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Evil S2E9: “U Is for U.F.O.”

A pop-up book featuring a UFO.

Aliens! Evil continues to cover all of the bases with S2E9 “U Is for U.F.O.” as our heroes are sent by Bishop Marx to assess the credibility of an Air Force pilot sighting a foreign airborne object. This week is a tantalizingly X-Files-tinged episode that continues to show the Kings’ interest in exploring different styles with a show that is perfectly engineered for it.

Last week, I was dumbfounded by the corrosive goo that dripped through the Bouchard house while Kristen and Andy got it on. It was mentioned on a forum that this was another piece of evil Kristen brought home from her: the monestary. Of course! It’s the goo from the demon box! This makes sense, because along with the spiritual evil represented by the goo, Kristen also brought the sleep gags. Now I want to go back through and see what else has latched onto Kristen after her cases.

Anyway, Ben gets right to work correlating multiple UFO sightings at the same time, and strikes gold when he locates simultaneous sightings. Kristen is unsuccessful in getting any confirming information from the base’s Colonel, who states that the ability of average people in their garages to manufacture aircraft is the culprit. Ben, for his part, interviews a teenage girl who describes a similar experience of seeing an object rushing towards and then through her, though she concedes she smoked a lot of weed that night. Bishop Marx is comfortable with dropping the case, but Kristen and Ben remain curious.

Ben, Kristen and David sit in a boardroom.

The trio ends up talking to the other two Captains who may have seen the object, and while one of them immediately confirms that it was nothing, the other is unusually quiet. Ben discreetly hands the man his email address, urging him to contact him. Sure enough, Ben later receives an email with a video file of footage of the object. Kristen, David and Ben, while viewing the video at David’s quarters, are surprised to find a small commotion of unfamiliar priests making their way down the hallway. It turns out that the Vatican is indeed taking this matter very seriously, and the Captain who originally reported the sighting has been brought back in for further questioning by a man named Father Katagas. Katagas has a series of questions which seem to suggest he is following a lead from other similar events, right down to giving the Captain a series of scents that could be linked to her experience.

Father Katagas, when meeting the trio, confirms that there have been hundred of thousands of sightings. David asks whether the Vatican believes in alien life. “The Vatican believes in what exists,” he says. “And if it does exist, does it change the question of original sin?” He continues to wonder whether these supposed cosmic beings are free of original sin, or another opportunity of the missionaries of the Vatican to bring them into the faith? Man, the Church is nothing if not reliable, right?

Of course, there is a third option, and it further feeds into the paranoia and political mind games fueling the episode. Kristen is visited by a man claiming to be Edgar Loudermilk from the government, who states that the craft is neither alien nor supernatural, but rather Russian drone technology, and they must immediately discontinue their investigation. This is one of the first times in a while that the central case of the episode seems to actually have a resolution, and it works well for the X-Files angle the episode is going for.

Dr. Kurt is getting seriously suspicious. Right off the bat, he states that it is “ill-advised” that he provide therapy to Kristen and Andy as a couple, as this could be a “conflict of interest.” What interest would that be, Kurt? I’m on full Kurt Alert as of last episode, but he does appear to be doing his due diligence as Kristen attempts to diminish Andy’s claims that her heightened temper and assault of the jackass at the supermarket. However, when Dr. Kurt inquires about whether the Bouchard daughters have seen the video of the incident on YouTube, he responds to Kristen’s confusion by reminding her that she wanted her daughters to be “more proactive.” I’m curious as to how Kristen’s daughters being looped into her physically assaulting a stranger has anything to do with being proactive. I’m not going to make any assumptions right away but I’m gonna be keeping that in the Kurt Alert file in my head.

This was already hinted at in the trailers, but the angel that visited David earlier in the season is not a vision exclusive to him. A shaken Leland shows up at David’s quarters at night, stating he was visited by a “monster” as he was wearing the rosary. His crudely drawn image of the angel is very similar to the one David has drawn, and so far there doesn’t appear to be any way for Leland to have seen David’s drawing.

David's and Leland's drawings of the angel are eerily similar.

“Are you so worried about being conned that you’ll ignore a cry for help?” No, Leland. He is convinced he is being conned, which shows to be true shortly after during Leland’s next session with Goat Therapist. Here, we get some interesting information filled in about the two. Goat Therapist asks, while Leland was convincing in his lie, did he accidentally will himself into wanting an exorcism and have a genuine vision? Leland is indignant, and moreso when he sees Goat Therapist scribbling on a notepad. When asked what the “report” is for, Goat Therapst replies, “The Manager.” Who could this be?

Another mystery comes in the form of David, during a meditation, having a series of horrifying visions of death, murder, decay, and sin. It’s a seriously freaky little moment, and after jolting back to consciousness, David hears a strange whispering coming from his laptop. Ben takes a look and hears the same thing, and after opening it up sees a small pentagram carved on part of the motherboard. Ben and David guess that perhaps Leland has somehow planted a device in the computer.

After hastily scheduling a session with Dr. Kurt on account of her daughters starting to take after Kristen’s volatile temper, Kristen instead decides to sit down with David in a scene that really amplifies their chemistry, both as friends and potential sexual partners. It’s a good scene, and a relatively rare one with just the two of them being able to talk without any immediate thing pulling them away, and David has some very wise words about his rough upbringing, his affinity for the Church and how science never felt like it explained life. As he puts it, “It’s like having an instruction manual on how to build a bike, but after the bike is put together, it didn’t explain the bike.” He also has some kind words for Kristen, though he acknowledges he’s not sure how to help her. They end with a hug that both of them hold onto and definitely enjoy more than would be normal, and Kristen on the verge of tears asking David not to become a priest, because she would “miss him.”

So remember when everything was neatly tied up with the Russian drone? Well, that’s not entirely where we end up. In response to that report, the Vatican sends a man named Victor LeConte all the way from Rome. LeConte produces a picture of Loudermilk and flatly refutes the man’s claims. LeConte, instead, as cross-referenced everything and found that this object is related to something that some have called “The Entity.” LeConte says that the eyewitnesses have agreed to come with him to Rome for further questioning, and invites our trio as well.

LeConte smiles mysteriously at David.

Right away, LeConte is clearly hiding something. He’s got a very strange, almost, well, alien manner of speaking and acting, and doesn’t yield any information beyond the barest amount that he needs to. As David leans down to sign LeConte’s confidentiality agreement, what does he see poking out of a pocket of the briefcase but a brochure to RSM Fertility Clinic. Finally! Another RSM Fertility thread to grab onto! Its conspicuous placement causes David to ask whether he was meant to see that, to which LeConte replies with a small smile and “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Next thing we know, LeConte has decided to call it off, saying that Cassie and Asha confirmed they were lying. David asks whether The Entity is coming after RSM, and LeConte firmly says “no” and advises David to drop it. So either The Entity, RSM or both are somehow deeply involved in the highest levels of the Vatican. David declares he’s going to after RSM himself, without the Church, and enlists an eager Ben and Kristen to help him.

If that wasn’t enough, in their next session, Leland mentions that he’s done what Goat Therapist and has procured some blood—human blood. A skeptical Goat Therapist asks whose it is, and Leland replies, “Yours!” before suddenly swinging an axe and chopping the therapist’s head clean off! He then proceeds to begin spreading the blood on his face. I was so, so sure that the events of the second half of S1 confirmed Goat Therapist to be an actual demon, but if Leland refers to his blood as “human,” does that mean he’s actually not a demon? Is he a vision, and if so why is the vision shared by Leland and Kristen?

Sheryl, whose blood Leland had been begging for, shows up to Leland’s apartment to offer it. I don’t know what it is with Sheryl’s blood and Leland, but apparently these two were made for each other. Leland politely declines the blood because he suddenly already has some, but invites Sheryl to stay over for dinner. In the final moments, Leland is seasoning a big pot with a goat leg sticking out of it, Sheryl is holding her pocket knife and watching Leland as he enters the dining room with the food, and the last thing we see as the door swings shut is her sweet smile.

Leland is in his kitchen with fresh goat stew from Goat Therapist.

We’re back in full-speed “Don’t wake me up until Sunday” territory, folks. There was a ton going on this week, and even more going on that we only got a hint at. Especially in the last 20 minutes, there was so much setup for the remainder of the season, and it’s only going to get wackier from here.

Written by Hawk Ripjaw

Hawk Ripjaw has been sharing his opinion on film and TV since his early teens, when the local public library gave away prizes for submissions to their newsletter. Since then, he's been writing for local newspapers, international video game sites, booze-themed movie websites, and anywhere else he can throw around some media passion. He watched the Mike Myers Cat in the Hat movie over 50 times in two years, for science.

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