S01.E04: Chapter Four: The Moveable Feast

[pezgirl7]

Quote

Angela's distress increases as her daughter's condition worsens; the demon focuses on innocent victims; Father Thomas encounters a face from his past; Marcus gets unexpected guidance; the priests must decide whether to defy the church.

[pezgirl7]

Well, this was a strange episode. Everything with Marcus' storyline was pretty interesting. The husband and wife tour bus operators were a hoot and gave a nice bit of levity to the otherwise depressing storyline with Casey. I hope she continues to fight the demon. Those who thought last episode that she burned her privates with the curling iron were right. Ick. 

I'm glad Marcus got his mojo back, and that Tomas was able to stay strong and resist breaking his vow of celibacy. I liked seeing them working together at the end. Looks like we'll get to see more of that next episode.

The convent was interesting as well. So the trick is to fight the demon with love and mercy as opposed to forceful commands?

[CelticBlackCat]

This was an interesting episode.  This series has intrigued me more and more.  So, the premise is not just one exorcism that needs to be performed in the Rance family, but the whole toddling town of Chicago is being inundated with demons.  A nice tie-in to the truth of Chicago's escalating violence and crime in recent years.

Speaking of the truth, as far as I know, there are no convents of nuns who are performing exorcisms.  This may be a plot vehicle but it's far from the truth in real life.  Nuns wouldn't be able to perform the Rite of Exorcism to begin with, and a whole convent on the same page of doing an exorcism just isn't believable.  But to suspend belief and enjoy the show, the convent was very interesting.  I don't think killing the demon with kindness is gonna work though.  ;)

I am so enjoying Fathers Marcus and Tomas together.  Jessica is getting on my last nerve.  She was tempting Father Tomas with her running to him because of her husband's sexting another woman.  I don't even believe her story.  I think she made it up so she would have an excuse to seek refuge in Father Tomas' residence, and hopefully his arms.  The bitch.  Plus she's married.  Get a divorce, then screw around with a priest!

The actors are really nailing it.  Hannah Kasulka is fantastic in her role as Casey, daughter possessed.

[SimoneS]

Finally, an episode thread. Poor Casey. The demon is physically and psychologically tormenting her. Terrible. I hope that she can still fight off the demon although she gave in and said yes in that moment. I am glad that the nun was able to help Marcus regain his faith and confidence by reminding him that it is not the collar or the church, but rather the power comes from God.  I practically cheered when Marcus greeted Tomas. Not only does Casey need him, but I suspect that Tomas will soon. 

I fear for Thomas the most. I cannot help feeling that he is the real one in danger. I think that the demons are attempt to corrupt him and possess him. The woman insisted on him cashing that check and Jessica now shows up to tempt him to break his vows. I am still thinking that the woman is in league with the demons for some reason. 

The couple was fun. Bennett has some interesting friends. I hope that we see more of him and them. 

Edited October 16, 2016 by SimoneS

[Enero]

This episode lost me. It felt all over the place. 

Tomas' ex randomly showing up didn't make much sense especially since nothing happened between them. Were they attempting to show that she's a temptation and thus weakness for him?

What was up with Ms. Waters' husband? Was his tongue partially cut off? I don't trust her at all and think Tomas cashing her check is not going to lead to anything good. 

How is it that Casey can just be released to go home when she just nearly murdered someone on the train?

I was hoping with Casey going off the rails that we'd get more insight into the demon conspiracy that they're obviously building. Unfortunately that didn't happen. The writers looked to be throwing a whole bunch of stuff at the wall and hoping it would make sense. 

All that said, I did feel horrible for Casey when she was being tortured by the demon. I'd think the devil would get her to completely succumb to the dark side with seduction all the way, rather than abuse and threats. Wouldn't her being bullied into submission kind of negate her coming to him of her own free will and thus make her submission invalid? 

Not a great episode at all. This was almost enough to make me give up this show.  I'm still debating whether I'll tuned in next week. 

Edited October 16, 2016 by Enero

[Frozendiva]

I like both Fathers Marcus and Tomas. Part of me still hopes that Constantine will show up.

It's doubtful that compelling demons to exit works much these days. They've been around for thousands of years. Odd that the demon would take the image of an old man for a teenager. You would think someone young and seductive. Casey would not have been released from the hospital that quickly and would most likely have a guard outside her room.

Unconditional love is the toughest lesson for anyone - love without need or expectation.

I'd like to know what sorts of strings come attached to the $100,00 cheque.

[Gin and Tonic]

49 minutes ago, CelticBlackCat said:

  Jessica is getting on my last nerve.  She was tempting Father Tomas with her running to him because of her husband's sexting another woman.

Oh, thank god I'm not the only one who is irritated by her. I'm fine with the general plot of "priest tempted by ex-girlfriend" even if it is tropey, but she's not just enticing because they still love each other, she's actively trying to seduce him. In the second episode she said she hadn't gotten a letter in a year, but her first move is still to try to hook up with him, he rebuffs her, and then in this episode she tries again. That's just tacky.

I've never seen Ben Daniels in anything else; he's a goddamn delight. Liked him, liked the nuns, liked the kooky occult couple. Not entirely sold on the larger story they're trying to set up. The more I see the possessed, the less impressed I am, and I'm not sure I'm down with the lots of demons, lots of exorcisms thing they have going on. There's all sorts of spooky, arcane, and mystical rituals, histories, etc. in Catholicism and Christianity that could be used to build the bones of a great horror show. Exorcisms/manifested demons are obviously essential to a show called The Exorcist, but I find myself wishing they were used a little more judiciously.

I still think the best part of the show is Father Tomas and Fauxther Marcus interacting. They're just fun to watch. But I confess that I already miss Marcus being a priest.

All the changes they make to Catholicism are very distracting. I don't begrudge the writers creating their own version of Catholicism. That's probably essential for the show to work, yet for some reason whenever they do something "wrong" it pulls me out of it. I haven't totally bought into their alternate reality and I'm not quite sure why. I think it might be because most of the time they change something it reads more like a mistake than a conscious change necessary to make the show work.

[Addlepated]

2 hours ago, Enero said:

What was up with Ms. Waters' husband? Was his tongue partially cut off? I don't trust her at all and think Tomas cashing her check is not going to lead to anything good. 

I thought he had a huge long tongue.  I think he's her pet demon.  She sure is working hard to get close to the Pope.

[SimoneS]

Yes, I had forgotten that the husband did have a long tongue. Maybe the demon is possessing him and the wife is doing what the demon says so save him. Thinking about everything that she has done, it appears like she is trying put the pope in closer proximity to Tomas. She is the one who suggested that the pope spend time in Tomas' parish. If Tomas is corrupted and possessed with the demon being raised, then it would be easier to get to the pope.

Edited October 18, 2016 by SimoneS

[Mu Shu]

21 hours ago, CelticBlackCat said:

This was an interesting episode.  This series has intrigued me more and more.  So, the premise is not just one exorcism that needs to be performed in the Rance family, but the whole toddling town of Chicago is being inundated with demons.  A nice tie-in to the truth of Chicago's escalating violence and crime in recent years.

Speaking of the truth, as far as I know, there are no convents of nuns who are performing exorcisms.  This may be a plot vehicle but it's far from the truth in real life.  Nuns wouldn't be able to perform the Rite of Exorcism to begin with, and a whole convent on the same page of doing an exorcism just isn't believable.  But to suspend belief and enjoy the show, the convent was very interesting.  I don't think killing the demon with kindness is gonna work though.  ;)

I am so enjoying Fathers Marcus and Tomas together.  Jessica is getting on my last nerve.  She was tempting Father Tomas with her running to him because of her husband's sexting another woman.  I don't even believe her story.  I think she made it up so she would have an excuse to seek refuge in Father Tomas' residence, and hopefully his arms.  The bitch.  Plus she's married.  Get a divorce, then screw around with a priest!

The actors are really nailing it.  Hannah Kasulka is fantastic in her role as Casey, daughter possessed.

Jessica needs to pack up her eye bags and take her show on the road.  I don't know what it is about the actress, but she bugs the shit out of me.

so does the beatific nun.   So does the demon in dirty old man form.  That's not scary, it's just disgusting.   

[ZoloftBlob]

All I know? Is that I was right about where Casey was burning herself with the curling iron!

[RedheadZombie]

2 hours ago, Mu Shu said:

Jessica needs to pack up her eye bags and take her show on the road.  I don't know what it is about the actress, but she bugs the shit out of me.

so does the beatific nun.   So does the demon in dirty old man form.  That's not scary, it's just disgusting.   

The beatific nun completely creeped me out.  I immediately felt she was bad until I remembered I was thinking of The Visit.  I really like this show, but the whole Fight Club:  Mother Superior and Former Father Marcus, was a little comical.  It seemed beyond silly.  Demonically possessed people are supposed to be inhumanly strong.  And what chance did that elderly nun have?  And I was very confused by her message.  At first I thought she was indicating that rather than compel and force, like the priests, she forgave and loved the victim.  But as she was talking her spiel to the poor demented man, she was talking to the "fallen angel", which is the demon!  Come now.  She thinks demons -  supernatural beings, eternally tied to Satan and devoted to wickedness - just need forgiveness and a little love?  I hope we're done with her forever.

[RedheadZombie]

While the female benefactor seemed harmless enough at first, there was definitely a sinister vibe this episode.  She seemed insistent on his signing that check, and the camera seemed to dwell on his signature afterward.  It was significant enough that I wonder if by signing that check, he was somehow signing over his will, or granting permission to negative forces.   Or something along those lines.  

That women is probably part of what "compromised" the church.   Is it too obvious that the pope is the goal?  To kill as an attack on the church, or to possess and control the most powerful church in the world?

[Greta]

2 hours ago, RedheadZombie said:

The beatific nun completely creeped me out.  I immediately felt she was bad until I remembered I was thinking of The Visit.  I really like this show, but the whole Fight Club:  Mother Superior and Former Father Marcus, was a little comical.  It seemed beyond silly.  Demonically possessed people are supposed to be inhumanly strong.  And what chance did that elderly nun have?  And I was very confused by her message.  At first I thought she was indicating that rather than compel and force, like the priests, she forgave and loved the victim.  But as she was talking her spiel to the poor demented man, she was talking to the "fallen angel", which is the demon!  Come now.  She thinks demons -  supernatural beings, eternally tied to Satan and devoted to wickedness - just need forgiveness and a little love?  I hope we're done with her forever.

Milton and the entire Catholic canon would disagree.  No one and nothing is beyond God's forgiveness, if they truly repent, which is where I think the nun was going. If the demon truly repented, it would stop the possession. It's certainly interesting to see Marcus realize that his way isn't the only way.

I like the way this show very skillfully interweaves the up close and personal family drama with the larger conspiracy. It deserves better ratings and it gives me hope that Jessica is supposed to be awful.  Did anyone else suspect she deliberately left that note out in the open hoping someone besides Tomas would find it?

[asabovesobelow]

On 10/16/2016 at 0:10 AM, Gin and Tonic said:

Not entirely sold on the larger story they're trying to set up. The more I see the possessed, the less impressed I am, and I'm not sure I'm down with the lots of demons, lots of exorcisms thing they have going on. There's all sorts of spooky, arcane, and mystical rituals, histories, etc. in Catholicism and Christianity that could be used to build the bones of a great horror show. Exorcisms/manifested demons are obviously essential to a show called The Exorcist, but I find myself wishing they were used a little more judiciously.

I agree with you 100% on this. I like the show, really like it, but I want just one demon at a time. If there are thousands of demons running around infesting anyone with a grievance, that's a lot less scary than a demon singling out you. 

Jessica got on my nerves this episode as well. You don't seduce a priest! You just don't!

[saber5055]

I agree with the poster who wondered why Casey's demon takes on the image of an old (and rather unattractive) old man. Is it to scare her to let the demon in? It'd be so much easier to appear as a Justin Beiber-ish age-equal vision that maybe Casey would like to hang around with. And silly me, last week I thought all those murders/organ extractions were for selling black-market transplants. You know, to raise money for the demon takeover. And the pope goes a lot to different cities/countries. Why infest Chicago with demons because he's coming there? What do they hope to accomplish?

[Madding crowd]

I thought the whole nun thing was silly. It is very rare to find nuns who still wear the habit, much less indulge in this kind of personal exorcism nonsense. I am intrigued by the rich woman and her insistence on Tomas signing the check; something evil is up with that. I am also creeped out at the old man demon, but not at the injuries Casey is suffering. In the original Exorcist, Regan suffered many bodily traumas. If the body is sufficiently injured, the mind can't focus on keeping the demon out. I think a young demon would be interesting, but it could also come across as too campy. I do wish Casey could tell her parents some of her visions etc so they can know what they are dealing with. Jessica needs to go; serves no purpose except for to me doubt Tomas really is dedicated as a priest. And I hope his sweet young nephew won't become possessed or hurt. 

[starri]

I have to wonder if Church Lady is even human.  I mean, not that she's possessed, that she's a literal demon.

While the show is interesting, and I'll probably stick with it for as long as it's on, I have to confess the huge stakes that are set up, where it seems like every other person in Chicago is possessed kind of spoils it for me.  The Exorcist is scary because the emotional stakes are a little girl in terrible, terrible trouble and a priest having a crisis of faith.  It's more engaging than "vast conspiracy to kill the pope and also steal a bunch of organs because reasons."  I'm not saying that this is bad, but if they'd put the focus exclusively on Casey, at least for the first few episodes, it might have a greater impact.

[Mu Shu]

18 hours ago, RedheadZombie said:

The beatific nun completely creeped me out.  I immediately felt she was bad until I remembered I was thinking of The Visit.  I really like this show, but the whole Fight Club:  Mother Superior and Former Father Marcus, was a little comical.  It seemed beyond silly.  Demonically possessed people are supposed to be inhumanly strong.  And what chance did that elderly nun have?  And I was very confused by her message.  At first I thought she was indicating that rather than compel and force, like the priests, she forgave and loved the victim.  But as she was talking her spiel to the poor demented man, she was talking to the "fallen angel", which is the demon!  Come now.  She thinks demons -  supernatural beings, eternally tied to Satan and devoted to wickedness - just need forgiveness and a little love?  I hope we're done with her forever.

I thought these nuns were a bunch of jerks.  I mean, a  homeless priest shows up, and they neither offer him a shower, meal, a place to sleep, and make him wait around for the whims of Mother superior.  Fuck that noise. Tardiness and making people wait are the devils work.   How can you be all nunly and not offer help to some one down and out, especially your own?   I really hate this plot device.   No ladies you do not defeat Satan and his minions with love.  You put a size 12 boot up their ass and keep kicking.

Also, the possessed guy looked and acted like an extra from the walking dead.  That's pretty boring.  I expect my possessed people to at least carry on a conversation, even if it is vulgar and shameful.  

I expect we will see more of Jessica if the show survives.  I guess she's possessed and all.   Way too many possessed people to keep track of.   

[CelticBlackCat]

8 hours ago, Mu Shu said:

I thought these nuns were a bunch of jerks.  I mean, a  homeless priest shows up, and they neither offer him a shower, meal, a place to sleep, and make him wait around for the whims of Mother superior.  Fuck that noise. Tardiness and making people wait are the devils work.   How can you be all nunly and not offer help to some one down and out, especially your own?   I really hate this plot device.   No ladies you do not defeat Satan and his minions with love.  You put a size 12 boot up their ass and keep kicking.

Also, the possessed guy looked and acted like an extra from the walking dead.  That's pretty boring.  I expect my possessed people to at least carry on a conversation, even if it is vulgar and shameful.  

I expect we will see more of Jessica if the show survives.  I guess she's possessed and all.   Way too many possessed people to keep track of.   

I don't think this particular convent would have been Mother Theresa-approved!  They were not Christianly or kindly to Fr. Marcus; just complained that he didn't smell good.  They reminded me more of a coven of witches (despite invoking Mother Mary in their ritual) than real nuns.  They would be doing their exorcism without Church approval to begin with and nuns cannot perform the true Rite of Exorcism.  So they were a bunch of renegades, I guess.  The Abbess had a strange way of delivering her lines, I thought.

[Gin and Tonic]

8 hours ago, CelticBlackCat said:

They would be doing their exorcism without Church approval to begin with and nuns cannot perform the true Rite of Exorcism.

This is probably the biggest difference the show has with actual Catholic doctrine. Marcus was excorcising demons at 12, so they clearly aren't interested in reserving exorcisms for bishops and priests. 

I'm rather amused by the reaction people have to the nuns not being kinder to Marcus. Everyone is right of course, they weren't kind or very helpful, but I didn't even notice! I chalk this up to my experience with nuns, wherein they were kinda jerks.

Their reaction may also have to do with their level of cloistering. I'm not sure Marcus would be allowed inside the building without dispensation from a bishop. I'm not an expert in enclosed religious orders, but I do know they can be very strict about visitors.

Of course, if that was the nuns' reason for not letting him inside, it assumes a level of knowledge about Catholicism that I'm not sure the show has or is interested in.  

Upon reflection, I think my favorite part of the episode was Marcus slumping in his seat on the bus tour after not being allowed to ask a question. He looked like a 10-year-old. I also really liked the demon sitting on Casey's chest. Evocative of "old hag dreams" and Fuseli's The Nightmare. 

ETA: regarding then Salesman's appearance, didn't Marcus say that the demon took the appearance of an actual sales person who gave Casey the compact? I think the idea is that he made her feel special when she was insecure, and it was so significant to her she kept the compact for years. So the demon picked that image to ingratiate himself with her using similar, if more sinister, flattery. 

Edited October 18, 2016 by Gin and Tonic

[Mu Shu]

But those nuns knew who Father Marcus was, and seemed to be expecting him.  Surely there was an outbuilding with water he could have bathed and slept in, and one of the jerks could have gave him some food and washed his clothes?  

the trailer/tour people were more interesting and better people.  In fact, everyone else other the uncompelled demon homeless woman are boring to me.  However, the art direction is great.  

[Gin and Tonic]

1 hour ago, Mu Shu said:

Surely there was an outbuilding with water he could have bathed and slept in, and one of the jerks could have gave him some food and washed his clothes?

You are really making me dig deep into the recesses of my memories of Catechism! If I recall correctly, cloistered nuns aren't even allowed to speak to men unless he is their confessor. They only visit their families through screens and the buildings are specifically built to keep the nuns from the outside world. They can't speak to outsiders and their life revolves around prayer, not service, so they really might not be equipped for or interested in helping.

That said, I am 110% sure that's not what the show was going for, because they don't really care about Catholic doctrine. They probably just liked the image of rough and tumble Fauxther Marcus sleeping on the bench and joking with the nun about flirting. And as a result, the nuns were total jerks.

1 hour ago, Mu Shu said:

In fact, everyone else other the uncompelled demon homeless woman are boring to me

She was great! Definitely more interesting than the other possessed people we see. The more I see of the possessed, the more generic the show feels to me. Which is a shame because I think the first couple of episodes did a fair job of capturing what was special about the movie.

[Mu Shu]

yeah, everything is really generic.  Showing the demon in human esque form May be modern, but it's not nearly as creepy as the demon manifesting itself in the possessed person.   The first two episodes were good, and the last two seem to be building all these big but dull seeming storylines  we probably never will see resolved.   The pope story just seems yawn inducing to me.   They are entering the situation in too big a way, IMO.  The great thing about the Exorcist was the sense of claustrophobia, and few players.   This is just too much shit tossed on the wall.  

I still think those nuns are jerks.  

[Cowgirl]

On 10/15/2016 at 9:09 PM, Enero said:

What was up with Ms. Waters' husband? Was his tongue partially cut off? I don't trust her at all and think Tomas cashing her check is not going to lead to anything good. 

How is it that Casey can just be released to go home when she just nearly murdered someone on the train?

Yeah, I was wondering if he was possessed or just had some really weird side effects from his cancer or treatment. Or rabies. 

I am a prosecutor who handles involuntary commitment cases.  In cases such as Casey's, we might choose not to criminally charge her since her mental condition (well, here here apparent mental condition -- I've never had a demon possessed patient before) makes her incompetent to have formed the mental intent to commit a crime.  Therefore, we wouldn't have charged her as long as the involuntary commitment was pursued -- not even when she was released. We haven't had one where someone was hurt as badly as the jerk on the train was though. Guess I'll chalk this up to television's poetic license.