S03.E04: The Demon of the Road

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

The team encounters a truck driver whose wife thinks he is possessed and explores the possibility of a demon haunting the highway.

Dropping Sunday, July 3, 2022.

[AnimeMania]

Why do you have to start your investigation about a Ghost Highway in the middle of the night, instead of in the daytime when you can actually see what is going on around you.

Sister Andrea you do not want to be alone in a bedroom with Dave! Or maybe you do?

Who did it better, Kristen or Miss Piggy?

[Snazzy Daisy]

The pop-up book for this episode...

[Annber03]

That "Happy Together" singalong was EVERYTHING :D. I was joining right in with them, hee. More team road trip stories, please. Loved the backstory behind that choice of song, too. Aw. Ben :). 

But ooh, what an intriguing ,creepy little case. It reminded me of the stories I've heard about this stretch of road somewhere in New Jersey where people have reported seeing all sorts of weird, freaky unexplained phenomena. The scream on the car radio* and the fire-and-brimstone type televangelist rantings on the radio were especially unnerving. I like how the talk radio programs were part of the scary radio broadcasts, too. Sounds about right. 

I got a kick out of this bit, too...

Ben: *Goes to get out of the car*

Kristen: No! That's the start of a hundred horror movies!

Also Kristen: *Walks towards the dark, creepy-looking woods in the middle of the night upon hearing a noise* 

The explanation behind the ghost road was interesting...on the one hand, I kind of wanted it all to remain some sort of weird, unexplained phenomena, but on the other hand, the idea of someone messing with people like that is unsettling in and of itself, and tying the guy's "suicide" to the shady group David's working with, and their methods for "getting rid of" the demonic houses/sigils, makes things that much more disturbing. I'm starting to sense this group is going to be one of those "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it" sorts of deals, both for David and for society in general. 

*The scream on the car radio sounded a lot like the scream that girl recorded when her friend disappeared in that elevator game last season. I wonder if that was mere coincidence. 

I liked the storylines with Sister Andrea and Kristen each finding their own ways to stand up for themselves this episode. Bringing back that guy Kristen punched last season was an interesting twist. Punching him may not have been the right thing to do, but honestly, given recent real world events, Kristen just taking a sledgehammer to property as she did in this episode was pretty damn cathartic, not gonna lie. I loved her reaction to the contractor pulling the, "I talked to your husband" bit, too. Yeah, I think every woman's had some kind of moment like that. Or, in my case, when I worked retail, the wives have brought their husbands in as though their presence will make me more likely to give them what they wanted, even when I couldn't. So yeah. Suffice to say I related to and sympathized a lot with Kristen this episode. 

And Sister Andrea. I love how she didn't waver once in the face of what this council was trying to get her to do, and Leland's wishes losing out to procedure...oh, that was delicious :D. As was David being by her side at the end. Yeah. Good luck going up against those two, guys. 

[ferjy]

Ha, go Kristen! The WTF looks on David’s and Ben’s faces when she takes charge of the demon hunting expedition. Ben doesn’t mince words. “You’re dressed... tough.” I love these guys. 

Creepy episode. Although the Church is scarier than the demons are. 

[jub]

3 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Who did it better, Kristen or Miss Piggy?

Kristen held her own, but Miss Piggy’s are big shoes to fill.  Still, my ultimate vote goes to Emma Peel. 

[ferjy]

3 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Sister Andrea you do not want to be alone in a bedroom with Dave! Or maybe you do?

🤣 She left disappointed he didn’t make a move on her.  We need a Sister Andrea demon with a forked tongue.  

[Snazzy Daisy]

😂😂😂😂😂

Quote

"Lynn, I need you to watch your sisters tonight. Mama's gonna hunt a demon on the Ghost Highway" - Kristen channeling Sasha Fierce

Quote

"Say hi to Andy for me." - Sheryl

Edited July 3, 2022 by SnazzyDaisy

[RedInk]

Judging by the reactions here, I guess we’re supposed to be supportive of Kristen, but it’s not resonating with me. She’s kind of…all over the place?  And while her anger is always justified, her reactions are disproportionate. Don’t get me wrong - I wanted her to rip the contractor a new asshole and everything - but I was just not expecting  a sledgehammer to the framing. I also thought the empowerment lesson from her mom was off (as would be any advice from her mom). “You broke a lot of hearts, but you never had your heart broken.” This is the goal for our daughters? Anyway, I know this is just a show, I’m just not getting the message lol

Edited July 3, 2022 by RedInk

[Zaffy]

I still do not get why this council is after Sister Andrea. 

[AimingforYoko]

37 minutes ago, Zaffy said:

I still do not get why this council is after Sister Andrea. 

Because for some reason, Leland has credibility. I don't get why seeing demons means mental illness to the church, considering what our trio's been up to. Unless one hand is unaware of what the other is doing. You'd think the monsignor would have something to say here.

[Annber03]

52 minutes ago, Zaffy said:

I still do not get why this council is after Sister Andrea. 

If they're in on what Leland's scheming to do, they'll want her out of the way just as much as he does, so she'll have a harder time stopping them. 

Plus, considering the theme of how women are treated that was running through this episode, I feel like this was a commentary on that, too. All the stuff male members of the church have been able to get by with throughout its history, some of it pretty horrific, and yet they still get to keep their jobs, no problem. But a woman who's daring to stand up to them and call out the church on its bullshit, and has strong opinions that she's not afraid to voice openly and loudly, they're threatened by that, and will use any excuse possible to try and get her out so they can continue to do what they want without consequences, whether it's whatever shady stuff Leland's involved with or anything else. 

[RedInk]

1 hour ago, Zaffy said:

I still do not get why this council is after Sister Andrea. 

Isn’t it because she knows the cardinal is associating with a demon? Or did that come to light after the investigation? 
I’m not clear on how Leland has any sway anymore, unless it’s due to some demonic interference…I don’t even think I know his day job. What happened to his practice? 

[Dani-Ellie]

I would willingly watch an entire of episode of Ben, Kristen, and David in a car on a random road trip.

[phalange]

More of Kristen, David, and Ben singing in the car on road trips, please! I'm sure Ben was happy to have a scientific explanation for what was going on, and Kristen got to smash a bunch of shit which looked pretty cathartic, tbh. 

The church taking Leland's word and trying to force Sister Andrea out is ridiculous, if unsurprising. Of course they'd side with some random guy over a woman. Which, as others have said, is stupid considering the church's whole thing is talking to people who aren't there. Fortunately Sister Andrea knows her rights and isn't intimidated by Leland and has David on her side. I laughed when she booped Kurt on the nose, like "we both know what you saw, dude." 

I still don't think Andy's making it back from that climbing trip.

I knew the whole "friend of the Vatican" situation was about something more than what he told David before. Their goal is eliminating the houses by any means necessary.

Edited July 4, 2022 by phalange

[Anela]

11 hours ago, RedInk said:

Judging by the reactions here, I guess we’re supposed to be supportive of Kristen, but it’s not resonating with me. She’s kind of…all over the place?  And while her anger is always justified, her reactions are disproportionate. Don’t get me wrong - I wanted her to rip the contractor a new asshole and everything - but I was just not expecting  a sledgehammer to the framing. I also thought the empowerment lesson from her mom was off (as would be any advice from her mom). “You broke a lot of hearts, but you never had your heart broken.” This is the goal for our daughters? Anyway, I know this is just a show, I’m just not getting the message lol

He said that he was going to destroy it, so she called his bluff. 

I loved Ben and his sister figuring out how to reverse-hack the guy who was screwing with people out there. I wonder if Kristen sensed the thing that David saw, off the side of the road. 

I can't believe her husband just blew her off, when she needed to talk about something concerning their daughters. 

Those priests just murdered that guy? He said they aren't killers... the guy wiping for prints must be. Same thing, they were responsible for this guy's death. I wonder if he knew about the sigils. I also wonder if David's dad will ever be revisited. Wasn't he adding sigils to his paintings? 

This made me want to go on a road trip. It's been years since I've been on one. 

[Annber03]

27 minutes ago, Anela said:

I can't believe her husband just blew her off, when she needed to talk about something concerning their daughters. 

I've seen some people wondering if that was even him she was talking to, or if someone was messing with the video somehow or something. 

[Madding crowd]

Kristen’s husband was climbing a mountain and likely had people depending on him for their lives plus a poor connection. I didn’t like her smashing the construction. Speaking up for yourself is not the same as violence. 
Still not understanding Leland being in on church meetings or having any say in anything church related. He is a newly baptized Catholic and the church would already have many psychologists ( including Kristen) who are experienced Catholics and qualified to assess Sister Andrea. It also doesn’t appear the sister works in a school or anywhere that she would be a danger. I’m happy there was at least a creepy component to the road haunting; it’s no fun if everything is logical.

Edited July 4, 2022 by Madding crowd

[Anela]

She knocked down a couple of her own walls, just as the man was threatening to do. She didn't hit him with the mallet. She didn't hurt anyone. Those rich people, who are working with the devil, apparently, couldn't have gone without her husband, and if they had, it would have been on them, if anything happened. Impatient rich people, trying to create division in his family, and worse. 

Also: Kristen's mother is involved with them. I wonder if/when this church group is going to be facing down Sheryl, and the others. The shrunken head had something to do with a family, and a sigil, if I'm remembering correctly.

[Madding crowd]

1 hour ago, Anela said:

She knocked down a couple of her own walls, just as the man was threatening to do. She didn't hit him with the mallet. She didn't hurt anyone. Those rich people, who are working with the devil, apparently, couldn't have gone without her husband, and if they had, it would have been on them, if anything happened. Impatient rich people, trying to create division in his family, and worse. 

Kristen also hit a man in the face with a bag of frozen peas in a fit of anger and killed a serial killer. Someone will have to pay for her knocking down the work already done and it’s not teaching her daughters the right way to respond. Refusing payment, hiring a new contractor, suing the contractor: all better responses than smashing her own property with a sledgehammer. 

[jada]

I don't understand the point of Leyland any longer or why the church trusts him so much.  I get the general taking a man's word over a woman's in this episode with the Nun Vs Leyland, but by and large why does he have so much access? 

I liked the crossing off of the sigils this episode, another baby step towards moving the story forward. 

[Anela]

1 hour ago, Madding crowd said:

Kristen also hit a man in the face with a bag of frozen peas in a fit of anger and killed a serial killer. Someone will have to pay for her knocking down the work already done and it’s not teaching her daughters the right way to respond. Refusing payment, hiring a new contractor, suing the contractor: all better responses than smashing her own property with a sledgehammer. 

But it would have been okay for him to knock it all down? He was going to take it all down. She would have had to pay someone else to build new walls. He was treating her like the "little woman" who had no idea what was going on, when she would have already discussed this with her husband, before they went ahead with it. He expected her to be deferential to him. She killed a serial killer, who was threatening her family. I don't agree with the way she got away with it, at all. 

She has one daughter who was involved with a boy, and she didn't know it. Another daughter being preyed upon by Leland, and his cohorts. Her husband is overseas, with people who are also dangerous, but she doesn't know that yet. She's alone, and trying to deal. I'm not trying to raise four daughters in this crappy world. She is. 

38 minutes ago, jada said:

I don't understand the point of Leyland any longer or why the church trusts him so much.  I get the general taking a man's word over a woman's in this episode with the Nun Vs Leyland, but by and large why does he have so much access? 

I liked the crossing off of the sigils this episode, another baby step towards moving the story forward. 

Was the priest in charge, the one who was involved in gambling? Leland might have something on him. 

Edited July 4, 2022 by Anela

[Snazzy Daisy]

BTS of this episode!

[HerkyJerky]

I LOVE Katja Herbers, so I’m trying to see more of her work. Have you guys seen the movie, “The Columnist”? There’s a scene in the movie where her next door neighbor is making a lot of noise while she is trying to work. I won’t spoil it for the people who want to see the movie but it’s not pretty! And I thought of that scene during this episode when her contractors were making all that noise.🤫😡

[RedInk]

2 hours ago, Anela said:

But it would have been okay for him to knock it all down? He was going to take it all down. She would have had to pay someone else to build new walls. He was treating her like the "little woman" who had no idea what was going on, when she would have already discussed this with her husband, before they went ahead with it. He expected her to be deferential to him. She killed a serial killer, who was threatening her family. I don't agree with the way she got away with it, at all. 

I respect & understand where you’re coming from, but (in my opinion) taking a sledgehammer to the framework, and making sure your daughters watch, appears unhinged. It seems like something you might cheer for in theory, but realistically my daughters would be terrified if I did that. I do react to people belittling me, but I use words. Kristin sometimes gives into her violent nature. When I first watched, I thought this was a scene telling us that she’s still fighting a metaphorical or literal darkness, especially considering the impetus for her actions grew from a conversation with her psychotic mother. I think it’s interesting how varied reactions are to different scenes. Real-world tensions are so high, I wonder if it wasn’t more cathartic than intended when it was written. 

Edited July 4, 2022 by RedInk
Clarifying

[Nellise]

This episode had the most supernatural thing they've ever shown: a stretch of I-95 near NYC that was completely empty (and had shrunk to 2 lanes).

The writing for Kristen seems so all over the place episode to episode that I guess at this point it's a character trait?

[Athena5217]

On 7/4/2022 at 2:33 PM, Anela said:

She knocked down a couple of her own walls, just as the man was threatening to do. She didn't hit him with the mallet. She didn't hurt anyone. Those rich people, who are working with the devil, apparently, couldn't have gone without her husband, and if they had, it would have been on them, if anything happened. Impatient rich people, trying to create division in his family, and worse

Neither of these situations is that simple. Kristen didn’t hurt anyone by knocking down the construction, but it will have to be rebuilt which delays getting it finished. A more effective solution might have been to pull out her cell phone and either 1) call the police to have the guy removed from her property or 2) start filming him because it would look bad for his business to have a viral video of him tearing down construction he was contacted to do. 

Regarding the mountain climbing, timing and weather are important. You want to reach a place to camp for the night so you need to leave on time, and you want to climb when the weather is good. These might have been factors why Andy needed to leave soon. Clearly Kristen and Andy have some communication issues that he has some responsibility for, but it’s not all on him. Discussing raising assertive teenage girls is not a quick conversation, and not good to have when you are distracted because you have people waiting on you to lead them on a difficult climb.

I find it astonishing that Kristen, a psychologist, was waffling about whether punching that guy in the face was wrong and does not know how to provide appropriate examples of assertiveness for her daughters. I realize not every psychologist is good at their job, but this is an appalling level of ignorance. She committed assault when she hit that guy, and I would think a psychologist would understand the potential harm caused by children seeing their parents act violently. 

[monakane]

On 7/5/2022 at 12:21 PM, Nellise said:

This episode had the most supernatural thing they've ever shown: a stretch of I-95 near NYC that was completely empty (and had shrunk to 2 lanes)

I thought the same thing.  I said to my sister, "Aren't they supposed to be on I-95?"  I live near the Philly stretch of I-95 and it's congested any time of day.

[ferjy]

On 7/4/2022 at 7:41 PM, RedInk said:

Real-world tensions are so high, I wonder if it wasn’t more cathartic than intended when it was written. 

I think you hit the nail on the head. I also saw it more as entertainment value. Something we might like to do but can’t in real life. So we get to live vicariously through Kristen. I can root for her on TV, knowing I would never do it myself in the real world. 

[AnimeMania]

5 hours ago, ferjy said:

On 7/4/2022 at 7:41 PM, RedInk said:

Real-world tensions are so high, I wonder if it wasn’t more cathartic than intended when it was written. 

I think you hit the nail on the head. I also saw it more as entertainment value. Something we might like to do but can’t in real life. So we get to live vicariously through Kristen. I can root for her on TV, knowing I would never do it myself in the real world. 

I think it had more to do with the contractor lying right to her face, saying he talked to her husband and he agreed to give him the the second payment early. Then when the contractor said he would tear down all the work that he did if he didn't get the second payment, she was making sure that he wasn't lying to her... again.

[tennisgurl]

I would happily watch an episode that is just David/Ben/Kristin on a road trip. No demons, no Leland, no secret societies, just snacks and sing alongs. I love stories about those long creepy stretches of road where weird stuff happens, I was honestly hoping not to get an explanation for what was happening instead of it being part of this shady group messing with people. Of course with this show, you never really know. 

[sharifa70]

On 7/3/2022 at 2:15 AM, Annber03 said:

That "Happy Together" singalong was EVERYTHING :D. I was joining right in with them, hee.

Me too!

On 7/3/2022 at 10:45 AM, RedInk said:

I guess we’re supposed to be supportive of Kristen, but it’s not resonating with me. She’s kind of…all over the place?  

Yeah, I feel like the writers don’t quite know what to do with Kristen. Also: why in the everloving hell is she letting her mom take the girls out and asking for Strong Woman advice when she knows Sheryl is shady as all get-out?

I love Ben and Karima and I’m glad we’ve been seeing more of her.

[johndoe666]

For the past few weeks I have seeing the entire 3 seasons, right now seating at episode 4, just to start watching episode 5. I have to say, it bothers me and intrigues me. My sister is able to see ghosts or spirits, so supernatural always attracted me, but this series is something beyond that.

My opinion in general is, if ONLY the team would be HONEST with each other and tell the truth, like yeah I see hallucinations of demons... -.- me too, yeah, I saw this too, then maybe, they would join the demon hunting/killing team... I so desperately want to see Leeland's house be exterminated, but of course, that would kill the series, right?

Anyways, just wanted to join in and share my opinion, really good series, just sometimes, a bit thrilled and predictable on some points.

[snoopypez]

On 7/3/2022 at 5:15 AM, Annber03 said:

Ben: *Goes to get out of the car*

Kristen: No! That's the start of a hundred horror movies!

Also Kristen: *Walks towards the dark, creepy-looking woods in the middle of the night upon hearing a noise* 

😆 My thoughts exactly!

This case was probably the creepiest to me since E is for Elevator! Still not to that level, though, since the explanation of this was...an explanation. 

On 7/6/2022 at 6:48 PM, ferjy said:

I also saw it more as entertainment value. Something we might like to do but can’t in real life. So we get to live vicariously through Kristen. I can root for her on TV, knowing I would never do it myself in the real world. 

Absolutely! I was thrilled for her. :D

Seconding all the love for the Happy Together singalong. 

"Love" how Sheryl's advice is to basically drop any guy the first time he does something wrong, and yet she made excuse after excuse for Leland even after Kristen told her he had threatened the girls back in first season. 🙄

[kwnyc]

15 hours ago, snoopypez said:

"Love" how Sheryl's advice is to basically drop any guy the first time he does something wrong, and yet she made excuse after excuse for Leland even after Kristen told her he had threatened the girls back in first season. 🙄

The fact that Kristen is Sheryl's daughter AND a basically functional human being is a bit of a miracle in itself.