'Outcast' Recap: 'The One I'd Be Waiting For'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

I’ve always found it supremely interesting how in many ways, we never truly know our parents. Sure, we spend an incredible amount of time around them, and we learn what they stand for and what kind of person they are as the years roll on, but the deeper details about who they are as a person; their dreams, their hopes and their fears for instance, are often times the parts they keep hidden away from us until far later in life. Because their job was to raise us right and show us the best parts of being a human so that we can in turn can reflect their teachings and this mystery when it comes to our parents is on my mind today, because it was the focal point of last night’s episode of Outcast, ‘The One I’d Be Waiting For’.
 
Because in this particular tale we learned quite a bit about Kyle’s father, and the many things he did to keep his wife and son safe, and dear old dad’s harrowing story started thirty years ago, when a woman named Helen strolled into Rome with the same agenda that Sydney has on his mind; to bring evil into the light of day. And with Bob’s help (our new friend in the junkyard), the elder Barnes was somehow able to eventually put an end to her reign of terror and save the city and the world from a fate worse than death. But while that should have been enough for Kyle to chew upon, he had to know more about the last cycle of evil that pushed through this town because there was a chance that exploring how this mess came to an end in the past could help him stop it in the present.
 
Which led Kyle to an out of the way, tiny piece of property that his father owned at some point and well, what Kyle found there was fascinating and terrifying to say the least. For in this place, Kyle learned that his dad was conducting all kinds of research regarding this season of evil and sadly, there really wasn’t anything comprehensive or decipherable for Kyle to find in this ‘research center’. Instead, he came to learn just how far his father went to put an end to the evil in this town since he a discovered a room that turned out to be a torture chamber and well, that clearly put Kyle in quite a tough place since his outlook on his father has changed at this point. In part because he now understands exactly why his father ran off, but also due to the fact that he’s discovered that dear old dad was capable of great cruelty in order to keep others safe, something that Kyle seems to be incapable of.
 
Yet this episode had plenty more to offer than a mere walk down memory lane, because this story saw Aaron return home after all this time, with disastrous results. Because the young man had dark deeds in mind since he killed his mother and taunted Reverend Anderson in the hopes of forcing a final showdown between the two of them, something he nearly accomplished until Kyle saved the day, and it was supremely disturbing to see how far Aaron has fallen from grace and who knows what dark and disturbing future awaits this kid at Sydney’s side. But he needs to watch his back, because it’s clear Anderson is waiting for an opportunity to settle the score, despite Kyle pointing out that they have to better and not sink to Sydney’s level. 
 
Which is a fascinating concept for Kyle to point out, now that we know what kind of man Kyle’s father turned out to be, and I’m fairly certain that this contrast between father and son will rear its head again in the weeks to follow. But, all of that aside, this was quite the intense episode, thanks in large part to Aaron’s bloodlust and I love that the tension is ramping up and that the plot continues to chug forward, and that the series is finding ways to stay grounded in humanity by way of Megan’s fight to keep her family together in this tale and well, once again, I’m hungry for more. Because at long last, every mystery is coming to light, and while I know things are going to worse before they get better, I have to see what surprises await us next in this harrowing story. Until next time.    

---