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| Agatha Ripp | ||
| Original Airdate: August 10, 2004 | ||
| Writer: Ryan Murphy | ||
| Director: Michael M. Robin | ||
| While it is an interesting exercise to have an episode revolve more around the patient's story, it didn't fit at this point.� This episode is a critical point in the season and the series.� All the major characters, except for Matt, who is inexplicably absent from an episode, are changed and.� This story should've received more coverage in the episode.� However, Agatha's story of faith, lies and manipulation nails (no pun intended) what the main characters go through, as they find themselves losing the things they believed in. | ||
| We meet Agatha, and learn about her troubled history: prostitution, drug abuse, arrests and multiple abortions among them.� Now she has turned to religion, but it's not as honorable as it sounds.� She inflicted stigmata wounds on her wrists so a local church would allow her to stay there.� One major problem is that she is being paraded as a genuine source of their faith.� She begs them to remove them and tell the church that has taken her in that she is a fraud.� Although they are offering her a place to live, she can't take the pressure of being idolized by the parishioners, knowing that she isn't for real. | ||
| Agatha's situation ties into what Julia and Christian have been feeling for the last few episodes.� Julia is succumbing to the pressure to keep Matt's parentage a secret.� But it has spilled out to Christian and Matt, so it's inevitable for Sean to learn the truth soon.� However, their lies have made their lives good.� Agatha isn't safe outside the church, and Julia's entire life has been built on the lie that Sean is Matt's father. | ||
| It's more about Agatha, since we've seen the pressure growing among Julia and Christian in the last few episodes.� Because of Agatha's visit, parishioners have rallied in front of McNamara/Troy in hopes of having her help them.� One couple asks Christian to let them see her so she can heal their son, who was born with a tail.� Though they do help the couple, Sean goes to the church to appeal to the father. | ||
| Sean requests that the father admit to his flock that Agatha is a fraud. �Sean believes they may have excessive amounts of clients requesting pro bono work on afflictions they believe to be miraculous in origin.� Unfortunately, the man of science and the man of faith can't agree.� The Father believes that Agatha has genuine stigmata because she wouldn't have known the proper way to inflict them.� Sean doesn't believe any of it, dismissing it because it lacks scientific explanation.� Sean hubris will provide his downfall when he discovers later in the episode the truth about everything he believed. | ||
| Julia, like Agatha, lied to give herself a better life.� However, her guilt is becoming too much for her.� This guilt has manifested in painful shingles in her side.� When Sean checks her out, he thinks that it is from the betrayal from Ava.� Although it is wrong, Ava's betrayal does add another aspect to the theme of the "wolf in sheep's clothing" theme several of these characters have.� Christian, Ava and the clergy all came in with a benevolent fa�ade, but each had a dark side that ended up warping the lives of those who bought into it. | ||
| Another major aspect of this episode is the lack of faith and disillusionment of the main characters.� Sean's is the most profound, but Liz's gets the most attention this week.� ��Pregnant and over forty, she is worried about the health of her child.� As the mother's age increases, so do the chances that the child will have a birth defect.� It doesn't make it any easier when Sean and Christian operate on the child with a tail.� Later she learns that her child may have Down Syndrome and the doctors are unable to give any definite answer as to those chances.� Because of her fears, she has another anesthesiologist take her place during the surgery. | ||
| As they prepare, Sean discusses the "sheep's clothing" quote Agatha said during her consultation.� They did hammer in the point of Sean being unaware of Christian''s deception and Christian's guilt a little too hard.� We get that Sean can't see the truth in his face and Christian feels horribly against it.� However, it does set up for the great musical queue, "Sympathy for the Devil" by The Rolling Stones, during the surgery scene when Liz alerts them that Agatha has been punctured again.� Of course, this choice leads us to think a certain way about the "devils". | ||
| The doctors inform the Sister, who takes on a position more reflective of Sean's than the Father's.� In a shocking moment, she ponders an atheist stance.� Seeing this episode again, this act is merely appealing to the doctor's view of scientific explanation.� Before she leaves, she plants the notion that they test the blood to see if it is Agatha's.� Since the Sister planted blood on Agatha, this would appear to prove that the stigmata are genuine. | ||
| As Liz collects a blood sample, she tells Agatha about her worries.� In her desperate need, she turned to a fraud for something to believe in, which is a bad sign for what will happen next.� Liz is more likely to believe someone like Agatha, especially when Agatha reassures her.� Agatha's confidence proves to be very effective, especially when she declares the baby is a boy. | ||
| To the frustration of the doctors, the blood from Agatha's wounds is found not to be hers, so the church allows her to stay with them longer.� Despite this discovery, Sean refuses to give them the results as evidence that it is genuine.� The Father reminds him that science isn't everything, and that beliefs are important too, further setting up the revelation later. | ||
| Liz decides to have the abortion after recently having her faith restored.� Murphy here didn't do a good enough job establishing Liz's realization that her faith was placed in a false prophet.� Of course, it has a lot to do with the central theme, but with that, Liz's disillusionment needed to be further explored for this to be effective. | ||
| Julia's scabs have healed over, but after her ordeal, she feels that it is time for her to be honest to Sean.� It probably was an even worse decision to tell him this after the day he had.� Many wondered why Julia even needed to know, much less let others who didn't have a clue know either.� However, this needed to happen to culminate all the actions of the first half of the season.� It's unfortunate that so much of this episode dealt with Agatha considering how potent the scene where Sean finds out the truth is.� It's terrifically acted, but the emphasis on Agatha detracted from the importance of this episode. | ||
| At the office, Christian asks about the baby, and is devastated to learn what Liz did without his knowledge.� Only a few weeks earlier did he lose his son Wilbur to the biological father.� Despite the reassurance she got from Agatha, she still doubted Christian's commitment to the child if it came out with a birth defect.� He isn't given a moment to take it in before Sean enters, punchin him several times in the face.� After losing another child, his betrayal has been found out by his best friend, who "loved him the most". | ||
| Now without anything to believe in, he finds himself at the church where Agatha is staying.� She sees him, and she admits to being a fraud.� She did it because the church was in danger of closing and as we know, she desperately needed a place to live.� Like Liz earlier, Sean turns to her for some kind of hope, only to be told that there is nothing to believe in.� Now everyone is demoralized enough to allow the story to get even more interesting. | ||
| Despite the pivotal moment of Sean learning that he isn't Matt's father, it is bogged down in Agatha's storyline.� While it helped to have the patient tie in to this week's themes of faith, lies and belief, the shifted focus hurt the impact.� And where the hell is Matt in the middle of this?� Considering he's the offspring involved in this conflict, it's not as if he'd have nothing to do.� Still, it's a bit of a let down for what should've been a major moment.� At least the remainder of the season makes up for it. | ||
| Score: 7/10 | ||
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