Exorcism (Big Love)

In its original American broadcast, "Exorcism" was seen by an estimated 1.37 million household viewers with a 0.6/2 in the 18–49 demographics. This means that 0.6 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 2 percent of all of those watching television at the time of the broadcast watched it.^[2] This was a slight increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was seen by an estimated 1.36 million household viewers with a 0.6/2 in the 18–49 demographics.^[3]

"Exorcism" received mixed reviews from critics. Emily St. James of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B–" grade and wrote, "There are plenty of good moments and storylines in “Exorcism,” but the good half is balanced out by a half that feels sort of like a long, slow exhale, all of the air going out of the show for no particular reason, as though the series ramped up the tension in episode eight, then abruptly realized it had TWO more episodes to fill, not just the one."^[4]

Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "So as I watched the characters go through their familiar patterns, I mainly had to ask myself why I was still watching after all these years and all this frustration. My hope, I guess, is that Bill gets what's coming to him in the finale, but the problem with a character like Bill is that even if he goes to prison for 20 years, he'll just think of himself as a martyr to the cause."^[5] James Poniewozik of TIME wrote, "Is there a puddle in front of my TV? “Exorcism” may well qualify as Big Love's cryingest episode of all time; it seemed as if hardly a character managed to get through a scene without red-rimmed eyes. Yet for all the tears, the exceedingly busy episode did not convey a sense of grieving or sadness exactly as of horror and dread: we were looking at characters who feel they may be facing the end, if not already past it. There were tears of frustration and despair and exhaustion, and then that most efficient of catharses: gunfire."^[6]

Aileen Gallagher of Vulture wrote, "Before a story resolves, it must climax. With just one episode left of Big Love, the Henricksons' war with the Grant family finally ends with a shoot-out in the state capitol. But even with Alby gone, the Henricksons' future remains uncertain."^[7] Allyssa Lee of Los Angeles Times wrote, "It's the second-to-last episode, Big Love fans, and another hour with my stomach spent in knots. This one, called “Exorcism,” was where all the demons came out to play."^[8]

TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Big Love brought all the drama and left very little anticipation for the series finale on "Exorcism," as Alby became a wanted man, but that did not stop him from his one mission: kill Bill."^[9] Mark Blankenship of HuffPost wrote, "Those two problems - logical lapses and character inconsistency - plague this episode. They've plagued the entire season, really, but this episode is so frantic, so full of plot lines that have to be wrapped up nownownow that the problems are impossible to ignore. It strikes me that things are happening because the creative team has decided they should happen and not because they flow naturally from the story we've been told."^[10]

• "Exorcism" at HBO
• "Exorcism" at IMDb