exorcist-1-8Captain Howdy and Regan McNeil – battling for Casey’s soul…

There’s almost an end of season feel to this eighth chapter in The Exorcist saga, as various elements appear to come to a close, while shocking reveals in the final minutes reset the board. If you’ve not seen the episode yet, then don’t read on: it’s impossible to discuss this without spoiling it.

The battle for Casey’s soul goes on on a number of levels, with Ben Daniels’ Marcus, Alfonso Herrera’s Marcus and Deanna Dunagan’s Bernadette all combatting on the physical level as the demon puts Hannah Kasulka’s Casey through torments – and Robert Emmet Lunney’s Captain Howdy taking Geena Davis’ Regan/Angela back to the past. Each is thoroughly engrossing, as the possessed Casey sets the priests against each other (Daniels and Herrera at their finest here), and makes Regan question all that she’s believed. It’s time to give the people what they want, “Casey” announces, which leads to the single best known trope from the movie being almost replayed – until the exorcism seems to take effect. However it may be a mistake to treat these two threads as parallel but separate: given what we see at the end of the episode, as Regan once again kills at Captain Howdy’s behest, it feels in hindsight as if all we’ve seen is a transference, rather than an exorcism…

The other parallel plot moves forward inexorably, with Brother Bennett confiding in the wrong person (was I the only person shouting at the screen when he first unburdened himself?) and – it seems (although I’ve learned not to take anything at face value in this show) – paid the price. With the Pope set to visit Chicago, and the demon on the loose in Angela’s body, all bets would appear to be off…

Verdict: Another strong episode. 8/10

Paul Simpson