The Outsider Review: Foxhead (Season 1 Episode 8)
The hunt is on, but it’s a little fuzzy who the hunter is exactly. Is it Ralph, Holly, and friends, or is it The Outsider? On The Outsider Season 1 Episode 8, “Foxhead,” the need to accept a new form of reality comes at everyone fast, as they try to use their own experiences to grapple with a monster.
The way the episode uses personal experience as both a way to frame how characters are coming at the situation, but also as a way to show how they see powers beyond their own, makes for excellent drama. The main moment is the conversation between Ralph and Holly, as Ralph explains the song that ties his mother and son together.
While it’s funny that Holly, who has spent the entire season connecting improbable dots, believes Ralph’s story to be nothing more than coincidence, it’s especially touching at how it brings Ralph’s view on life and death to something so personal. Ralph believes it to be more than coincidence, and it’s a powerful way to not only reveal something about him, but could be the gateway into his way of accepting this new truth.
It also provides a nice way to break the ice between Holly and Ralph, which is needed more than ever.
Yunis turns to religion and Alec turns to the uneasiness that comes with combat, both ideals holding great power in how they’re holding onto things as a way of coping with the unexplained. Both are equally valid ways of trying to understand, as understanding comes down to something so personal that holds onto the past and what worked at the time.
They are small moments in the grand scheme of the episode, but it adds so much in totality as these characters start to become more focused as the danger amplifies against them.
Jack’s life, before all of this, even finds some extra tragedy. The story of how he loses out on his dream career is another major loss for him, furthering the story of his downfall as a lifelong occurrence that has culminated in misery. His cowering at the grotesque sounds of The Outsider is proof enough that he’s in over his head, but it’s still not clear how much agency he has, or if he is entirely a puppet now.
The hour is an impressive slow build, where The Outsider adds another new perspective of the family coming to the festival. Once Jack is on the road and the reveal of Claude’s tattoos on The Outsider’s hand occurs, it’s clear where this new point of view is heading.
Holding onto the family and showing them happy and having fun builds that tension, and when it finally bursts, it’s a clever reversal.
The Outsider’s immediate reaction is to flee, but first comes a strange sense of urgent panic. With the fox head on, it’s all in the eyes, and it’s a great image to portray how unprepared The Outsider really is in this situation. It’s making mistakes, just as Holly says it would, and trying to take a child in a public place is a pretty massive mistake.
That final moment, of The Outsider as Claude on video, is such a potent way to close out the episode. Ralph’s been trying to believe all episode, all season even (to an extent), and is doing an okay job given the circumstances; but his look of incredulity toward Holly speaks volumes. It’s the look of a man whose complete world is upside down now.
Claude’s panicked searches in the middle of the night certainly lend a helping hand. It’s all strange and foreign to Ralph, but it’s pushing him into becoming a believer, whether he’s ready or not. The moment is similar to the one where he realizes Terry Maitland is in two places at once, but with all of the evidence to now back up the confusion.
But the question now becomes, where does the show go from here? The Outsider Season 1 Episode 8, “Foxhead,” is a tiny bit slow at progressing its story, but instead it rewards with a wealth of character development that puts weight behind their beliefs as they are ultimately tested.
With The Outsider exposed, it’s all a matter of time. But when it can strike at any time, that leaves Ralph and Holly with a large canvas to tackle.
What did you think of this episode of The Outsider? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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The Outsider airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.
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Kevin Lever
Kevin Lever has been following television closely for most of his life, but in starting to cover it, he has grown a further appreciation. He strives to give the blockbusters their due, and give the lesser known shows a spotlight to find more fans.