away" was one of the better episodes of the season. It did a good job as a penultimate episode, paving the way for the finale on Sunday Night. A few scenes felt rushed and I wish they had spent more time on certain elements, but overall I enjoyed the premise and what it meant for the end of the season. Angela trying to predict how, when, and how many will people will 'return' was a good example of this. It echoed the first season attempt by Maggie's friend, the doctor who came to visit Arcadia, who wanted to take Jacob away for testing. It was also interesting listening to her theories about predicting the actions of the 'returned', such as 'when they will return' and 'how many will return' likening it to predicting an earthquake; you can tell that an earthquake on a particular fault line will happen, just not when. She calculates, using her formulas, that another 'return' event will occur and it will number in the millions. This is a very interesting story line and I wish the creators and writers had done this earlier in the season.

Unfortunately, at the time I am writing this Review, we have yet to know whether or not Resurrection will get a Season Three renewal. At least we have one more episode to look forward too and I would imagine it's going to be a great episode with the amazing story arcs from this season finally coming together and hopefully giving us some much needed answers about the town of Arcadia.


Thoughts and Discussion

- Did you notice...In the very beginning of the episode, when the 'returned' are in the trance and walking towards Rachael's apartment, there is a church off to the side. The sign in front of the church reads, "Christo vive y vuelve". This translates to. "Christ lives and returns". Didn't realize Arcadia had a large Spanish speaking community.

- Did you notice...On the "Out of Order" Cigarette machine at Twains there is a flyer with the words "Soon Horizon" written at the top and "Live Arcadia Twains" just below it. The flyer looks to be a picture of Earth from outer space. There is a 'glow' coming from behind the Earth and what appears to be a hand coming out to touch it (at least I think it's a hand). The writers are definitely hinting at an apocalyptic event happening for the finale.

- What do you all think is the significance of the "Daisy" that the Preacher noticed and mentioned to Marty in Rachael's room? A lone "Daisy" was also found in the bare patch of land with a crescent shape Marty was in at the end of 'Prophecy'.

- At one point Preacher James was praying in the church. He was speaking in tongues, a sacred language that is part of some religious practice, over images that flashed across the screen. The images were: Rachael's apartment window, Rachael experiencing contractions, the lone Daisy in the crescent shaped field Marty was in during the final moments of 'Prophecy', a lone Cicada emerging from the ground and flying away and lastly an extremely large group of Cicadas flying up towards the sky to form something similarly looking to the "Tree of Life'.

- We were under the impression that Angela, the government facility woman, was a 'returned'. It was implied in one of the first episodes of season 2. Why was she not affected by Rachael and her baby like all the others?

- Did you notice...It's been theorized that the 'returned' cannot be handed anything from a non-returned. Another example of this is when Fred goes to see Henry in the context of returning something to him. Henry rejects it and Fred is not allowed to hand it to Henry.

- What are your thoughts on the finale? I would love to know what you all think. Do you think Rachael's unborn child is the Anti-Christ or the Devil? Or do you think Preacher James has it backwards and it is something else entirely? Why does this only happen in Arcadia like Angela said to Marty?

- One of the most interesting story threads of the episode was Jacob feeling pain when Rachael was having contractions. He said to Margaret that "it was hurting" him. What could that mean and why was Jacob the only one to feel the pain?

Please comment below with your thoughts!

Thanks for checking out my Review! I look forward to the Season Finale on Sunday Night! Let's hope Resurrection gets a Season Three Renewal! Have a great weekend everyone!

About the Author - Geo N

Geo N is from Detroit, MI. His favorite shows include The Blacklist, Hell On Wheels, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, LOST, The Leftovers, The Strain, Sons Of Anarchy, Sleepy Hollow and countless others. When he's not watching tons of TV, he enjoys reading, playing hockey, comic books, weightlifting, and writing. Thanks for checking out my post.

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