Friday, July 21, 2017

Outcast, Season 2, Episode 8: Mercy



We are reintroduced to Blake - he was the convicted possessed ex-cop in prison who Anderson tried to get Kyle to exorcise back in season one. This was the first exorcism he failed and the first time we were introduced to the idea that someone could be too far gone to be saved

Blake is now on death row about to be executed and mumbling about how “hw isn’t alone” and “everything will end” which is reassuring.

Dr. Park is among the witnesses - and he finagles things so Blake only seems dead and then gets to escape. Why is Dr. Park invested? Well since Blake has been in solitary confinement most of his time on Earth he is “pure”. He also isn’t sick and dying - last episode it was revealed that the possessing creatures can’t live on Earth very long and eventually die. Dr. Park wants to fix that, he doesn’t want the “merge” but for them to go on living as humans and Blake is an ideal test subject to figure out how to do this.

Unfortunately he isn’t co-operative, he’s far more interested in hunting down Kyle and Anderson - and questions a passing possessed to find out where Kyle is. He also mentions their “collective memory” which is both an interesting quirk on these creatures but also begs the question why Blake doesn’t have access to it.

Dr. Park, meanwhile, goes to the council of people-who-meet-in-diners to pitch his “let’s all get along” theory of Earth living. They scoff. He poisons them. Methinks Dr. Park needed to spend longer in debate class.

Kyle is back in town but not in best shape since everyone is staring at him since so many of the population is now all possessed. Of course they’re all afraid of him as well. He grabs a nurse and menaces her with his burny touch to making her sew him up and his injuries. Awkward since she can’t touch his skin. He asks about exorcising her but she says she’s too far gone. She also says “what you’re doing doesn’t help us.” and he seems shocked by this

Really? I mean, did he think it was helping the demons possessing people? Did he think they’d be happy about this?

He also finds his mother has disappeared from the hospital which sends him into a bit of a frenzy stopped by a policeman who turns out - when Kyle tries to use his burny hand - not to be possessed. He takes Kyle to Giles who has told this loyal cop to act as his boydguard - because, yes, Giles is back in the fight.

Kyle has a new plan - tell everyone about the possessed so the whole town can resist. Giles is a little uncertain about this but Kyle knows everyone saw something at the town meeting where Giles was possessed, people have to know something is up. Giles is still dubious especially since he has a lot of his own guilt over being possessed. He has his own plan - it involves junkyard guy with his huge arsenal of weapons. Kyle does not think this is the way (apart from anything else, they’re very outnumbered)



In response Junkyard guy digs up something else from his junkyard - a bus full of bodies, 8 people. He tells them that all of them were Beacons/Outcasts like him and his dad killed them after he found them imprisoned by Helen - and their brains drilled into. She had drilled into their brains - presumably her method for speeding up the merge: Beacons who are incapacitated so they can’t be pesky. Kyle is duly horrified - by his dad’s ruthlessness as much as anything.

Giles quickly puts his defence mechanism in place, so when Nunez arrives to menace his wife and try to offer a deal she walks on a landmine and Giles shoots her dead… though Nunez doesn’t shoot back at him, she shoots at Rose. The threat was meant. Rose is shaken - it seems by what they may have to do.

Anderson is at the Lighthouse people with Dakota and has discovered Sidney has been imprisoned. Dakota wants to be sensible, question him, interview him etc while Anderson just wants to get on with the torturing. Dakota also wants to point out everyone in the church was like Sidney once

Of course Anderson ignores her and gets to the torturing while Sidney pushes all his buttons talking about god and how demon possession is the truth behind all religions.

Megan meets Blake at Kyle’s house where he presents himself as someone Anderson and Kyle saved. She takes him to the Lighthouse people exposing a hole in their security in that she’s willing to vouch for any damn person. She also vouches for Kyle and everyone’s not exactly worshipful of him but definitely has a hefty dose of respect.

Blake creepily bonds with Holly who hasn’t heard the message about not talking to strangers and spills all kinds of family secrets - including Molly being pregnant.

Megan is concerned about being pregnant and how possession affected her child and asks Dakota if they have a doctor - they have a midwife. She seems to know what she’s doing and being competent and helpful. Until she drugs Megan and tries to make her take a pill - apparently she thinks possession evil is inside her baby and both she and Dakota are totally wrong and need to see the evil truth of evilness.

She is saved by Blake of all people - and the midwife realises he’s still possessed. Blake kills her

Kyle goes to see Sidney and shares with the Lighthouse people his plan to spread the word. But in being taunted by Sidney he also reveals what Helen did to the other Beacons which is problematic

And Kyle’s mother? Has been taken by an older man i don’t recognise. Simon? Kyle’s estranged father?