Fox’s The Exorcist season two episode seven begins with Andy (John Cho) waking up alone and reaching for the side of the bed where Nikki usually sleeps. The house is quiet and the front door’s open as he heads into the kitchen, still keeping an eye out for Nikki. Truck (Cyrus Arnold) asks about a note in his lunch that reads, “Don’t forget I will always love you,” signed by Nikki.
It’s obvious now this is a flashback to the morning of Nikki’s death.
Andy continues calling for Nikki as he walks around outside. He finally makes his way to the shore of the lake and sees Nikki walking into the water. He watches as she walks far enough that she’s completely submerged. That spurs him into action and he runs, screaming, into the water. Andy flails around looking for Nikki in the water, constantly calling her name.
The police and rescue crews arrive, with boats looking for Nikki’s body. Peter Morrow (Christopher Cousins) from Fish and Wildlife is there to comfort him, but Andy has no idea why Nikki would do this. She’s finally found and brought to shore, and Andy has to be dragged away from her dead body.
The significance of the rock is revealed when it drops from her dead body as she’s carried away on a stretcher. Andy picks it up and takes it home.
And now we’re back to a possessed Andy with Father Tomas (Alfonso Herrera) and Marcus (Ben Daniels) attempting an exorcism. He’s restrained in bed and snarls at the priests.
Another flashback shows the family in happier times, posing for a holiday photo and making funny faces. Andy and Nikki (Alicia Witt) seem happy and deeply in love.
Andy continues to writhe on the bed while Father Tomas and Marcus pray. He wants to be set free and seems himself when he asks about the kids. Father Tomas and Marcus assure him they’re safe. He confesses to the priests he couldn’t save Nikki, and Marcus tries to convince him this thing isn’t his wife and instead is a parasite who does terrible things.
Father Tomas asks about the thing that looks like Nikki. He needs Andy to concentrate and find that specific memory.
A flashback shows Andy and Nikki talking about a girl who’s difficult to place in a foster home. She says the girl’s smart but has been through a horrible time. She wants to bring her home because they need each other. Andy considers it briefly and agrees. They kiss and Nikki’s elated. (They’re discussing Verity, their first foster child.)
Another flashback shows the family gathered with Andy to spread Nikki’s ashes. Andy has a hard time letting the ashes go, so Shelby (Alex Barima) helps out and begins to empty them into a bed of flowers. Before he’s finished, Verity (Brianna Hildebrand) says to stop because he’s supposed to scatter them, not dump them. Shelby apologizes and Andy assures him there’s no right way.
Verity runs toward the house but Andy catches her and embraces her in a huge hug. She cries as Truck says, “Love you, mom.”
Back to the exorcism, Father Tomas and Marcus are continuing to pray. Andy opens his eyes and has a lucid moment. Marcus tells him there’s something inside him and Andy says it’s cold. Marcus tells him the demon lies and twists memories, and Andy says it’s too strong.
Marcus explains the demon wants him to feel weak and he needs to fight it. Father Tomas tells Andy they’re there to help; he’s not going through it alone. Marcus tells him to fight like he fights for those kids. They want him to keep searching for his first memory of this Nikki-thing so they’ll know where to start.
Andy returns to his memories and sees Verity doing the laundry after Nikki’s death. She’s washing the sheets and Andy holds one to his nose, trying to smell Nikki. Verity asks if Nikki said anything before her death, and Andy says no. Verity doesn’t think Nikki was sad and doesn’t understand what happened. Andy explains it’s not about being sad, depression is a disease.
Marcus and Father Tomas continue to try and get Andy to remember the demon’s first form. Andy returns to his memories and he’s in Nikki’s attic art room when Grace arrives to comfort him. He doesn’t know her but she acts like she should be there. She asks why he’s sad and says she’ll be his new friend. They shake hands and she shows him her brave pillow case face. She tells him it’s a mask she uses when she gets scared. She doesn’t like going outside.
As they talk, the room transforms to a little girl’s room complete with a bed, dresses, and toys. She asks for help and says she can help him, too. Andy smiles.
They’re talking when Marcus’ voice comes through telling him to fight it. Grace flees the room and Andy follows. He finds her brave face at the foot of the stairs and when he looks back up the stairway, Nikki’s at the top looking gorgeous.
Nikki embraces him, asking what “they’ve” done to him. Andy’s confused and thinks he’s losing his mind. Nikki believes the priests are trying to break them apart. Father Tomas and Marcus continue to tell him to fight back as in his mind he’s being embraced by Nikki.
Andy struggles on the bed as Rose talks to Marcus and Father Tomas about the dead body in the next room. They want to finish the exorcism and then they’ll deal with it. If they stop, Andy will die. If they go to a hospital, innocent people will die.
Father Tomas asks how the kids are doing and Rose replies, bluntly, “They watched their father kill someone. How do you think they’re doing?” She’ll try to give the priests time to finish, but ultimately someone will come looking for these kids.
Andy wakes on the bed and sees Nikki lying next to him. He also sees Father Tomas and Marcus having a discussion in the corner of the room, but Nikki insists he look at her – not them.
The scene shifts to Nikki and Andy having a picnic. They’re relaxing and enjoying themselves, while the kids are in the garden. He wants to check on them, but Nikki wants him all to herself.
And we’re back to Andy struggling against his restraints, calling out for Nikki as Father Tomas and Marcus rush to hold him down. They insist he stay with them and fight, but Andy keeps screaming out for Nikki. Marcus tries to convince him the Nikki he’s seeing is the demon that targets children and families.
Marcus says the demon will corrupt his memories, while Father Tomas warns it will make him harm the children.
Andy’s back in his mind with Nikki, completely happy and with a new room in the house for his office. “It’s just like you always wanted,” she says, and Andy thinks it’s perfect. However, there aren’t any pictures of the kids, just lots of photos of the couple on vacation. The room should be for the boys and when he asks about them boys, Nikki says they’re in the garden.
She then takes him through the house to her new studio, which is Verity’s room transformed. He calls out for the kids and Nikki reiterates they’re in the garden. Andy races outside to the garden and finds their freshly dug graves. He begins digging them up and screaming.
Nikki joins him, telling him it had to be this way since he’s the reason why she died. The kids took him from her, so she killed them.
Andy realizes Nikki would never say anything like that. Nikki gets angry, revealing she was unhappy with someone else’s children but he didn’t notice. He grabs her by the neck, telling her he’s seeing things clearly now. “You’re not my wife. These aren’t my memories. Get out of my head!” yells Andy, hand still around Nikki’s neck.
Nikki begs for him to stop and then grabs his head, wanting to show him more memories of their time together with the kids. They’re in bed getting intimate when the kids start yelling at each other, but they decide to let them be. Unfortunately, Truck and Caleb barge into the bedroom and ruin the mood.
Caleb doesn’t want to share a room with Truck and they begin slapping each other. Nikki and Andy send them back to bed, but Nikki is near tears. She wonders if they’re not cut out for this and made a mistake.
Andy tosses the demon Nikki to the ground, knowing she’s altered his memory of that event.
Andy recalls another memory of Nikki and Verity fighting, with Verity telling Nikki she’s not her mother. Verity’s cruel and puts Nikki down, and Andy finally stops the argument. He tries to comfort Nikki but she leaves the kitchen.
Andy hears Marcus telling him the demon lies and twists memories. In his mind, Andy’s alone in the kitchen telling the demon it doesn’t know his daughter or Nicole. That wasn’t how that memory ended.
Father Tomas and Marcus realize Andy is fighting the demon, and Marcus tells him to hold on to his memories and not let go.
The memory of the fight between Verity and Nikki plays in his mind, and it actually ended with Nikki comforting Verity in her bed while she hugged her and cried. The demon Nikki doesn’t like him remembering this, and mimes shooting him in the head with her fingers.
Andy’s in bed again and it’s back to the morning of Nikki’s death. It’s a repeat of the opening scenes of the episode, but this time the kids try and stop him from leaving the house. They tell him he belongs in the house with them forever.
Andy runs from the house, ending up at the lake as Nikki is about to go under the water. He races into the lake to save her and this time he’s the one who finds the body. As he stands in the water holding her limp body, Shelby, Harper, Verity, and Caleb stand on the shore. They chant that they’re glad she’s dead.
Andy screams, “This is not the way it happened!”
Father Tomas and Marcus are forced to untie Andy’s restraints as he chokes up water. They fear he’s drowning. They roll him over to get the liquid out of his lungs, and he asks for their help. He sounds like himself and Father Tomas assures him they’ll stay with him as long as it takes.
Marcus tells Andy to concentrate, reminding him the demon’s twisting his perception. The demon continues to play with Andy’s memories as Father Tomas and Marcus keep at the exorcism. Andy shrieks and squirms as they use Holy Water on him.
When Andy wakes up, Rose is seated on his bed. The priests have told her to keep talking to him, giving him something to hold onto. She confirms the kids are safe and jokes she’s their best friend now after giving them a free pass from homework. She lets Andy know they’re worried about him and they love him.
Andy asks her to untie him, but she won’t. He then blames her for bringing Father Tomas and Marcus to his house. She leaves the room, telling Marcus she trusts him to bring Andy back.
After Rose is gone, the demon makes Andy believe Father Tomas and Marcus are also demons. He thinks they’re telling him the kids destroyed his family and God turned his back on him.
Andy tries to hide in his good memories of the kids, but he keeps seeing Father Tomas and Marcus as demons with distorted faces. He even sees his kids as red-eyed evil beings.
The demon makes Andy believe the priests have burned a cross into his forehead. Father Tomas’ head spins around in a Linda Blair-ish move and he says, “Let’s kill the bastard!”
The Marcus-demon tells Andy they’ll stop if he just says the word. “Help me,” says Andy. “Please help me.”
The action in the room freezes. Andy is able to move while the demon versions of the priests are immobilized. Nikki steps forward and replies, “I thought you’d never ask.”
Nikki sits on Andy’s bed and he tells her he loves her. He apologizes for not being there for her and not putting her first. She wonders if it’s not too late and if maybe it’s her turn to save him. The demon Nikki lies on top of Andy in bed and keeps him from being sprinkled with the Holy Water as the demon priests return to action.
The demon versions of Father Marcus and Tomas tell Andy he can make it all go away, all he has to do is choose. Nikki also begs him to choose.
And Andy’s once again in bed on the morning of Nikki’s suicide. This time when he leaves his bedroom he finds the kids are all tied up in theirs. Through gags, they ask why he’s doing this. He turns from them, without helping them. He even steps over Caleb to run out the front door to save Nikki.
Andy doesn’t hesitate and runs straight into the water. This time he arrives in time and saves Nikki. She can’t believe he saved her and they kiss in the lake. Decision made, the demon has control of Andy and sends Father Tomas and Marcus flying across the room.
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 4
– Recap of The Exorcist Season 2 Episode 5
– Recap of The Exorcist Season 2 Episode 6
– 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
