After a couple weeks off, Fox’s The Exorcist is back, but I can’t say it’s any better. This show is very polarizing. There are moments when it’s very intense and draws your attention in, but then that moment is followed by bad storytelling, stupid characters, or cringeworthy dialogue. Chapter 9 was no different. When we last left the Rance family, Casey had just been freed from the demon’s grasp but it quickly made its way back to Angela/Regan.
This was obviously going to happen at some point, but I didn’t expect it to happen so fast. Apparently, the viewers were the only ones who could see the obvious change in Angela’s demeanor, though, because it wasn’t until the end that Casey pointed it out to everyone. For much of the show, Angela has been very quiet, timid, and realistically, boring. So, one would think the minute she started acting brash and creepy someone would put the pieces together. That wouldn’t have allowed for a “tense”reveal and Father Tomas coming to the rescue at the end, though, right? The show didn’t even try and hide Angela’s new state which negated any tension or suspense, something horror dramas are supposed to excel at.
Last time I also said the papal plotline was heating up and becoming interesting, but unfortunately, I spoke (wrote?) too soon. This week, with the help of his crazy bus friends, Father Marcus puts together the pieces surrounding Maria Walters, Brother Simon, and the pope. He then proceeded to beat a confession out of Brother Simon for some TV dramatics and is now in their hands.
So, the my biggest question is, what’s the point of all this? Is it because the story of a possessed girl (and now her mother) isn’t enough to make a TV show about? The only reason Brother Simon seemed to give was, well because. They plan to have a random priest kill the pope on live TV just for the chaos that will ensue. There’s no story in that. One of the reasons we watch TV and get invested in people’s stories is because we understand the motivations behind their actions. The only motivation we’ve seen in The Exorcist is to stop the demon, nothing else has really been justified.
We’ll see what happens next week in the season finale. If the many holes in the story are filled in the finale and things finally come together, the show won’t be a total loss. The show has had good visuals, a pretty creepy tone, and generally decent acting, so hopefully the story catches up. However, I’m not holding on to too much hope.
Score: 6/10
