The Exorcist - Chapter Two: Lupus in Fabula - Review: "Speak of the Devil"

FOX brought us another Chapter of The Exorcist this Friday night and it was brilliant as the premiere, if not better. Similarly to last week, the episode opened with an eerie scene, once again involving Father Marcus. This time in a flashback, as a twelve year old, he's shoved in a dark room with a possessed individual and is expected to perform an exorcism. The concept of the show, and exorcisms in general, is scary enough, but watching a young boy facing against a demon is pretty damn creepy.

Whose idea was it to play Jenga with a possessed girl?

Unlike the premiere, which seemed to set up the holy trinity of Father Marcus (Ben Daniels), Father Tomas (Alfonso Herrera) and Angela Rance (Geena Davis), the sophomore episode focused a lot more on Casey Rance (Hannah Kasulka). Audience's discovered she was the possessed Rance family member in the concluding moments of last week's episode, as did Father Tomas, but this week her own mother uncovered the truth. The regal and religious lady was downstairs during the middle of the night and noticed her daughter acting strange; a man's voice was coming from the teenager and there were some pretty sexual hand movements and undertones. The penny seemed to finally drop for Angela, who had spent the entirety of the premiere assuming her eldest daughter was possessed. Wrong daughter, I'm afraid. Turns out Katherine is just a bit damaged and rebellious, rather than sharing her body with an angry demon. Whilst the scene itself was pretty cool to watch, I can't help but feel the show is not giving itself enough build it; this was a similar critique of mine last week. There's no anticipation in waiting for Angela to discover the truth about which daughter is possessed, because it happens right at the start. Oh well; let's just hope the demon does some body-jumping, as that's our only hope of keeping things fresh now.

Casey herself kept things a little fresh, showing us that the demon's powers go beyond speaking for her. After being the victim of a very rough Lacrosse competitor, Casey (or more like the demon) got some revenge by snapping the girl's leg. Ouch! It looked horrifically painful, but she did deserve it, somewhat. There was also a mysterious man whom the girl kept seeing, and talking to, yet nobody else could see him. Is he a manifestation of the demon or merely some other supernatural being? Then later on, during a random game of Jenga, the teenager managed to impossibly balance the stack on one block. Her family were impressed, but Angela looked on in horror. Imagine the moves she could pull out for a game of Twister!

It wasn't just Casey who was taking big risks this week however. The show did a brave thing itself by introducing the possibility of the Pope appearing; a fictional version of course! Pope Sebastian is set to pay a visit to Chicago soon, and will have his staff stay in the hotel Angela manages. Anyone else thinking Angela may ask the Pope for help? With "He is Coming" posters popping up around the city, I would guess the Pope will make his appearance towards the end of the season, possibily in the finale. It'll build the anticipation (though the show hasn't actually been so great on this so far) as I feel the "He is Coming" suits a finale appearance. It'd then make a interesting climax; his "holiness" in the city, and at the same time, an inevitable exorcism-to-end-all-exorcisms going down. Anyone who read my review last week may recall that I was a little disappointed that the prospect of Angela being 'crazy' was squashed so quickly. This week however, the show interestingly proposed the idea that the main characters will be branded as 'crazy' by the religious superiors. I'm wondering if the Pope will help out or condemn the holy trinity (as I want to refer to them as). This could get very interesting...

"God helps those who help themselves"

Another storyline which may have been hinted at already is one involving the Father Tomas' church. During the premiere its restoration was mentioned, and again we saw the scaffolding in the second episode. I may be over-analysing and assuming, but I have a suspicion that we may see the building in ruins pretty soon. Imagine it's the finale; Father Marcus is trying to exorcise the demon from within Father Tomas (or whoever) and it all gets violent and crazy, and suddenly the building caves in. Who'd survive? It'd be pretty dramatic, but also visually very cool.

On the topic of Father Tomas, after brief mention last week, audience's were finally introduced to Jessica (Mouzam Makkar), his mysterious potential lover. I was doubtful of an actual affair between the two at first, though this week it was arguably confirmed. Father Marcus recited some of their letters' content, which included "I don't dare think about you unless I'm alone" and "I still remember the smell of your hair". The full letters would clearly make for some steamy reading. Father Tomas defended his actions, as always, claiming "it's just a memory of something beautiful". It wasn't just the memory that was beautiful though, because Jessica was gorgeous herself. Despite Father Marcus warning against continuing talking to her, Father Tomas decided to meet-up with his pen-pal in their favourite spot. The young woman and the priest clearly had a lot of chemistry and attraction towards one another; touching hands and speaking in both English and Spanish, there was evidently sexual tension. In a typical "I can't do this" fashion, Father Tomas rebuffed her though. This romantic reunion may take some time, but ultimately the demon will no doubt use Jessica against Father Tomas at some point. Father Marcus did try and warn him...

Father Marcus himself stood out during this episode. A little of his backstory was revealed, and we got to see a more vulnerable version of the seemingly tough priest. Having witnessed his father killing his mother, a subsequent stay in a boy's home, and then being sold to the Church, Father Marcus has clearly had a pretty tough life. He revealed that, although most first encounters with a demon are full of fear, his, at the age of twelve, gave him a sense of purpose. Ringing any bells? Father Tomas made a similar comment in the wake of the Rance possession last week. These two men are obviously more alike than could be first expected. It was great to see a different side to Father Marcus, and to finally feel a connection towards him. I admire him, yet feel sorry for him. Ultimately though, I'm intrigued by him. Very intrigued.

Intrigue is not however a word I would attribute to Casey's reaction to holy water, which Father Marcus had instructed Angela to pour into her daughter's glass. At first seeming fine, the teenager eventually ran to the bathroom and spewed a disgusting amount of green vomit (if it's even considering vomit though in this kind of circumstance). It was a more explicit homage to the 1973 movie, but it was a little different from the original, which I welcome. The sickness was followed by Casey removing an extremely lengthy insect from her mouth, something which had been foreshadowed earlier in her bedroom. It was gross, disturbing but still interesting, weirdly. I would certainly not want to have been Casey, but that doesn't mean I don't want to watch her suffering through this possession.

Is a new brotp forming? I think so. 

The episode, as with last week's, concluded with an unexpected twist. This time it was completely unforeseen, and I doubt anyone even remotely saw it coming. A group of unknown characters butchered nine people and harvested their organs. There was however one familiar character; having made an appearance earlier in the episode, the familiar face had been saying he recognised Casey and was aggressively escorted away by Father Marcus. I think he was also the creepy man who starred at Father Tomas outside the Church last week, but I may be wrong. If I am right, he's definitely going to play a big role; harvesting organs, speaking to Casey as if he knows the demon and then his weird connection to Father Tomas. Although the whole harvesting storyline didn't seem to fit into the general narrative plot of the show, I do have high hopes for this twist. What are the organs going to be used for? Considering we know the creepy staring (and homeless food ranting) guy is possessed, the organs are clearly connected to demons or some occult plotline. The harvest is coming...

Quote of the Week:

"You came and begged me for help with a case of demonic possession, and now you've got your knickers in a twist because I didn't bring you flowers?" - Father Marcus.

Performer of the Week:

Ben Daniels - no question about it. Whilst others praised him for his performance last week, I personally thought he seemed to remain in the shadows of Geena Davis and Alfonso Herrera. Not this week though, thankfully. Daniels shone bright through the shadows this week and showed that he is far from a secondary character. He portrayed the broken yet determined priest wonderfully, and I just hope that the writers continue to allow Daniels to tackle the character in such a way. 

The show may not be the scariest thing ever, but it is psychologically terrifying. The way it's shot and the (brief) anticipation that builds during scenes keeps viewers on edge, quite frequently. It has a haunting vibe, and one that in many ways makes it scarier than a slasher show etc. It doesn't just give cheap jumps and thrills - this show wants to make you think about we're seeing. Based on our Poll from last night, I'm clearly not the only viewer who is already a big fan.

The Exorcist returns for Chapter 3 next Friday, and if the promo is anything to go by, it should be an eventful episode indeed. Share your thoughts of the episode in the comments and let me know who you thought was Performer of the Week.

About the Author - JOEL LEAVER

Joel is a British student who loves all things camp or horror. He is often obsessed with TV shows created by Ryan Murphy, and cites Glee as his favourite show of all time. His other favourite shows, not including those created by Ryan Murphy, include Scandal, Desperate Housewives, Game of Thrones, Scream the TV series, Nashville and Pretty Little Liars - to name just a few. During the 2016 - 2017 season, he will be reviewing Feud, Ransom, Scream Queens and The Exorcist. Feel free to contact him via Twitter.

Recent Reviews (All Reviews)