The Outsider Review: Tear-Drinker (Season 1 Episode 5)

Threats don’t come lightly on The Outsider Season 1 Episode 5, “Tear-Drinker,” especially when they come from supernatural forces.

There is a solid foundation in place for a more emotion-driven episode, and this episode comes through strong. Both Ralph and Jeannie are haunted by the death of their son, and while it’s only been hinted at before, we’re given a sliver of their pain, not enough to see the full extent, but enough to see how they managed to come through such a harrowing trial.

Ralph’s skepticism of the unexplained appears to be causing an overall pessimism in his heart, where he’s unwilling to even entertain his wife Jeannie’s ordeal the night before with The Outsider.

It’s one of the more terrifying scenes that The Outsider has accomplished. Jeannie is such a kind soul, and so for The Outsider to choose her as the voice of his threat is doubly chilling, in that he’s corrupting her while speaking loud and clear to Ralph of his intentions. There’s the question of whether or not anyone has free will in its presence, as Jeannie walks through glass and sits almost by command than by choice.

The episode ends with Ralph’s passed son coming to visit him, the second time in a row that the show ends on a strange and unnerving beat, just like The Outsider Season 1 Episode 4, “Que Viene El Coco.” The first thought that comes to mind, of course, is that this is The Outsider coming to do the deed promised to Jeannie, coming in the form of Ralph’s most painful memory: his son.

But this could also be Ralph’s conscience eating away at him, that he’s forcefully moved on from his son and has not gotten over the pain deep inside. Most of the episode, more than previous ones, Ralph is internalized and almost catatonic, lost in his thoughts or completely separated from accepting anything beyond his own beliefs.

The fact that the cemeteries of The Outsider’s victims are so close to potential haunts continues the theory that Holly has, that it lingers to consume the aftermath of what it’s caused. It’s such a heavy idea, that something craves the trauma in people’s hearts, but it creates this devastating, almost poetic metaphor of how grief lingers and must be battled and overcome.

The new perspective of another one of The Outsider henchmen shows that its power is strong enough to send its subjects to death. It’s not entirely clear if this is an atonement of sorts or against their will, to opt for suicide by cop, but it places a curious thought into the air: who else could possibly be working for The Outsider? Jack may be facing a similar fate once his purpose is fulfilled, and there’s the case of Andy.

Andy continues to be a strange part of the show, as his intentions are completely split, even several episodes later from his introduction. He appears to care for Holly, but he’s also a little too curious about the investigation. The fact that we never get to see the back of his neck, and that he snags one of her notes and researches it, starts to point toward a nefarious intention, or it could be an innocent hope to help.

Holly’s car breaking down in traffic on her way to update Ralph and the others places her in danger. Has Andy done this to her car, or is The Outsider putting its supernatural powers to work?

A fascinating moment comes from Jack not wanting to accept holding Tomika’s newborn. He doesn’t trust himself, a rather new development despite his frustrations and need for tamping down the pain with booze. It’s not clear why he thinks he’s a threat to the child, but it’s enough to warrant worry, as it’s almost as though he can lose control at a moment’s notice and he knows it.

Now that he’s edging into the inner circle Ralph has created, there’s opportunity for The Outsider to know how far they have descended into the truth. If Jack’s unable to trust himself and The Outsider likes to dispose of its henchmen in violent manners, Jack is facing an uphill battle, as are Ralph and Howard’s team.

But that Tomika’s baby is again under threat that night places wonder at why the child could possibly be a threat. Is it that The Outsider wants to cause more tragedy, or is it a subliminal threat after she warns Jack that she will get to the bottom of what’s troubling him? The Outsider is adamant that everyone stop digging, and so perhaps this falls on Tomika, as well, and her “dream” is the threat.

The Outsider Season 1 Episode 5, “Tear-Drinker,” continues down a path of dark despair, but there are flickers of hope. Holly’s crusade is finding some success, though it’s still not clear how a force with so much influence can be taken down.

The emotional journey of Ralph and Jeannie is becoming an essential piece of the show, as their pain is so deep and still so raw. Now that Ralph is seeing his son, there’s chance that The Outsider is planning to beat down Ralph emotionally as a last resort to take him off the case. But we don’t know how Ralph will react to this yet, and with so much anger bottled up, it’s likely to come out in a damaging way.

Holly may be the last chance at hope as she pieces everything together, but first she’ll need to get back.

 

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The Outsider airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.

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