Dead of Summer: 8 Best Moments From ‘The Devil Inside’ (Season 1 Episode 8)

Dead of Summer is *really* kicking into high gear in the home stretch. There are only two episodes remaining this season – and sh*t is about to get bonkers, if “The Devil Inside” is any indication.

A 10-episode first season has been the perfect length of time for this story to unfold. I hope that the show is renewed, simply because I am super intrigued by the concept of the showrunners switching it up each year with a new setting and a new group of kids.

Deb mentions “something weird” that happened back in 1970, when she was at camp, about 12 times during “The Devil Inside” – so yep, that adequately piques my interest. I also hope that they retain the 10-episode season order for future seasons, because that’s really the optimal length for a story like this.

I’ll do a full-season overall wrap-up with my finale review in two weeks, but for now, let’s dig into “The Devil Inside.” Here are its eight best moments.

1. Joel’s Death

Oh my god! RIP, Joel. This is easily the most shocking moment in the episode – not “best” as in “Yay, I’m glad Joel is dead!” but as in “Whoa, I did not see that coming.”

Since we’ve previously seen Amy “snap out” of her demon-possessed reveries (like when she kisses Garrett at the lake earlier in the season), I just assume that that’s what happens when the group confronts her right before she is about to stab Alex. Unfortunately for Joel, Malphas-as-Amy is only tricking them by pretending to “snap out of it” in order to get their guard down and claim its next victim – Joel.

Also: Malphas successfully kills Joel at Eagle Creek, so I think this means the final ritual (in which there is one murder at each point of the pentagram) is very nearly complete. Cricket, Groundskeeper Dave, and Blotter were all already dead, so Joel is the fourth victim. That seems to suggest that there’s one more to come, if the demon has its way. Who will it be?

On top of Joel’s death just being really sad on its own, the extra gut-punch comes in when you remember that his parents already buried one kid – Joel’s older brother Michael, who took his own life after being tormented by Holyoke. Ugh. Tragic.

2. Holyoke’s Reveal

I mean… I knew it. I really did, though. I (partially) called this one way earlier this season – Holyoke is not a villain at all, though my theory that he initially worshipped the demon and then changed his mind seems to be incorrect. I think “The Devil Inside” establishes that he’s been a good guy all along.

While I’m a little shaky on the particulars of what he’s doing in the flashback, Jessie pretty clearly realizes and states that Holyoke is “the protector of the lake” – he leads his followers into the lake for “purification,” only for the group to suddenly be overtaken by the group of mask-wearing satanists and murdered.

To be honest, satisfying as the confirmation that Holyoke is a good guy is, that whole segment is sort of ridiculous. Literally not a single one of Holyoke’s followers put up any kind of fight. I also think the followers way outnumber the satanist group. It’s just silly that every single Holyoke follower gets drowned within about five seconds. Come on, people.

Also, the reaction Holyoke has is very mild. It’s sort of moderate annoyance that the satanists are messing with his purification ritual. Not, y’know, shock and grief that dozens of his people were just murdered en masse right in front of him and he’s framed for their deaths.

And again, not to apply *too* much logic to this but – how did the militia think that Holyoke killed all of these folks singlehandedly? I’m just so confused. But I am happy that I correctly guessed that Holyoke was a good guy after all.

3. Jessie’s Tragedy

I truly didn’t think anything Dead of Summer showed me about Jessie’s past would explain why she was such a grade-A jerk when she first got to camp, or would allow me to feel for her – and, hell, even root for her. I was completely wrong.

The Jessie we see in the flashback sequences at the heart of “The Devil Inside” is someone we all would have liked. She’s sweet, hard-working, and very ambitious – she works a grill to save up enough money for Northwestern, for heaven’s sake. She’s an awesome, badass chick.

I could see her downfall telegraphed heavily throughout her early interactions with her party-girl mother, who appears to have been a teenage parent (hinted at heavily but not explicitly stated) who never came to terms with the fact that she needed to “give up the best years of her life” to care for her child.

But the fact that I saw it coming doesn’t make the emotional denouement of Jessie’s mother convincing Jessie to take the fall for her DUI, thereby forfeiting her chance to go to Northwestern, all the most heartbreaking and horrible to see.

Paulina Singer does an incredible job throughout “The Devil Inside,” bringing a complexity to Jessie’s desire to be her mother’s friend and also her frustration at having had to take care of her mother her whole life – an unfortunate reversal of the mother-daughter roles.

Singer’s face conveys so much in that quiet, small moment when Jessie switches seats with her mother in the wrecked car as the police approach, with it clearly dawning on her that the life she imagined for herself is over.

I am, however, deeply confused about how Jessie apparent has a big pending court date for a DUI and yet still is somehow able to go to camp. What’s up with that?

4. “Let Us Begin”

Next week’s penultimate episode of the season is perfectly set up in the closing moments of “The Devil Inside.” Holyoke is suddenly corporeal enough to grab Malphas-possessed Amy and drag her to the cabin – I’m guessing having Jessie toss his bones into the lake did that?

Amy is also shot several times by an alarmingly trigger-happy Garrett. Did that kill her? Or was she protected by the demon’s possession?

The released photos for next week’s “Home Sweet Home” don’t hint at whose flashbacks we will see – if anyone’s. So far, only Blair’s backstory remains to be seen, which suggests that there is some kind of HUGELY significant reveal coming for his character. However, the photos do clearly show that the centerpiece of the installment will be some kind of exorcism for Amy.

Holyoke did say, after all, that he wants to save her. Maybe he’ll succeed.

5. Deb Remembers That There Are Children At This Camp, Too

In a moment of unintentional hilarity immediately after the shock of Joel’s very sudden death, Deb is all “OMG, gotta get the kids out of here!!” Lady, those children should have been “out of here” MANY, MANY WEEKS AGO.

But, like, kudos to her for remembering their safety in the wake of a demon-possessed counselor going all stab-happy.

6. Cricket’s Return! Sorta.

Cricket is back! For a moment, anyway. Though it’s devastating to see my former favorite character looking all dead and gory (and tormented by the demon in the afterlife), I love the fact that she returns in order to essentially guide Jessie to save the day. Without Ghost Cricket’s help, Jessie never would have figured out that Amy is possessed or that Holyoke isn’t who they all thought he was.

7. The Demon Is Named

The lake demon is named Malphas. In demonology he’s a “Great Prince of Hell” and is second in command only to Satan (info courtesy of trusty ol’ Wikipedia). Interestingly, he doesn’t seem to have anything to do with lakes, as I would have expected they might have chosen a lake-associated demon if they were going with “real” (as in, real from demonology) demons.

But, yeah, this guy is a real bad dude. Or, er, demon.

The reveal that Malphas had successfully possessed Amy is not entirely surprising but definitely jaw-dropping and well done. I’ll admit that accepting the cross and not overly-reacting to the name Malphas had me fooled for a moment – just like Jessie and Garrett were fooled.

8. Jessie’s Visions

The visions are stellar. Aesthetically, the visuals of the camp being overtaken by night (and everyone vanishing around her) when Jessie is “pulled” into a tete-a-tete with dead Cricket are just super cool. The camera work, with close-ups on Jessie’s face, pulling out to reveal that everyone has vanished, is really great too. A+ effort, there.

My one caveat is that the demon CGI still looks very cheap. I think I’d have preferred not to see the demon at all this season. Sometimes, there’s more fear in the unknown.

Stray thoughts:

• I feel like Blair and Drew have been rather underutilized all season. This is particularly felt during “The Devil Inside” because they basically have absolutely nothing to do with Jessie and Garrett’s plan to defeat the demon.
• Today in Awesome ’80s Tracks: “My Prerogative,” during Jessie’s first flashback sequence.
• Jessie’s mother is the worst. WORST. How can she possibly be asking Jessie “What ever happened to my sweet baby girl?” Lady, you wrecked your sweet baby girl’s life, that’s what happened!

What did you think of this episode of Dead of Summer? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Reviewer Rating:

User Rating:

 

Dead of Summer airs Tuesday at 9/8c on Freeform.

Follow us on Twitter @TellTV