S02.E11: I Is for IRS

[formerlyfreedom]

The IRS taps the team to investigate the legitimacy of a new organization seeking religious status for tax exemption.

Dropping Sunday, September 26.

(T is for Temporiatial Love was pushed again!)

[jub]

1 hour ago, saoirse said:

T is for Temporiatial Love was pushed again!)

I doubt you’re going to see T is for Temporoparietal Lobe (not “Love” 😛). I agree with others that it was changed to B is for Brain. The sites still listing it haven’t cottoned on to the fact. 

[WAnglais1]

I think this may be the best episode of the season. Kristen was amazing the entire time. Such a good actor. 

Leland? Think again about faking your way through it. 

I did laugh when the NCOS guys remembered Ben's name. 

[skotnikov]

I just love how they abandon storylines and never come back to them. 

I also think that 

Spoiler

Andy will never come back home.

 

 

Edited September 26, 2021 by skotnikov

[Chaos Theory]

Did Kristen get exorcised?  Even if she doesn’t believe whatever happened during Leland’s exorcism affected Kristen as well.

My favorite scene was the opening with Sheryl.   She is definitely becoming one of my favorite characters.  I love her and Leland working together for some nefarious purpose.

And it doesn’t matter if you believe in God or Satan as long as the IRS believes.  

[Snazzy Daisy]

Ben has the best lines:

”Well, that proves one thing. No matter how powerful Satan and God are, the IRS is stronger.”

😂😂😂

[Annber03]

13 minutes ago, SnazzyDaisy said:

Ben has the best lines:

”Well, that proves one thing. No matter how powerful Satan and God are, the IRS is stronger.”

😂😂😂

I laughed at that, too. I loved him and Kristen being so damn snarky about this church of Satan. Kristen's "Why don't you guys have day jobs?" line was great, too. 

Leland was also cracking me up with his rant against this church. "We're not a time share!" XD. I got a real kick out of the pamphlet with the happy families and everything. 

Gotta admit, though, some of those shirts were kinda neat :p. 

So. Kristen finally gave in to those impulses that had been lingering this season. I couldn't get over how much the guy looked like the one she met in the bar earlier this season - when he first appeared I actually thought it was him. And then Sheryl catching her (and the revelation that she's had her own experience with trying to cover her tracks in that regard), and the guy just flat out stating that they'd slept together when he and his buddy met with the team the next day - ooh, boy. I wonder if Ben and David really do believe his claims or not, and if either one of them will mention it again down the line. I thought David might mention it when he and Kristen were talking at the end, but no. Course, I think David would be a little more tactful in bringing that up than Ben might, so...:p.

How very interesting that Leland's exorcism seemed to affect Kristen, too, and that this jinn that's been haunting her all season has now leapt over to him. That was crazy intense (also, that scene with that...THING...coming out of Kristen's stomach? YEOW. Ick. Ick, ick, ick. This show's certainly enjoyed going all out with the gross factor at times this season, hasn't it?). Whatever her rationalization for what happened to her in the bathroom, it was good to see her actually genuinely looking lighter and more relaxed and at peace again. How long that'll last, I don't know, nor can I say what that means for her going forward in terms of dealing with everything she's been going through, but still, yeah, it was a good, hopeful moment of sorts. 

3 hours ago, skotnikov said:

I also think that 

  Hide contents

Andy will never come back home.

 

I was genuinely starting to think that she'd come home, realize he was gone and she'd missed her chance to try and make up with him...and then she'd get some kind of call or something at the end of the episode telling her something's happened to Andy. Either that, or I thought she might get in an accident when she was desperately trying to get a hold of him on her way home. 

But yeah, I definitely am bracing for something to happen with Andy. Changing his flight like that, just seems like one of those "What if?" type moments waiting to happen. 

51 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

My favorite scene was the opening with Sheryl.   She is definitely becoming one of my favorite characters.  I love her and Leland working together for some nefarious purpose.

That was truly wild. I liked how they worked the lyrics of the song that was playing in the background into that whole little scene. But seriously, WTF is she doing with that drill?!?!

And that bath she was giving Leland. Good lord. Yeah, I would hope you wouldn't judge your daughter, Sheryl, considering all the freaky stuff you're clearly into lately. 

As for Leland and his exorcism, yeah, so many questions about that. David seemed genuinely spooked by some of what was going on with him. Shame Sister Andrea wasn't there for that, it would've been interesting to see what she would've had to say about it all. Also, the whole thing with the exorcism taking place over three nights, for 6 hours each - definitely not a coincidence, considering all the talk of Satan in this episode, and I think that explains a lot about what happened with that exorcism and Leland and Kristen's respective reactions to it. 

[Snazzy Daisy]

1 hour ago, Annber03 said:

But yeah, I definitely am bracing for something to happen with Andy. Changing his flight like that, just seems like one of those "What if?" type moments waiting to happen. 

And that bath she was giving Leland. Good lord. Yeah, I would hope you wouldn't judge your daughter, Sheryl, considering all the freaky stuff you're clearly into lately. 

As for Leland and his exorcism, yeah, so many questions about that. David seemed genuinely spooked by some of what was going on with him. 

Frankly, I don’t think Andy will be coming back from this last trip. I wonder what Andy wrote on his paper during that Tibetan Buddhist purification ritual. And is/was he cheating on Kristen? He must be guilty of something to initiate that purification ritual in the first place, right?

Re Sheryl, I think she has officially become Leland and Edward’s blood hunter (their vampire mistress or whatever) to ensure enough supply of blood and other bodily fluids.

Re Leland’s 3-nights exorcisms, I think they were real for the first 2 nights. He seems really affected by it, with all those weird voices, black tar vomit and all. He’s faking it on the 3rd night. The blood bath that he had with Sheryl’s help sort of “healed” him for some reason.

[Annber03]

3 minutes ago, SnazzyDaisy said:

I wonder what Andy wrote on his paper during that Tibetan Buddhist purification ritual. And is/was he cheating on Kristen? He must be guilty of something to initiate that purification ritual in the first place, right?

I'm curious as to what he wrote, too. He didn't really answer her when she asked him if he was seeing someone, I noticed. Don't people always say that when one makes accusations of infidelity, that's usually a sign that they themselves are cheating, or at least considering it? Sort of like their way of trying to justify what they are doing or want to do? 

And this isn't the first time he's made that accusation towards her (he'd had his suspicions about her and Ben last season, too), and yet, he also seems resigned to/accepting of the possibility that she would, because he knows he's away so often. I wonder what would've happened if Kristen had just come right out and told him she'd cheated. 

Quote

 

Re Sheryl, I think she has officially become Leland and Edward’s blood hunter (their vampire mistress or whatever) to ensure enough supply of blood and other bodily fluids.

 

That's...a truly creepy thought. 

[WAnglais1]

17 minutes ago, SnazzyDaisy said:

I wonder what Andy wrote on his paper during that Tibetan Buddhist purification ritual. And is/was he cheating on Kristen? He must be guilty of something to initiate that purification ritual in the first place, right?

 

I believe I saw one of the folded slips didn't burn. If something happens to him, you know she'll find it and read it. 

I also laughed that Leland asked for root beer. 

[Snazzy Daisy]

5 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

I'm curious as to what he wrote, too. He didn't really answer her when she asked him if he was seeing someone, I noticed. Don't people always say that when one makes accusations of infidelity, that's usually a sign that they themselves are cheating, or at least considering it? Sort of like their way of trying to justify what they are doing or want to do? 

And this isn't the first time he's made that accusation towards her (he'd had his suspicions about her and Ben last season, too), and yet, he also seems resigned to/accepting of the possibility that she would, because he knows he's away so often. I wonder what would've happened if Kristen had just come right out and told him she'd cheated. 

So true. Remember when we first saw him returning from his trip, he thought Kristen was having sex in her back office. When Kristen didn’t pick-up the phone, he thought Kristen was with Ben. His first thought in almost every situation involving Kristen is she’s cheating.

If Andy knew about Kristen’s angry sex the night before, he will put all the blame on her, definitely. He didn’t seem to feel guilty about leaving Kristen and the girls. Remember snarky comments from Sheryl in the kitchen in S1? He acted like life’s great.

[Snazzy Daisy]

18 minutes ago, WAnglais1 said:

I believe I saw one of the folded slips didn't burn. If something happens to him, you know she'll find it and read it. 

I also laughed that Leland asked for root beer. 

Devils love root beer, surprise! 😂

Kristen tore her confession paper right? So the folded ones that didn’t burn must be Andy’s.

Did you notice that Andy had this weird look on his face after Kristen said “this is so much better than the mirror exercise”?

[Annber03]

16 minutes ago, SnazzyDaisy said:

So true. Remember when we first saw him returning from his trip, he thought Kristen was having sex in her back office. When Kristen didn’t pick-up the phone, he thought Kristen was with Ben. His first thought in almost every situation involving Kristen is she’s cheating.

It didn't surprise me that he immediately asked her about Ben when confronting her about cheating, given his previous suspicions about him and all, but I believe this is the first time he's ever mentioned David, which struck me, considering he's never met him. At least, not on screen, anyway. But of course, I'm guessing he's heard her talk about or to David on the phone or something. Or maybe David came up in their joint therapy sessions with Boggs at some point.

[phalange]

Whatever Sheryl, Leland and their influencer friend are doing is truly bizarre. I guess it's Sheryl's job to lure in unsuspecting people in order to steal their blood for this weird de-aging ritual. 

Kristen actually cheated. It was only a matter of time, really. It doesn't seem like David and Ben believed that guy because they didn't question Kristen about it. And leave it to Sheryl to know what to do to hide evidence of cheating.

Whatever that slug thing was that came out of Kristen during the exorcism was truly nasty. It rivals that woman giving birth to a demon baby in a cornfield last season. I think we're supposed to assume the exorcism worked since Kristen's demon jinn transferred to Leland, who looked rather happy to see him.

Andy changed his flight and he and Kristen made amends at the end, so something is for sure going to happen to him on his trip. I wonder what he wrote on his piece of paper. We saw Kristen circle the "I" on her piece of paper. Maybe Andy wrote something starting with "I" as well but forgot to circle it.

Edited September 26, 2021 by phalange

[Snazzy Daisy]

4 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

It didn't surprise me that he immediately asked her about Ben when confronting her about cheating, given his previous suspicions about him and all, but I believe this is the first time he's ever mentioned David, which struck me, considering he's never met him. At least, not on screen, anyway. But of course, I'm guessing he's heard her talk about or to David on the phone or something. Or maybe David came up in their joint therapy sessions with Boggs at some point.

Maybe Andy had googled David off-screen and saw how hunky he is. 😅

[Snazzy Daisy]

Exorcism by proxy. 😱😳🥶

This is the creepiest scene so far. Way creepier than the birth of demon baby in the cornfield in S1.

Is it an alien baby or a fish hybrid?

 

[Scout Finch]

I thought it would be safe to eat dinner now that I'm done watching the episode. Apparently not...can't escape the gore. Is there some need I'm missing for screenshots of the most graphic moments?? 

Edited September 27, 2021 by Scout Finch

[Anela]

1 hour ago, SnazzyDaisy said:

Frankly, I don’t think Andy will be coming back from this last trip. I wonder what Andy wrote on his paper during that Tibetan Buddhist purification ritual. And is/was he cheating on Kristen? He must be guilty of something to initiate that purification ritual in the first place, right?

Re Sheryl, I think she has officially become Leland and Edward’s blood hunter (their vampire mistress or whatever) to ensure enough supply of blood and other bodily fluids.

Re Leland’s 3-nights exorcisms, I think they were real for the first 2 nights. He seems really affected by it, with all those weird voices, black tar vomit and all. He’s faking it on the 3rd night. The blood bath that he had with Sheryl’s help sort of “healed” him for some reason.

I was wondering what he’d done, too, but he could have done it just to put her at ease.  As they did the ritual, I thought of Sheryl, and her gifts that she throws into fire, in exchange for blessings.  
Is Sheryl actually killing people? Leland said something about the two women from the airport, when he settled into his bath of blood.  
 

[Scout Finch]

52 minutes ago, Anela said:

I was wondering what he’d done, too, but he could have done it just to put her at ease.  As they did the ritual, I thought of Sheryl, and her gifts that she throws into fire, in exchange for blessings.  
Is Sheryl actually killing people? Leland said something about the two women from the airport, when he settled into his bath of blood.  
 

Was that blood? It looked orange-y brown to me and less runny. Like old motor oil or Betadine, although that's obviously not what it was. It grossed me out but I did watch most of that scene, unlike a couple of others! I really do love this show but have never been able to handle gory stuff so I just look away for most of those moments! I think it's also more so now that it's not on network TV.

[Anela]

1 hour ago, Scout Finch said:

Was that blood? It looked orange-y brown to me and less runny. Like old motor oil or Betadine, although that's obviously not what it was. It grossed me out but I did watch most of that scene, unlike a couple of others! I really do love this show but have never been able to handle gory stuff so I just look away for most of those moments! I think it's also more so now that it's not on network TV.

I think so.  I wonder if the doctor from last week, is still alive.  I thought they had her prepped in a body bag, but it could have been something to keep her warm, if they were using her body for something.  I know she was alive when we last saw her.  

[Snazzy Daisy]

3 hours ago, Anela said:

Is Sheryl actually killing people? Leland said something about the two women from the airport, when he settled into his bath of blood.  

I guess the two women were undergoing some kinda “treatment” in Leland’s back room. He’s asking Sheryl to check on them etc. When Sheryl took the blood containers from the room, we saw a woman there, right?

[Scout Finch]

25 minutes ago, SnazzyDaisy said:

I guess the two women were undergoing some kinda “treatment” in Leland’s back room. He’s asking Sheryl to check on them etc. When Sheryl took the blood containers from the room, we saw a woman there, right?

I think that was the doctor that Anela just mentioned above. Is that the one who had been paying the fertility clinic she used to work at to keep Kristen's stored eggs? I'm thoroughly confused about what's going on!

[Anela]

1 hour ago, Scout Finch said:

I think that was the doctor that Anela just mentioned above. Is that the one who had been paying the fertility clinic she used to work at to keep Kristen's stored eggs? I'm thoroughly confused about what's going on!

I think so.  

[raven]

I'm kinda disappointed that Kristen chose that obnoxious incel - who she's supposted to be investigating, no less - to bang.   I was thinking at first it was a dream but nope.   Kristen's reaction when he brought it up in the meeting was good work by Katja Herbers.   So, Kristen's gotten away with murder, assault and now adultery.  Well, at least the last isn't illegal, lol.  Her transgressions are lessening in seriousness. 

I like Andy so if he's been cheating, I will be disappointed in him as well.   It's nice to have someone kinda normal around once in a while.

Leland had told his now dead therapist that the exorcism was a con so I'm on the fence about whether he was affected or not.  Even though we see him shivering when no one's around - I don't know.  He could have been rehearsing for when Sheryl came over.   I'm not super invested in Sheryl's story - she's aiding and abetting murdering for blood now, I guess.  

I liked this one better than the last couple.  I don't actively dislike any ep but after a really strong start, there's been a lot of crap thrown against the wall.   I did like Kristen being affected by the exorcism and know the djinn is visiting Leland. 

Dr. Boggs!  I almost forgot - do we REALLY think he called his wife??  I know he offered the phone to Kristen but could he really tell his wife that she was accusing him of things?  I guess he could just say "a patient".   Hmmm now I'm suspicious, lol.  I did wonder about the meds Kristen has been taking.

[Annber03]

1 minute ago, raven said:

I'm kinda disappointed that Kristen chose that obnoxious incel - who she's supposted to be investigating, no less - to bang.   I was thinking at first it was a dream but nope.   Kristen's reaction when he brought it up in the meeting was good work by Katja Herbers. 

Yeah, of all the people to actually cheat with, it seems weird it'd be him. But given how she handled him trying to expose their hookup at the meeting the next day, I suspect that was part of why she picked him - she wanted to mess with him the way guys like him tend to mess with women, perhaps? 

[raven]

7 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

she wanted to mess with him the way guys like him tend to mess with women, perhaps? 

Maybe, but it seemed like an awfully big risk to make a point.  Not just the infidelity - though I wonder how badly she wants to stay married- but it could have seriously affected the investigation and her job.  She did seem startled when he said it in the meeting.   It wasn't a smart choice on her part, but maybe that is just the show saying that she is making lots of bad, impulsive choices before the exorcism. 

[Madding crowd]

I thought the beginning with Sheryl and the song to be kind of self indulgent. I have no idea what she and Leland are doing and they seem to go back and forth on whether he is actually affected by the exorcism.

I think Kristen was right that something shady is going on with her doctor, the phone call seemed suspicious . I like Andy and hope he isn’t killed off , I think he is a grounding force for Kristen. More creepy dolls next week! 

[LexieLily]

Maybe I've been in soap-opera world too long, but it can't be a coincidence that Eric's mom is pregnant again, her 'legal troubles may soon be over,' and Kristen's only on record for eleven eggs when there were twelve originally. I got the feeling that maybe Eric's mom is impregnated with Kristen's missing twelfth egg. Why, I have absolutely no idea, but that was where my mind went.

 

[kwnyc]

Questions! I have questions!

What is the yellow stuff they are putting into Sheryl? 

If she "wants" Edward (in exchange for helping Leland), in what way? For dinner?

WHAT is Sheryl doing with that power drill?

Where'd they get all the blood? Is she picking up women, too?

I'm on the side of believing that Leland nearly DID get exorcised, which is why he called in Sheryl. And who knew: root beer?

I also think Kristen was exorcised as well, because she changed so thoroughly. Will she admit to some kind of belief?

And who WAS the shrink calling when she barged back in?

And I'm in the minority. I think Andy will come back After all, Kristen drew a circle around him (first) and then herself.

Also interesting that the djinn moved to Leland. I wonder if he thinks he can "handle" it or work with it.

Nice job, show!

Edited September 28, 2021 by kwnyc
Additional thought

[Zaffy]

Fantastic Show, great episode and the true star is "George" and his next week episode presentation.
We all  hate those dolls George! 

[Snazzy Daisy]

1 hour ago, kwnyc said:

Questions! I have questions!

What is the yellow stuff they are putting into Sheryl? 

Could it be this experimental stuff?

 

[ferjy]

On 9/26/2021 at 4:15 PM, Chaos Theory said:

Did Kristen get exorcised?

It looks like it. Too bad Sheryl wasn’t in the room as well. I’m sure she has been possessed for a while now too. 

 

[Anela]

5 hours ago, kwnyc said:

Questions! I have questions!

What is the yellow stuff they are putting into Sheryl? 

If she "wants" Edward (in exchange for helping Leland), in what way? For dinner?

WHAT is Sheryl doing with that power drill?

Where'd they get all the blood? Is she picking up women, too?

I'm on the side of believing that Leland nearly DID get exorcised, which is why he called in Sheryl. And who knew: root beer?

I also think Kristen was exorcised as well, because she changed so thoroughly. Will she admit to some kind of belief?

And who WAS the shrink calling when she barged back in?

And I'm in the minority. I think Andy will come back After all, Kristen drew a circle around him (first) and then herself.

Also interesting that the djinn moved to Leland. I wonder if he thinks he can "handle" it or work with it.

Nice job, show!

I hope he comes back, too, and I like that she circled his name first. She doesn't want anything to happen to him. 

[ferjy]

On 9/26/2021 at 8:30 PM, Anela said:

I was wondering what he’d done, too, but he could have done it just to put her at ease.

It’ll end up being something like “I drank straight from the orange juice carton.” 

 

[Norma Desmond]

Wow. That was the scariest episode for me, mostly because of the business Sheryl, Leland and Tim Matheson are involved with. By the way, how do they dispose of the bodies of the people they murder?

Sheryl is a monster. For a moment, I thought she was going to kill Andy. By the way, I think Andy's not long for this world. Which is a shame, I like him.

The demon-worshipping frat boy Kristen had sex with was hot.

I wonder if Kurt the therapist was really talking to his wife.

Kristen is the common denominator of all the plots. All the roads lead to her.

Mike Colter is not only a fine actor, but the most attractive man in the universe. And his voice is so soothing. I love him in this role.

The bit at the end with George is always my favorite part. I wish George would narrate everything, from margarine commercial to corny romance audiobooks.

 

Oh, and what I've been most looking forward to... evil dolls episode! Weee!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kwnyc]

...it just occurred to me that the shrink really WAS calling his wife...to tell her he was banging Cheryl (in case Kristen decided to get in touch with her!)

[Norma Desmond]

6 hours ago, kwnyc said:

...it just occurred to me that the shrink really WAS calling his wife...to tell her he was banging Cheryl (in case Kristen decided to get in touch with her!)

Is he, though?

 

On 9/28/2021 at 3:27 PM, Zaffy said:

and the true star is "George" and his next week episode presentation

Yes! I concur. The Kings should try a George-centric spinoff. Maybe a children's show. George could read and dramatize classic Grimm tales. I'm sure kids would be  scarred for life delighted.

[skotnikov]

20 hours ago, Norma Desmond said:

Oh, and what I've been most looking forward to... evil dolls episode! Weee!

 

Dolls! Dolls! Damn! MORE DOLLS!!!

[Linderhill]

I will never look at an antique Hilda doll the same way again.  Not after seeing that Eddie monstrosity. 

[millennium]

I think this show is just throwing a lot of shit at the wall, most of which will never be resolved, explained or mentioned again.  Only at the end will a few elements be cobbled together to make it appear there's been a coherent idea guiding the story all along.   The "cases" the team take receive lip service only, their investigations seem half-hearted at best -- almost like they'd all rather be doing something else.   If the characters in the show aren't very interested in the work they're doing, why should the audience be?