On this episode of The Exorcist, “Chapter Eight: The Griefbearers,” Angela joins the fight to save Casey’s life and is forced to face a dark evil from her own past. The Rances prepare to leave Chicago. Father Bennett warns Cardinal Guillot that the Pope is in danger. Marcus realizes the fight is just beginning.
The demon finally got what or who he was asking for, Angela/Regan. Marcus wants her out, but Angela gives him a good crack across the face and reminds him that Casey is her daughter, or whatever small part of her remains. Henry, Kat and Chris rush in next and are horrified to see the putrid mess that is now Casey. This isn’t Chris’s first time at the rodeo, and Angela is willing to do anything to save her daughter, but Kat and Henry get schooled in just how hateful a demon can be, throwing Kat’s accident in her face and calling Henry a dimwit before throwing him across the room into a wall — look ma, no hands.
Time is Running Out for Casey, Tomas and Marcus Clash
Angela asks Henry and Kat to return home and pack. She’s going to stay and make sure they get Casey back, but when they do, things are going to be bad for her. She will have to deal with the police and the media, so Angela’s plan is that the family run away.
The press has gotten wind of the fact that Casey might be inside, and hordes of reporters have gathered. Mother Bernadette emerges to tell the mob that they’re trespassing, creating a hostile environment for the sisters. As the head of the priory, she requests that they leave, or she’ll call the police. But Detective Lawrence is already there. He claims that it’s a public sidewalk, so unless someone commits a specific crime, there isn’t a whole lot he can do.
Mother Bernadette claims it’s an unlawful gathering.. Detective Lawrence thinks the problem can be easily solved if Mother Bernadette lets him come in and take a look around and tell the people there’s nothing to see. She asks if he has a warrant (He doesn’t) but the conversation abruptly ends when a bell begins to chime, indicating it’s time for her to resume her vow of silence.
Marcus has banned Angela from the room, but Father Tomas is convinced Angela needs to be inside to help draw the demon out. Foolish priest. One of the most important lessons of Exorcising a Demon 101 is you never give the creature what it wants. Marcus is still pissed that Tomas disobeyed his direct orders. Tomas responds that he’s not the one with blood on his hands, and Marcus says that’s because Tomas isn’t an exorcist, and Tomas shoots back that Marcus isn’t a priest.
The two men begin to fight which pleases the demon. The sound of insects buzzing grows louder, and Mother Bernadette grabs her head, obviously is some sort of pain. Marcus is poised to punch Marcus, but the sounds of Mother Bernadette whimpering and the demon growling stops him in his tracks. He grabs Tomas and explains that the demon worms its way in and lays its little eggs. This immediately calms Tomas down, but he’s still convinced that Angela is the key since she beat it once, but Marcus isn’t confident it’s worth the risk.
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Angela Faces Her Fears
With really no options remaining, Marcus relents, but he warns Angela that a 40-year-absence won’t protect her. If she feels it poking around at all, even the slightest twinge, Marcus orders her to run.
Angela’s main duty is to keep the demon distracted, so she begins to talk to Casey, reminding her of a time when she was young and broke her foot. Casey didn’t call anyone, she walked home. The demon is more interested in divulging that Angela aborted her first child, terrified it would come out like her: rotten, filthy and putrid. Angela continues her story, letting Casey know that after Casey endured the pain of that broken foot, she knew her daughter was strong, and that no matter what life threw her, Casey would be okay because she was stronger than Angela could ever be.
Holy Conspiracy Theory, Bennett
Father Bennett goes to see Cherry and Lester Rego after his run in at the Tattersal warehouse. He did get stabbed in the shoulder, so Lester administers first aid while Cherry calls the police to report the human remains stacked up in the boiler room.
As the local news reports about the bodies discovered at the warehouse, Father Bennett warns Cardinal Guillot that the organs were harvested for use in a demonic ritual. Bennett has seen this type of thing before but never on this scale. Bennett reveals that Tattersal Landscaping has ties to at least six members of the planning committee. These people cannot be trusted, particularly Maria Walters, Brother Simon and Superintendent Jaffey. His Holiness cannot be put in their care.
A Walk Down Memory Lane
Mother Bernadette, Marcus and Tomas are doing their best to vanquish the demon, but he manages to get inside Angela’s head, communicating with her telepathically. Angela finds herself back in the basement of the Georgetown house. She sees herself as a young girl playing with the Ouija board. Also present is the salesman. Angela questions why he’s making her watch this, and he says he thought she didn’t remember most of it and might need to, so this is a refresher, a stroll down memory lane.
Angela wants to know why he chose her. He claims there was nothing special about Angela. There are close to eight billion people on this earth, crawling around like vermin. She just happened to be under his foot. Angela demands he leave her family alone, but he’s not going anywhere because Angela doesn’t get to walk away. Plus, he misses the way she tastes, and to prove that point, he runs his tongue up the side of her cheek. He does note that she tastes different now — like death.
Angela is yanked back to reality as Casey’s body is violently flinging backwards and forwards on the table. Marcus and Tomas decide to try delivering last rites. The demon asks if they’re giving up on the piglet so soon, but Marcus says it isn’t for Casey, it’s for him.
Casey sits up, and the demon tells Angela the show is over, it’s time to give the people what they want. Her head begins to pivot, but Angela grabs her daughter, screaming no but is pulled back by Tomas and Bernadette.
Casey writhes on the table. Bernadette, Tomas and Marcus are flung aside. Casey frees herself from her constraints and levitates above the table and collapses. When she comes to, it appears Casey is finally back.
This is Just the Beginning
Casey may be back, but her troubles are far from over. She’s in the hospital and unconscious, and Henry is having to fight off Detective Lawrence. He’s insistent on speaking to Casey as soon as she wakes up. I’m left wondering what happened to the plan to run, but Casey was certainly in no shape to go anywhere without medical intervention. Still, the family is hopeful for the future which probably won’t involve staying in the city once they can prove their diminutive 100 pound daughter couldn’t have possibly killed those two medics. The poor sucker whose jaw she broke on the train in front of a ton of witnesses is another story, but we’ll see. If they think they’re going to walk out of that hospital and disappear, well, that’s highly unlikely.
Casey’s troubles may or may not be over. Let’s face it, that was a pretty anti-climactic end. At least in the movie, a priest flung himself out a window. But there’s still that pesky plot to murder the Pope, and Father Bennett learns that the conspiracy goes higher than he even imagined. The Cardinal is in on it, and his security detail puts an end to Bennett’s life by placing a plastic bag over his head in the back of a car.
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Father Tomas returns to St. Anthony’s to find Jessica and her husband Jim waiting for him. He’s fully aware of what transpired between his wife and the priest. Tomas offers up no apologies or excuses. He’s even willing to let Jim take a swipe at him, but Jim has bigger plans. He’s going to make a few calls to Tomas’ superiors and find out where they land on the whole priest committing adultery thing. In this city, in this diocese, I’m not sure if that information will work for or against him. Jessica apologizes and swears she’ll take care of it.
Marcus learns that a plot to assassinate the Pope has been uncovered. The police’s #1 suspect (some poor, lost soul named John Harplen), shot himself when the police stormed into his apartment. Marcus recalls meeting Harplen, and at the time, he was living under a tarp. How does a guy like that wind up with twenty thousand dollars worth of military hardware?
The Rances future plans are up in the air, and Chris and Angela discuss their options. One thing is clear, Angela isn’t ready to forgive and forget and move in with mom. She’s still harboring some anger. It soon seems too much vitriol given everything they’d just been through. Chris realizes that her granddaughter may be demon-free, but her daughter isn’t. It only makes sense. Why else would Casey have just snapped out of it? Chris sees the light a little too late because Angela snaps her mother’s neck like a twig, and her lifeless body lands at the bottom of the stairs. Deja vu.
Bad news, kids. You’ll have to wait until December 9 to find out what happens next.
Will Father Tomas be excommunicated? Will his sins make him more attractive to those who want him to join their cause? Can Marcus save Angela? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
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Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Jennifer has worked as a freelance writer in the entertainment field since 2012. In addition to currently writing feature articles for Screen Rant, Jennifer has contributed content ranging from recaps to listicles to reviews for BuddyTV, PopMatters, TVRage, TVOvermind, and Tell-Tale TV. Links to some of Jennifer’s reviews can be found on Rotten Tomatoes.
