So naturally Father Tomas goes to the diocese to get permission for an exorcism underway, and naturally the powers that be are not going to be giving an answer in the affirmative. Anyone getting slightly tired of this approach in Exorcism outings? Meanwhile Father Marcus is taking time to study Casey, and is all in. We also find we may not be dealing with one exorcism but rather a whole slew of them, and Father Marcus is finding that demon kind is no longer scared of him. Well that wasn’t a development I was expecting, but sort of rocks along in a Pet Sematary fashion. Adding to the background we find that the Pope is set to visit Chicago, the Rance home town, anyone else getting slight worried, and possessed homeless people are out and about gathering human organs for some nefarious as yet unexpected reason. Oh and Casey is seeing the demon, an old creepy dude that comes across as a pedo. 

The title of the second episode translates to “the wolf in the story”, clear reference to the demon don’t you think, and no I am not going to mention Terence’s play which I haven’t read or seen on stage. I’m trying very hard not to be a twat, unlike a lot of Critics who equally know nothing about Adelphoe but figure it makes them all intellectual to mention it. Anyways all roads point to the demonic, and things are going to get a lot rougher for the viewer from here, least of which is the ever worrying signs of a conspiracy rearing its ugly head. 

There might be a sub theme developing around faith and pursuit of this. Father Tomas is running up against a brick wall with the church hierarchy, even with almost total proof of Casey being under spiritual attack. Which brings the whole denial of evil by some sectors of the church into question. Anyways the early question here is can Father Tomas keep his faith in the face of denial of the evil he is confronting. Meanwhile Father Marcus discovers his faith is no longer a shield against evil, not quite sure how that works, which naturally should bring his own faith into question. So dual points of attack by the forces of evil, already trying to weaken the opposition before the final confrontation?

Well we have our first demonic intervention on behalf of Casey in this episode. Casey is a lacrosse player for her college and comes under physical confrontation by an opposition player. Thankfully the demon is on hand and the opposing player doesn’t come out of the confrontation well, ouch that was one hell of a broken leg! Later Casey is having a moment at night outside her house, and is comforted by the demon in the old guy persona, interestingly Henry notes the interaction though he can’t see the demon. Clearly the director is just reinforcing the nature of the demonic attack or Henry is going to have a bigger role to play than we previously thought.

The van, that I have already dubbed the meat wagon, appeared briefly in episode 1 and we get the purpose in episode 2. Basically a bunch of possessed folk are out and about harvesting human organs for no doubt some dubious reason. The point I wanted to make is pay attention, even seemingly insignificant background happenings may be a huge plot foreshadow. The second point I kind of didn’t want to be in a position to talk about, is further proof we may be descending into conspiracy territory, which has always been a danger for mine. How many U.S TV shows have imploded due to overuse of conspiracy tropes, well The X-Files immediately comes to mind. Seriously I would rather have an exorcism of the week approach. Not necessary where the show is going, but hold onto your linen things could get dicey from here.  

Guess I really should be talking about the acting chops going down, now that we are getting into the season properly. I wanted to make mention of Hannah Kalsulka (Casey) and Brianne Howey (Kat) who really nail their roles as the Rance daughters. Kalsulka nails it as she plays the dutiful daughter who also tends to the gothic malice as required. I was certainly sold on the performance, and for sure Casey has my sympathies as she faces the worse possible nightmare of a young Catholic person. Conversely Kat is on the rebellious side of the sibling card hand. While your real wild child might find the rebel slightly too civil, it’s still there in both language, attitude, and her interactions with mom in particular. Both actresses have the requirements cover, and boy are we talking your true blue catholic daughters here.

Almost forgot to mention the developing major conspiracy going down, seriously do TV executives not have an understanding of history, which isn’t exactly kind to this type of conspiracy show. The pope is visiting Chicago and there is clearly a surge in possession, seriously who thinks this is good writing? I have serious doubts about the longevity of the show if this writing trend continues, clearly history is against the show if the conspiracy angle does come to fruition. Sure I’m perhaps screaming out “the sky is falling”, but things are not looking good from where I am sitting.

Final word on the locations, superb by the way, and we’ll finish on a high note at least. Chicago locations are used to the best effect in the first two episodes, and no we are not talking major landmarks here, more the urban decay most major cities are constantly battling with. Things are not looking pretty in Chicago, it seems to be constantly overcast and grey, there’s more rubble on display than urban renewal, and the numbers of street people seem to outweigh other citizens of the City. There’s a feeling that while the locals aren’t in Hell itself, and they are already circling the concept. Two thumbs up for the atmospherics and excellent use of locations.

So episode two kept me entertained and wanting to see more, while worrying about exactly where things might be going. Seems we have travelled a long way from that room in Georgetown and to be honest it has been a rocky road already without things going completely off road if the conspiracies transpire as I expect they might. We should be focused on the Rance household, as the forces of good gear up to battle ultimate evil, rather than expanding into the rest of the city. I’m supposing we’ll get an actual exorcism at some stage, which to be honest is what the show should be focused on. Fingers crossed they can keep things where they should be and we can look forward to a growing number of green lit seasons. I already have doubts but for sure am into the show, and you should definitely give it a view, there’s far worse on the small screen. The jury is still out on the show, let’s see how things resolve from here and continue watching, the power of Christ compels you.