exorcist-1-6Her mother’s arrival on the doorstep throws Angela’s world upside down as it seems only Marcus is really intent on finding Casey…

I suppose we can’t really be surprised that in a story about manipulation, lies and deceit the audience has been quite deliberately pushed into believing certain things about the series which have proved to be fundamentally incorrect. This isn’t a story that has thematic links to William Peter Blatty’s novel and the 1973 Fox movie; it’s a sequel – or at least, that’s probably the easiest way to look at it, given that we now know that Angela Rance is really Regan MacNeil, the girl who was possessed in that earlier story. This episode sets up the way in which events unfolded for her after she was exorcised, with an on the nose “archive” TV interview (nicely framed in 4:3) showing how her mother pushed her – and what led her to change her name.

It’s always terrific to see Sharon Gless in anything and she’s as powerful as ever as Chris MacNeil. Throughout the episode we’re not entirely sure of her motives – is she still trying to capitalize on her daughter’s torment or is she still the mother we met in the original stories who would do pretty much anything to help her daughter? – until we get to the final scene at the morgue where we as audience are one step ahead of the characters.

The melodrama level of the series ramps up a notch as well: we discover who it is behind the serial killings, and while it’s not a total surprise, there are a few revelations about the characters along the way that will make a rewatch of the series very interesting in that light. And full marks to Kirsten Fitzgerald for her performance in the scene when a critical choice is made!

The focus, inevitably, moves away from the two exorcists to an extent: Tomas is still dealing with the fallout from his fall from grace, while Marcus heads into the bowels of Chicago in the hunt for Casey, allowing another callback to the movie as he encounters the possessed girl… and even seems to achieve his aim. But remember, the series is called The Exorcist and there are clearly more battles for Father Marcus still to come.

Verdict: There’s a sense that pieces are being moved into position for the third act but that doesn’t stop this being engrossing television. 8/10

Paul Simpson

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