ons of Belial
ons of Belial
When an investigation puts Nick in the midst of an exorcism ritual, he is overtaken by an evil so powerful, even Lacroix is powerless against the demon. Only a new exorcism, replete with the very religious paraphernalia every vampire abhors, can rid Nick of this evil.
A lot of the supernatural events on this episode were just a bit too definitive for my taste. In previous ones, like "Blackwing" and "Near Death", Nick's strange experiences were pretty much internal. He often gained some knowledge or insight through them, or have been changed, but Nat could always explain it away as hallucinations created by the subconscious. But this time, even Nat seems to believe it was real, since at the end of the episode, she says "hey, you beat the devil" rather than coming up with alternate explanations. It's like if there were an episode of the "X Files" where they safely retrieve proof of aliens without it being covered up -- it would ruin the show.
Why, for example, do we have to see Tracy touching the book of exorcisms, leaping back, and a cold breeze going through the room? And the strange problems at the precinct when Nick seems to be having a fit couldn't possibly all be coincidence, could they?
Just possibly, the "demon" is all in Nick's mind: his guilty conscience tormenting him, just as it did in "Curiouser and Curiouser". He has hallucinations of people standing in front of his car, of voices laughing at him and things smashing in his apartment. He seems to lose control over his vampiric urges. He even takes on another personality (complete with deep voice). And, just maybe, Vanderwal's exorcism either lured Nick into this altered state, or simply provided a convenient vessel for his temporary madness. With phrases like "if evil took up permanent residence in Toronto, so would I", Vanderwal could, just possibly, be a clever con man. Even Tracy thought that Vanderwal was a fake.
Unfortunately I can't completely buy this line of reasoning. LaCroix seems to have been at least partially convinced that Nick was posessed by something. Natalie bought it a little too readily, but even she believed it. And all of the "too definitive" events I mentioned above lend credence to Nick actually being posessed by some sort of demon.
I did, however, like the flashback.
You'd think that if the exorcism of Steven were real, it would have had more of an effect on Nick, what with all of the crosses, religious paraphenalia, and chants. But Nick seemed no more disturbed than Tracy -- a bit disgusted, but not physically tormented. In earlier seasons (and even in the opening credits) we see Nick having violent reactions to crosses and the like... but suddenly he's barely affected by them.
Towards the end of Nick's exorcism, both he and LaCroix are staggering under the words, and in the flashback the two of them were almost powerless under the onslaught of biblical readings, but the effects of the first exorcism were negligible. And I don't think it's a question of who was the focus of the words, either, because of their reaction near the end of the exorcism.
Come to think of it, why did LaCroix take Nick to the exorcist? Surely he didn't believe Nick really needed to go there. Nick's actions, although a lot less restrained than before, weren't that unnatural. If anything, they were much more normal (for a vampire) than they had been for decades. LaCroix should have been quite pleased.
Nick's exorcism was quite odd, too. It seemed to have failed utterly, when Nick tossed LaCroix across the room, hurt Vanderwal (somehow), and attacked Natalie. But then suddenly he realizes he's about to hurt Nat, restrains himself, and drives the demon out? Uh, huh. Vanderwal's explanation that "for the devil to be driven out, one must first believe that god has not abandoned the soul" just seemed a bit hokey. After all, there's no way the exorcism was going to do that -- all they could have been doing is attacking the demon with scripture. And his claim that Nick really does have faith (in god, it is assumed) also seems dubious. Especially when, as Nick noted at the end, these events had "set me back a bit" (in terms of regaining mortality). If he truly had regained his lost faith, it would doubtless have helped, rather than hindered, him.
But I will accept that these events brought him back more to the vampiric side. Much of this season, in fact, has been a slow decline back to his old ways. It's as if Nick has given up, and is merely keeping up appearances with Natalie. I'm not sure where the turning point came; I'd like to think that it was after "Near Death", when he decided that he needed to atone more before he could "repay society for his sins". But that would mean he needs to do more good, rather than to act more like a vampire. Perhaps it was the loss of so many close friends at the beginning of the season. After all, I was quite surprised by his sudden decision to stay after he had decided it was time to move on.
Now for some random comments, as I am often wont to do... ;-)
Was there any relevance in the synchronicity at the beginning of the episode between the music and the suicide? Or was the timing of the final cymbal clash and the car exploding just a nice artistic touch?
And what's with the convenience store robber suddenly asking god for forgiveness and shooting himself, after reacting to Nick in a most bizarre way?
What did LaCroix mean when he warned the female vampire not to "breathe a word of this to anyone else" after finding her with Nick?
Episode rating (0 to 10): 1
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