Evil - 7 Swans a Singin'

Discussing Ep. 1.10

This was a rather haunting yet beautiful episode just for the singing alone. Having the girls sing that tune, especially in the private school where the sound echoed throughout....it was eerie but nice. I'm legitimately surprised that I didn't get the tune stuck in my head.

I kind of figured that the reason why the girls were singing this tune wasn't related to any supernatural occurrence, but I liked how they kept the real answer vague throughout the episode. I also liked how Kristen brought up various incidences throughout history where similar occurrences of mass unexplained behaviours and epidemics occurred, like the Tanganyika laughter epidemic or the dancing plague of 1518.  Kristen tried her best to diagnose the situation, figuring it was Stuck Song Syndrome. When her tactics to change the tune in the girl's heads didn't work, they tried to chalk it up to the food or to some kind of asbestos. Neither of those seemed to be the answer. It was here that having a teenage daughter came in handy because it was Lynn who turned them onto the Puddy's Christmas video.

This thing was fucking creepy.....like Santa Claus somehow hooked up with Ren & Stimpy and they did too much weed together and decided to make a music video! I assumed that perhaps there was some kind of low frequency audio that was influencing the kids, although I wasn't sure. I certainly wasn't expecting it to be a frequency that could affect only teenagers! And I certainly wasn't expecting this.

This just made me cringe! Shoving a pencil or scissor in your ear? Damn! What I was expecting was Ben to solve this since this was out of the realm of expertise for both Kristen and David. Sure enough, there was a low frequency message, but it wasn't coming from this video but rather from this Youtube influencer.

This was rather funny because she was very much like some Youtube influencers.....just this kind of ditzy individual who posts really superficial videos to get likes and subscribers. It was a subtle comment on the landscape of Youtubers and how far and obsessed some people will go to get subscribers and views. Although it was revealed that Townsend was the one behind putting the frequency in her video that would cause teenagers to commit suicide, there was something rather weird. When Kristen was watching the end of the video, and Malinda tells the viewers "you have been warned," there was another voice (a deeper voice) that said that line along with Malinda. When David saw the video, that other voice wasn't there. And considering that Kristen's daughters all heard that voice, and Lyla stabbed herself in her ear, it seemed that perhaps The Sixty were targeting Kristen in particular. Hell, she's being targeted heavily and her stupid mother isn't helping!

Sheryl really pissed me off in this episode. When she was talking with Lexi, giving her advice on how to handle the school bully, I couldn't help but notice that she talked EXACTLY like Townsend! Her logic was sound but her morality was not. But that's how evil sometimes operates. I could agree with her advice in that Lexi had to stand up to her bully, but not by bashing her head in with a rock! Telling her that "you make them your bitch or they make you theirs" was a line that perhaps works in the adult world, but not in a kids world. Mind you, the fact that it worked didn't help matters. But what really pissed me off was how Sheryl denied the whole incident and essentially gaslit her own granddaughter! When we find out that Townsend advised her on the whole thing, it made sense. I have a feeling that Sheryl is going to become a casualty of this war since she's obviously not able to resist Townsend and see him for what he is. I could see Townsend disposing of her when she's outlived her usefulness.

While it seemed David was being targeted in a different way. First off, I couldn't blame David for 'slipping,' as it were, by sleeping with Reneé. I mean....c'mon! That woman is gorgeous and he wasn't really left in a position to exercise self control. But what I was really happy about was that they didn't abandon the relationship outright. I was worried because when he was in confessional, he said that he and Reneé decided to go their separate ways because they knew it wouldn't work. I couldn't buy that since Reneé had been so into him for so long that I couldn't see her just giving up. Maybe the sex was bad that she had no problem walking away? Either way, their relationship continued not because of David or Reneé but rather because of some mystery person who could write in Julia's handwriting and take photos of David and Reneé in David's room! I'm really curious to see how they explain this or explain this:

I was happy to see that they didn't abandon David's vision just yet, revealing the 3 stars that David had seen before. We had seen these 3 stars over David before too, but now David is looking up at them as he bleeds out. I'm willing to bet the attacker was sent by Townsend or The Sixty because they see him as a serious threat. After all, Townsend wanted to send an incel to shoot up David's prayer meeting! But what does that have to do with the love note in Julia's handwriting? And why is Reneé getting those Wi-Pokes with the pictures of the two of them? I don't necessarily blame David for not going to Ben with this problem as he doesn't want to reveal everything that is going on with his life but I figured Ben could have probably figured out where the pokes were coming from.

I'm assuming David survives this and it's going to be a big mystery as to who that guy was and how he targeted David. And kudos to David for fighting him off because that guy was carrying a HUGE knife! I'm talking a Crocodile Dundee kind of knife!

There were no puzzle pieces this episode, at least not any that I could see. Maybe one flashed on the screen and I didn't see it. But beyond that, they keep adding more pieces to the overall puzzle. Who or what is contacting David? What will happen with Sheryl and how will she assist in Townsend destroying Kristen's family? And who the hell does Townsend have in this bag?

Is that an incel that he targeted from the last episode? Is he going to torture this person to do what he wants? And whatever happened to that prayer meeting that he was going to send Sebastian to go and shoot up? They made it seem like that was going to happen relatively soon. Considering David's state of doubt in regards to his faith and his relationship with Reneé, I couldn't see him leading a prayer meeting anytime soon. And now that he's sort of out of commission, I don't see what point there is for Townsend to recruit anybody to shoot up a prayer meeting that isn't going to happen. I'm curious to know who this person is that Townsend has in that bag and how his attack will continue with Kristen and David. And will he shift his sights to Ben at all? Ben has been left alone for the most part but I'm wondering if that will change because the trio are stronger being together.

The trio.....I wonder if perhaps the 3 stars are also in reference to the three of them.

And I will say this about the trio, I'm loving their relationship with each other. Especially Kristen and Ben. It made me laugh when Kristen is coming up with diagnoses for the singing girls in front of  the new monsignor, and he praises her for her work and her contribution. The look on Ben's face after that compliment and when he afterwards calls her a "teacher's pet" was just so precious.

And also when David and Ben get together to buy a gift for Kristen, how they both are sort of arguing that they should have gotten Kristen something after she got them something and then both chip in to get her those earrings. In some ways, I hope that Kristen and David don't end up together because I feel like it would ruin the dynamic of this trio. Ben and Kristen are like brother and sister, with Ben already establishing himself like the fun uncle to Kristen's daughters, him being Ben The Magnificent and all of that. David is the clear leader of the group but he's incredibly flawed and riddled with both personal and real demons which betrays the cool and strong exterior that he presents to the other two. Kristen has her own issues but I feel like she's a nice balance between the two and brings that touch of femininity that is clearly needed. The three of them work really well together even with their opposing views and it's because of that that I could see Townsend and The Sixty wanting to break them up.

I'm curious to see what strategy Townsend and The Sixty will employ to do just that.