Evil: 2 Fathers

"Is he talking about his seed again?"

Sometimes the title of an episode is an interesting metaphor. Or an obfuscation of what the episode is really about. Or an underpinning message that will only make sense in hindsight once you've seen the episode and reflect.

And sometimes an episode about two different fathers is called '2 Fathers' and you just get on with things.

I don't know if it's technically cheating and using foreknowledge of the rest of the series to say that Evil never really knew what to do with Andy Bouchard. I feel like it's OK to mention it at this point, because it's already starting to become apparent at this early stage. And it's too bad, because Patrick Brammall is good in the part, and there's a lot of potential in his character that they're already not using.

So, it's nice that here, at least, Andy gets a chance to be a major character for a little bit, being one of the two titular Fathers.

To illustrate both sides of what I mean by that, look at the nuance of his obvious jealousy of Ben the Magnificent's place in his daughters' lives. It's not overstated. It's not unrealistic. And he's clearly not making a bigger deal out of it than it is because he obviously understands that Ben isn't doing anything wrong. He's not a possible affair partner for his wife. He's not overstepping boundaries and trying to take on a 'dad' role with his daughters. He's just... some other guy that gets to spend a lot more time in his daughters' lives than he currently gets to, and that obviously bugs him. As it would, even though his lack of daughter-time is the result of his own choices and he knows it.

It's all so small and human, and I really like the way the show left it delicately interlaced with Andy's evening with his daughters without ever making it too big of a thing. And then used it to motivate Andy into going with his Lynn into creepy VR world to shut down the game on the magic Ouija board despite Rose390's best attempts to scare him into not doing so. 'If you end the game you can't win!', 'Well, I guess I won't win then.' That was such a likeable moment for him, as well as being a nice catalyst for earning Lynn's forgiveness for having been away so long. Also, we've really reached the point in the season where we need to start tying up some plot threads, so good on them for finally getting around to shutting down the game.

I like the Andy we get in this episode. He's both a good dad and a believable human being. I wish he'd gotten to be that more often.

Also, a very nice dramatic development, having Andy now know that Sheryl is still seeing Leland behind Kristen's back and agreeing to not tell on her because he couldn't possibly begin to understand the significance of what all that means.

But then we get that final moment in which David and Kristen are flirting as hard as they can while getting out of the Uber, just begging for Andy to walk in on and have some serious questions. And they just... don't. First, neither David nor Kristen does anything significantly out of line beyond being just a little too giggly with one another, but when Andy comes out to greet her there's nothing. Not even a shot of Andy looking out at them suspiciously. The whole setup of the show at this stage is building up to the love triangle of David/Kristen/Andy, and they don't bother to do anything to further it at this moment. I don't know, maybe that would have felt too obvious and they're making the right choice here. What do you all think?

Meanwhile, upstate...

So, Leon Acosta, David's father. They haven't spoken in I think David says five years, and in that time dear old Dad has gotten married, formed a throuple, and has a baby on the way with wife #1. And never reached out to mention any of it to David, which is pretty messed up. On the other hand, if David officially went no contact with him that could equally well be read as him respecting David's boundaries. I'm apparently having an indecisive day here.

Leon definitely gives off hippie artist vibes like a fire hose, so it's not difficult to imagine that he wasn't a particularly involved father and justified it under the general category of 'letting my kid find his own way in life, man.' It's also not hard to imagine how that lack of structure led David to seek structure in the military and with the kind of reasoning skills that would tell him, 'Sure, party drugs are a totally legitimate way to communicate with God, you should do that.'

The most interesting thing about David and Leon's dynamic is that it isn't hostile. It's wary. It's cautious, but not uncaring. Obviously, the entire locus of that plotline is the quest to discover why Leon has repeatedly included a demonic sigil in the corner of his paintings for a few years now, and we're given a few misdirects along the way. I like that they used that to keep the whole question of Esther open ended. Why does she put a demon sigil on her pottery? Is she demonically influencing Leon, or just a hippie who makes pottery and stumbled across the sigil? Should a pregnant woman be doing Psilocybin? What on Earth really happened in that field with the whole birth scene? Did they really, absolutely, need to include the shot of her tearing the placenta with her teeth? (No. The answer to that last one is a definitive no. I don't know why that shot was so upsetting to me, but just no.)

It all works because the ultimate answer in interesting and begs its own entirely separate discussion. Is reclaiming symbols of hate and attempting to transform and reclaim them into symbols of resilience and hope an objectively 'good' thing to do? And, if we set aside the fact that we know for a fact that the symbol in question was a demonic crest verifying that the slave owner was 100% for sure of that demonic house - which I acknowledge is kind of a lot to set aside - then the answer is a resounding yes. I'm looking at you, pink triangle.

And I think that David would agree with me on that point. But he can't set aside the kind of huge thing that we just set aside for the sake of the broader discussion. He knows that you can't reclaim that particular sigil because it's still an active source of malevolence and pain on a supernatural scale in the world at that very moment. But it's not like he can explain that to his father. And all of the points that Leon makes about no one being able to tell you how to process or carry the pain of your past and the claiming of the symbols thereof are valid.

And so, David really can't do anything at this point except accept that his father isn't demonically possessed, and leave.

You know, usually when you get a title like '2 Fathers', you kind of know that it's really going to be '1 Good Father and 1 Bad Father'. But instead, we get '2 Fathers who are Complicated and Flawed and Basically Decent Men. Maybe the title was a little bit deceptive after all.

Meanwhile, Ben is trying to decide if it's morally justified to pretend that you don't think that someone is certifiably insane solely because you really want to have sex with them. Been there man. If I had a nickel.

Do try the sangria

Bits and Pieces:

-- I really shouldn't have to say this, but it is not cool to give someone Psilocybin without their knowledge and consent. Of course, Cori did specifically invite them to a root ceremony, so maybe she just assumed that they understood that it was in there. Man, I really am wishy washy today.

-- I was flip about it above, but I liked how the episode continued the set-up for Ben and Vanessa's relationship. They're setting up the basic situation on a solid foundation. I also enjoyed all the recording booth dubbing details. It's called ADR, or looping, for the record. Good on Vanessa for calling out weaselly tech guy for his racist trickery.

-- There are some great cinematography choices going on in this one. The opening shot focused solely on the relevant sigil was nice. As was the slow camera pan of Ben and Vanessa in bed to the left where 'ghost sister' is theoretically also laying with them.

-- They do a nice job of handling the fact that while we theoretically see more than we want to of Leland in this episode, Michael Emerson isn't in this one at all.

-- It's a little bit tropey to go with the whole 'The person you've been interacting with was really a ghost all the time' thing, but they did a nice job with it, and it opened up a lot of room for some important conversations about generational pain, so I'm not bothered by that.

-- Andy and Sheryl's awkward 'see ya inside' conversation was completely hysterical. Love the relationship between those two as we see it in his episode. I also really loved the sheer ridiculousness of the girls relating actual plot points from previous episodes to Andy in the most overwhelming way possible.

-- Per Grace's warning earlier, Sheryl continues to wear all red and Leon offered to paint Kristen something in red.

-- Thanks to the film Wake Up Dead Man, I now know what the difference is between a Priest and a Monsignor. Also, really good film.

-- It's weird that Vanessa is famous enough for people to cosplay as her. That didn't seem likely to me.

It's an inherited title.

Quotes:

Ben: "This is a lie."
Recording guy: "It’s TV. It doesn’t have to be exactly true."

David: "Not another house for ten miles. It’s like the start of a horror movie."
Kristen: "Oh, well, bad cell phone coverage. Guess all we need is car trouble and we’ll have won horror movie bingo."

Andy: "I think it’s probably good you’re getting laid now and then. If only to remove the stick up your ass."
Sheryl: "Always such a joy to talk to you Andy."

Ben: "You seemed so sane."
Vanessa: "Thanks a lot."

David: "The world is weird."

A solid episode that's starting to pull the various strands of the season together and weave them into something interesting. Given the art colony I should probably have gone with a painting or sculpting metaphor. Damn, my indecision today.

Four out of five mutant goat babies.

Mikey Heinrich is, among other things, a freelance writer, retired firefighter, and roughly 78% water. You can find more of his work at the 42nd Vizsla. If you'd like to see his raw notes for this and other reviews, you can find them at What Was Mikey Thinking.

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