Strange Angel episode 9 review: Newer mysteries arise and older ones remain unaddressed as the Parsons hit crossroads
We're almost at the end of the first season of CBS All Access' new biopic 'Strange Angel', with Thursday's episode, titled 'Sacrament of the Ancestors' marking the penultimate episode of the series. So far, 'Strange Angel' has been a show that has spent careful time and given attention to detail while unfolding the plot (at a somewhat patience-testing pace) and the characters, and the tradition continues in episode nine as well. After being teased with several unexplained flashbacks and hallucinatory sequences in earlier episodes, this one, unfortunately, does a rather poor job of tying the ends together, leaving the finale with the tall task of wrapping things up meaningfully within 50 minutes.
The episode opens with a small leap in time since the previous one. Both Jack and Susan are at the Agape house as The Grand Magus, Alfred, delivers his sermon, with a fully naked woman seated n the center of the gathering - something we've grown accustomed to by now. We learn that Jack has dropped out of the CalTech team after the ugly fight between him and Richard in the last episode. But Susan has now been inculcated into the Agape house. Strangely enough, instead of being delighted by this, Jack is somewhat uncomfortable, as he sits with his eyes closed, battling his conflicts in his head. Jack's test of faith is a major theme in the episode, but a bigger focus of the show is Susan, who continues her one-on-one sessions with the Grand Magus.
