THE OUTSIDER (S1E6) “The One About the Yiddish Vampire”: Evil Takes Various Forms
The Outsider started as a bleak crime mystery series still somewhat grounded in reality. Even when the Peterson clan met a brutal fate, their deaths seemingly stemmed from the erratic rhythm of grief. But as the episodes went by, and Holly Gibney (Cynthia Erivo) uncloaked a trail of child murderer cases that appeared startlingly connected, a cycle of woe was revealed.
Last week left us with an immensely petrified Jeannie Anderson (Mare Winningham), who was visited and threatened by the hooded figure. She also went as far as to sketch the figure she saw and give it to Ralph (Ben Mendelsohn), and lo and behold, Jeannie’s sketch matches the boy’s sketch of the man who stole the van in Dayton. Holly, on the other hand, is on her way back to inform Ralph and the others of what she found.
In “The One About the Yiddish Vampire”, It’s Holly Versus Everyone
After a few more endearingly awkward conversations with Andy Katcavage (Derek Cecil), the former detective who helped Holly with her case, Holly Gibney is on a bus back home to confront Ralph, Glory Maitland (Julianne Nicholson), Alec Pelley (Jeremy Bobb), Yunis Sablo (Yul Vazquez), and Howard Salomon (Bill Camp) about what she discovered. While on the bus, she witnesses a vision of Tracey, the infected cousin of Heath Hofstadter, which causes her to scream at the bus driver and almost cause a crash. Holly gets picked up at the bus station by Detective Jack Hoskins (Marc Menchaca), who is keen on getting any information about the case before she shares it with the group. Holly refrained from doing so. Eventually, Holly’s called into a room to advise an unsuspecting audience.
As expected, the presentation doesn’t go down well. Glory is furious and storms out of the room. Jeannie, Alec Pelley, and Yunis Sablo are more open to discussing the possibility of a supernatural force, but slightly afraid to admit to it completely. Howard immediately disregards the theory. And Ralph is skeptical but also can’t come up with a logical explanation.
No one really offers Holly support during the presentation. If Holly was just a PI they grabbed from the streets, then yeah, it’s probably best not to believe her. But most of these characters — Howard and Alec, more specifically — know Holly, and how respected she is as a PI. That said, when supernatural discourse enters the conversation, especially from an authority figure of some sort, I understand how someone would be frustrated or angry.
Thinking Jack is straying out of line, El Coco is channeling its wrath against Jack’s disobedience by taking the shape of his abusive mother. “Heya, Jackie-boy!”, this elderly woman screams, right before she jumps across the room and tackles Jack. This brutal beatdown is the shapeshifter’s way of sending a message. Menchaca shows genuine fear and panic in this scene, as tears fall from his face, and director Karyn Kusama deftly collates the show’s tense score with dizzying close-up shots. The entire scene is very Stephen King, for better and for worse.
For so long, El Coco, the malefic entity that feeds on the grief of its victims, has been a subtle and lurking presence. We heard it threaten Jeannie, and the sketches have shown us enough about what it may look like. However, when it took on the disguise of Jack’s mother, El Coco’s signature stillness and ambiguity now may be an enticing feature from the past. Moving forward, it’s safe to say that the horror will be more glaring.
After Jeannie finds out that her drawing of the man who visited their house is similar to the boy’s drawing of the man who stole the van, she has the Maitland girl describe the man who visited her at night, and she’ll sketch it. The similarities are there. When Holly comes to stay at Ralph and Jeannie’s house, she asks Ralph if he dusted for prints, which will imply somebody did meet with Jeannie that night. He hasn’t, so Holly ultimately takes action. Holly ends up finding residue all over the chair, quite possibly the same substance that was on Terry Maitland’s clothes, which were originally found in the barn.
Glory Maitland is beginning to think her husband may be guilty of killing the Peterson boy, which only means that she won’t even bother to hear out Holly. The end of the episode, however, is what lures us back in. When a disfigured and swollen Jack Hoskins tells Holly that he unearthed new evidence, they both drive to the woods. But unsure of Jack’s true intent, she deliberately drops something in the car, only to see that Jack has the same infection as Tracey. Holly now knows that Jack works for El Coco. Now that’s a cliffhanger.
What Does All Of This Mean For Holly?
Personally, I do not think Holly will die. That said, it would make sense that her death, or even a near-death experience, will be Ralph’s wake-up call. Cynthia Erivo is simply so good as Holly Gibney, killing her off would be disappointing. As Richard Price (The Night Of & The Wire) steps down as a writer, Jessie Nickson-Lopez (Stranger Things) takes his place to handle the transition to a more overtly supernatural approach. After all, Price is more in tune with crime stories, and Nickson-Lopez has had experience in more sci-fi oriented tales. It remains unclear how this will impact the tone and pace of the series.
The closer we get to understand El Coco’s motives, the less we know about its actual power. For starters, how much power does the demon wield? Because of its lightweight projection, can it physically attack someone? How does it know about Jack’s abusive mother, and that it would cause Jack immeasurable fear? Maybe these questions will never be answered. We are dealing with human characters, above all.
The Action Picks Up In Episode 6 Of The Outsider
Episode 6 of The Outsider is a step in the right direction. Of course, a part of me is anxious that the series will go full-on It: Chapter 2, but the intoxicating dread and craft continue to permeate the show’s structure. Ending on a cliffhanger, the series yanks you back in. There’s so much punctilious set-up; a rewarding payoff must be around the corner.
Are you all caught up on The Outsider? What are your thoughts on the recent episode? Let us know in the comments!
The Outsider is available to watch on HBO every Sunday at 8.
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