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S02.E01: Janus


pezgirl7

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The beginning car chase scene was a bit ridiculous and had a different vibe than the rest of the show. But other than that, I really liked it! Lots of super creepy scenes, and I'm not annoyed by any of the kids yet! lol  John Cho was great, and he has one of those faces where when he smiles, his whole face lights up. I'm curious to see how the priests end up at the foster home, assuming they do at some point. I'll probably still refer to Marcus as a priest, even if he technically isn't.

Do we think someone in the foster home is possessed yet? Or is the demonic force just lurking around?

What were those little eel things up in the tree?

Edited by pezgirl7
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You know, the cinematographer for this show is excellent. The way they made that foster home so dark and creepy and unsettling without doing anything more than lighting, a few sounds and silence....

Oh, I missed this show. 

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In the beginning credits, Alfonso Herrera was listed first was listed and then Ben Daniels, then Kurt Egyiawan.  Was it always that way?  I thought Ben Daniels was "The Exorcist."

Does anyone think that the social worker has something to do with the demons?  I don't  like her and I don't understand why she has to stay a few nights with the foster family home to make sure everything is fine.

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1 hour ago, CelticBlackCat said:

In the beginning credits, Alfonso Herrera was listed first was listed and then Ben Daniels, then Kurt Egyiawan.  Was it always that way?  I thought Ben Daniels was "The Exorcist."

Does anyone think that the social worker has something to do with the demons?  I don't  like her and I don't understand why she has to stay a few nights with the foster family home to make sure everything is fine.

This really surprises me.  I hadn't seen either Alfonso Herrera's or Ben Daniels' work before.  And while I thought Herrera was superb in his role, Daniels, at least for me, was definitely The Exorcist.  The moment he appeared, I was absolutely mesmerized, and convinced he must be a successful stage actor (which he apparently is).  His acting is so passionate, and commanding, and I'm embarrassed to say I find him crazy hot.  Herrerra is gorgeous and appealing as well, but I don't understand why he gets top billing.  I under Egyiawan getting third, as he had the smaller role, and we learned little about him personally.  I have no idea how things work behind the scenes, but I wonder if it was a trade off - as in Daniels makes more money, but Alfonso gets top billing.  Just a thought.  I can't imagine this show has a large budget, and surely the salaries were increased from last season

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I'm having a very mixed reaction to this episode.  I absolutely loved the first season, and did not know it would be returning until last week.  Well I'm a half hour in, and I've already stopped about five times to do other things, including surf previously.tv.  Here are some of my impressions:

  • I really liked the cold opening with Tomas's vision.  But then it goes completely stereotype, with them roaring down a country road with a purloined wife, and her hillbilly sheriff husband on their tail and shooting off what looked to be a sawed off shotgun.  The only thing missing was a scene of the husband squirting tobacco juice out of the side of his mouth.  It seemed to border on comedy, which I wouldn't think would be their intention.
  • The foster home - Of course I love John Cho, who wouldn't, but the interaction with the children, and the children themselves, are just a little too precious.  There's the mentally challenged kid, named after an inanimate object, who's being set up to be constantly answered with "Thank you, Truck".  Then there's the smart ass blind kid who must have been told the coolest blind musicians wear sunglasses 24/7 - although I'm assuming we're setting him up to hide behind those dark lenses when his evil red eyes appear.  There's the isolated little Grace who seems to be unable to leave her bedroom, is indulged in this behavior, and is horribly isolated.  Their home and land are almost Eden-levels of beauty, and I'm sure the serpent will be showing up in the garden, soon.  My guess after the first half hour - Grace and Truck are too obvious as targets of possession because they're so vulnerable.  I'm going with the blind kid, but I may be falling for the bait and switch they did last season when it was revealed it was sweet Casey who was preyed upon.
  • As an RN, it's killing me that Marcus thinks he can mix common table salt with distilled water, to make an IV.  Marcus is intelligent, but if he doesn't understand hypertonic solutions, he's going to kill the possessed woman before the devil gets around to it.  And if he plans on somehow using a sewing needle to administer the fluids, it's going to take along time to instill the fluid.  But I'm trying to back away from the bad science, as the topic is horror, not medicine.
  • The impression I received of Marcus last season, was that he was a very tormented man, who often struggled to maintain his faith, and who broke most of the moral laws of the priesthood.  But what he didn't seem to be was unsure, unconfident, or a man who would back down from a battle with the devil.  So far, he's at least twice gotten big round eyes, gasped a little, and backed away from the possessed woman in fear.  I'm not liking this version of Marcus, and I'm not going to like for season two to be about the suddenly kick-ass exorcist Tomas, having to re-teach the expert, who has taught Tomas everything he knows.  I'm really hoping this won't be the case.
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Welcome back, show. I love that John Cho is guest starring this season. I cannot figure which of the kids is or will be possessed. It seems unlikely that it would be John Cho's character. I like how beautiful the house looked from the outside, but a bit run down and spooky it is inside.

I enjoyed Marcus and Tomas' adventures. So Tomas still gets visions about the people who need their help. I still don't really understand how these demons are exorcised, but I am going with the flow. I look forward to seeing Bennett soon.

Will we be seeing the secret demon order and the wealthy now possessed woman this season?

Edited by SimoneS
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Truck's autistic, not mentally challenged. I'm guessing Grace has been through some sort of trauma that has her not wanting to leave her room.  Also, lots of blind people wear sunglasses. Sometimes it's to hide injuries that caused the blindness.

It's interesting that the demons don't seem to get that Marcus isn't the Catholic Church's Exorcist but rather God's Exorcist.

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51 minutes ago, mertensia said:

Truck's autistic, not mentally challenged. I'm guessing Grace has been through some sort of trauma that has her not wanting to leave her room.  Also, lots of blind people wear sunglasses. Sometimes it's to hide injuries that caused the blindness.

It's interesting that the demons don't seem to get that Marcus isn't the Catholic Church's Exorcist but rather God's Exorcist.

I finished watching the episode, and missed that Truck is autistic in the first half.  I'm not sold on the acting of the autistic Truck, but that's a hard role to play. I'm curious to why they've written an autistic character.  Since their brains are wired a little differently, I wonder if this will make it more difficult for a demon to manipulate him.   

I think Grace is so often alone that they forget about her.  Every single person left the house to look for Caleb, and not one said a thing about Grace being left behind in the middle of the night.   I am curious as to why she's roomed up in the attic alone, with the attic door closed.  I'm now guessing that she will be a victim, as it would be harder to notice due to her isolation.  I hope we get her back story.

Yes, blind people sometimes wear sunglasses in public to hide their eyes if there is an injury.  But we've now seen Caleb's full face, and there is no such injury.  And he even wears them in the privacy of his bedroom, late at night.  It's a stereotype, but I'm sure it's a technique to hide his eyes from others, eventually.  I almost wondered if his midnight run included vision.  It would be very difficult for a blind child to sneak out of second story window without injuring himself.

I think one of the reasons that The Exorcist movie, and even season one of the TV show was so successful, was because it took a long time to build up to the exorcism.  We got to know the victim and care for them.  Just like in Jaws, I think the less we see of the monster, the more scary it is when it we see them.  It's the bumps in the night, and the strange behavior, etc. that creates the slow building tension.  I'm not sure I liked starting with an exorcism of a woman the audience doesn't know, and probably doesn't care about.

I am spending a lot of time wondering what the connection is between Andy and the social worker.  At first I thought they were emotionally involved at some point, but the social worker was sort of tenderly rubbing the picture that Andy's wife created.  And I doubt his wife is dead.  The actress in the picture on Andy's laptop, is a well known actress, Alicia Witt.  Either she's not dead, or we're going to have significant flashbacks of her.  She's a steady actress with a long resume, so no way she was hired to simply pose in a picture.  I'm interested in her character.

Unlike a poster upthread, I'm not getting a negative vibe from the social worker.  I reserve the right to change my opinion, but right now, she's feeling like a romantic interest, and someone who will support Andy when all hell breaks loose in the house.  I'm dying to know the connection between Andy, wife, and social worker.  When they first spotted each other as she arrived on the ferry, there seemed to be a spark of a past romance, or past attraction.  Perhaps social worker is wife's BFF, or maybe Andy had an affair with SW, and his wife left him.  I can't believe I'm hung up on this, but it's holding my interest.

I really don't like Marcus being sidelined by gifted new exorcist, Tomas.  Marcus IS the show for me.  Please don't pit Marcus against Tomas, because I really like Tomas, but he's going to lose (for me) if he goes against Marcus.  And please don't let Marcus fall into the devil's trap by being manipulated into being jealous of Tomas's abilities.  I do wonder if Tomas has now left the Catholic church, like Marcus.  At the very least, he's a priest without a parish.  Maybe he's taken a leave of absence.

Something about this episode called to mind Outcast, a series on Cinemax in 2016, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

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Loved this opener as they just dived right in on both stories to show us the tense relationship of Marcus and Tomas and Marcus' worry of Tomas' gift leaving him open for destruction and Andy and his kids. Having Andy and the kids so isolated on that island that only a ferry can get to and the cops on the mainland leaves them extremely vulnerable and for a lot of crazy crap to go down. John Cho's a perfect fit as a kind hearted foster father who has suffered his own loss but is trying to do good and be strong for others.

Not gonna lie, dusty, worn and weary Tomas and Marcus were hot.

There were at least two indications that Caleb was possessed- the smile only we saw over Andy's shoulder after Andy caught him over the well and later when Andy is carrying him into the bedroom and we see Caleb's face without the glasses and we see his eyes have the same opaqueness as the possessed woman and when the demon had gotten inside Tomas' head. Now Caleb's eyes could be that way from whatever caused his blindness and it be a red herring but so far Caleb seems a good choice. Someone else mentioned that the demon could be promising him his sight back and a reunion with his father as the way to have him give up control. 

Actually most of the kids and even Andy seem emotionally compromised enough to be possession vessels. Andy is suffering loss with his wife (whether by death or her leaving), Verity is a few months out from being kicked out of the system and away from her family which has her a ball of angry fear; Truck with his autism may play the brain damaged Mr. Rance role of being a puppet, Shelby's faith makes him a target for corruption to weaken the rest, and super traumatized little girl with the pillowcase for a brave face (which seriously burn that thing with fire and acid and scatter the ashes) is either the strongest or weakest as whatever she's gone through to make her so isolated has either fortified her for what's coming or left her open.

Andy's gonna have his hands full.

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I love this show, I missed this show, and I'm so happy to have it back!

The acting is wonderful, the cinematography is stunning, and it's truly the only show on TV that gives me the creeps. I can handle shows with ghosts or horror, in fact I relish them, but they rarely scare me. However, there's something about possessions that creeps me out and unnerves me. I think it's the little Catholic girl inside of me.

I'm already invested in this season and I liked the preview of what to expect at the season progresses. Whoever made the decision to renew this show, I could marry them. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

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I was happy to see this show back. I actually had forgotten about it. LOL! I miss Chicago, but the new location (where is it?) and storyline are good so far. However, the show is so dark, or else my tv is, that I missed a lot. Like the very end, which on my tv was just a long very extended scene ... of blackness. I'm not gonna be happy if I miss all the spooky stuff. And I agree that seeing the demon isn't the scary, it's my imagination that creeps me out. (And I love me some John Cho!)

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I am so glad that I randomly decided to catch up on the first season of this show the other day, its truly a high quality series. The cinematography is just excellent, it adds so much to the atmosphere of the show, and makes it seem extra creepy, without resorting to just jump scares and gore. I miss Chicago and the family from the first season, but I am already interested in John Chos character and the kids at his foster home, and I like that its a different vibe with this new setting. While Chicago allowed for lots of people being involved and a big city setting, this is a remote island in the woods, which means a more isolated setting. 

Why is it that old songs played down slowly are always super creepy? Also, that pillowcase the little girl has is already terrifying, even before the forces of evil converge on the house. 

I feel so conflicted in finding Marcus and Tomas so freaking attractive. I mean, I shouldn't be hot for a priest, but...here we are. Alright, Marcus isn't technically a priest anymore, but he seems to still consider himself one, to an extent. I am interested in seeing the conflict between the two, and where they go from here. Tomas might have skills, but Marcus has experience and commitment. On the other hand, Tomas is inexperienced and a bit full of himself when it comes to his connection to God, and Marcus is deeply troubled and struggles with himself. Plus, the forces of evil seem to be interested in Tomas, so, thats not good for anybody. 

This is a perfect show to start Halloween season with. 

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I've waited with anticipation for the new season to begin, thanking all the lucky stars that it was even renewed!  Immediately I noticed again what a high-quality production this show is.  Ben Daniels!  The cinematography.  Atmosphere.  I still don't get the credits with AH first and BD second.  This is the best show on TV, Hulu, Netflix, and others, and that's saying something because there are a few really good ones out there that I'm hooked on.

It's been set up that Caleb is the newly possessed.  What do you expect from listening to records backwards?  Ha ha.  We first thought someone else of the Rance family was possessed before we found out who really was, so...

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10 hours ago, RedheadZombie said:

I really liked the cold opening with Tomas's vision.  But then it goes completely stereotype, with them roaring down a country road with a purloined wife, and her hillbilly sheriff husband on their tail and shooting off what looked to be a sawed off shotgun.  The only thing missing was a scene of the husband squirting tobacco juice out of the side of his mouth.  It seemed to border on comedy, which I wouldn't think would be their intention.

That didn't bother me, but now that you mention it, it does make me realize how much Preacher elevated the bar for kicking off the season with a backroads car chase. (Spoiler: Things go boom, things get gross, and you'll wind up with an '80s earworm lodged in your head.)

6 hours ago, RedheadZombie said:

I'm not sure I liked starting with an exorcism of a woman the audience doesn't know, and probably doesn't care about.

I don't think we are supposed to care about Cindy, she's basically this season's equivalent to the kid in Mexico City that Marcus tried to save. Where Gabriel illustrated some of Marcus's tortured past, Cindy likely exists to establish new conflict between Marcus and Tomas or else directly/indirectly propel them toward this season's real story. I fully expect her exorcism to go sideways, but in the meantime, I'm just thinking of her as the guys' current project on the road between Point A and Point B, something to do while we wait for Bennett to show up like "Hey, Sulu's got some demonic kids on the loose in Isolation, WA, here's some cash for the ferry ride."

I'm still trying to figure out the significance of the title. Janus is the two-faced god of transitions, beginnings and endings, doorways, and whatnot, but is there some meaning beyond that? I didn't catch any within the episode.

Live ratings were kind of grim, so here's hoping the show gets some time-shifting love.

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Show's back! Yas! I am already missing Casey something fierce (why couldn't she join their little demon busting gang? Leading a normal life is so overrated anyway) but John Cho's presence is partially making up for the Rances absence (has he ever played the bad guy? I have the feeling I'd be rooting for him even if his character's goal was to cannibalize an entire town). I love Andy and his family- to be honest, I didn't even stop to think about how convenient was that all the kids were so damaged because they were exactly the kind of kids I would expect someone as Andy to give a chance. I am not particularly fond of the social worker, but I doubt she represents more than a non-supernatural threat. I am really hoping the demon picks someone other than Caleb or Grace. They are almost too obvious a target.

Was I the only one getting early Supernatural vibes from Marcus and Tomas interactions through the episode? And I don't mean their new life on the road, but that exchange at the barn... it felt exactly like Dean urging Sam to stop using his powers because it just strengthened the YED in him while the latter argued exorcising demons that way was safer for the vessel. I don't think Marcus doubt himself as much as fears for Tomas.

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12 hours ago, RedheadZombie said:

I am spending a lot of time wondering what the connection is between Andy and the social worker.  At first I thought they were emotionally involved at some point, but the social worker was sort of tenderly rubbing the picture that Andy's wife created.  And I doubt his wife is dead.  The actress in the picture on Andy's laptop, is a well known actress, Alicia Witt.  Either she's not dead, or we're going to have significant flashbacks of her.  She's a steady actress with a long resume, so no way she was hired to simply pose in a picture.  I'm interested in her character.

My guess is they used to date. Maybe it was after Andy lost his wife, and he just wasn't ready yet to move on. They made it sound like he was the one who broke off the relationship. Perhaps the reason for casting a well known actress for his wife is because the demon will take her shape, like how it took the shape of Marcus' dead mother.

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5 hours ago, PhoneCop said:

That didn't bother me, but now that you mention it, it does make me realize how much Preacher elevated the bar for kicking off the season with a backroads car chase. (Spoiler: Things go boom, things get gross, and you'll wind up with an '80s earworm lodged in your head.)

I don't think we are supposed to care about Cindy, she's basically this season's equivalent to the kid in Mexico City that Marcus tried to save. Where Gabriel illustrated some of Marcus's tortured past, Cindy likely exists to establish new conflict between Marcus and Tomas or else directly/indirectly propel them toward this season's real story. I fully expect her exorcism to go sideways, but in the meantime, I'm just thinking of her as the guys' current project on the road between Point A and Point B, something to do while we wait for Bennett to show up like "Hey, Sulu's got some demonic kids on the loose in Isolation, WA, here's some cash for the ferry ride."

I'm still trying to figure out the significance of the title. Janus is the two-faced god of transitions, beginnings and endings, doorways, and whatnot, but is there some meaning beyond that? I didn't catch any within the episode.

Live ratings were kind of grim, so here's hoping the show gets some time-shifting love.

I'm glad you brought this up because I enjoyed working out the significance of last season's titles. Janus is the first of the Roman gods, therefore he is their father.  It's interesting that he was a god of duality, and wore two faces.  Not sure if that's a metaphor for anything, but he uses those two faces to view the future and the past.  Also, Janus is at the origin of time as the guardian of the gates of Heaven.  He is the initiator of human life.  His name must always be invoked first, even when praying to other gods.

That's as much as my brain can analyze at the moment.  It's interesting that most of last season's titles were somewhat biblical.  This one is mythological, next episodes title refers to an old idiom, and episode four is from a nursery rhyme.  The writers were great at meaningful titles last season, so I'm guessing they will continue that trend.

7 hours ago, Happy Belly said:

IT IS BACK! i am thrilled! i cannot get enough of this show. If I ever see a kid walking around with a pillow case over his/her head, I will run faster than Usain Bolt. THAT part gave me the creeps.

Just like I think Caleb was set up to wear sunglasses so he can hide his possessed eyes, I feel we're going to see something looking like Grace wearing that pillow case.

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I already think kids are creepy, Grace with that pillow case on her head is unnerving. I think I'm more scared of her and that pillow case than of the actual demon, heh.

Edited by jewel21
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Alfonso Herrera has always been listed first in the credits.  I think Ben Daniels is a great actor, but I never thought he was the Exorcist.  From the very first episode I thought the title belonged to Father Thomas.  We are just seeing his journey to get there with Marcus as his teacher.  We're just lucky that Daniels is phenomenal in the role.

Before watching this episode, I read an interview with the showrunner posted in the media thread about the second season. It's very general in nature with no specific plot spoilers.  But, one thing did catch my attention: 
 

Quote

New to season two is John Cho (Star Trek), who plays Andrew Kim, a foster father of four.

So, FOUR foster kids (Verity, Truck, Caleb and Shelby).  Does that mean little Grace is his own child or someone / something else? I found it strange that no one but Andrew interacted with her, and no one else even mentions her in conversation.  Also, as someone else pointed out, everyone left the house to search for Caleb and no one was concerned about leaving a young child home alone in the middle of the night.  Something smells fishy with this one.  Maybe Andrew lost his wife and his daughter and the little girl is something else (ghost, demon induced hallucination, integrated demon...).  I'll have to re-watch the scene where the social worker is looking at the pictures on the wall, to see if there's one of Grace.  That's also where we see the hand prints that Thomas sees in his visions.  I found that detail to be very well done.

Someone asked abut the relationship between Andrew and the social worker, they had an awkward conversation where he says he hopes their past relationship doesn't influence her report, she is offended and sarcastically asks if he thinks that she's still all broken-hearted.  Then she says she can separate the personal and the professional and that if the kids are being properly looked after, he has no reason to worry.  I took this to mean that they had dated and he broke it off.

As for the future, I found Marcus' words to Thomas very interesting.  In last season's finale, Marcus told the priest trying to make a deal with him (integrate with the demon by allowing these ashes to enter you, or die) that in one of his exorcisms he saw God.  He uses the story about blind men in a room with an elephant, all describing the part they are touching, so no one can figure out what the whole picture is.  He says he saw the whole picture, he saw God, so, he's not dying for the Church, he's dying for God.  In this episode Thomas tells Marcus that he also saw God, and Marcus says: "that's how they get you".  When we first met Marcus he was in some sort of Catholic Church refuge and he wasn't performing exorcisms any more.  I think what happened was that Marcus became sort of addicted to seeing God, and kept chasing that high; with every successful exorcism, his pride grew and he thought himself invincible.  We may be seeing Thomas walking down the same path, this time.  And as we all know: pride goes before the fall.

Edited by WearyTraveler
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3 hours ago, WearyTraveler said:

So, FOUR foster kids (Verity, Truck, Caleb and Shelby).  Does that mean little Grace is his own child or someone / something else? I found it strange that no one but Andrew interacted with her, and no one else even mentions her in conversation.  Also, as someone else pointed out, everyone left the house to search for Caleb and no one was concerned about leaving a young child home alone in the middle of the night.  Something smells fishy with this one.  Maybe Andrew lost his wife and his daughter and the little girl is something else (ghost, demon induced hallucination, integrated demon...).  I'll have to re-watch the scene where the social worker is looking at the pictures on the wall, to see if there's one of Grace.  That's also where we see the hand prints that Thomas sees in his visions.  I found that detail to be very well done.

Oh wow, that's a great theory! I thought it was super strange that no one else interacted with her, and Andy left her home alone multiple times.

In the preview that they showed at the end of the episode...

Spoiler

they show Grace talking to someone in her room, someone that Andy can't see. If she is a ghost, then it would make sense that she would be able to communicate with the demon or some other spirit.

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What I read from ew.com was Andy is a widower, ex child psychologist with 5 foster children.

Good start for 2nd season, I believe that Caleb is the possessed one, the cabin in the woods was the church in Fr Tomas' vision and the well was where the creepy demon emerged in his vision.

And yes Tomas is The Exorcist not Marcus as he is The Teacher.

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6 minutes ago, piequinn35 said:

What I read from ew.com was Andy is a widower, ex child psychologist with 5 foster children.

Could be they changedit between the time of the Hollywood Reporter's interview and the time they started filming.  Or a mistake by THR.  Or, by the time they did the interview with EW, they decided to say 5 children so people wouldn't wonder about Grace right away.

If it's 5 foster children and the Social Worker is there to ensure they are in a good environment, why didn't she ask to see Grace? We saw her interacting with all the other children, I'd think that speaking to the one with such a high social anxiety would be a priority.  Or maybe they are saving that for the next episode.

It could be nothing more than meets the eye, off course, I just found it weird that no one but Andy interacted with Grace or mentioned her.

Edited by WearyTraveler
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14 hours ago, piequinn35 said:

Good start for 2nd season, I believe that Caleb is the possessed one, the cabin in the woods was the church in Fr Tomas' vision and the well was where the creepy demon emerged in his vision.

Wow, I missed that also. Normally I'm pretty good at noticing things like that. Guess I need to pay better attention!

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So happy the show is back. But I do hope they take their time ramping up the suspense with whichever kid is possessed.. For me, the actual exorcism is not that enjoyable. I like the subtle changes and the feeling that something is 'off' with someone. The stuff with Cindy was too much too fast.

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Quote

Alfonso Herrera has always been listed first in the credits.  I think Ben Daniels is a great actor, but I never thought he was the Exorcist.

Yeah, it was pretty clear to me in Season 1 that Father Tomas was the "main" character. I think Marcos represents the old passing the baton to a new generation. I wouldn't be surprised to see him killed off this season actually. 

And yes, the social worker is evil. You can tell.

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