“From the Shadows it Watches” on this week’s Outcast

On last week’s episode of Outcast, Reverend Anderson learned firsthand that demons, be it personal or Biblical, are a bitch to get rid of. He’s on a crusade to purge Hell’s hounds from the town of Rome. How do we invite a demon into our towns and our souls?

Religious Arrogance

I was having a conversation recently with a fellow psychic who said that people who do God’s work are guilty of religious arrogance. They start thinking the power to heal comes from their own hands and this is where we find Reverend Anderson. He was a superstar in the town of Rome and he loved it. He was the man who kicked out demons, but recent revelations proved that his ego blinded him to the truth.

Pride goes before the fall, or so they say, but I think for the Reverend it is the sin of envy that he needs to keep in check. He can’t seem to figure out how Kyle, a sinner, is able to cast out demons and, even after reviewing all his video tapes which prove that his success was in his mind only, Anderson can’t get over the realization that he saved no one. The Devil’s best accomplishment is to make people lose faith and to covet what their neighbor has.

When Patricia drops by to see the Reverend, she tries to get him to commit to a more serious relationship, but what Anderson offers her instead is a possessed Caleb locked inside the church. Anderson assumes a few drops of his blood will work because it worked for Kyle. Reverend Anderson is full of religious arrogance and that is why he fails. Patricia wisely goes for help.

Mildred

Grace Zabriskie plays her Mildred as a snooty and greedy woman who has made a deal with Sidney and I’m guessing that it had to do with a long and healthy life. In tonight’s episode, Grace gets a chance to show us just how scary Mildred really is. Why do all the possessed people want to suck the life out of Kyle? What is so special about his soul? What we do know is after Mildred knocks out Kyle, she begins to suck him dry and as she does, she gets stronger. Luckily for Kyle someone stops Mildred before she turns him into a raisin. I’ve been a fan of Grace Zabriskie since I watched and then reviewed Twin Peaks for Biff Bam Pop!. Grace played Sarah Palmer and she is the perfect choice for Mildred.

Kyle wakes up to find Sidney working on Norville’s car. What Kyle doesn’t know is that it was Sidney who saved him. Sidney’s not happy with Mildred. She’s overstepped her boundaries and Sidney doesn’t like anyone changing the rules or the game, especially a know-it-all Reverend Anderson.

Consequences

David Denman’s character, Mark Holter, is the most stable character on the show. He is a good husband and father and he’s diligent in his job as a police officer. He has even located the girl who owns that bloody fingernail that was left behind in Ogden’s camper. But, the girl is not about to rat out Ogden. She’s bad to the bone and warns Ogden that the cops are questioning her.

We saw how the devil feeds on religious arrogance, but what about the consequences of our actions? Do they come back to bite us in the butt? Mark gave a well-deserved beating to Donnie, but that creep is now threatening Megan with retaliation. I feel sorry for the big lug because he did what we all wanted to do to that perverted Donnie and now he’s banned from his bed.

No one in that town is free from the sorrow related to consequences. Patricia has a crush on the reverend but from the snarky comments made by her teenage son Aaron, Patricia has had a lot of crushes on a lot of men. Did you ever wonder if her actions were noticed by her child? Did she care?

Conclusion

I was curious as to how Robert Kirkman would use his amazing and talented mind to give us a show as intriguing and frightening as the The Walking Dead.  He did not disappoint me at all. With this new genre, Kirkman proved that demons are much scarier than walkers. Tonight’s episode dealt with religious arrogance and its consequences that in later episodes, will prove the undoing of the town of Rome. The arrogance of Reverend Anderson, although a human fault, not only shakes the foundation of his faith, but also of Chief Giles, who is none too happy to learn that Mildred and the others still carry their demon within them.

“But, she went to church every week,” Giles replies as he tries to understand what he’s faced with. Poor man doesn’t realize that religious arrogance allows a lot of dangerous sinners to occupy a pew. The biggest shocker tonight was the fact that Caleb enjoyed his possession as much as Mildred did. Is this why the reverend failed the first time with his exorcisms?

Consequences of actions were witnessed as we watched Donnie threaten Megan because Mark chose to handle this predator outside of the law. We also saw that the devil takes swift action against friend and foe. Mildred had the audacity to attack Kyle and Reverend Anderson thought he was stronger than the devil. Anderson has been marked with a pentagram and given a warning by the crafty and devious Sidney.

While events fall into place for one hell of a battle in the town of Rome, our reluctant hero goes about the business of living a normal life. All Kyle wants is the return of his happy marriage. He wants his family back… but to get them back, he will have to fight Sidney. As long as Kyle doesn’t become arrogant with his power, he might stand a chance. See you next week, my little angels, and bring your Bible.

 

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