After last week, Kyle decided to give up on his mission with Reverend Anderson. The two continued to butt heads. This week’s Outcast episode opened with Anderson frantically going over old tapes of his exorcisms. Individuals miraculously claimed the devil had left them. Anderson must’ve felt ashamed for being tricked so easily. This episode shared a title with the second issue, titled “From the Shadow It Watches“. For a majority of the episode, the show stood on its own plots.
Despite all his failures, Anderson continued his arrogance. Anderson even revealed he only performed “exorcisms” for the praise. Seemingly jealous of Kyle’s ability, Anderson told Patricia McCready that Kyle believed he was special. When Caleb was possessed, Anderson tried to prove his point that Kyle wasn’t special by exorcising Caleb himself. Anderson fended Kyle off when he helped exorcise Caleb. Had Kyle stood aside as he was told, it may have been the end of him. Anderson has a hubris which will be his own downfall, luckily he has Kyle on his side. “If we’re gonna do this together, we do it my way. Or we don’t do it at all.” Hopefully, Anderson listens as nothing he has tried has worked.
We are closing in on Giles’ investigation with Ogden. Mark interrogated a girl whose DNA matched a nail they found in the camper. After the girl was released, she went to Ogden’s house, notifying him the cops knew about the camper. The most intriguing part was near the conclusion of the episode. After Mildred passed away, Giles scanned through her house. There, Giles found a photo of a couple standing in front of a camper very similar to the one Ogden burnt.
We continued to learn what a bad person Donnie is. Donnie continued to claim he was in town to sell tires. Donnie then revealed he was on his way out of town when he was attacked by Mark. Megan was then told by Donnie that he could brain damage and seizures for the remainder of his life. This is where Donnie’s bad side kicked in. Donnie told Megan he could get a lawyer. The other alternative was that he had too many drinks and got into a fight with some locals, claiming he never got a good look at their faces. Clearly, that alternative would’ve come at a cost, one that Megan doesn’t want to pay, and it’s a cost that definitely doesn’t involve money.
Top moment
The final scene of the episode was iconic to the comic. Anderson received a visit from Sidney. From there, Sidney revealed he is aware of Anderson understanding who he is. Sidney proceeded to mark Anderson with an inverted pentagram as a warning. While it was great to finally see this happen, it may have been better if it ended as a season cliffhanger, as it was at the conclusion of the first arc of the comic.
Differences from the comic
Mildred’s death was quite a big deviance from the comic. In Robert Kirkman’s comic, Mildred never attacked Kyle to feed off him. In the show, this led to Sidney disposing of her, as the former needed Kyle unharmed. Mildred, as a matter of fact, has recently made her return in Kirkman’s comic. Mildred will indeed be missed. Grace Zabriskie did a spectacular job playing the role.
The moment between Anderson and Sidney had a couple differences. Sidney made it clear on his identity in the comics, claiming he has many names. While Anderson was marked, the son of a parishioner watched from outside. In the source material, there were no witnesses to this moment.
“but the rest of the world don’t operate on your timeline”. Can’t help to think this quote by Megan was also a nod to how Cinemax’s timeline differs from Kirkman’s comic. For example, the final scene of the episode occurred at the conclusion of the sixth issue. On Cinemax’s adaption, it occurred after Sherry’s exorcism, which happened in the ninth issue of the comic.
For more information on Outcast, check out the Outcast Wiki, home to articles regarding both the comics and the television series.
