The Exorcist Season 2 Episode 5: There But for the Grace of God, Go I Review

If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.

Synopsis: The demon finally makes its presence known; Andy, Rose and the children are set on a collision course with the supernatural presence; Disturbing new information about the conspiracy comes to light. (IMDB)

Writer: Alyssa Clark

Director: Alex Garcia Lopez

Rating: TV-14

Runtime: 45mins

This episode was a welcome push to the story this season. It featured many creepy moments as the demon, aka Gracie, started becoming bolder by not only plaguing Andy but also several of the kids residing in the orphanage. Both Father Tomas and Markus now know that there is something wrong on this island and it’s through an intimate conversation with Peter Morrow that Markus comes to find out just what that this presence is.

Peter reveals that several decades ago a man named Glen Powell ended up killing an entire house full of people including his family with the exception of his daughter who was able to hide in a cabinet until the police arrived. Markus is then able to interview the surviving daughter, now in her late 60s, about that fateful night and she confirms that there was something more sinister at work within her father than just rage. Outside of this revelation, Markus’ character is making strides towards positive growth. Peter is somehow able to catch him in a moment of vulnerability where he is able to confess to the conflict that is occurring within his psyche and how that has hindered his ability to help others for years. It was a moment of beautiful clarity for Markus because as a result of having all of the pain and fear lifted from him he was able to have some small form of peace for the first time in a very long time. It was a comparatively small moment during the episode, but one that will prove to be a major force going forward as both Tomas and Markus look to destroy the demon on the island.

The best thing about this episode were the moments between Andy and Gracie. Even moreso, it was also nice that they didn’t drag out Andy attempting to hide that he’s not okay any further by having the first scene be Verity’s questioning of his sanity. The show avoided that plot pitfall very carefully and it was a good move to deal with it right away or else be caught up in wasting yet another episode of having Andy go deeper and deeper down that rabbit hole. However, Andy still got to a darker place in this episode but it was after he admitted to Rose that he’s not okay and others started to pick up on that fact. After her new found boldness, Gracie is starting to eat away at Andy’s sanity because it is realizing that Father Tomas and others are slowly becoming aware of its existence. This results in Gracie influencing Truck to attack Verity during the camping trip. Something like this needed to happen, but it was unfortunate that it had to be done by Truck and Verity, two of my favorite characters this season.

By the end of this episode, the demon has revealed itself not only to Andy but also Father Tomas. Through his visions, Tomas was able to see the damage over the decades that the demon had caused to various families and people that have lived in the house. It was a montage of murder that proved beyond a doubt that there was a malevolent presence residing there and thus confirming his vision of coming to the island in order to save people’s lives. We now know that it wasn’t just Glen Powell who fell victim to the demon, but many others before him and the cycle looks to be repeating with Andy.

We were also shown a very brief continuation of Father Bennett and Mouse’s journey as they released Dolores from her burden of integration with the demon, in quite a spectacular way as they focus on venturing to Chicago in order to capture a higher level demon. I was expecting the episode to return to this story several times, but they only served as a minor break from the main plot once this episode.

The freakiest scene of the entire season took place in the last two minutes of this episode when Andy, finally reaching a breaking point of frustration, goes into Gracie’s room and begins destroying everything. The culmination of this is when he takes a rock and throws it through the painting his wife had made revealing on the other side someone wearing the pillowcase mask that Gracie had worn earlier in the season. As the camera focuses on them, they stand and slowly move towards Andy to later be revealed as Nikki, Andy’s former wife. Words cannot do it justice, but this scene definitely gave off some chills. It was devoid of any jump scares or loudness but the patience and quietness with which the figure moved from behind the painting towards Andy was extremely frightening to watch.

This episode was a much needed jolt of energy to the near-sputtering storyline. It pushed the narrative to a very interesting place because we now have Andy who is fully aware of the dangers that the being possesses and as well as Father Tomas and Markus’ realization of the demon’s presence within the house. Hopefully the show doesn’t get bogged down by the duo attempting to prove its existence but rather attacking it head on and utilizing the people around them for help. This has been a very strong season so far and it will be telling in the upcoming episodes if it can land on solid footing. Last season had such an amazing twist and reveal when Angela Rance was actually Reagan MacNeil and hopefully this season can deliver a similar mic drop moment. Time will tell, but what is apparent is that this show has found a good stride and will hopefully finish strong.

Score: 9/10