‘Outcast’ episode 3 review: When not all souls can be saved…

For the second episode of “Outcast” on Cinemax, we saw the writers tell a story that was a little bit softer and personal — though we say this well aware that this is a show that features demon possession / plenty of violence and we are very well convinced that it is meant to freak out out almost from start to finish.

There was quite a bit that the new episode airing on Friday night did correctly. Specifically, they did a great job with the presentation of Blake, someone who inserted some real tension and possibly even jealousy between Barnes and Anderson as it blurred the lines between being possessed and just being a horrible person. Was the evil within him really there to say? It’s hard to offer up a definite answer, but we can say with some confidence that this was a situation that was almost impossible to rectify in a single hour. The most effective part of it was Blake’s outright trolling of Anderson, riling him up over some alleged jealousy that he may have had that Kyle was the one with the powers, and he was just kind-of there as a figurehead. He also gave Kyle the “Outcast” name that stands as the title for the show.

As if Blake’s demon sticking around was not sad enough for you, we also had in this episode the death of Norville, and the return of Megan’s ex Donny … which isn’t good, mostly because he is an ex for a reason.

We’re not going to pretend that this hour was on part with the rather brilliant episode 2, since it’s not. The pacing here was a little slow given what we were getting in terms of story; there has to be a massive reward at the end to justify it. Still, “Outcast” remains incredibly creepy, and a fine example of a comic-book adaptation done right. Grade: B.

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