On last week’s episode of Outcast we realized that Kyle, although a reluctant crusader, might be the only one who can battle the evil invading the town of Rome. This week, we get new insight on Sidney.
Righteousness
While the protagonist of this series, Kyle, deals with the return of his daughter, our man of God is dealing with the fallout from his recent outburst. The pews are empty. No one shows up to hear his sermon. Is it because the people of Rome are tired of Anderson’s constant warnings about the Devil and the possibility of an eternity spent in Hell? I’ve always felt that religion was invented by men for the sole purpose of controlling others and, although I like Anderson’s zeal, I do see him as the classic Bible-thumper, fire and brimstone kind of preacher.
When Anderson learns that Giles has arrested Sidney, he goes a bit batty. Giles, although surprised by Anderson’s indignation over the arrest, is following the law and locks Sidney in a cell until he can get to the truth of the event. When Anderson is unable to get Giles to do things his way, we watch him further spiral down the rabbit hole.
Phillip Glenister has done an outstanding job of playing his character as a preacher who uses fear to keep his flock walking the straight and narrow road. Anderson demands righteousness from others even though he is losing his faith. He shows no mercy for the flock that have strayed and when the harsh sermons fail, Anderson is not above kidnapping.
Sidney
Who the hell is Sidney? Is he Satan as Anderson claims he is, or is Sidney a demon who saved a child’s life? While Anderson is busy coercing Kat Ogden into his car, we learn through a flashback that the unpossessed Sidney was much more frightening than all the demons in hell. The former Sidney was a pedophile, a sadistic sociopath, and we know this because of the scene showing a young boy held prisoner inside Sidney’s home.
Kyle visits Sidney in jail after he learns that Sidney has left flowers and candy for Kyle’s mom. This meeting between the crusader and the Devil reveals just enough information to throw everything we thought we knew about demons right out in the trash. The possessions are not organized or planned. The demons that live inside Sidney and Kat found themselves in those bodies through no choice of their own. Sidney hints to Kyle that the possessed people are better because of their demons. Is this true?
Megan
Megan and Mark are facing an enemy that has nothing to do with possession. Donnie is a low-life rapist and he is now planning of destroying Megan’s life through her husband. I still don’t understand why the writers decided to have Mark go postal on Donnie, especially since Mark is a cop who lives by the code. With all the stuff happening in the news with police brutality, maybe it is valuable to remind the viewers that the police, like all of us, are only human. Mark’s willingness to sell his truck to get Megan’s ring back, gives hope that this couple will stand united when the devil comes knocking on their door.
Conclusion
Everything we expected with demon possession on this series is now up for grabs. Nothing is as it seems. Ogden tells Giles that he likes Kat better with her demon and that the trailer is where Ogden and Kat helped recently possessed townsfolk deal with their demons. Kat tells Anderson that he shouldn’t worry so much about demons if he really believes in the return of Jesus. Remember we also heard Caleb’s telling Anderson that he was happy with his demon. Are the demons helping people? Sidney told Kyle that he should have left his mother’s demon alone.
Robert Kirkman has reinvented the apocalypse with his award winning series The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead and the notion that the living are a hell scarier than zombies. I think Kirkman has another winner on his hands with this new series, and especially, if he has us sympathizing with the demons.
This series is making it harder to tell the good guys from the bad, especially when Patricia’s son, Aaron, fibs to Giles that Sidney is innocent and that the preacher had cut himself. Aaron hates the fact that his mother is dating Anderson and he’s willing to join forces with Sidney to get rid of the snooty preacher.
The preacher has been kicked out of the church because his parishioners were tired of his gloom and doom sermons. We viewers are left wondering who to cheer for after another flashback shows the “possessed” Sidney cutting that poor boy free from his prison. He tells the boy one thing, “Run.”
While Kyle and Amber enjoy dinner with his sister and her family, we are left to wonder what devious twists and turns Kirkman has planned for the next two episodes. See you next week, my little angels.
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