On this episode of The Exorcist, “Chapter Nine: 162,” Angela takes charge of the plan to murder the Pope, Tomas receives an offer he can’t refuse, Marcus struggles to figure out who his enemies are and how to deal with them and the demon exacts revenge.
It’s been a while since the last episode of The Exorcist, so let’s do a recap before the recap. Casey is footloose and demon-free since it jumped from her into Angela. Jessica’s husband knows about her affair with Tomas and has promised to expose the priest’s indiscretions. The plot to assassinate the Pope has been uncovered — thanks in large part to Father Bennett. The entire Papal Planning Committee are devil worshipers as is Cardinal Guillot who orchestrated the assassination of Bennett. Casey still faces the consequences of her actions while she was possessed, and Angela snapped Chris’ neck, killing the only person who knows she has been reunited with her old pal, Captain Howdy.
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Angela Covers Her Tracks
It is safe to say that we can refer to the demon as Pazuzu since that was its name in the original film. And old “Paz” hasn’t wasted any time since Freaky Friday-ing from Casey to Angela. Chris’ body is wheeled out of the Rance home in front of a throng of onlookers, protesters and press, and Angela is convincing as the grief-stricken daughter. She tells Detective Lawrence that she found her mother at the bottom of the stairs, but it’s obvious the cop doesn’t trust Angela’s story. He asks about Angela’s relationship with her mother, and Angela replies she loved her which elicits some side eye from both Kat and Henry both of whom don’t contradict her.
Detective Lawrence has another dead body on his hands, and the Rance family’s only explanation about Casey is that she disappeared, showed up at Mother Bernadette’s and now has zero memory of anything that happened since her disappearance. Also on hand to question the Rances is Superintendent Jaffey who has a passenger of his own. He reaches out to Angela and when they touch, he realizes she’s got a plus one as well. A brief flashback confirms the demon made the jump when Angela grabbed Casey to prevent her death, she whispered to the demon to take her instead.
Ramsay cuts the interrogation short even though Lawrence is far from finished. It’s helpful to have friends in high places.
Marcus Searches for Father Bennett
The Regos and Marcus are trying to track down Father Bennett. Marcus learns he checked out of his hotel and left with Guillot, the Archbishop of Lyon. Lester thinks their best bet is to follow the money — Maria Walters. The Regos have been doing some reconnaissance, and Marcus recognizes a picture of Brother Simon. He was a counselor at that home for wayward/deviant priests. Brother Simon is now the head of fundraising for the planning committee.
Marcus tells the Regos that Bennett knew about Brother Simon and is confident that if Bennett was taken, he was probably tortured for information. This would mean their enemies know about him, the Regos, Mother Bernadette and possibly even Tomas. He orders the Regos to get out of town.
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?
Casey returns home, and the Rances have Father Tomas over for dinner. While the original plan was for the Rances to move to Canada where Henry has some business connections, Angela reveals they may not leave after all. Henry questions what is next for Father Tomas, and he expresses his renewed commitment to his parish.
The family dynamic is definitely “off.” Casey doesn’t speak a word, and while Kat is open about her grief over Chris’ death, Angela is ambivalent at best and doesn’t do a very good job of hiding it now that the police are gone.
Father Tomas carves out some alone time with Henry who is still struggling with his recovery. Tomas recalls the last family dinner he attended at the Rance home when Henry told him where to find Marcus — at St. Aquinas. Henry has no memory of this, and Tomas is convinced God spoke to him through the brain-damaged Henry.
Henry confides in Tomas that ever since he woke up from his accident, he’s had a “low frequency sound” in his head. He describes it as being in a restaurant with everyone chatting in the background, except on occasion, sometimes it feels like there’s a pattern. All at once, everyone starts saying the same thing. Tomas asks if “they” are talking to Henry right now, and he nods. For the past few days, he’s been hearing the number “162” repeating in his head. Henry has no idea what it means, but he can’t stop writing it down.
They Call Me Pazuzu
The planning committee meets to discuss Pope Sebastian’s impending visit. Angela arrives — at Jaffey’s request — and Brother Simon immediately recognizes Pazuzu. Simon isn’t happy about the guest, saying he thought Pazuzu had disappeared for good after his spat with Father Merrin. Pazuzu is ready to take control, but Simon doesn’t want to share the spotlight. He’s been planning this attack on the Pope for six years, and the glory is his alone. But Simon is no match for Pazuzu who forces everyone in the room to their knees except for Jaffey and Maria.
Pazuzu asks Maria if she’d like to know why she’s never been chosen and reveals that the “Firstborn” are attracted to power and potential. Maria reeks of desperation and mediocrity, a scent they find unappealing. Angela/Pazuzu informs Maria she will never be one of them.
Bishop Egan Makes Tomas an Offer
Father Tomas meets with Bishop Egan at St. Bridget’s, the venue for a big gala thrown by the Friars of Ascension on the eve of the Pope’s arrival. Bishop Egan offers Tomas a position as head of the parish, a huge step up from his current position. Egan informs Tomas he is planning to close St. Anthony’s which has been hemorrhaging money and has very few congregants left.
Father Tomas confesses he has sinned and doesn’t deserve a promotion, but Egan already knows all about it. The Bishop has the situation handled and while he expects Tomas to atone, this transfer has been in the works for some time. Egan warns Tomas that he does have to deal with Jessica if he wants St. Bridget’s.
Friendly Persuasion
Marcus is snooping around Tomas’ office when the priest arrives. Tomas tells his friend that the diocese is closing St. Anthony’s, and Marcus is sympathetic. He wants to know what they offered Tomas, and when Tomas reveals the offer on the table, Marcus remarks how happy it must make Maria Walters. Tomas admits Maria has been a great friend to his church. Marcus warns Tomas to watch his back — the higher he rises, the more there are to conspire his fall.
Kat tries to engage Casey and learns that her sister is feeling very guilty about her actions while possessed. Kat comforts Casey, reminding her it was the demon and not her, but Casey insists it was still her body and her hands. Pazuzu made her watch.
The Regos fail to take Marcus’ advice, determined to keep investigating members of the planning committee. Unfortunately, they are spotted by Simon, and Marcus later discovers their dead bodies in their trailer. He searches their tiny home and takes a few items, including a gun.
Angela goes to see Mother Bernadette who immediately feels Pazuzu’s presence. She doesn’t know how they missed it the first time, and Angela chalks it up to them being distracted. Pazuzu isn’t going to let Mother Bernadette off the hook, not after all of the suffering she inflicted. Bernadette accuses Pazuzu of being nothing more than a child throwing a tantrum, but the demon insists this is it’s victory lap. Mother Bernadette meets an unpleasant end, basically choking to death on her own blood before her neck breaks.
Disturbing Behavior
Angela returns home and finds Casey in her old bedroom. Casey wants to know what her mother remembers about being possessed, and Angela says she can recall what if felt like. Angela questions what it was like for Casey, and she replies it was if nothing about herself belonged to her anymore. Angela says that having something inside of her is as intimate as you can get. Casey tries to argue, but Angela tells her daughter that no matter how much she may deny it, at some point, Casey asked for it. Angela accuses Casey of falling in love with the demon, and now she feels all alone. Angela reassures her daughter they’ve both been through it and have each other.
Marcus keeps showing up late to the party. He arrives at the nunnery to discover that Angela slaughtered all of the women within.
Angela decides to seduce Henry, but the intimacy soon takes a violent turn as she wraps her hands around his neck and begins to squeeze. Pazuzu is definitely getting off of his discomfort. Henry breaks free, asking what is wrong, but Angela just smirks and walks away.
Later, Casey finds her mother in Kat’s room caressing Kat in a very un-motherly fashion. Casey enters the room before her mom rounds second base and crawls into bed with her sister, leaving Angela no choice but to leave.
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When Good Priests Go Bad
Believers and non-believers and good and evil all gather together for the gala at St. Bridget’s. Marcus lingers in the shadows outside. He’s got his eye on Brother Simon and follows the man back to his hotel room. As soon as Simon opens the door, Marcus beats the crap out of the man and drags him into the bathroom. Marcus fills the tub with holy water and pulls out the gun. He asks Simon if he killed the Regos, the nuns and Bennett. Simon says he didn’t kill anyone, Marcus did, like Judas leading the innocents to the slaughter.
Marcus begins to torture Simon. The priest admits to killing the Regos but reveals that it was Angela who killed Mother Bernadette and the nuns. After a few more dunks into the holy water, Simon spills the plan which is basically to murder the Pope in the middle of the parade planned in his honor. It doesn’t matter what Marcus does to him, someone will just take his place. Two priests burst in and begin to pummel Marcus, and Simon is spared.
Tomas tells Jessica about his promotion. With tears in his eyes, he tells her he doesn’t deserve it. He’s tired of not being the man God wants him to be; tired of being disappointed every time he looks in the mirror. She mourns the life they could have had together, but they both realize whatever they had is over and cut off all contact.
No Rest for the Wicked
Casey wakes up Henry in the middle of the night. She leads him downstairs where Kat is waiting with suitcases. They want to leave, and Casey tells her father that Angela is possessed. Henry agrees to go, but the door slams shut just as they are seconds from a clean getaway. Mom’s up, and it’s time for a family meeting.
Henry urges Angela to fight the demon, but it’s too late for that. Angela invited him in — integration. This is a permanent situation.
Casey wants to know what Pazuzu wants, and the demon tells her what they’ve always wanted: that which is rightfully theirs. They were God’s first creation, and they were perfection. But God got bored and created man. He gave them a world of tangible delights, forsaking those who came before. Pazuzu says the world was meant for them, and they are taking it back.
Father Tomas discovers the significance of 162. It is a page from Chris’ autobiography. Tomas reads a passage where Chris reveals she knew the demon would keep coming for Regan until the end of time.
Angela has a family outing planned — a parade. But first, she has to hurt one of them as punishment for their disobedience. Angela turns her ire on Casey, and as Henry and Kat beg her to stop, Father Tomas bursts through the door.
As for Marcus, Simon offers him the same choice they gave the Pope many, many years before. He can join them or suffer the consequences.
Can Marcus and Tomas save the Pope? Is Angela’s death imminent? 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.
