S02.E12: D Is for Doll

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

At Dr. Boggs' request, the team is introduced to a recently widowed Catholic named Nathan, and his teenage son, Elijah.

Dropping Sunday, October 3, 2021.

(This is the description and title as released as of this date and time. May be subject to changes by Paramount+, in which case, will be updated accordingly. Thank you!)

[Snazzy Daisy]

The best moment of this episode is the meaningful, heartfelt conversation between David and Kristen. There’s no steamy sexual tension. Just two people who genuinely care about each other, talking about what their lives could have been. Maybe some things are not meant to be.

David: You ever wonder what it’d be like if things had happened differently? If I met you before all this, what we’d say to each other? 

Kristen: You know I do.

David: Would we be in love? 

Kristen nods in silence. Then she walks over to him, puts her hand on his chest, and softly tells him…

Kristen: Go get ordained.

Awww! 😘☺️🥰

[Anela]

What is Sheryl doing? That gift was disgusting. 

Now the therapist has seen a shadow figure. I wonder what that means for him. I liked him tagging along. 

I'm glad that Kristen didn't do anything with David. I do hope her husband comes back. 

So there are multiple Eddies, but luckily her youngest stopped the other one from doing anything like their grandma. 

[AimingforYoko]

The best part is when "Gregory" showed up and all three exchanged a look and David just said, "I know."

[Annber03]

3 hours ago, Anela said:

What is Sheryl doing? That gift was disgusting. 

Seriously, how is one's first reaction to a "gift" like that not, "What the actual fuck?" It's weird enough that Edward's family has kept that thing for so many generations, but to give it to someone who isn't even part of the family...he's got big plans for her, clearly. What those plans are, I still can't begin to figure out. The stuff with the little games he had her play was bizarre, too (though I will admit the whole STD thing was darkly amusing). 

The fact that that head is apparently part of that sigil map doesn't bode well, either. Especially given all the other weird, freaky stuff Edward and Sheryl have been involved with lately in regards to Leland. 

Speaking of Leland, I won't be one bit surprised if this church takes him on as a counselor, because he's been doing a bang up job of pulling the wool over their eyes thus far, but of course, I really hope they don't hire him, because that's a decision that just cannot end well for anyone. Sister Andrea would surely have a few thoughts on that topic, too. 

Quote

Now the therapist has seen a shadow figure. I wonder what that means for him. I liked him tagging along. 

I do, too. I wonder if seeing that shadow figure will put him off his plans for a book or make him more interested in writing one. I get why he'd want to  write one, and I would be rather interested to see what a book about this team would be like...but I think the team is right to shoot down that offer all the same. Too much chance that things might be exposed and revealed that really shouldn't be. Add in the fact that some people have expressed suspicion about Boggs' motives of late as well, and that would be another argument against the book, because he might not be using it for purely educational purposes. 

Quote

So there are multiple Eddies, but luckily her youngest stopped the other one from doing anything like their grandma. 

And of course Lexis would be most compelled to want to try and imitate Sheryl, both because she's seen Sheryl in action with the doll and because of her own unusual behavior of late. I am glad Laura stopped her, though - and I breathed a sigh of relief when the rumbling and shaking was revealed to be the train passing by overhead!

But yeah, kinda creepy, the idea that there's more than one Eddie doll lurking around out there. Course, Sheryl did mention "father, son, and holy ghost" during her prayer, so maybe all these dolls are supposed to represent that? Especially given that the father who was concerned about his son felt that the doll's presence was actually protective instead of threatening? 

Speaking of the girls, by the way, watching Lynn tonight and seeing her babysitting and everything, it really struck me how much she and her sisters are really growing up before our eyes! So funny to see them here and think back to how young they all were when the show first started. I feel so protective of them!

I also liked Kristen and David's talk. I don't blame him for feeling anxious and nervous the closer he gets to his ordination, and having his doubts, and I liked the callback to earlier this season, when he'd been invited to check out that other church. It was good to see him spend a bit of time there seeing what that place was all about, and I agree it's a place where he'd fit in quite well. 

But I also liked Kristen reminding him of why he worked so hard to get here, and the good that he can do here. It was nice to see her supporting him like this. The whole "what if" bit was bittersweet, too - they didn't have to say they'd miss what they had now, or what could've been, it was written all over their faces. 

So yeah. I'll be very curious to see if David does ultimately go through with this. On the one hand, I can see him doing that, and I want him to achieve this goal he's worked so hard for. On the other hand, I also understand all the reasons why he might not, and I can see the show going that route. I also wonder how much influence Sister Andrea's advice will have on him as well, she's made her feelings quite clear and I think she made a lot of really good points, too (and oh, man, her story about that guy she used to know :(). 

Guess we'll find out next Sunday, won't we? I can't believe the season finale's upon us already! I'm both excited and nervous to see how on earth they plan to wrap up this season. 

Edited October 4, 2021 by Annber03

[Madding crowd]

I thought this would be creepier because of the dolls but I’m not  sure of the connections between everything; dolls, Sheryl’s shrunken head, the black shadow guy etc. I hope they will tie everything together on the finale. I prefer the action with Kristen, Ben and David because all of the Leland and Sheryl stuff has a campy overtone and I like the scary stuff better. 

[Annber03]

34 minutes ago, AimingforYoko said:

The best part is when "Gregory" showed up and all three exchanged a look and David just said, "I know."

The team's reactions to all his antics were hilarious. When they were in the son's room and he was starting in on all his theatrics, I noticed Kristen and Ben off in the corner struggling to hold back their laughter :D. 

[raven]

D for Doll but not many shots of the creepy dolls.  I'm not complaining, mind you!

I'm not interested in Sheryl's story, sorry, show.  I would much rather watch our team on investigations.

I am interested in Dr. Kurt seeing George!  Is he not going to counsel Kristen any longer?  Otherwise, accompanying her on her job seems really unprofessional, yet minor for this show.

Kristen giggling in the background when doing her job is getting on my nerves; except when laughing about Gregory, who was ridiculous.  Though I liked her conversation with David about his ordination, I'm starting to kind of dislike her.  I still love Sister Andrea!  It makes sense that David is feeling some doubts this close to a life changing event. 

[phalange]

More than one Eddie doll? That can't be good. That "gift" Sheryl got was gross and of course it's a sigil. Sheryl combining the sigil with the dolls is definitely leading no where good. Not surprising that Lexis was tempted to pray to the doll and it's fortunate that Laura stopped her.

The scene with Kristen and David acknowledging something between them and that things could've been different if they met under different circumstances was sweet and also sad. I'm torn on whether or not I think David will actually get ordained. It would change the dynamic he has with the team since he'd be focused on other things.

Kristen's therapist is seeing demons now which is interesting. I'm still on the fence about him, but this made me think he is actually a good guy because otherwise he probably wouldn't have been so shaken about the demon encounter.

[Scout Finch]

7 hours ago, raven said:

Kristen giggling in the background when doing her job is getting on my nerves; except when laughing about Gregory, who was ridiculous. 

I did like it when she tried to scare Ben and David in the attic and Ben responded with, "I forgot I'm working with a 12-year-old."

[ferjy]

Ha ha, Leland trying to talk and avoid any mishaps as Sister Andrea cleans up her “accident”. 🤣 Even I was apprehensive about what would land in Leland’s lap next. The Monsignor was slightly annoyed too, urging her out of the room. 😄 That whole scene was owned by Andrea Martin. Sister Andrea is a force to be reckoned with. When David asked her what if he wanted to go back from the light, the look she threw him... when she got up and went over to him, I thought she might slap him! 😄 

Nice to see crazed Uncle George from “Servant”, playing the Monsignor... he was so normal here. 

 

Edited October 4, 2021 by ferjy

[Zaffy]

I think the last couple of episodes were the weakest of the season so far. Not even George saved this one (anyone fancies a George spin-off?)

After the episode finished I was a tad confused to be honest.
What was it about really?
That the dolls are a vital part of this season's ark? Well, they failed to make the dolls scary and the dolls are creepy by default!

The other confusing story is the whole Leland-Sheryl-Sinister rich guy "triangle".
They show us bits and parts from them in a way that made me feel lost and not very much intrigued.
Are they just rich people who found a gruesome and illegal way to stay young? Are some kind of demon's servants? They are just very very bad people who have nothing to do with supernatural? I do not think the writers have sold this story well or created the appropriate mystery around them. They bore me, there I said it!
One of the problems is that we do not know  much about Sheryl'past or even her character. We just suddenly saw her becoming a villain after dating Leland. 
Was she always like that? Is there some nasty genes running in the family (that made Kristen become a murderer herself)? 
Or she is just possessed by evil?

Who votes for "Sister Andrea the demon's slayer" spin-off?
Raises hand!!

[SherriAnt]

On 10/3/2021 at 6:51 PM, raven said:

I'm not interested in Sheryl's story, sorry, show.

This will sound terrible, but one of my pet peeves is that she's a little long in the tooth for a rich weirdo's arm candy. She's beautiful and sexy, but seriously, how many age appropriate trophy wives are there on tv? 

I really want to learn more about that tail....

[kwnyc]

"Boop!"

"You have something on your nose..."

(Why I love this show.)

[Norma Desmond]

wtf was that ending

[ABay]

What kind of parents buy a clown doll for their child? Have they never seen Poltergeist? And if they haven't, how is anyone not creeped out just at the sight of one? Dolls are evil, clowns are evil, clown dolls are an evil vortex.

[KittyQ]

A couple of interesting things in this episode:

- The guy with the son with the broken arm said that his wife had purchased the doll at a flea market (and got "care instructions" from the seller - ala Gremlins, I guess). So that suggests that it is possible to get rid of the doll(s). I wonder if you could just drop it off at the dump or if you have to "pass it on" in order to be free of it. How did Sheryl come by her original doll?

- The head in the jar was so small! How could that be a great grandfather's skull? My understanding is that when heads are shrunken, the skull is removed and the skin wrapped around something like a stone while it is being shrunken. That head looked like one of the doll's heads. Interesting that it is a sigil, and Sheryl is Edward's "successor". Hmmm. 

- What did happen to the doll that the team took away from that guy? And will anyone bring the doll back to the parents of the kid that was babysat? Is he suffering because he obviously can't be doing the doll's bidding?

- Isn't there any "quality control" (for lack of a better term) on the cases of Gregory? Do the clients ever report that the infestation is still there? If so, does Gregory get a review of some kind? I wonder because he did seem more of an act than genuine.

- Did anyone notice that the demon goat therapist is "no longer available"? You'd think he might have other patients who'd notice. 

[KittyQ]

A few other things:

- Is it a coincidence that the creepy doll is called Eddie, and Sheryl is now Edward's "successor"?

- It would be interesting to find out where Sebbie's family got the doll they have

- My advice to babysitters: Don't play hide-and-seek unless you are as familiar with the house as the kids are. It didn't happen here, but there are way too many places in a house that kids can hide that the babysitter isn't aware of. Also, what if the kid hides in the parents' bedroom? You don't want to go in there lest you later be accused of snooping or even taking something.

- I hope we eventually find out what the deal was with those tasks that Sheryl had to do, especially the one where she slapped that guy. The other one seemed more prankish and you could imagine it being done to make trouble for the guy, but the first one just seemed odd.

- Was that Virgin Mary image (statue? painting?) always there in the garage/office/guest room? It was a striking contrast with Sheryl's prayer pose, but left me wondering what it meant. 

- Leland and the monsignor: why on earth would you even consider using a guy who's (apparently) newly exorcised in any position, paid or volunteer, until he'd proven himself as "clear" for more than a couple of days? Certainly don't consider putting him in the area of exorcisms - fox / henhouse sound familiar? Although, given how little oversight Gregory gets, it is clear that doing due diligence isn't the monsignor's forte.

 

 

 

[natyxg]

I've been finally catching up with this show, and I'm struggling. It has become too much of an X-files type show for me, and that's not a genre I like. Too many loose ends, too many things that can't be explained, too many things that they refuse to explain... I'm sick of wondering wtf is going on with Sheryl and wondering if she was always evil or something and I just forgot? I could've sworn she wasn't.

No explanation for Ben's girlfriend whatever sister stuff or the demon he had been seeing at night. No explanation for Leiland killing and eating that... demon? No explanation for Lexi having a... tail? At some point it stops being "intriguing" and becomes "I don't care about any of this shit". I also feel like they're not stories that are being told in any emotional or meaningful way, or "saying" something interesting... it feels like just a meaningless mess and I care less and less about it. Can't believe I have like 11 episodes to go. 😫

[Paloma]

On 9/11/2022 at 10:53 PM, natyxg said:

I've been finally catching up with this show, and I'm struggling. It has become too much of an X-files type show for me, and that's not a genre I like. Too many loose ends, too many things that can't be explained, too many things that they refuse to explain... I'm sick of wondering wtf is going on with Sheryl and wondering if she was always evil or something and I just forgot? I could've sworn she wasn't.

No explanation for Ben's girlfriend whatever sister stuff or the demon he had been seeing at night. No explanation for Leiland killing and eating that... demon? No explanation for Lexi having a... tail?

My husband and I are also catching up (watched the last 3 episodes of Season 2 on Christmas Eve, which I guess is kind of sick). We understand and agree with what you are saying about loose ends and the unexplained--though I think some things are intentionally unexplained because that is the concept behind the show (i.e., there are some phenomenon that can't be explained rationally). But there still needs to be more resolution and explanation than they have given so far. 

We're still interested because we do like the X-Files genre, and specifically loved most of the original X-Files series (not the more recent version). But we'll be very annoyed if Season 3 of Evil doesn't answer any important questions.

[SherriAnt]

On 12/25/2022 at 6:53 AM, Paloma said:

But we'll be very annoyed if Season 3 of Evil doesn't answer any important questions.

I 100% percent agree!