****SPOILER**** The main differences i guess is that we don't know for sure what happens in this ep. I suppose that if you'd like you could see it all as some religious, Unsanctioned exorcism gone terribly wrong... I did not really see it that way, sure the guy uses religion and I'm sure he thinks he is doing something good, but he is not doing a sanctioned exorcism. My Main reason for my opinion is ***Spoiler** Emily's nosebleed at the end. The only thing that makes sens is that she was right, there was something in the water. She brings it up more then once, and when she get it "sprinkled" on her as she interrupts the exorcism she cry out in revulsion/surprise or something, "what is in that water?". To me that indicates that its not just water, so when her nosebleed starts i think there was something in that water that didn't go well with the kind of stress those guys were in...So ever if its hard to say for sure that he was setting out to murder dose men it's man-slather at the very least... i personally i believe that it was his aim to kill them, but that he felt that he left a way for for God to save them if he liked to...kind of like the old witch trials...
9 Reviews
Not one of the best, but better then what it gets credit for... IMO
laurelis7 March 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Interesting change of pace, but fell short
TheLittleSongbird29 August 2016
Season 4 is a contender for 'Criminal Minds' best season, with "The Big Wheel", "Zoe's Reprise" and "Conflicted" being three of the best of the entire show. Every season however has had at least one episode that didn't work and that is the case with Season 4 with "Demonology".
"Demonology" is a long way from a bad episode, and there are far worse episodes in the show (most of which from the average at best and poor at worst Season 11 where only four episodes were good). At the same time it did fall short.
It is a very well made episode as always, dark, gritty, stylish and audacious as it should be. The theme tune is hypnotic, and some of the music does have a realistically haunting vibe. A good deal of the script is thought-provoking and gripping, with moments of good atmosphere.
Prentiss was always one of the show's best characters, my favourite being Reid (one of the main reasons, other than my general love for 'Criminal Minds', for still watching it), and "Demonology" did a great job developing her and allowing us to feel empathy for her. This, along with strong writing, is further accentuated by a perfectly pitched performance from Paget Brewster, giving along with Season 5's "Outfoxed" some of her best acting of the show".
However, while there is nothing wrong with doing something differently the episode doesn't quite do enough with it. The case is intriguing and the team are hardly underused, out of character, dumbed down or useless, but while it wasn't a bad thing keeping things mysterious and having parts open to interpretation too much of the episode did feel too ambiguous and underdeveloped. Not giving a reason for the cause of the nosebleed was agreed lazy writing.
The exorcisms could have been much creepier too, they felt too cheesy and overdone to have enough atmosphere. Also agree that the music at the end really killed the mood, what should have been a harrowing and poignant ending is spoilt by music more at home in a particularly mawkish intimate scene in a sappy romantic comedy. Contrary to another review, Hotch being side-lined was not a good thing. Hotch at this point was not one of the show's most interesting character admittedly, but the episode did not make the right decision making him practically invisible and giving Thomas Gibson hardly anything to do.
All in all, an interesting change of pace and loved the focus on Prentiss but it fell short. 6/10 Bethany Cox
"Demonology" is a long way from a bad episode, and there are far worse episodes in the show (most of which from the average at best and poor at worst Season 11 where only four episodes were good). At the same time it did fall short.
It is a very well made episode as always, dark, gritty, stylish and audacious as it should be. The theme tune is hypnotic, and some of the music does have a realistically haunting vibe. A good deal of the script is thought-provoking and gripping, with moments of good atmosphere.
Prentiss was always one of the show's best characters, my favourite being Reid (one of the main reasons, other than my general love for 'Criminal Minds', for still watching it), and "Demonology" did a great job developing her and allowing us to feel empathy for her. This, along with strong writing, is further accentuated by a perfectly pitched performance from Paget Brewster, giving along with Season 5's "Outfoxed" some of her best acting of the show".
However, while there is nothing wrong with doing something differently the episode doesn't quite do enough with it. The case is intriguing and the team are hardly underused, out of character, dumbed down or useless, but while it wasn't a bad thing keeping things mysterious and having parts open to interpretation too much of the episode did feel too ambiguous and underdeveloped. Not giving a reason for the cause of the nosebleed was agreed lazy writing.
The exorcisms could have been much creepier too, they felt too cheesy and overdone to have enough atmosphere. Also agree that the music at the end really killed the mood, what should have been a harrowing and poignant ending is spoilt by music more at home in a particularly mawkish intimate scene in a sappy romantic comedy. Contrary to another review, Hotch being side-lined was not a good thing. Hotch at this point was not one of the show's most interesting character admittedly, but the episode did not make the right decision making him practically invisible and giving Thomas Gibson hardly anything to do.
All in all, an interesting change of pace and loved the focus on Prentiss but it fell short. 6/10 Bethany Cox
Exorcism
ttapola21 October 2010
Warning: Spoilers
An interesting episode. When is a serial killer not a serial killer? When he's a *priest* doing God's work. Brilliant. The concept alone could have sustained this episode, but they also included a nice twist for the exorcist's status *and* made the episode a great character piece for Prentiss, my favorite character. Yet they did not stop there. They cast Bruce Davison, Carmen Argenziano (Stargate SG-1), Walton Goggins, Roxanne Hart *and* James Remar. Unbelievable. That's the blueprints well done and leaves just the execution.
There's a nice slightly demonic vibe here (if you can call that "nice"), and the priest really does believe that he's performing exorcism and therefore doing nothing wrong. One man's bride even believes his fiancée was possessed. It's never completely ruled out that the men subjected to exorcism were actually possessed, though it is very much downplayed in order to keep the story in the "real" world instead of "The X Files" (no hyphen!). Careless viewers might miss the brief exchange of words between Father Silvano and John Cooley that deliciously hints that there truly are Satanic forces at work, and this elevates the story above the black-and-white ones. In the end, both interpretations may be correct.
Despite the talent the guest stars bring to the screen, this episode really belongs to Paget Brewster, whose commitment to her performance is remarkable. Even better, the boring Hotch is sitting on the sidelines on this one, which means more time for the others. Let's face it, it's not Thomas Gibson's fault - it's hard for the writers to make Hotch an interesting character, especially with Rossi on the team.
All this amounts to an excellent 8/10 episode. It stands out from the others due to its originality, yet falls ever so short of exceptional. The final discussion between the BAU agents is a good start for a deep conversation, but we could have lived without the sappy music in the end. That final sequence ruins the mood.
There's a nice slightly demonic vibe here (if you can call that "nice"), and the priest really does believe that he's performing exorcism and therefore doing nothing wrong. One man's bride even believes his fiancée was possessed. It's never completely ruled out that the men subjected to exorcism were actually possessed, though it is very much downplayed in order to keep the story in the "real" world instead of "The X Files" (no hyphen!). Careless viewers might miss the brief exchange of words between Father Silvano and John Cooley that deliciously hints that there truly are Satanic forces at work, and this elevates the story above the black-and-white ones. In the end, both interpretations may be correct.
Despite the talent the guest stars bring to the screen, this episode really belongs to Paget Brewster, whose commitment to her performance is remarkable. Even better, the boring Hotch is sitting on the sidelines on this one, which means more time for the others. Let's face it, it's not Thomas Gibson's fault - it's hard for the writers to make Hotch an interesting character, especially with Rossi on the team.
All this amounts to an excellent 8/10 episode. It stands out from the others due to its originality, yet falls ever so short of exceptional. The final discussion between the BAU agents is a good start for a deep conversation, but we could have lived without the sappy music in the end. That final sequence ruins the mood.
I liked it, but lots of plot threads
jennluk21 October 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I actually really liked this episode, for the same reasons that other reviewers have mentioned they they also liked (or disliked) it. The only point I wanted to address was re:Father del Toro's death and Emily's pregnancy. Whether or not other forces were at work, the ending comment between John and Emily imply that something bad/unfortunate happened to her in Italy besides her inadvertent pregnancy, making me wonder if he's implying that she was sexually assaulted, and that the men were acting against del Toro to take action. However, her lack of reaction upon hearing his name indicate perhaps otherwise. I do wonder why he died though, and what relation (if at all) it had with the reason those men were in Galicia.
Solid Episode
timecow2 May 2012
Warning: Spoilers
This will be a short review because the other reviews have covered the details well. I will just add that as a different sort of episode, I liked the departure from the more standard, easily explainable killers. There is a touch of the unexplained , not too much, just a little hint of it that I really enjoyed. The idea of having good Vs. evil where the lines are not so clearly drawn is always interesting. I mostly want to warn that after a really good episode, thy completely blow it with the music at the end. It was the most inappropriate music, especially given what happens. I really can't even stress enough how bad it was. Hit the mute button as soon as it starts for full enjoyment.
Only a movie could cover all this territory.
mossfish-0224915 July 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Poorly written, too many directions started and lost in the many plot lines. Feds and the military would be freaking out over VX and/or Sarin that had to be in the holy water. Nose bleeds from VX or Sarin that aren't fatal are still national security events that would have thousands of people mobilized and those two at the end would be in a lock down ward and the bodies would have been isolated as would everyone that came in contact. no one would be on a plane out of the country. VX doses too low for a nose bleed still cause brain tissue erosions that will kill over time. The State Department would have not been a problem because it would have gone over their heads. Prentiss wouldn't have been standing alone anywhere. Where are the other attackers at the end of the episode? The Father didn't act alone Just bad police work, bad understanding of how things work, badly handled friendships and a lack of taking care of each other. But that's just how the writters treated this season.
Too easy
cosma-1758419 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Bit weak and you cannot just throw major background information about a main character and don't go deeper just so the viewer creates a connection to a victim. Also writers don't seem to know that Vatican and Italy are two different sovereign and Italy doesn't give diplomatic immunity to a foreign (Vatican) citizen.
Exorcism and vendetta...
gervais_nicolas20 May 2021
No. Just no.
suzieo30 September 2020
For a series about criminals and people profiling them this kind of religious nonsense just doesn't work.
Leave the overly religious themes to the Touched by an Angel crowd and ACTUAL supernatural shows.
This was just too meh 😬
Leave the overly religious themes to the Touched by an Angel crowd and ACTUAL supernatural shows.
This was just too meh 😬
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