The Exorcist TV Series: A Bloody Good Surprising Breakout of a Show!, Part 2

This is the second installment of our look into the new television adaptation of The Exorcist. This time we'll be talking about the auxiliary characters and their relationship to the overall story so far.  At the end I will make a special appeal for your help. If you wish to watch this awesome series before checking out my blogs or videos on it, feel free to do so because, as before, there will be...

!MAJOR SPOILERS!

 Otherwise, if you are ready to proceed, let's go!

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There are conspirators among us, devils in human form who scheme to undo all that the Creator has done and to replace it with their own unholy dominion. This is the plan of the Friars of Ascension in the new Exorcist television show. And they are a most determined bunch!

The Conspiracy of Darkness: The Friars of Ascension  

 

Maria Walters, wife of millionaire George Walters, & devil worshipper

Evil never sleeps, thus the old saying goes. And, as another saying goes, sometimes evil wears a pleasant face. Maria Walters is the pleasant face of the dark side of The Exorcist. She is the "slush mamma of the slush funds" according to one of our other characters, and in her capacities as wife of the dying millionaire George Walters, Maria is using her family's money to finance a conspiracy to assassinate the pope of the Catholic Church and, amazingly, to introduce demonic entities into this world via a satanic ritual known as vocare pulvere, the Ceremony of Ash.

In vocare pulvere, demons are summoned to earth to possess a willing host. But in order to summon them a blood sacrifice must be offered. In this highly ritualized ceremony the sacrifice(s) are other human beings whose murder supplies the body parts necessary to assuage the demon(s) of their human worshippers' devotion and bring them from the spirit world to the material world. Maria Walters has used her money and considerable social influence to procure those citizens who won't be missed by society to become the victims of this ritual. Maria, bless her soul, is a woman of great power but not great potential, at least not according to the demon Pazuzu. And it is those who are full of such potential to be of great use to the fallen angelic brotherhood whom the demons seek out for possession. This is why, though she deeply desires it, Maria is ultimately passed over for possession in the episode, "Star of the Morning," and in fact not getting what she wants until the season finale, "Three Rooms."

Brother Simon. Note the demonic right eye.

But within the Friars of Ascension cult there are those already merged together as a union of human and demon - whom are called the integrated - and Brother Simon is one such individual. Brother Simon is a priest of the Catholic Church who has, long ago, betrayed his vows in order to gain power in this world under Satan and his host (we don't know how long ago but it has been at least six years). Simon has used his position to infiltrate the Church and find those priests disaffected enough by their present lot to want to serve the Friars in their plot to murder Pope Sebastian. Indeed, it is Brother Simon who reveals to Father Marcus that the Friars have approached Sebastian before only to be turned down and sent packing. Though Simon is integrated with a powerful demon he is not among the most powerful, and is made to submit himself to the authority of Pazuzu when confronted by him in Angela's body. Simon takes it upon himself to assassinate Pope Sebastian but is killed by Marcus before he's able to complete his mission.

There is one other whom we know for sure is among the integrated within the Friars of Ascension, Police Chief Jaffey. We have no other name for him. However, he was assimilated into the demonic brotherhood in "Star of the Morning" and has plotted alongside Simon and Maria since then to undermine the Rance's efforts to find Casey when she goes missing in the story. In fact he enters the Rance's home before his integration in the service of the Friars in an effort to pretend to help them find their missing relative while covertly gathering information on Casey's whereabouts. He does it a second time once Angela is repossessed by Pazuzu, by which time he too is possessed. The two demonic kinsmen recognize each other and play off the Rances' ignorance of the fact. We don't know what other purposes Jaffey may serve at this point. But we do know he goes on to continue plotting with the now-integrated Maria Walters at the end of the season finale and will, more than likely, be back in season two.  

The League of Light Aimed at the Friars' Conspiracy

Though the wrong may appear to be very strong and have many great allies in high authority to support its agenda, there is a league of light standing up to oppose its malice. Of course Tomas, Marcus, and Bennett form the nucleus of that league along with the Rance family as quasi-honorary members. But there are those who are in more direct combat against the forces of darkness in this story and whom deserve recognition.

Mother Bernadette

One such intrepid soul is Mother Bernadette who is the mother superior of a convent of nuns located in Chicago (incidentally where the series takes place in case you weren't aware). Bernadette's methodology of dealing with the forces of Satan is somewhat unique in the story. Where Marcus' actions are to compel and coerce the demon from a human host, Bernadette's is to
demonstrate God's love and forgiveness toward a fallen angel. It is a rather interesting position for her to take as a professional exorcist, one I have never really heard of as genuine, but in the TV show it actually does work as revealed in "The Moveable Feast." In a way Bernadette becomes something of a mentor to Marcus, teaching him another way rather than compulsion to invoke a demon's cooperation in releasing a human being from its control. Unfortunately Bernadette's ways are ineffective on the demon inside Casey after she is found and brought to the nuns' priory, and in the end, Bernadette decides to no longer participate in Marcus' effort to exorcise Pazuzu from Casey. Instead, she decides to euthanize Casey to stop the demon from continuing to torture Casey and destroy her body. Marcus naturally disagrees with this position and at first refuses to participate. But, just before they are about to carry out the action, Casey is spared death when her mother enters the priory along with Henry and Katherine after Tomas informs them that Casey is alive and tells them where she is.

Sadly, in a future string of events, Bernadette is killed by Pazuzu after he reclaims control over Angela's body in "The Griefbearers" and seeks revenge upon her and her nuns later in the followup episode "162" for their role in what the demon regards as his own torture when they try to exorcise him. She was a character who I believe died too soon in the series, but one portrayed with strength and brilliance overall. She will be missed.

Cherry and Lester Rego

The other dynamic duo in this league of light against the darkness is the married couple Lester and Cherry Rego. We learn of the Regos' association with Father Marcus where their knowledge of Catholic and occult lore becomes readily apparent. It is they who turn Marcus (and later Bennett) on to the vocare pulvere ritual and how Maria Walters is involved through the defunct company Tattersal Landscaping, which her money finances, and how it is all connected to the Friars of Ascension. Together, they help Marcus and Bennett flesh out how deep the conspiracy against the Church goes and who some of the key players are. Lester and Cherry are dogged in their investigations, even when Marcus tells them to back off, and pursue their leads all the way to finding out where Brother Simon and other members of the Friars of Ascension are and when they're planning to carry out their assassination attempt against Pope Sebastian. Unfortunately this gets them killed before the first season ends.

In a way Lester and Cherry remind me of the Lone Gunmen from The X-Files. Like that trio, Lester and Cherry are the backup for Marcus and Bennett, supplying them with inside information and insight, just as Frohike, Byers, and Langly were to Mulder and Scully during the life of that series. And like Lester and Cherry, those three die before The X-Files reaches its conclusive tenth season. But Lester and Cherry don't even make it to the end of the first, so let's hope whoever replaces them in season two of The Exorcist are just as cool as they were. The Regos, like Mother Bernadette, in my opinion, went way too soon.

An Appeal

The Exorcist has not yet been renewed for a second season as of its first-year finale. There are those of us who would without doubt love to see this show get another season! Personally, I have not found a program I enjoyed so much since... well probably since Star Wars: The Clone Wars was on television. Admittedly I am not much of a TV watcher, so when I do invest in a program it's because I really, really like it. And The Exorcist has undoubtedly been worth such investment. It has a marvelous cast - and I really, truly mean that! - great writing, and a vision of where it wants to go and lead its viewing audience. This is the type of storytelling modern television needs more of!

So how can you help let the executives at Fox know you'd like to see more of this series? Well, first be aware that they are in fact listening to fans of the show who've already told Fox they want another season of The Exorcist. Beyond that, though, what those who still want to have an impact can do is use the influence of social media to show Fox that there is a sizable and growing fan base out there who know quality TV when they see it and are willing to invest their time, not simply to watch, but to help garner notoriety by active participation in a series' growth.

So what can you do beyond watching The Exorcist?

Tweet about it. Get on your twitter feeds and write positive comments about how the show, the actors, the plot, etc, have made you feel. Has it caused you to think more about religion? Increased your curiosity about human psychology and interpersonal relationships? Has it caused you to want to know more about demonic possession? Oooooh. Well, "you little stink pot," let Fox know so they can see your devotion.

Second, become involved in the online community who support and love the show. #RenewTheExorcist and #theexorcistcongregation are two excellent twitter feeds of fans working to bring greater exposure and renewal of the story for another season.

Also, make your own videos to post to the Net be they on YouTube or some other platform. I've done so. In fact, The Exorcist is the first show I decided to record regular video reviews on each episode, some of them in multiple parts. Fox keeps tabs on these, people! And they note the reactions the show is getting from these individual reviews. Some of you may even be so inclined to make your own spinoff movies for others to view on the Internet. Do so and let the world see your interest!

Write Fox to thank them for producing such a quality series and for having the foresight to let the show's creators bring their vision to life in their own way without a lot of obstacles standing in the way. And, if you're so inclined, write an old-fashioned printed letter in the same sentiment. Yes, those old handwritten (or typed) letters still carry weight and significance! Perhaps you might even decide to join the Red Feather campaign.

Finally, jump on Fox's website and watch the series, post comments there, and share the show links with your friends.

Get creative and I, like you, have faith that we'll eventually see The Exorcist back for another stunning year!

A Bloody Good Show Indeed

I truly enjoyed watching The Exorcist from beginning to end. It provoked thought, curiosity, and questions about the role of religion and faith in my personal life and in the life of society. It linked me up with others who had a similar interest in the series and broadened my outreach. And it was quite refreshing to watch a solid story on TV that did not insult my desire for deep, considered material by substituting mindlessness and gratuitous dribble that refused to tackle serious issues, particularly with respect to religion, by sugarcoating them or shying away from them altogether. And so I commend this story to you and hope you'll join me in helping to renew and becoming a fan of The Exorcist.



Until next time...


To the upward reach of man.