Midnight, Texas Review: Angel Heart (Season 1 Episode 7)

There are only 3 episodes left in the first season of Midnight, Texas — which makes it a bit strange that things are only now kicking into high gear.

The gang as a whole pretty much just found out about the Veil situation on Midnight, Texas Season 1 Episode 6, when Joe “came out” as a fallen angel.

With only a relatively small amount of time left, I’m guessing we aren’t going to see much of a big battle to fight off the incoming horde of demons, are we? Especially now that Manfred has hit the road.

I have to give props to the show for gradually changing my mind about Creek. In the beginning, she was one of my least favorite characters, and I was very uninterested in her weird, boring family.

Now, I’m still not interested in her family — but also, they’re dead/out of the picture. And Creek is far more interesting because of that!

I really like the fact that Creek doesn’t immediately bounce back from the life-shattering events of “Blinded by the Light.” The reveal that her little brother was a serial killer and that her dad knew all along and protected him rightly turns Creek completely upside down.

Sarah Ramos is doing a fantastic job with Creek’s storyline at this juncture. She truly looks broken, wounded, and more than a little bit dazed at every moment She is believably grief-stricken in a raw, realistic way.

All that said, it’s clear that Creek pushing Manfred away isn’t supposed to be considered a good decision on her part. I, for one, appreciate that she lays out for her sorta-boyfriend exactly what she needs (space). But it’s obvious that Creek is struggling and isolating herself because of it.

Not that I think Manfred handles their break-up particularly well. It’s all but explicitly stated in this episode that Manfred loves Creek — he flat-out admits to Joe that she is the only reason he’s still in Midnight. When Bowie threatens the town’s humans to get to Joe, Creek’s life is the only one that Manfred is truly concerned with.

So, for that reason, it makes sense that Manfred would hit the road and high-tail it out of Midnight after she gives him the kiss-off, citing her need to find out who she is as a person outside of her relationship with her now-gone family.

This is a totally reasonable thing for Creek to want, which is why I’m more than a bit peeved at Manfred for handling it like such a child.

Especially since Joe reveals Manfred’s supposed role as the “Savior” to him in this episode, Manfred abruptly leaving Midnight in his rearview feels even more like a childish shirking of responsibility.

What’s his thought process here? If he can’t have Creek, screw everybody else in this stupid town anyway? Not cool, Manfred.

This hour’s “Monster of the Week” is a fallen angel (and Joe’s former mentor) Bowie, expertly played by a very creepy and unhinged Breeda Wool.

I really loved Breeda in her role on UNReal during its first season, so it’s great to see her again in this drastically different part.

Bowie is a delightfully crazy and cartoonishly over-the-top loon, driven mad by Joe’s betrayal — the fact that he, eons ago, rejected her demon-killing teachings, abandoned her, and ran off with a demon (aka, Chuy).

I’d already mentioned my suspicions that Chuy would be revealed as a demon, so the moment in this episode where he confesses his true nature to the sorta-judgey Midnighters isn’t too much of a shock.

Bowie serves as a way to force the Joe/Chuy reveals, but she also functions as a means to make the Midnighters to confront secrets they’ve been keeping from one another.

This is particularly relevant in the widening rift between Creek and Manfred, courtesy of Bowie revealing that each of them has some serious feelings about Manfred’s inability to detect what was up with Connor.

The hour ends with Chuy, who only barely recovered from the demon state he entered in order to take out Bowie, admitting to Joe that he needs to leave town ASAP. Chuy’s demon half can no longer resist the pull of the Veil, so I guess we’re saying goodbye to Joe’s husband, again, at least for a bit.

Will Manfred make his way back to Midnight? For the sake of our eclectic cast of characters, here’s hoping so. As annoying as it is, he really does seem like their only hope at this point.

Stray thoughts:

• The Reverend is the most useless character on this show, to be frank. I’m almost less interested in him than I am in Creek and Manfred’s relationship at this point.
• Bobo gradually winning Fiji back is a sweet thread that’s run through the last few episodes. But I still can’t quite buy Dylan Bruce as the smiley, genuine, sweetheart guy. It seems so… wrong and just off. Especially after seeing him as Paul on Orphan Black!
• In another, very minor subplot, Lem and Olivia’s seemingly flawless relationship gets a bit more complicated after Olivia reveals that she has no interest in ever becoming a vampire — something Lem wasn’t aware of. Now he knows their relationship has an expiration date built in. Peter Mensah’s subtle, but clearly heartbroken reaction in that scene is perfection.
• Manfred asking Xylda to possess him to keep Bowie out of his head is such a hokey idea that I can’t believe actually works for him.

What did you think of this episode of Midnight, Texas? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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Midnight, Texas airs Mondays at 9/8c on NBC.

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