'Outcast' Recap: 'From the Shadows It Watches'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

For the most part, Outcast has been all about the slow burn when it comes to telling its story. There's peaks and valleys when it comes to the scares, but otherwise, every little detail about our characters and the grander plot at hand have only been given to us a spoonful at a time. But last night, apparently the series decided it was time to surprise us all because the show upped the ante in its storytelling big time.

'From the Shadows It Watches' was quite frankly a brilliant episode. One that left our imaginations churning about with possibilities at a few vague but powerful revelations, but most importantly...this is the story where Kyle Barnes finally decided it was no longer time to be comfortable hiding away from the world while this mess slowly spread, it was time for action and oddly enough, a surprise visit from Mildred is what finally opened his eyes to the challenge at hand because hey, the crazy old monster nearly sucked the life out of him before Sydney intervened and saved Kyle from the abyss. Why Sydney bothered to help out Kyle we probably won't know for some time, but he is quite the mystery character...especially considering that ending, but more on that in a moment. 

Because Kyle's epiphany could not have come at a better time, since Reverend Anderson found himself in trouble once again, this time with Caleb falling under the power of the darkness and ransacking the church before Kyle intervened but while Kyle is now the hero the world may deserve, everything the Reverend dealt with this episode was quite grim. For starters, it's clear his faith is rattled in failure now since well...he cannot exorcise demons at all, despite his best efforts. Most likely, any work he does with Kyle now will serve as his penance since he believes he is far too prideful and has failed God in his mission. But the work to save the world from darkness won't come easy, not after that ending with Sydney, where he came to visit the good Reverend to carve a pentagram into Anderson's chest to serve as a warning. The confusion surrounding Sydney I mentioned a moment ago came front and center in that confrontation, simply because it's strange to see Sydney provide such mercy and kindness to Kyle while taking sweet joy in slicing up the Reverend. What all of that means however, has yet to be revealed.

But the part of this episode that left our heads spinning...came by way of Caleb shortly after he was freed from the evil. He told Reverend Anderson that the feeling that evil brought to him when it conquered him was one of warmth. There was no fear, no trepidation, just that gentle and comforting heat and well...that's terrifying, because one would think possession should be a scary experience, but this revelation is also fascinating since it leads one to wonder...is fear the key to everything. Anderson even mentioned to Patricia that these creatures feed on fear and well, perhaps that's it. Fear is what invites them in, fear is what allows them to control us and that means the evil will be difficult to defeat indeed, because let's be honest...fear is everywhere. Whether or not this little nugget goes somewhere has yet to be seen, but there's a feeling in my gut, that Caleb's 'confession' is an important one. 

Yet outside of all of this, there was another important plot line brewing as well, the fact that Mark is soon going to be in trouble because of Donnie since he's awake now and ready to press charges, so no doubt that is going to get ugly in breakneck fashion. But truly, the best part of this episode, is the fact that alliances are being formed and Kyle and the Reverend won't be on their own when it comes to their fight. The Chief knows something is up, especially considering the picture of the camper he found in Mildred's house after Sydney punished her...and Patricia has turned out to be quite the surprise ally as well. She has for the most part been painted as a weak willed lady and managed to impress this episode. She tried to get Kyle out of his impromptu retirement from exorcising evil and she clearly understands what's going on in the world behind the scenes now. Either way, this was one hell of an episode and it's wonderful to see Kyle ready to take the fight to the darkness to save his family, and in the process...all of us. Until next time.

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