Evil - Book 27

Discussing Ep. 1.13

Wow!

Like.....WOW!!!

What an ending! And I just read that Evil got a second season so that is such great news because they could not have ended things like this. They couldn't have!

Having said that though, I get the sense that because a second season was not secure, that the writers, as many writers of TV shows often face, were forced to try and tie everything together and leave a cliff hanger that could serve as a season or series finale. As such, some elements in this episode and the way they tied things together fell a little short but overall, it was such a blast of a season and a blast of an episode!

So this guy is showing up all over the place now. He appeared in the real world talking to Townsend. He appears in Kristen's dream. He appeared in an illusion to Kristen's daughter, Lexis. And he appeared in a vision to David. Is he supposed to Satan? I'm assuming he is so we'll go with that for now.

I liked the progression at the beginning because it went from her first encounter with demonic possession in the form of Orson, then it went onto George, and finally ended with Satan. What has surprised me about this series is that it wasn't what I thought it would be. I expected that each episode was going to be like the first, where they come across some seemingly supernatural case and in some instances they will debunk everything and in some instances, like the episode with the ghost in the hospital camera, they won't and will leave it to the audience to decide.

But it looks like they've embraced the supernatural and running with it full steam ahead.

I was fully expecting them to have this be one of those mysteries where it started out as supernatural but they would write it off as natural. Eleanor is pregnant with twins and is due in 10 days, but she believes that one of her children is possessed, or at the very least, evil incarnate and shows it by hurting her with his bumping around in her stomach. I figured they would debunk this until this particular scene when David places a crucifix on Eleanor's hand, which a possessed person could not hold. Eleanor holds onto it just fine. But then he puts it on Eleanor's stomach and this fucking bump came out of nowhere! It was clear that she wasn't kidding and that it wasn't just her imagination that she was feeling this demon baby inside of her bumping her insides to smithereens! So it was up to David to convince the diocese that an exorcism was required.

Of course, the diocese didn't believe that the baby might have been possessed because possession requires consent. I was impressed that they got that part right. Then, of all people, Ben suggests that it's not possession but an infestation, which wouldn't require consent. That was impressive too! So the diocese decides to apply his own test by having Eleanor take part in communion. Then this happens!

I was expecting something when she swallowed the wafer, but not this! What the hell happened here? They said in the hospital that the one twin absorbed the other and that it happens, otherwise known as Vanishing Twin Syndrome. But fuck man....did the bad twin puree the good twin into nothing but blood? That was like all the blood in Eleanor's body that she bled out onto the floor!

So in their investigation of the case, they find out that Eleanor was impregnated through in vitro fertilization by a company called RSM Fertility. I have to say, it was really weird, if not somewhat convenient, how everything came together.

While Ben is in Eleanor's kitchen, a teddy bear suddenly starts playing the tune that made all those choir girls go nuts in that YouTuber video. He checks the bear out and finds out it came from RSM Fertility. Bizarre how the bear started playing the tune without being activated. When they check out the clinic, David makes the connection with the Euler Triangle that he had seen in his past visions.

I was a tad bit disappointed, if only because the vision that David had contained numbers and letters that I thought were going to point to something more, not just merely be the same image as the RSM Fertility logo. However, as I said before, I understand the circumstances the writers were in and they only had 13 episodes to work with so I'll run with this. After looking at some images of past clients of the clinic, David recognizes someone from a past episode.

This is the kid that suddenly became possessed and tried to drown his baby sister and whose parents ended up killing him! So now they're connecting SOME of the past cases to the fertility clinic. I'm willing to bet that Brenda, from the Halloween episode, was also birthed thanks to the RSM Fertility clinic. It would only make sense.

Adding to the revelations, David discovers that RSM Fertility is located in the very same cities that correlated to the three stars vision that he had, which he later connected to specific cities in the US.

So I kind of felt like they were going into Manifest territory here by having David have visions instead of "callings" that would later point to something in the future. So what David and Ben conclude is that RSM Fertility is basically churning out psychopaths. But it seems to go deeper than mere psychopaths and that the fetuses are somehow demonically obsessed, meaning that there is some kind of attachment to the demonic world. This is essentially confirmed by Kristen, who reveals that her second eldest daughter, Lexis, was created in vitro thanks to RSM Fertility.

Now this is where I was a bit iffy on this particular revelation. Aside from the eldest daughter, Lynn, and the youngest daughter, Laura, we haven't really been exposed to the other two daughters, Lexis and Lila. Lexis got some shine in that episode where Sheryl gave her horrible advice and caused her to injure a fellow student that was bullying her. But that was it. She started to become more involved in the last episode and this episode with her confessing weird things to Kristen, but there was really nothing there that suggested that she was any different from her siblings. If anything, I would have thought that it was the youngest daughter, Laura, that was born using in vitro. She's the one with the bad heart valve and she was the one who saw the demon outside of the VR headset when they first got that. Also, she was the one who was in the grave when Brenda took the girls to the graveyard. So all of that would have made more sense if Laura was the one who was the odd one out among the sisters.

But they're having it that Lexis is potentially a future psycho or possessed who is being visited by Satan (or Orson possessed by a demon) and so now it's a wait and see kind of thing. It's interesting because there doesn't seem to be a specific age when the change happens. With that kid who tried to drown his baby sister, it happened when he was around 10. With Eleanor's twins, it happened as a fetus. And with Kristen, it seems to have happened as an adult!

Speaking of Kristen's behaviour....WHOA!!!

So she's getting harassed by Orson, who pretends that he's become a born-again Christian and wants to make amends. But he's also throwing false accusations and also ends up going too far when he shows up, trying to break into Kristen's house and Lexis, inexplicably, lets him in as she follows the command of Satan in a bizarre vision. At this point, Kristen snaps and grabs a hiking pick with a very sinister look on her face. Given what she had done to Townsend, basically committing attempted murder had Townsend not made it to the hospital to stitch up the cut she made on his neck, it's clear that she was willing to go to great lengths to protect her family.

But now we are left with the impression that she killed Orson. We never got confirmation of it, but signs are heavily pointing to the idea that Kristen did indeed kill Orson after he successfully broke into her house and left a gift basket. She had blood on her leg which Ben noticed, and she seemed very insistent with Ben that he didn't see anything, that there was no blood on her legs. Also, when Mira (who I was very surprised was still talking with Kristen) informed her that they found Orson bludgeoned to death and figured it was his wife, that left the viewer with the serious question as to what exactly Kristen did. It's especially dangerous because the cops aren't stupid. Mind you, neither is Kristen and perhaps she did a good enough job of covering her tracks. But she's playing with fire and it seems like she's going to get burned.

Speaking of which.....

This was awesome! What a way to end the season. I mean, this was almost like Forever Knight, when Nick the vampire tries to hold a crucifix and gets burned. Here, Kristen....the atheist, the nonbeliever, the former Catholic who lost her faith....tries to hold a crucifix and gets burned! So what are we to take from this? She can't be possessed because she never consented to possession. It could be obsession, given her visits with George and Satan in her dreams and given her irrational attitude. The fact is though, I have a feeling that a connection is going to be made between Kristen and the RSM Fertility clinic that is beyond Lexis being the only one in the family from there.

My guess is that, given what happened with Kristen at the end of the episode and along with Sheryl and her relationship with both Kristen and Townsend, that Kristen herself is a product of RSM Fertility. It would explain why we've never heard anything about Kristen's father and why Kristen was so heavily targeted by Townsend, along with why she's so different from Sheryl and why Kristen's behaviour has suddenly taken a turn for the worst. It would also explain David's vision at the end, with Satan threshing the wheat and Kristen willingly going towards him, suggesting that she is already his.

Speaking of Sheryl, she's REALLY starting to get on my nerves. I get that she's "in love" with Townsend and therefore is completely blind to the red flags that circle around him, but to give him a copy of that damn Codex and to also give him a copy of her key is just absolutely ridiculous. Credit to Townsend for working his magic and proposing to her, further ensnaring her. The thing that I don't get is when Sheryl approached Kristen to get her blessing, that Kristen didn't reveal everything that she had learned about Townsend, like his real name of Jake The Flake and his previous divorces and all of that. Somehow, I think that still wouldn't have changed Sheryl's mind but it's unfortunate, but not uncommon, for someone to choose a lover (who is bad for them) over their own family.

Anyway, so while they did attempt to connect various cases from the past to this overall storyline, there are still a number of questions left behind which I'm glad a second season might yet answer.

What are we to make of the Codex and the sigils?

We never got any resolution to David's father painting the sigils or that woman who birthed that demon baby, or the ghost of that slave girl that talked to David.

What ever happened to that prayer group that David was supposed to host that Townsend was going to send Sebastian, the incel, into to shoot everyone up? Whatever happened to Townsend getting another incel to do the job?

Are we ever going to get an explanation for the ghost/angel in that hospital footage?

What was the voice that spoke to Ben and his sister through the Alexa device that seemed to know so much about them and was talking in Arabic?

Is there a resolution as to where Nurse Plague (Nancy) went and why she was trying to kill black patients?

Who left those notes that were in Julia's handwriting and kept taking photos of David and Renée together? And whatever happened to his relationship with Renée?

Why did God give David these revelations now when the RSM Fertility clinic has been operating for years?

I really do hope we get answers to these questions next season.

Overall, a great first season. This show really surprised me in so many ways and I'm happy about that. I think the chemistry between Kristen, Ben and David is awesome and they're my favourite trio right now. Can't wait to for the next season.

I'll leave off with this quote that David said to Kristen. I liked David's explanation for why he continues to believe. It pretty much mirrors my own reasons for believing.

"When this body contained a soul, an entire kingdom was too small to hold it. But now, two paces of wretched earth is plenty of room."

It is indeed, ironic.

Evil - Justice X2

Discussing Ep. 1.12

Damn! Was this ever a graphic, turn-on-a-dime type of episode! So much to unpack here.

First, I'll tackle Sonya and her issues with that comedian guy, Lando.

First of all, let this be a lesson: if you're some down-on-your-luck, average Joe just trying to make it in the world, and some classy, dolled up, beautiful woman takes a liking to you.....RUN!!! It's too good to be true! In this case, Sonya was out for revenge for the Rwandan Genocide. Why they decided to insert this whole aspect of her hearing voices and confusing them with God seemed a bit tacked on. Nevertheless, aside from different twists and turns in this episode, there was one aspect that was consistent: turning the Word of God on it's head!

I have to say, I liked how she was able to parry with David in regards to Scripture. First, she says that she's been hearing a voice and surmises that God is commanding her to kill. David argues that God does not do that, that He does not command people to kill. She argues back that He did indeed command Saul to kill ALL the Amaleks, right down to the women, children and infants. David's only response was that that was Old Testament and that no longer applied. That wasn't a sufficient enough argument for Sonya and I think it kind of left the viewer in limbo in terms of the argument itself.

Her second argument comes after she's already knocked out David and has him tied up, along with Lando. First off, David has been having a really bad run of luck here. First, he gets stabbed and sent to the hospital. Then in the hospital, he gets doped up on drugs and is almost killed by the nurse. And here, he gets pushed down a flight of stairs and tied up! I should hope that the next episode, the show goes easy on him.

I wasn't sure what to make of Lando. Obviously, he was guilty of something or he wouldn't have freaked out when she did that cockroach joke at the beginning. But his accent changed from Rwandan to American and then back to Rwandan again. So I didn't know what was what in regards to his country of origin. As Sonya is accusing him of being the voice on the radio that encouraged Hutu soldiers to slaughter Tutsi people without remorse during the Genocide, he keeps saying that it wasn't him. I figured he was lying but I wasn't sure in what way. Then, Sonya decides to take things up a notch to encourage Lando to confess.

This was fucking brutal! She lopped his ear off! Though I will say, that's pretty good accuracy with a machete. I'd have to imagine it isn't easy to take a swing at someone with a machete and only chop their ear off. As she's tending to his wound, David brings up Jesus healing the man who got his own ear chopped off by one of Jesus' disciples, claiming that those who live by the sword will die by the sword. Sonya counters, correctly, that Jesus also claimed that He did not come to the world to bring peace, but a sword. And David had no retort. I think it really served to show how confusing the Scriptures can actually be, and how people can pretty much justify any behaviour by grabbing any verse from the Bible to support it.

As it turns out, Lando was the voice on the radio and confessed his sins. I knew that he was a dead man after that. She wasn't going to let him walk away with one ear to show for it. And her labelling it as justice rather than revenge also brings up the rhetorical question: what is the difference in this case? Even though Lando wasn't one of the soldiers who committed those atrocities, he made jokes about it. The other thing that I found intriguing was when Sonya was recounting her experience during the Genocide, how she saw her sister die and how she saw the Hutu soldiers killing people with machetes and even cracking babies heads on the pavement. For me, it brought to mind Psalm 137: 8 & 9:

O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, blessed is he who repays you as you have done to us.

Blessed is he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.

What was the difference between what Sonya did here and the Israelites did to the Babylonians? How was what Sonya did merely revenge and what God commanded the Israelites to do as justice? Whatever judgement is thrown at Sonya, I think she has a defence for it. Because it's true...God has asked specific things of the people of the Bible that He seemingly commands other people to forsake and abhor! So many times, it seems like a double standard if not sheer hypocrisy. Thou shalt not kill...but go ahead and kill these people? I can see how and why Sonya would get confused and why others do as well. I think, however, that she was on her way to going overboard with the various visitors that came to her place, including Ben!

When that woman with the dog, Joker, came a calling, I questioned why Sonya took her machete with her. Then, when the woman was seemingly not going to leave well enough alone, Sonya was reaching for the machete. What the hell was she going to do....kill the woman and her dog? Thankfully, she came up with a rather funny, if not awkward explanation, about her and her husband doing some roleplaying and sex games. That seemed to calm the woman's fears. Then Ben shows up and again, Sonya had her trusty machete in hand. Again, thankfully Ben was called away and he lived to see another day, but Sonya came very close to killing innocent bystanders which is something I don't think her conscience could stand. I get the sense that she's at peace with what she has done. She calmly killed Lando and then called the police to let them know what she had done. As strange as it sounds, I think she's at peace both before her own conscience and God.

The hospital scene and the surgery for Laura was interesting. First, I liked how Kristen kind of turned it on Andy when he was meditating and him kind of mocking her association with the Catholic faith, even though she's an admitted atheist. Once again though, this felt tacked on. He never said or hinted before at being Buddhist or engaging in Buddhist practices. I guess that's why Kristen was so surprised, no? Still, it was odd when he started doing his mantra and the eldest daughter, Lynn, sees him doing this and then at the hospital, with no instruction or guidance from him, all three of the girls are doing the same mantra in the same pose! I'm wondering what the significance of that is, if it's going to be painted as either good or bad. It was eerie, to say the least, because how could Lynn replicate what Andy was saying so perfectly? How could the other girls? And why would she even try given that she likely had no idea what Andy was saying?

I was questioning why Laura was getting the surgery because Grace had told Kristen that the valve would heal on its own. They held up Grace's prophecy when the doctor came back and told Andy and Kristen that the valve did indeed heal on its own and the surgery was not necessary. But now, there's a catch. Andy's mantra requested that his life be given for Laura's. Given that all three of the other sisters recited the same mantra.....are they all going to give their lives for Laura too? It ties in a bit with what Townsend said later on.

As for the trial, I was surprised they brought Orson Leroux back or even connected his murders with the recent murders of those three boys. I kind of feel like the trial itself was a means to an end, to bring on that epic confrontation between Kristen and Townsend, and to also sabotage this particular relationship between Kristen and her detective friend, Mira. I will say that Kristen really ruined her relationship with Mira for no reason at all. In Mira's defence, she was just doing her job. She was being honest and objective and Kristen couldn't ask her to be anything else. While Kristen brought up a decent point, that Mira was writing a book about serial killers and thus her objectivity was in question, in the end that did nothing to sway the judge's decision. Orson still got to go free. And now, Kristen has no ally in the police force. I don't know if she necessarily needs one but Mira has been somewhat helpful in these episodes she's appeared in. Beyond that, she was Kristen's friend and now that friendship is likely over. So Kristen ruined that friendship for nothing.

But if Kristen took a misstep with Mira, she corrected herself and took a MASSIVE stomp on Townsend! She EVISCERATED this guy! She castrated him, held up his manhood and bopped him on the nose with it all the while making fun of him! Not literally, of course, but I've never seen Townsend look so beaten down with words. He came off so weak, so insecure, so defeated. He came off like Sebastian! It was amazing. 

He started off strong, mocking Kristen and essentially threatening her family. This is where the third instance of the Bible was turned on it's head, sort of. Townsend said that he was going to do to Kristen what God did to Job, implying that it was almost divine what he was going to do. He said he was going to take her daughters and husband away from her. I immediately thought of this line when Andy said that he traded his life for Laura's, and the sisters did as well, albeit inadvertently. I thought Townsend had Kristen on the ropes here. But then, she cut him off. Again, and again, and again, and again, and again. She brushed off his threats and countered with some truths. Leland Townsend, formerly known as Jake Perry, an insurance adjuster twice divorced, played the tuba in the marching band and carried the nickname Jake The Flake. Townsend was so stunned by this, she left him literally speechless. It was brilliant! So, kudos to Kristen for finally getting one over on Townsend.

Though I had to admit, I was a bit worried, if not confused. Because Kristen's phone was not working when Townsend came by, implying that there was something supernatural about him.

In much the same way that her recorder didn't work when she tried to record Townsend confessing to corrupting that young kid in prison earlier in the season, her phone wasn't working here either while in his presence. I thought that with Kristen's smackdown, exposing Townsend as an insecure fraud who was using Satanism and the Devil as a mechanism and symbol to induce fear but had no real power beyond that of a normal human being, they did what they always did....reduce the supernatural into nothing more than a natural occurrence with a natural explanation. They almost did that here....until this.

This was excellent! I mean....what the hell is this? Is that the Devil? Is this a figment of Townsend's imagination? At first, I was so curious as to who Townsend was talking to because they never had Townsend talk to a therapist before. Who was his therapist? I thought we were going to see some priest or someone we had seen in the past working as Townsend's therapist, sort of to introduce a new twist. But we got this instead.

This was funny, bizarre, cool and intriguing all at the same time. I liked how Townsend was revealing all his insecurities, all his feelings in regards to Kristen and how he was obsessed with her. And he expressed a desire to kill her but that wasn't "according to the plan." The Demon asked him if he would like it to be according to the plan, suggesting that "the plan" is rather fluid and slightly changeable. The Demon allowed that they would kill Kristen and they would cut out her heart, and "you and I will eat it together." I loved how calm, how soothing the voice was and how nonchalant he said this line. It was such a great contrast to the visual of this giant goat man saying these words.

So where does this leave us? Is Townsend possessed? I have to think he somewhat is because of the way Kristen's electronic devices seem to malfunction in his presence. At the same time, his relationship with Sheryl, his insecurities and his past seem to suggest that he's just some ordinary guy. And is that demon real or is it part of Townsend's imagination? 

I'm also still keeping track of the numbers in the titles of the episodes. 

177, 3, 390, 31, 9, 3, 2, 2, 7, 320, 2

Are these lottery numbers? Why does every episode, aside from the pilot, have a number?

I'm still thinking it has some significance.   

Evil - Room 320

Discussing Ep. 1.11

Damn, this was a freaky episode!

It was really difficult to distinguish what was real and what wasn't and left me with a whole bunch of questions and a bit of a disappointing revelation.

Nurse Plague! If her first name was Julie instead of Nancy, I'd have been very suspicious as to why they called her Plague! It was such a great build up because Harlan described her as Squeaky Shoes and I was totally expecting some old woman or someone far more intimidating looking. And to be fair, when Nancy would become annoyed with David's antics, she looked intimidating! But her demeanour totally betrayed her killings. I couldn't help but wonder if they took a page from a real serial killer here in Canada. Elizabeth Wettlaufer was a nurse who killed 8 seniors in nursing homes across Ontario, and to look at her, you'd never suspect she was a serial killer.

Her methods were somewhat similar to Nancy's, overdosing the patients with insulin instead of painkillers. But her crimes when unnoticed for a number of years. I don't know how long Nancy has been killing patients, black patients in particular. I'm hoping we're going to get more answers as to why she was killing black patients and what was real and what wasn't. Was Father Douglas real? What the hell were these things?

These were the creatures that took Harlan away. Were they nurses that David saw as monsters? Who was that priest that was with them? Was Harlan actually missing his legs or was that imagined by David? So many questions. And it didn't help that Grace showed up in David's visions, admitting that he was dreaming, although throwing yet another puzzle piece into it all.

What does Matt 13:25 have to do with the triangle that David saw?

"But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way."

I have no idea what that verse has to do with that triangle image. That doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I have to say though, I was nervous throughout David's time in that hospital. They really had Nancy give off that Misery feel to it, that it felt like she was really capable of doing anything. I was fully expecting her go all Annie Wilkes and whip out a sledgehammer and do some orthopaedic work on David!

In the meantime, we got a bit more of a backstory to David's crew, where we were introduced to Kristen's predecessor, Judy James.

I didn't know what to make of her. She seemed really young to be a psychologist and I'm somewhat intrigued by her spirituality, even going so far as to not answer the door on Friday's because she's exploring the universe! I'm curious to know if she will stick around and what role she will have to play, and if she feels any resentment at all towards Kristen for taking her spot. She did refer to Kristen as "the new me." And while she seemed friendly with Ben, they don't seem to have the same chemistry that Kristen and Ben do.

In their investigation to find David's attacker, they came across an old case involving Richard Ghana, who turned out to be the person behind Rose390. I have to say, I was majorly disappointed with this revelation. The idea that this crazy guy, who was doped up on a drug called Flaka, was the guy behind the Rose390 avatar and the game itself? That didn't make much sense at all and I was hoping for a more supernatural explanation....or at the very least, an explanation that tied in with The Sixty. And perhaps it still does but there is still a lot to explain. It never explained why, when Kristen's daughters played the game, they could still see a demonic entity in the real world.

They really made it seem like the game, just like that "hacker" that was able to hack into Ben's Alexa device, as well as Brenda, were all mysteries that didn't necessarily have a natural explanation to them. Are they going to go back and put a natural explanation to those other mysteries now too?

And yet, before they even answer those old questions, they throw out these new ones. Why did David dream of Grace? Was she giving him a true revelation or was it just his imagination? Why would that monster, who was the same ones that took Harlan away, attack her? Who is Father Douglas? And how in the hell does Matt 13:25 tie in with that triangle?

All questions that I hope are answered, and answered logically!

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.