TV Review: The Exorcist (Season 1, Episode 6)

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

EPISODE: STAR OF THE MORNING

THE DISH: Regan's mother Chris shows up to help in the citywide search for Casey. Keane and Ortega go their own separate ways in order to do best for the family.

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW. IF YOU'VE NOT SEEN THIS EPISODE, STOP READING HERE!

THE DICE-UP: With the devil's work taking a one week hiatus to make room for the World Series, Fox is back with its 6th episode of its small-screen remix of The Exorcist. Dubbed "Star of the Morning," no rest for the weary was given, as the show started with a 70s style flashback to the years following Regan's odious childhood possession. Making rounds on the talk show circuit, her intent seemed to assure the masses that she was no longer demonically conflicted, but we can suss from her face that isn't the whole truth. Cut to the now, Grandma Chris MacNeil (Sharon Gless) has been invited into the Rance home to meet her granddaughters for the first time. Angela, who shall now just be referred to as Regan to avoid confusion, isn't keen on the idea. Nor is she about having to explain to her family about her troubled past, including the name change. Henry, growing worse for the wear, is non too plussed. Chris has come to help find Casey, who is still at large after disappearing into the woods after slaughtering an EMT unit. A city wide search is underway, which brings about a maelstrom of negative press that reopens old wounds for Regan and creates new ones for her family.

Worse, Regan can't quite stomach the bond her mom is forging with her daughter Kat. A deeper family riff is forming. Chris shows Kat the talk-show footage that opened the show, informing her granddaughter that she was too busy filming a movie at the time to really give Regan the proper attention she needed back then. Regan later has a day-mare during work about getting a phone call from the demon, threatening her and scaring her by claiming Casey's demonic manifestation is standing right behind her. A pretty weak jump scare, to be honest. After working through their issues a bit more, Regan gets a call from the morgue to come identify a dead body they think might be that of Casey. The whole family rushes to confirm or deny, thankfully discovering it was a mere mistake. Casey is still out there somewhere, they believe. Relieved, Regan embraces her mom with a tender hug, much to her surprise. Think this refashioned love will hold suit? I wholeheartedly do not!

Father Keane, still at odds with Tomas for making a grave mistake during the failed exorcism, informs Regan of ticking clock, and how the demon, like a virus, grows stronger over time if left unfettered. Keane vows to find the girl alone, Tomas separately with his own congregation. Keane is now staying with the Regos (tour-guides), together devising a plan of attack to quell the evil spirit for good. Tomas continues his romantic exploits with Jessica, brushing off his invitation to attend some kind of high order friar's meeting with Bishop Egan and Maria Walters. Good thing he did. In one of only two or maybe three remotely unsettling scenes in the episode, during the friars club séance, a cult ritual if ever there was one, the high priest takes the cremated remains of the harvested organs we saw earlier in the season, using them to summon another demon to materialize out of thin air. When it does, the crowd distubingly coos in delight, until the entity injects itself down the throat of one of the patrons (I believe was the chief of police). The man's eyeballs roll into the back of his skull, only to be supplanted by another set of enlarged black pupils.

The other mildly unnerving instance came as Keane gets a tip about a possible Casey sighting in a skid-row alley of bedraggled homeless folks. Keane is circled by a number of vagrants, chanting demonically, before Casey suddenly spider-walks at full speed toward the camera. A passage of time occurs before Keane finds Casey on the beach at the end of the chapter, gorily devouring a seabird in the surf. He approaches her with a prayer, but is viciously attacked by the demon in the shallows. They roll around for a bit before he eventually baptizes the poor girl with yet another prayer, and when she comes to, she seems to have reverted back to innocent old Casey. "Help me" she whispers in apparent candor. You think her soul has really found ablution, or like before, the devil is merely playing tricks on us all? With four episodes to go, the latter no doubt!

THE EVILDOING:

• The demon torments Regan through a nightmare at work, manifesting Casey's evil form for a split second until she awakes
• Demonized Casey spider-crawls at hyper speed down a piss-ridden alley of homeless, scaring Keane half to death
• Another evil entity is summoned by the friars club, only to impose its force into the mouth of one of the attendees (a police chief I think). He rolls his eyes in the back of his head, only to insert another pupil in its place
• The demon attacks Keane in the surf, only to succumb, get baptized, and apparently leave the girl's body for now

CREEPIEST MOMENT: I'd say the creepiest moment was that cult-like seance at the friars meeting. The chanting, the hand holding, the demonic summoning and ultimate overtaking of one's body. All creepy stuff on its own, but when considering it came from the church higher-ups, with the chief of police also present, an extra level of malevolence was felt. What the hell are these crazy f*ckers up to?

THE CONFESSIONAL: Forgive me, but until the final 15 minutes or so, this easily ranked as one of the weakest Exorcist chapters so far. Granted, there was bound to be an inevitable lull following two gnarly exorcism episodes, but still, too many narrative threads could not make way from enough abject horror this time out. Thankfully the show did take a week off, because if this were the official Halloween week episode, I have a feeling more than a few viewers would have felt let down. That said, the arc of a season must adhere to a roller-coaster of highs and lows, so here's hoping, check that, praying Chapter 7 gets back on track.