Too much of Father Bennett and Mouse while the exorcism of Andy isn't going well. It makes the narrative seem deliberately dragged out.
I'm still excited to see the season finale and am hoping the creative team gets a chance to do season 3. But the ratings don't seem to match the generally positive reviews.
I don't know what it is about this show, but it's starting to feel hollow. I like the characters of Tomas and Marcus and their dynamic, but I don't feel like we get a lot of what drives them to do what they are doing, other than "We're doing God's work" I just don't feel like it's enough motivation for our characters.
Look at The X Files, Mulder was a believer in the paranormal and was driven to find the truth behind the big alien conspiracy and why? Because his sister was abducted by aliens. He had motivation for what he was doing, that made us invested in him.
But Tomas and Marcus, lack a real connection to fighting demons other than "God's work"
Even the early seasons of Supernatural the brothers were driven by finding their father and avenging their mother.
The subplot of this season with Fr. Bennett feels like the writers are desperately trying to come up with a mystery to keep intrigue, but I feel like there really isn't anything there. It's a conspiracy of demons! What? We need more than that. What exactly does this conspiracy consist of? Demons killing exorcists, because they have bigger plans. It just feels like there is nothing really going on behind the scenes which they are desperately trying to make us think there is a bigger plot going on than there is.
I hear you on the motivation thing. Yet, these are priests. They have decided to make doing God's will their work. Even if they did that without grand reasons or grand expectations, once they're confronted by true evidence of the ultimate evil, it only makes sense that they become steadfast in their mission.
Nevertheless, more background would help and for Fr. Marcus we get glimpses in his upbringing in some harsh orphanage and his past with Mouse. What we need is more of that for him, and some real insight into Fr. Tomas. Even so, I don't think we'll get here's why I fight for God reasons. They believe, and they fight because they believe.
I actually like the history of demonic possessions in the church (Father Bennett is a great character for me; Mouse too). Those scenes with the chained integrated nun with all the candles were fascinating (and creepy).
But yeah, the last episode with the possessed Andy was stupid. Extremely cliched and they all were saved by magic coincidences (Verity's experience with untying ropes? What the hell?).
It could be possible that killing teenagers was too radical and the writers couldn't figure out what to do to replace that fatalistic ending.
I like the Vatican plot, but found it not well done here.
I was happy for Fr. Bennett's and Mouse's plot line, but think it was done in a ham handed fashion. Having detractors immediately push Bennett out of the church seemed unrealistic. Better for him to stay on the inside and let us see how the Vatican hears of possessions and distributes them to exorcists. Fr. Bennett's detractors growing in power even as he does good work would've been suspenseful.
As for Mouse, at first I didn't like her, but some of her scenes with Fr. Bennett and Fr. Marcus were really good. I'd have liked it if they stuck with her trying to extract information from her and Bennett's possessed friend, her early days with Fr. Marcus, and her own possession. I could've done without her wiping out rooms of demons or running around in parking lot shootouts. The show doesn't need a male or female version of Chuck Norris.
And, yes, those teenagers and Rose should be dead by now. The demon in its past incarnations seemed to move more directly to do its killing and abandon its host.