‘The Exorcist’ Boss Leaks More Twists That May Tear Everyone Apart

This article contains spoilers for The Exorcist.

As the first season of The Exorcist picks back up, the series moves forward with that shocking twist from the previous episode and reveals just how the family of Regan MacNeil is involved with the events now transpiring in the television series. The Exorcist creator, Jeremy Slater, shares how this development intertwines with the Salesmen and also with the Friars of Ascension to develop a menacing threat that seeks to spread evil beyond this one family. As Slater reveals details about the remaining episodes of The Exorcist, he suggests that things may not end well for some.

The Exorcist Showrunner Says The Friars Of Ascension Are Not Quite What Fans Suspect

One of the biggest mysteries facing fans of The Exorcist has to do with a seemingly odd, out-of-place story arc that has been developing from the debut of the series, but, as Slater tells Entertainment Weekly, the isolated home invasions and scenes of organ harvesting have a very specific bearing on the main theme. As fans saw in this week’s episode, the Friars of Ascension are behind it all, but not for the reasons most horror fans might suspect.

There will be no devil worship. No Satanism.

On the contrary, Jeremy reveals that The Exorcist is exploring a different kind of cult, setting up the Friars of Ascension as disciples of the early angels, those mythical creatures who were rumored to have been the first to turn their backs on God and his great plan. While there isn’t any worship of Satan on behalf of these friars, The Exorcist showrunner does reveal that there are black masses and human sacrifices.

“It’s not a dark, disturbing ceremony. In a lot of ways, it’s very beautiful and open and loving,” says The Exorcist creator. “It just so happens that the ceremony requires ashes harvested from a human victim. It’s the only little flaw in an otherwise very nice ceremony.”

Demons Will Once Again Threaten To Tear Apart The Family

The Exorcist creator also spoke with Variety, stressing the idea that the real focus is on the MacNeil/Rance family and how this new episode of demonic activity may rip open old wounds and tear the family apart for good. It’s a psychological horror drama that really tears at the emotions of the viewers, as much as The Exorcist characters, and Slater suggests it works well by playing on the current state of our society in the real world.

“Every time you turn on the news, there’s something terrible happening or someone terrible saying something. There are a lot of people out there that are understandably frightened by that,” says The Exorcist boss. “Part of the appeal of genre is to say, ‘You know what, you’re right. There are dark forces at work in the world and maybe that’s the reason the world is a scary place sometimes.'”

While The Exorcist does play on the darkness in our world and the ways in which it seems to infect every aspect of our lives, Slater says there’s also a message of hope to be seen in the show. Where there’s evil, there must also be good.

“But the flip side of that is saying that there are still good people out there that are still agents of light who are there to push back against the darkness, which is a comforting thought.”

Going back to the MacNeil and Rance family, Jeremy says emotions will be heavily factored into the second half of The Exorcist‘s first season. Already, there are still scars left over from the story of The Exorcist film, issues with which Regan and Chris MacNeil still have to deal. On top of that, the coming events will create a situation in which the family may be torn completely apart.

“This is going to be a major storyline playing out in the second half of the season, this question of whether mother and daughter will reunite, whether this family can come back together in the face of this unspeakable tragedy, or whether they’ll just get torn apart all over again, like they did 40 years ago.”

The Exorcist airs Fridays on Fox.

[Featured Image by Fox]