Evil: How to Save a Life

“So is it possible that all of this is a trick of the mind?”

Evil gave us another amazing episode, and I’m getting very optimistic about how this season—and probably the show—will end. The most notable change from past events is that people are finally talking to one another.

We’ve had confessional scenes before, but Sheryl using the confessional to spell out what’s been happening was a perfect choice in so many ways. I loved that she instinctively went for the holy water when she entered the church, then laughed it off. I love that she went to David, because of course she’s too terrified to tell Kristin face to face: Sheryl wants her daughter’s love more than she hopes for divine forgiveness.

There’s a pragmatism to Sheryl’s engagement with the church, too. As she points out, it’s a patriarchy, and priests molest children. She has good reason to hate it. But she also knows Leland’s afraid of the church, and she trusts baptism to do the work of de-Antichristing little Timothy. (I’m rather curious about whether or not baptism has that power, to be honest. Is the Antichrist a bad human, or a demon? Do we have a definitive answer on that?)

Sheryl’s position in this show’s spectrum from reason to faith is complex. She knows demons are real, for instance, but that doesn’t push her towards faith. I guess I’d say that she has belief (in the mystical—she knows it’s real) but not faith (that there’s an inherent goodness she has access to). That’s very different from Ben’s situation, in which he just can’t believe anything mystical is happening, so he’s struck with the frustrating non-answers that science provides for these situations.

In case there was any doubt, the baptism scene confirmed that the church has some solutions of its own. Sister Andrea saw Timothy as a demonic little nightmare, and he looked the same to her as he did to Andy when he dreamwalked into the new addition on the house a few episodes ago. I feel like that’s pretty good confirmation that Timothy really was an evil entity and not just a fussy baby.

The baptism scene, with thunderstorm, the blackout, the pipes freezing, Sister Andrea using rain water (how long did it take to collect enough for a baptism?), and the mop bucket—it was all wonderful. The adorable picture of Father Ignatius and Sister Andrea posing with the baby made perfect use of Wallace Shawn’s very distinctive way of smiling. Every single one of these things delighted me completely.

In a comment on last week’s episode, Billie pointed out that Timothy’s crying was particularly strident and annoying. I think the show did some sort of editing to his giggle in this episode, because whenever he giggled I started giggling with him.

Leland almost killing Timothy—is it bad if I admit that was both hilarious and tense? I was pretty sure the show wouldn’t go so far as showing even an evil character smothering an adorable little baby. I thought it was funny, too, that Leland knew the lack of screaming was a sign Timothy was a good boy, but the demons and demonic CEOs didn’t notice or care. I’ll bet very few of them have spent much time tending to babies.

All of the Timothy stuff tied into the case of the week, too: David accidentally remote-viewed a man, Tyler, who wanted to kill his family and himself to be reunited with his dead son. That was tense, and definitely not hilarious. When David finally spoke to Tyler in person I cried again. That’s two episodes in a row that this show has made me cry, and two episodes in a row in which our team has transformed someone’s life.

David’s work this week also represents a balanced contrast between Sheryl’s view of the church, which is correct, and the positive side of pastoral care, which is also correct. Religion is many things on this show, and while I’m so happy Timothy isn’t an Antichrist anymore, I’m more touched by David’s smaller victory. Happy birthday, David!

There’s the obvious parallel of the horrors of Kristin’s son being the Antichrist and Tyler’s profound grief over the loss of his son. But there’s a more obvious connection: Tyler’s family lives directly below Leland. Is demonic energy, or even just bad vibes, like a mold infestation that can spread within a building? Is that what’s happening in Kristin’s house?

Say ‘Jesus’!:

• All the girls decorated their own section of the cake. What a cool idea! If I ever have four very talkative daughters I want to do all of our cakes like that.
• I keep forgetting to mention this, so I might as well say it here: David’s sweaters are amazing. Just absolutely amazing.
• Also, on the “I should have mentioned this earlier” front: Kristin’s love of trashy canned alcoholic fizzy beverages makes me laugh.
• Is there more singing this season than in previous seasons? Does singing represent Kristin's new devil-may-care attitude?
• Leland's comedy–working basically all by himself–as he reacted to Timothy being adorable reminded me of a Lost fan inside joke about how we all wanted a sitcom starring Terry O'Quinn and Michael Emerson as wacky roommates. I still want that!

It’s a cliché to say “I laughed, I cried,” but I did both during this episode. For that reason:

Four out of four heavenly chords.

Josie Kafka is a full-time cat servant and part-time rogue demon hunter. (What's a rogue demon?)

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