Last week, Holly Gibney (Cynthia Erivo) was in jeopardy, Ralph (Ben Mendelsohn) was really trying to contemplate the existence of a supernatural force, and Jack Hoskins (Marc Menchaca) was still unable to break away from El Coco’s control. With only three episodes left, The Outsider has been quite the Southern horror-mystery recipe.
Despite scaring off viewers with its deliberately unhurried pace and tedious encounters, the series has shown conviction to naturally summon the Stephen King-esque horror to life. And by that, I mean having the skeptical characters wrestle with the inexplicable in a variety of ways, and keeping the demonic El Coco creature from view — only ever showing us sketches and far glimpses of the deformed figure. Now the show is nearing its end, and I can’t help but fear that death awaits some of these characters, who finally come together in “Foxhead”, the eighth episode of the series.
In “Foxhead”, Claude Bolton Is In El Coco’s Crosshairs
The episode brings Claude Bolton (Paddy Considine) into focus. The concluding moments of last week’s episode showed us that Claude was leaving town. In “Foxhead”, he goes to Cecil, Tennessee in order to escape an uncanny situation he believes to be spiraling out of control. He also goes to Tennessee to visit his brother, Seale Bolton (Max Beesley), and he asks Seale if he can stay with him for a while.
Holly, Ralph, Yunis Sablo (Yul Vazquez), and Andy Katcavage (Derek Cecil) are also driving to Cecil, Tennessee to keep an eye on Claude in order to yield an alibi for him when El Coco pounces again. When El Coco strikes again, it’ll now be taking on the appearance of Claude. Holly ultimately thinks El Coco is in a debilitated state right now, chiefly because it had to claim another host before it fully transformed. Ralph uncovered the confounding dilemma of Terry being at two places at once, and that prompted an investigation. Because of this investigation, El Coco had to evade exposure by doing things more quickly than usual.
Thinking Claude is the next objective victim (seeing as how he was scratched by doppelgänger Terry the night of the Peterson murder), Holly, Ralph, Yunis, and Andy are on a mission to be worthy eyewitnesses when the malefic entity strikes again and saturates the crime scene with Claude’s DNA. Holly and Ralph ride together, and they compellingly talk about the supernatural and the inexplicable. Holly and Ralph’s partnership, or dare I say friendship, has not been an easy path, but they clearly appreciate each other’s ability to tackle any case with laudable dedication and perspective. Yunis and Andy ride together, and Yunis throws in a bit of levity by playing a prank on Andy: Yunis persuades Andy that Holly, his girlfriend, can predict when people are going to die. It’s a genuinely amusing moment in a show that’s been persistently lifeless in its grey-hued, ash-ridden portrayal of a town inflicted with evil.
Yunis calls ahead to have Claude detained in Tennessee. Not long after Claude is detained, his brother also makes a scene at the police station and is thrown in a cell. When Holly, Ralph, Yunis, and Andy arrive at the police station, they decide to tell Claude the truth, hoping he won’t freak out and refute the idea. Surprisingly, Claude doesn’t condemn the notion, and he tells them that he’s been feeling weird recently. The group remains at Seale’s place, keeping a watchful eye on Claude and any sign of El Coco.
The episode does occasionally switch between the group at Seale’s place, Alec Pelley (Jeremy Bobb) and Howard Salomon (Bill Camp) dealing with their own apprehension of this El Coco business, and a young boy in danger of El Coco’s murderous hunger. At an event called CaveStock, the nefarious Claude is wearing a mask and stalking a young boy named Sam. The vile Claude entices Sam by promising to take him to a cave (which is the kid’s unbounded obsession), but “fake” Claude is stopped in his tracks. When a video of the incident is posted online, the cops are able to get a glimpse of Claude under the mask. When cops show up to take Claude in for questioning, Ralph, Holly, Yunis, and Andy vouch for Claude, saying they were with him all night. After watching the video the cops used to lead them to Claude, Ralph at long last believes in the boogeyman.
Throughout the episode, there are a couple of moments where Jack must kill an innocent passerby and feed them to El Coco. We don’t see El Coco severing the body and consuming it, but we hear it — and those crunching sounds send shivers down one’s spine, including Jack’s, who is growing increasingly disgusted by what he’s doing for El Coco. But in the final scene of “Foxhead”, El Coco (who’s still in the form of Claude) is devouring a deer, and this time around, we get to briefly experience it.
El Coco Must Be Planning Something Bigger
When El Coco wore the face of Terry Maitland, it wanted to be seen, and it wanted Terry Maitland to be seen as the obvious suspect of the crime. Knowing what happened with the Terry Maitland case, El Coco’s attempt to kidnap Sam is out of character. If the kidnapping and murder were successful, and El Coco continued to wear a mask, there wouldn’t be any video footage of “Claude” being at the scene of the crime, just his DNA. But maybe El Coco has more in store for Claude Bolton.
In the course of this episode, there are a lot of character moments to admire. The short interaction between Ralph and Jeannie, and that warm hug they share which conveys how much they overcame as a couple who lost their kid. The road trip to Cecil, Tennessee was also strangely endearing, as it provided a consequential conversation between Ralph and Holly about the supernatural, and even a comical exchange between Yunis and Andy. Claude and Seale have a few brother-to-brother moments. And even Howard and Alec come along to offer support. Everyone comes together in this episode, just in time to face a threat that is now causing the local police of Cecil, TN to look into Claude Bolton, long before any child’s body is actually found. No one’s dead yet, but like trauma, death lingers.
The End Is Near In The Latest Episode Of The Outsider
With only two episodes left, the pace is beginning to pick up. Having spent so much time with Holly and Ralph (courtesy of the winning chemistry between Cynthia Erivo and Ben Mendelsohn), I simply adore the characters and the impossible questions they must fathom in order to halt this arcane evil. Obscurity and mystery aside, HBO’s The Outsider is about tackling the unexplainable and supernatural with a new perspective. It’s not easy to reflect on outrageous ideas that you know you wouldn’t support yourself, but sometimes it’s enlightening to do so when no other answers appear when looking through your own restricted perspective.
Will El Coco be stopped? Even if it was, is Glory’s quest for justice futile? It would be almost impractical to think that someone could convince a court that a supernatural force is responsible for Terry Maitland’s death. That said, maybe Claude can be saved, or this evil can be stopped from taking more lives.
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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