Evil - 177 Minutes

Discussing Ep. 1.2 - So I feel like this episode was better than the premiere episode. We got to see a little more into the lives of not only David and Kristen, but also of Ben, the assistant, as well. While they again did not go much into Kristen's expertise, for whatever reason I didn't notice it as much in this episode. Perhaps because there was so much else going on. But I like how they're further establishing Kristen as a resourceful person in her own right, willing to investigate matters herself to see if what she's experiencing is real or something psychological (as she did with the scary movie). As it seems to be their modus operandi so far, they present the cases as having a supernatural explanation, only to debunk it at the end with a more natural and rational one. At the same time, they leave some loose ends that seemingly have no natural explanation and leave it as a potential supernatural one.

I was surprised they revisited George. I pretty much thought that was an open-shut case from the last episode but they revisited it with Laura, the youngest daughter, seeing him in her nightmares too. While it was interesting that both Kristen and Laura may have endured the same nightmare because of that scary movie, the loose end they left behind was the fact that Laura insisted that she did not wet her bed, and that it was the demon who did it. That plays into what George did in the last episode, taking a piss in the corner of Kristen's bedroom, only for Kristen to put it down to rainfall coming in through the window. I'd be interested to see if George is gone for good at this point or if he will have a bigger part to play.

Speaking of George and the dream world, it was a bit cheap of them to have Kristen dream about George knocking on her door and then running through the house into the kid's bedroom. I have said this before on different sites and I will say it again.....nobody has dreams as linear or as coherent as that. To date, the ONLY show that I have ever watched that got dream sequences (or at least the feel of one) right was Buffy. The episode where Buffy meets the First Slayer....I remember watching that episode and how fucked up it was and thinking that it was really bizarre as a dream sequence, only to realize that THAT was exactly how dreams are. You go from being in your own house to a house that looks nothing like your house but you accept it as your house anyway. You go from daytime to nighttime in an instant and you don't take notice of it. You go from being in your own room to being at work or at school and it all seems natural. I wish more shows would depict dream sequences like that because that's how they truly operate.

I'm a bit iffy on Townsend. While I do like his demeanour since you wouldn't expect a guy like him to essentially be the Devil, he's coming off a tad bit too cocky and cavalier for my tastes. The idea that he's out there to make sure bad people go free and good people go to jail is a tad bit one dimensional. While chalking it all down to him being a psychopath is somewhat handy, I'd prefer if he were more ambiguous in both his demeanour and his objectives. I'd prefer that you didn't know WHAT he is, with both David and Kristen themselves trying to figure it out (if only Kristen at this point). That's how evil truly operates.....masquerading as either righteous or, at worst, benign. Him revealing his hand and malicious intents so early in the season doesn't jive with what the show is about....blurring the lines between science and the supernatural. Then again, perhaps that's the point with Townsend. Perhaps he isn't the Devil or even possessed and is just some crazy guy looking to cause trouble. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

As I predicted, they're trying to create this sexual/romantic tension between David and Kristen, with David just flat out trying to abstain from sexual thoughts altogether.....at least that's what we were led to believe. And perhaps there is that temptation as well considering Townsend was there, mocking David as he prayed, briefly recounting the thrills of sex. It was rather surprising, therefore, that David's true temptation, at least for this episode, was hallucinogenics. I like how they're now blurring the lines for him, whether he is truly experiencing God or is it all down to drugs. I can see that playing a big role down the road for Kristen as she no doubt sees David as a this rock, and this steadfast man of faith who may just be some guy who is delusional based on the drugs he's taking.

The other swerve, of course, was the actual "miracle" of that girl, Naomi, coming back from the dead as being little more than racist practices on the part of the hospital. That really came out of nowhere and although it was good as an explanation as to what happened, it felt jarring. And yet, once again they leave this loose end in regard to the film footage of that ghost visiting Naomi. It's interesting that the Church wasn't keen on investigating that further. And Ben himself was frustrated beyond measure that he couldn't rationally explain what he saw in that video. Whether they will debunk or confirm it later on is something we will have to tune in to find out, which is good. I like that bit of mystery, but I do hope they revisit it as well as that alcoholic priest! His statement that "God never liked me" was intriguing, especially as it seems like he's performing miracles, being treated by church members like he's Jesus or something. I'm curious to know if he has a bigger role as well.

I also liked that they broached the subject of prayer. They didn't get into a long discussion about it but they didn't shy away from it either. I liked Kristen's point of view on it and her dilemma regarding her youngest daughter potentially not making it to the age of twenty and how ineffectual prayer really seems. David didn't have an answer or a comeback and I liked that too, that he didn't go into some long diatribe about faith and trust. He just didn't know how to explain prayer and what it does or why people do it. It was refreshing.

Overall, I liked this episode. They're laying the groundwork for some tension between David and Kristen, especially with this newfound addiction to hallucinogenics. Plus, they drop little mysteries like David's second vision of God. I do wonder if that has something to do with the drugs. Will George come back? Will the other daughters be affected by what is happening?

I like that they've left some questions open.