Fox’s The Exorcist season two episode four opens in Antwerp, Belgium, with Mouse (Zuleikha Robinson) and Father Bennett’s (Kurt Egyiawan) visit to the possessed Sister Dolores (Karin Konoval). Sister Dolores tells Father Bennett the song Mouse keeps playing, “Jesus Loves Me,” isn’t torture; she loves it. Dolores asks Father Bennett to dance with her and he’s stunned.

On Nachburn Island, Washington, Rose (Li Jun Li) borrows Andy’s (John Cho) car to pick up Harper. Even though she’s grateful he’s taking in the poor girl, Rose reminds Andy that according to the rules he needs another primary caregiver staying at the house.

Andy tells the group about Harper and that Rose will be bringing her to live with them temporarily. Verity (Brianna Hildebrand) isn’t happy she’ll have to share a room, and the group doesn’t accept the news with open arms. Andy tells them a good family only gets bigger, asking them if they understand what he’s telling them.

Grace (Amélie Eve) runs from the room and Andy follows, and when he hears a door slam downstairs he goes to investigate. He finds Grace standing outside looking into the woods. Gracie says, “She shouldn’t be here,” and then the door slams shut behind her. Andy comforts the young girl, saying it was just the wind. However, it’s obvious he doesn’t believe it.

Father Tomas (Alfonso Herrera) calls his sister, Olivia, and she’s shocked to hear from him. He won’t say where he is, but he does ask after his nephew, Luis. It was Luis’ birthday last week and Tomas missed it. Olivia then reveals a bunch of men claiming to be from the Church visited her last week. She begs him to come home, but Tomas hurries off the phone. He then destroys the phone’s sim card.

Back inside their hotel room, Father Tomas bandages Marcos’ wounds while repeating his conversation with Olivia. Father Bennett hasn’t contacted Marcos (Ben Daniels), so they’re not sure about their next move. They have a restrained but angry conversation about God and whether He’s leading them in a specific direction, with Marcos insisting He isn’t. Tomas admits he was wrong about Harper and Marcos says, “Maybe you were wrong about God.” He asks Tomas if he’s heard anything from God, saying he hasn’t.

Wildlife biologist Peter Morrow (Christopher Cousins) gathers some of the dead birds from Andy’s front yard. Andy says he got rid of 30 of them yesterday, and Peter confirms they all died quickly of broken necks. He blames the birds’ deaths on global warming, saying it messes with their GPS. Shelby (Alex Barima) asks about the deformed baby lamb, and Peter says that happens. He also says he’ll take some samples and check the island. However, he doesn’t think it’s worth losing sleep over.

After Peter leaves, Andy tells Shelby it’s not omens, just science. Shelby admits he’s scared and Andy claims they’re safe.

Rose brings Harper (Beatrice Kitsos) to see Marcus and Father Tomas at the hotel, and Harper gives Marcus a huge hug. Rose quietly tells Father Tomas that Harper kept asking for them and wouldn’t leave the hospital until Rose promised they were seeing the priests.

Back in Belgium, Mouse explains the dust on the floor is ground from the bones of saints. The circle of dust weakens Sister Dolores, and Mouse confirms the demon has integrated into the Sister. Father Bennett raises a cross and tries to exorcise her, but Mouse makes him stop. Mouse knows Sister Dolores is gone and exorcising the demon won’t bring her back. The reason Mouse is keeping Sister Dolores alive is because the demon knows the names of those who’ve infiltrated the Vatican. That’s how Mouse found out about Cardinal Guilott.

Father Bennett swears he’s seen a person come back from integration, telling Mouse about the Rance case in Chicago. Mouse says the demons have been talking and now she knows the rumors are true. She also reveals Father Tomas and Marcus have “kicked up a hornet’s nest,” warning Marcus they’re turning exorcists and killing the ones they can’t turn.

Mouse says the war is already here and the exorcists are losing.

Father Tomas, Marcus, Rose, and Harper arrive on the island as the kids, with the exception of Grace, play outside. Grace wants a tea party with Andy all to herself, and she thinks Andy loves the other kids best. Grace begins yelling, “I don’t want to,” to someone only she sees by her bed. Andy asks who she’s talking to and Grace answers, “No one.” The table moves and the tea set falls to the floor.

Rose tries to assure Harper everything will be okay and that Andy’s place is a really special home.

Grace stays inside on the steps heading to the second floor, wearing her special brave face pillow case head, while Andy and the rest of the kids are outside to greet Harper. As Andy introduces himself to Harper, Marcus and Tomas spy something strange in the nearby trees. They exchange looks while Andy asks if it’s true Harper loves to paint. It is true, and she agrees to help him paint later.

Andy introduces Verity to Harper, asking her to show Harper to their room. Andy then finally greets Father Tomas and Marcos, calling them Harper’s heroes.

Grace is still inside by herself as different items in the house begin to move on their own. She watches, terrified, and heads back to her room as a window breaks.

Andy gives Marcus and Tomas a grand tour of the house and the yard. Marcus tells Andy a story from when he lived in a home with 150 other boys as a kid. He then glances down and sees a dead bird. Andy explains crows dive-bombed the house, and Marcus spots the webbing in the trees again.

Verity tells Harper the shower’s hot, the wi-fi is patchy so it’s hard to stream, and that Andy is a fair-to-decent cook. She also says he’s “relatively woke” and he’s safe. “No one’s going to hurt you anymore. Not here – I promise,” says Verity. She then gives Harper a lamp she made for her that changes color and can be controlled with a remote control. Harper smiles for the first time since she’s been inside the house.

Father Tomas watches from the doorway and then sees a painting vibrating on the hall wall. What he doesn’t see is Grace in her brave face standing in another doorway watching him. When he turns, she’s already gone.

Father Tomas is still in the hallway when Shelby greets him and says he’s a believer, but not a Catholic. Shelby wonders why they’re here, and Tomas says it was to accompany Harper. Rose interrupts to tell Father Tomas that Marcus is looking for him.

Back in the living room, Father Tomas confesses to Marcus that he got a feeling from one of the kids that there’s something wrong here. He also feels it himself, and he’s wondering if he was right about Harper in the first place.

Marcus heads outside to look around and comes upon Peter taking samples from a dead deep-water fish that shouldn’t have washed up on the island. Marcus asks about the dead birds and Peter figures out Marcus isn’t from around these parts. Marcus explains he brought Andy’s new foster child, Harper, and Peter asks if he’s one of the priests. Marcus says he used to be.

Sister Dolores shakes as she listens to “Jesus Loves Me,” and Father Bennett turns the music off and asks the demon its name. It gives it and Father Bennett says that’s a beautiful name. He then asks if Dolores can give him a sign she’s still in there, and the demon spits in his face. It says the days of the exorcists are over. Father Bennett gives it a drink of water, and then it warns him “she” is going to find him first and then the old grey lion and his little cub. When Father Bennett asks who “she” is, the demon says Father Bennett already knows her name. “You met her in Chicago.”

Items lift off the floor distracting Father Bennett as Sister Dolores picks up some of the ground dirt from the saints on the floor and tosses it in Bennett’s face. He shrieks, falls to the ground, and then she drags him into the circle and begins beating him while cackling, “She sends her regards.”

Sister Dolores is choking Father Bennett when Mouse intervenes and injects Sister Dolores with Holy Water. Mouse wants to know the identity of the lion and the cub, and Father Bennett says it’s Marcus Keane and Father Tomas Ortega. Mouse seems to recognize Marcus Keane’s name and asks if Bennett knows how to get in contact with them. He says he doesn’t, explaining they broke off contact. She then wants to know about the group in Chicago, and Father Bennett says it was controlled by the integrated body of Maria Walters. He adds that they tried to integrate him too, but weren’t successful. Mouse wants to get her hands on a demon that powerful, believing they can get the names of those at the very top of the infestation. Father Bennett agrees.

Peter tells Marcus the island is having problems with its fish and wildlife, and not just one farm. Peter believes it might be a toxin but admits the island has a lot of odd stories. Peter asks why Marcus left the Church and Marcus says it was because of insubordination and that he hasn’t lost his faith. Peter is doing a bit of flirting with Marcus, and the men have definite chemistry. Peter invites him for a sail to see a condor’s nest that’s off limits to everyone but Fish & Wildlife agents. Marcus smiles and says, “Maybe some other time.”

Rose is saying goodbye and thanking Father Tomas when Andy stops him from leaving so he can witness a ritual upstairs. The entire group is gathered to watch Harper put her hand in red paint and then leave the print on the hall wall. Andy says, “Now you’re family. No matter what happens, you will always have a home here.”

Father Tomas stands stock still, staring at the handprints on the wall that match the ones on the outside of the church in his vision.

That night, Verity offers Harper nail polish and Harper admits she’s never painted her nails. Harper wonders if it’s okay if she misses her mom, and Verity assures her it is – even if she’s a bitch. Andy and Rose secretly watch from outside the room as Verity paints Harper’s nails, with Andy happy that Verity really stepped up after Nikki’s death. Nikki and Verity really got each other, with Nikki loving her just the way she was. Andy’s happy to finally get to talk about his wife since no one mentions her name. He then says when this is over, he’d like to see Rose again.

Rose is in bed that night when something wakes her. She sees someone standing in the dark in her room, and calls out to see if it’s Andy. It’s not, but whoever/whatever it is doesn’t answer. She tries to turn on the light by her bed but it refuses to come on. Instead, she grabs her phone and uses the flashlight to reveal nothing is in her room. As she walks toward her bedroom door, she steps into a pool of what looks like blood.

Harper screams and thrashes in her bed. Rose rushes in to wake her up, and Harper says, “It’s her! It’s mommy!” Rose comforts her, saying it’s just a dream. Harper asks her not to go and Rose promises she won’t.

Downstairs a short while later, Rose and Andy are alone in the kitchen when Rose tells him she had a nightmare. She doesn’t want to talk about it. She then says Harper cried herself to sleep and after getting too attached to one kid last year, she can’t afford to get attached to another one. She also says she should have kissed Andy back all those years ago, but she was with someone else. Rose still wanted him to be happy and he says he was. They share a lengthy kiss.

Father Tomas and Marcus sit outside at a bar, discussing the handprints in the hallway over a beer. Father Tomas believes they must mean something. Father Tomas reveals he doesn’t want them in his head and doesn’t understand what’s going on. He asks if Marcus thinks God led them there, but Marcus says God isn’t talking to him anymore. He hasn’t felt him for months, which is hard because he can’t remember when he didn’t feel him there. “Tell you what. Next time you have a chat with the Creator, can you ask him where he’s been?” asks Marcus.

Father Tomas is concerned for his friend, and Marcus admits he feels like an empty pitcher. He’s worried when the words run dry, what will become of him? Father Tomas assures him that if that happens, he’ll be there for him. Marcus looks upset as he reveals that maybe Father Tomas wasn’t sent by God to be his partner but instead to be his replacement. However, even though Marcus isn’t sure what’s going on, he also agrees there’s something wrong on this island. “You believe in God, Tomas. I believe in you,” says Marcus.

The next morning Grace and Andy have breakfast in her room. She asks if she can be his favorite if she goes outside, calling him daddy.

Andy carries Grace outside with her eyes closed. He promises her no more birds and she asks to be set down. They hold hands as she smiles and then takes tentative steps away from him.

Verity enters the house and calls out for Andy, saying she’s sick – for real this time – and wants some soup. He’s outside and doesn’t hear her.

Grace runs around and acts like a kid, and Andy’s proud of her. He picks her up, they hug, and then she gets back on the ground so they can race around.

Inside the house, Verity notices Andy outside.

Grace and Andy return to the house and she tells him now they can be together forever since she’s able to go outside. He says first she has to take a nap. He leads Grace to her room on the top floor and gives her a kiss on the forehead, telling her he’s really proud of her.

After Andy leaves Grace’s room, Verity quietly visits the room Andy just left. When she walks to the door, the childish paintings on the door that were hung there when Andy approached it with Grace are no longer there. Opening the door, Verity enters a room that looks completely different from how Andy sees it. Paints, easels, drawings, and a sewing mannequin are in the room, and the floor is covered with a drop cloth often used in an artist’s studio. Gone is any sign of Grace including her bed and her furniture. An uneaten sandwich is on the floor covered with maggots. Verity looks around and says, “Is somebody in here?”

It seems this child who never wanted to join the rest of Andy’s foster kids, never interacted with the foster family, and never wanted to go outside doesn’t actually exist!

More on The Exorcist:
– Recap of The Exorcist Season 2 Episode 1
– Recap of The Exorcist Season 2 Episode 2
– Recap of The Exorcist Season 2 Episode 3
– Recap of The Exorcist Season 2 Episode 5
– Recap of The Exorcist Season 2 Episode 6
– Recap of The Exorcist Season 2 Episode 7
– Recap of The Exorcist Season 2 Episode 8
– Recap of The Exorcist Season 2 Episode 9
– Recap of The Exorcist Season 2 Episode 10

– Interview with Ben Daniels, Alfonso Herrera and Kurt Egyiawan
– Interview with John Cho and Brianna Hildebrand
– Recap of The Exorcist season one finale