EPISODE: CHAPTER 2: LUPUS IN FABULA
THE DISH: Upon denial to perform an exorcism on one of the possessed Rance girls, Father Ortega officially joins forces with the recently liberated Father Keane.
WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW! IF YOU'VE NOT SEEN THIS EPISODE, STOP READING HERE!
THE DICE-UP: After a decently dramatized first frame of Fox's The Exorcist – one that favored the familial over the frightening – we kick off the second chapter, Lupus In Fabula, with a flashback to Father Marcus' Keane's childhood. Apparently he stared in he eyes of a real demon as a boy during a kind of odd of underground congregation – a filthy, black-eyed, drooling aggressor – and somehow a feeling relief washed over him, not terror, and from that point on he decided to become a priest. Back to the present and we can see Keane is still dwelling on such. Then, before the title card is cued, we're treated to a dose of the familiar – as the big twist that was revealed last week – it's Casey is who is possessed, not Kat – was continued this week with an eerie bit of baritone-voiced quasi-masturbation at the kitchen table. Yup, Casey is seen feeling herself up, walked in on by mama Angela, with a possessive voice cooing in delight over what a fresh and supple body the teen girl has. Not quite Regan with the crucifix, but at least we're not veering too far off. Nope, we even get the infamous green puke and the equally memorable line: "The power of Christ compels you!" delivered in this episode. Hopefully that means, moving forward, we'll be sticking closer to the source material (Blatty's novel) even closer than we previously thought!
Back from the break we find Father Ortega seeking permission from his higher-ups to perform an exorcism on for the Rance family. He's refused, urged to continue the good humanitarian work he's done in the past, like Homeless For Houses, and sent away packing. When Ortega returns home, he's startled to find Keane inside making himself cozy. Keane admits to picking the lock, and more importantly, vows to help Ortega – no matter how perilous it's bound to be – ensure the poor Rance girl's demonic takeover is given spiritual ablution. Ortega hesitates, especially when learning Keane escaped the St. Aquinas church he worked for. A worthy exchange between the two ensues, Ben Daniels clearly proving to be the highlight of the show thus far, as he explains to Ortega that the demon is sandbagging…laying low, growing strength, waiting for the most opportune time to strike. And then a personal bond is slightly forged, as Keane asks about Jessica, Ortega's ex, imploring him to break things off with her for the sake of her own safety. We then get a scene between Ortega and Jessica (Mouzam Makkar) which demonstrates the former's inability to move forward. Will this hinder his ability with the exorcism? Will it keep Jessica out of danger? Will Keane guide him through safely?
Meanwhile, shite's growing more sinister at the Rance abode. Angela comes home from meeting an old friend one day, only to find Casey acting too normal for her own good. When confronted in her bedroom, the entire family discovers a nest of centipedes under Casey's pillow. Admittedly not very effective on its own, quite cheap in fact, but as we'll see later, in retrospect, it serves as functional foreshadow. Angela also acts out at school, telepathically breaking a poor girl's leg during Lacrosse practice. Again, not terribly scary. Worse yet, a later scene shows the Rance fam playing a game of Jenga, or similar, and when one of the load-bearing blocks is removed by Casey, the whole tower suspends for a few seconds before finally collapsing. Angela can sense her daughter is responsible. She even vocalizes aloud that neither daughter are themselves currently. And after being stalled by Ortega on the exorcism front, Keane intros himself and advises Angela at church one day to put holy water in her daughters' glass of drinking water. Will she heed his advice? At what price? And if it works, will Angela entrust Keane more than she does Ortega?
For me, by far the best part of Lupus In Fabula was twofold. First, the failed street exorcism performed by Keane. When he happens on a boil-faced homeless woman in a frim alleyway at night, she recognizes him, says "they" all know who he is and what he's about. This Daniels dude has a grizzled, weathered look about his face, scars like badges, which tell a lot about his character. He gives the whole "the power of Christ compels you" speech to the old lady, but with her eyes aglow and skin boiling, she grabs him by the lapel and says…"Do I look compelled?" Keane gets a good dose of humility here, and it's played credibly by both actors. The other part, no doubt, has to be the squirm-worthy vomit scene – again, nowhere near Regan status – that ends with poor Casey puking her diner up and pulling out a giant 5-foot centipede from her disgusting maw…the very kind we saw earlier in the show.
What I didn't like about Chapter 2, gratuitous violence notwithstanding, was the curious case of that churchgoer who accosted Casey. Are we to believe he and his minions have been in turn possessed by Casey – or whatever demon is controlling her – and sent them all out on that organ-harvesting stabbing spree? If so, what the hell? That's not The Exorcist we know and love. Ordering mass slaughter from characters we don't even know or care bout? Controlling them as calm slashers, not fevered ghouls in the throes of bodily possession? I really hope that's not where the show is headed. The more focused it remains on the Rance family and the two opposed priests working the case, the better it'll be…even if it means going an episode or two without any bloodshed. The more it branches out to mass-possession, killing only for the sake of killing, the worse it'll get. And if that sequence had nothing to due with the encounter with Casey at the church? Then damn are we owed some serious answers. Know what I'm saying?
BLOOD & GORE:
CREEPIEST MOMENT: No doubt, the creepiest moment for me was that huge legged insect Casey pulled out of her throat. Made me proud to own SQUIRM, yo!
LOOKING AHEAD: After a week of well established characterization, this week the show clearly wanted upped the terror quotient. How the series will balance the two moving forward will be interesting to see. If the show can somehow manage to keep up the compelling character work, it will only need to flash some fangs sparingly, and thereby be most effective. If the character stuff becomes to rote and perfunctory, I'm afraid we'll get more cheap thrills like the end of Chapter 2 gave us. Still, all and all, despite the huge mountain to climb, so far The Exorcist is pretty solid.