If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.
Synopsis: One of the exorcists must make the ultimate sacrifice with time running out to save Andy’s life. (IMDB)
Writer: Jeremy Slater
Director: Jason Ensler
Rating: TV-14
Runtime: 45min
The season finale of The Exorcist is bookended by Father Bennett as he is still in a coma from his injuries several episodes ago. He is having visions of his lost sister, Ana, whom he left behind many years ago in order to get out of his poor living conditions. This scene seems important because Ana speaks to Bennett in a very similar tone as Nikki aka the demon did with Andy when she first was coercing him.
The story quickly jumps to a quasi-happy reunion among Mouse and Markus along with Father Tomas as they prepare to exorcise Andy without distraction now that Rose has taken the kids to safety off of the island. There is a small and quick reconciliation between Mouse and Markus about the last time that they saw each other which was the flashback we saw previously when Mouse was possessed and Markus was not strong enough to save her. The show rightfully dealt with this head-on immediately because it could’ve been handled much worse and across many additional episodes that would have been unnecessary.
As the trio begins the exorcism on Andy, the demon is proving to be too strong for even the three of them which brings Mouse to the conclusion that they should just kill Andy thus killing the demon inside and not compromising Andy’s soul. Tomas proposes another alternative instead electing to go into Andy’s mind and coax the demon to enter into Tomas. Markus disagrees with this plan as does Mouse but they eventually relent due to Tomas’ blind faith that God will take care of him through it.
Once inside, Tomas speaks with Andy who admits that he cannot and will not leave because he is the only thing keeping the demon at bay and unable to hurt another family and he was unsure if he could ever face and be forgiven by his family again. Both he and Tomas fight back Nikki several times, but ultimately she manages to get to them injuring Andy. What results is one of the coolest and second creepiest (only to the little girl with the pillowcase over her head in the hole of the painting) shot of this season as Nikki rises up from the floor covered in black tar before beginning to takeover Tomas. This allows Andy a brief moment to plead to Markus to end all of this by killing him quickly in order to save not only himself but Tomas, who is being overpowered by the demon, as well. Markus reluctantly agrees and is the one who pulls the trigger when it’s all over.
The fallout of these events is dealt with rather quickly in the episode as Rose does her best to maintain a narrative to the police that paints Andy as both a hero and a victim as best as possible. There is a very emotional scene that takes place between Tomas and the family where he delivers personal messages to all of them on Andy’s behalf that was done perfectly. The kids also find redemption as they, along with Truck, are adopted by Rose. But not all of the fallout was positive.
Markus, having committed a mortal sin that he believes will compromise him even further than not being able to hear God’s voice opts to not continue on the journey with Tomas as he sets out to dismantle the demon’s larger plan. It’s a heartfelt goodbye between friends as he passes the torch to Mouse and walks off into the sunset. But his retirement is short-lived because as Mouse and Tomas set out for what’s next in their journey Markus, in a moment of peace, hears God’s voice once more and says only one word from His message, “Tomas.” Just as the episode began it also ends with Father Bennett who is now possessed by a demon and is loose in the hospital.
This season finale was excellent. It was well written and stuck to tight storytelling in which not a single scene of this episode felt wasted. There were no slower moments and even the ones not containing action did an excellent job of creating an authentic sense of emotional growth among the characters as you could see all of them ended in a different place than when they first started this season.
That type of feeling felt justly earned and was wonderful to watch occur over the past ten episodes. Unworthy did a perfect job of tying up all of the storylines from this season while creating just enough interest with the viewer with what’s next for Tomas, Mouse, Markus, and even Bennett. Mouse stated earlier in the episode that they were currently losing the war so hopefully in season three they begin to win back some of the ground they’ve lost.
Score: 10/10
Trying my best to get all thoughts about TV and Film out of my head and onto the interweb.
