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The Exorcist S1
I've now finished S1 of The Exorcist.
In the hopes of luring more people into the fandom, I've put in a couple of images :
" alt='Father Marcus in a rumpled white shirt with a purple stole draped over it' />
That's Father Marcus facing the camera, with Father Tomas facing him. I find the rumpled white shirt + purple stole + religious symbols worn almost as jewellery + his amazing, worn, joli-laid face adds up to a disturbingly hot combination.
I expect someone has already written the AU in which Marcus is actually John Constantine.
" alt='Father Marcus stands behind Father Tomas, who is in clericals, helping him put on his priest's collar' />
And here Father Marcus helps Father Tomas put on his collar. As one does. Apologies for Tomas's ridiculous grimace--he's making a funny face throughout this otherwise glorious moment because he's worried.
" alt='A similar image to the previous one, from the same scene' />
Slightly less funny face here.
"Are they always like that?" I hear you asking. Yes, they are pretty much always in each other's space and quite often looking at each other soulfully.
Okay, now comes the spoilery bits :
I pretty much think the show is awesome, and not only for the slashiness. It's an interesting case of a really trashy premise that is then elaborated on with a great deal of artistry. It's a bit like Hannibal in that sense--not on the same level, because I think Hannibal at its best is transcendent, but it's a very well-made show. The writing almost always avoids clichés and can be surprisingly fresh, even the minor characters and the baddies have depth and nuance, the acting is really first-rate, and the show as a whole feels respectful of the audience, if that makes sense. The script doesn't overexplain (the Renfield references in the season finale are a good example) and, despite the fundamentally Christian worldview, it's not dogmatic and it's willing to let moral questions be questions, unanswered.
Plus, you know, two canonically queer characters whose queerness is presented matter-of-factly, and a character of color in the lead role and one in a prominent supporting role, and a lot of women doing important things (and one of them's a fat woman! and her being fat is not the point of her character, it's just a fact!).
And of course, slashy slashy slashy. I think Marcus and Tomas are incapable of looking at each other except in a meltingly soulful way. Even when it's demon!Marcus. I hope they have more screentime together next season; they were separated quite a lot in this one. I even find myself wishing for the show to be just a little less arc-y and more episodic, because I would love to see some lighter episodes where Tomas and Marcus go around being exorcismsoulmates buddies soulmates, having adventures and rescuing people.
I'm still a little uncomfortable with the Christian worldview. I'm trying to think of it as just a mythology the show is using for its own purposes, but of course Christianity isn't just any mythology; it's one with a lot of power in my culture and whose effects I consider to be often (not always) very harmful. And yet . . . I used to be a Christian and I'm still drawn to certain aspects of it, and in those moments where Tomas's or especially Marcus's faith is the focus, I find that mythology working on me quite strongly.
I'd like to see some of the specific negative effects of Christianity in general or Catholicism in particular addressed, though. Especially homophobia, because that has got to weigh on Marcus's mind a lot. I find myself a bit torn, because on the one hand I do think it's great that we have this queer hero priest and the show itself never questions his right to be all of those things. But on the the other hand, I do think the show wants to gloss over how Catholic theology and institutions oppress queer people (and women) and instead put all the blame for that on the demons. I'd like to see Marcus struggling with the church's homophobia--I think it's pretty well established that the church, in his mind, is a separate thing from God, but it must still rankle to serve (and then be excommunicated by!) an institution that rejects a fundamental part of his identity.
(And yeah, I know that official Catholic doctrine has for some years been that there's nothing wrong with being gay/bi, it's only if you actually have same-sex sex that you're a disgusting sinner. But the Catholic church has pretty consistently thrown its weight behind attempts to deny gay people basic civil rights like protection from job discrimination, so color me unconvinced.)
Anyway, I'm really hoping there's good fanfic about Marcus. As soon as I'm caught up on the show I'll go and have a look.
In the hopes of luring more people into the fandom, I've put in a couple of images :
" alt='Father Marcus in a rumpled white shirt with a purple stole draped over it' />That's Father Marcus facing the camera, with Father Tomas facing him. I find the rumpled white shirt + purple stole + religious symbols worn almost as jewellery + his amazing, worn, joli-laid face adds up to a disturbingly hot combination.
I expect someone has already written the AU in which Marcus is actually John Constantine.
" alt='Father Marcus stands behind Father Tomas, who is in clericals, helping him put on his priest's collar' />And here Father Marcus helps Father Tomas put on his collar. As one does. Apologies for Tomas's ridiculous grimace--he's making a funny face throughout this otherwise glorious moment because he's worried.
" alt='A similar image to the previous one, from the same scene' />Slightly less funny face here.
"Are they always like that?" I hear you asking. Yes, they are pretty much always in each other's space and quite often looking at each other soulfully.
Okay, now comes the spoilery bits :
I pretty much think the show is awesome, and not only for the slashiness. It's an interesting case of a really trashy premise that is then elaborated on with a great deal of artistry. It's a bit like Hannibal in that sense--not on the same level, because I think Hannibal at its best is transcendent, but it's a very well-made show. The writing almost always avoids clichés and can be surprisingly fresh, even the minor characters and the baddies have depth and nuance, the acting is really first-rate, and the show as a whole feels respectful of the audience, if that makes sense. The script doesn't overexplain (the Renfield references in the season finale are a good example) and, despite the fundamentally Christian worldview, it's not dogmatic and it's willing to let moral questions be questions, unanswered.
Plus, you know, two canonically queer characters whose queerness is presented matter-of-factly, and a character of color in the lead role and one in a prominent supporting role, and a lot of women doing important things (and one of them's a fat woman! and her being fat is not the point of her character, it's just a fact!).
And of course, slashy slashy slashy. I think Marcus and Tomas are incapable of looking at each other except in a meltingly soulful way. Even when it's demon!Marcus. I hope they have more screentime together next season; they were separated quite a lot in this one. I even find myself wishing for the show to be just a little less arc-y and more episodic, because I would love to see some lighter episodes where Tomas and Marcus go around being exorcism
I'm still a little uncomfortable with the Christian worldview. I'm trying to think of it as just a mythology the show is using for its own purposes, but of course Christianity isn't just any mythology; it's one with a lot of power in my culture and whose effects I consider to be often (not always) very harmful. And yet . . . I used to be a Christian and I'm still drawn to certain aspects of it, and in those moments where Tomas's or especially Marcus's faith is the focus, I find that mythology working on me quite strongly.
I'd like to see some of the specific negative effects of Christianity in general or Catholicism in particular addressed, though. Especially homophobia, because that has got to weigh on Marcus's mind a lot. I find myself a bit torn, because on the one hand I do think it's great that we have this queer hero priest and the show itself never questions his right to be all of those things. But on the the other hand, I do think the show wants to gloss over how Catholic theology and institutions oppress queer people (and women) and instead put all the blame for that on the demons. I'd like to see Marcus struggling with the church's homophobia--I think it's pretty well established that the church, in his mind, is a separate thing from God, but it must still rankle to serve (and then be excommunicated by!) an institution that rejects a fundamental part of his identity.
(And yeah, I know that official Catholic doctrine has for some years been that there's nothing wrong with being gay/bi, it's only if you actually have same-sex sex that you're a disgusting sinner. But the Catholic church has pretty consistently thrown its weight behind attempts to deny gay people basic civil rights like protection from job discrimination, so color me unconvinced.)
Anyway, I'm really hoping there's good fanfic about Marcus. As soon as I'm caught up on the show I'll go and have a look.
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I'm afraid that just makes me go "why the hell are you doing that?" There may be a good reason for it in canon, but it strikes me as a slightly bizarre thing to do - you only put a stole on for ritual purposes.
On the other hand, the collar fastening thing makes sense, and actually particularly if Tomas is worried, because they are a pig to put on and it only gets worse if you're stressed.
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I'm not denying that the show plays fast and loose with actual Catholic doctrine and practice, but it's not completely random.
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*That wasn't why they were terrible. They were incoherently plotted and poorly characterized and homophobic and deeply right-wing in their morality despite some superficial liberalism. Nevertheless, an exorcism would have been an improvement over "Oh, something inexplicable and terrifying is happening yet again! I shall fix this by my time-tested method of doing absolutely nothing."
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