The Exorcist Season 1 Episode 5 Review: Through My Most Grievous Fault
Carissa Pavlica
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You there, out in left field! You kept that secret pretty well hidden!
Wow. If you're like me, you've been so submersed in the tale of the Rance family, Father Tomas and the wayward Marcus that when Angela's extraordinary revelation came to light on The Exorcist Season 1 Episode 5, you were blown away.
Yet, it makes perfect sense.
Casey's exorcism was well underway at the beginning of the hour. Father Tomas and Marcus were on what was probably a well-deserved break, leaving Henry alone with his daughter. Or what's left of her, anyway.
Daddy? I have a secret. Wanna hear it? Closer...
Casey
We can easily forgive Henry for falling for that trick. He's not adept at fighting demons. He's probably not adept at fighting with his girls. They just don't seem the type to have kept him living on the edge, you know?
I was trying to figure out if Henry was possessed after Casey's tongue went into his ear or what, because he was not himself. He was downright eerie.
How he managed to keep that secret to himself for as long as he did without going crazy considering everything else going on in that house might just be the biggest mystery of all. Angela was grasping at her family, looking at old photos, recalling when she met Henry and wanting everything she held so dear to come back.
I think when people obsess about the past it's because they're afraid of the future.
Kat
Henry was in a stupor. Kat was angry, simply not believing whatever Father Tomas and Marcus were doing for her sister was worth the time and effort they were putting in and that they should have left her in the hospital. She, apparently, didn't hear the doctors when the metaphorically threw their hands in the air in frustration.
To be honest, Father Tomas embarrassed me a little bit. Initially, we saw him withstand less than 20 seconds of ribbing by the demon through Casey before he ran out of the room to pound his head with his hands urgently saying NO to himself. My response? Man up, dude! It's only getting worse.
There was a slight worry when Marcus saw his mother, who told him it was his fault his father beat her head in with a hammer, but then he turned to Casey screaming, "Is that all you've got?!" and I knew our Marcus was still in the game.
But I was also wondering what the hell was the Salesman on about when Marcus was trying to get through to Casey. It hit hard and stuck in my mind throughout the entire episode. Which proves how well it was placed. It was supposed to do that. Just like I was supposed to be focused on the family, so was I supposed to focus here:
Casey: What do you want from me?
Salesman: Quit pretending. You know perfectly well what you must do. BRING HER TO ME!
Father Tomas continued to be easily led astray, eventually sleeping with Jessica in what wound up as a perfectly concerted effort between the demon/Casey/Marcus and Tomas/Jessica in a weird sexual crescendo. While it was icky, it was also effective.
I'm fairly certain Tomas lost his grace by going against the vow he took with God to be a priest, so it's a good thing Marcus found his again by working with Mother Bernadette. He may have ended up in jail thanks to Kat, but she saw the look on Casey's face as she was taken into the ambulance and if she ever gets put into the position again, she won't make the same mistake twice.
It was in jail that Marcus recalled the phrase Casey was saying to him during the exorcism. It equated to "He's coming" and while he may not know what's in store, he knows enough that Bennett needs to warn His Holiness.
And then all the questions Henry was asking Angela made sense. When he tossed the bible at her and she sucked in her breath, I thought she had an affair. Did she hide photos in the bible? Was it with a priest? Why all the sudden questions from Henry about God?
What does he want her to confess?? Once it was out on the table, she didn't see the point in trying to hide it anymore. And while she initially went to Father Tomas sure there was a demon in her house, we're still left wondering how much she remembered how quickly since she suffered from Post Traumatic Amnesia.
She at least remembered enough to leave a mother who was exploiting her and to change her name so she wasn't constantly reminded of what she did remember, so while she got help early on from a priest, she didn't have the confidence to sit down with her girls and talk to them.
I reinvented myself, but it didn't matter. No matter what I did. I chose Angela. Angel. Like a name would protect me. Then I dreamed I could have a life, a chance. It didn't matter. It wasn't done with me. It's coming for me father, I know it. My name is Regan MacNeil.
Angela
Oh. My. GOD.
This is the best twist in recent history. Why didn't we (I) see this coming? I can only chalk it up to the writing and the interest in the present story. If the current characters were unworthy of attention, I might have been wishing for the return of Regan and her mother, for someone to look them up or give them a jingle. But it was enough knowing they were in the same universe.
Seeing the newspaper article about Chris MacNeil and what happened worked. I moved on. That's what Angela tried to do, too. But now her past has caught up with her present. Her husband is leery, Kat will have to learn about Regan and her heritage and an entire can of worms will be opened up and fed to this family.
Marcus will know he's dealing with a demon who has been in action for decades, and one that is so resourceful it came back to Angela's children as a way to get her because it was unsuccessful the first time.
And from the preview, we're about to find out what's happening in the community, with the murders and those left behind. Something tells me if the story of Regan and Chris MacNeil gets out, it won't be the best time to be a Rance.
Casey might die, moving the focus right back to Angela. Would it be fun to see Geena Davis possessed or what? OK. I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself, but there is so much that could happen in the next five episodes, it's really fun to speculate. But I'm going to leave it to you to get that started.
Check out the promo for The Exorcist Season 1 Episode 6 (airing November 4) below, and watch The Exorcist online if you missed any of the series so far.
This is so much fun! OK. In a sick, God-fearing sort of way.
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.
