Outcast Season 1 Episode 2
The emotional journey of tortured soul Kyle Barnes continues in the second episode of Outcast as he takes a bold step towards cleansing his soul by attempting to rescue that of his mother. Centered around the events of his childhood and his present desire to gain some sort of redemption for a perceived sin against his mother, the plot of “(I Remember) When She Loved Me” follows Kyle as he sets out to recreate the past hoping to cast out remnants of the demon he believes still resides inside his mother Sarah. The episode opens with what may be the moment the demon enters Kyle’s mother. What begins as a sunny, carefree day, mother hanging laundry and son playing ball, ends with Sarah smearing herself with mud before shoving chunks of earth into her mouth. But he can’t let go of the fact that Joshua seems to have recovered, so Kyle visits his catatonic mother at a nursing home where we’re presented alternating flashbacks of a happy childhood punctuated by the horror of the possession. Distraught at the condition of his mother’s room, he spirits her away in the night planning to care for her at home. The futility of this heartbreaking gesture becomes immediately apparent when he attempts to feed his mother, and while his intentions are pure, he’s doomed to fail. However, Kyle has a plan. Before going further though, we can’t overlook Patricia (Melinda McGraw), one of Reverend Anderson’s “righteous army,” who obviously harbors carnal feelings for the man of God. There’s nothing subtle about the foreshadowing here when he remarks “You really are the temptress. How can I resist,” as she shows him the blackberry pie she baked for dessert. Patricia certainly seems motivated to hook up with the good reverend, but it may simply be an attempt to lure him away from his true calling. Regardless, there’s a lot to like about her character and a lot to question. At this point Patricia’s unable to prevent Reverend Anderson from abruptly leaving after requesting a rain check, but it’s only a matter of time until his faith will be tested. We’re finally given something to feel good about when we learn the party Megan (Wrenn Schmidt) and her daughter are going to is for Kyle’s daughter, and the gift wrapping now makes sense. It also leads us to revisit Anderson’s admonition to Kyle regarding his family, but given what we’ve seen to this point, it seems improbable that Kyle will abandon his mother even knowing that might be the only way to reconnect with his wife and child. Kyle returns home to find a scrap of the wrapping paper on his doorstep with the note “Amber loved her present” written on the inside marking the first time we see Kyle smile which makes this scene even more poignant since we sense this moment will be fleeting. The camera then cuts to his daughter asleep on the couch clutching the Homer Price book when his ex wife looks on and seems to recognize the book’s origins. What does the book mean to Kyle, and will Allison contact the authorities since the gift violates the restraining order? All of this comes on the heels of Kyle’s wife welcoming Megan who seems surprised she was even invited. She tells her that for awhile she let Amber set three places at dinner. This concession helped with the screaming and outbursts and locking herself in the closet. What did Kyle do to his wife and daughter? “(I Remember) When She Loved Me” picks up where the pilot leaves off, and while it’s a concern that the writers don’t try to explore too many storylines and bog us down with exposition, at this point there remains a harmony among the elements. Director Howard Deutch continues the effective technique of lulling us into a comfort zone with scenes of Kyle and his mother, and then assaulting us with high definition, high fidelity audio of their tragic past. And what continues to fascinate revolves around the fact that we don’t yet have a solid read on any of the characters including and especially Kyle. No one can accuse Outcast of playing it safe or backing off the accelerator, and if the first two episodes are any indication, we’re in for a hell of a ride.
