WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for HBO's The Outsider.
HBO's The Outsider has been a battle of wits as Georgia's detective squad, led by Ben Mendelsohn's Ralph Anderson, struggle to catch the shape-shifting Grief Eater that continues a child-murder spree. The key, as Holly (Cynthia Erivo) has discovered, based on how the ghoul can pick details from people's minds, is to keep it in the dark as much as possible, especially since it's controlling one of their own cops in Jack (Marc Menchaca).
However, thanks to one stupid move within their own entourage in Season 1's penultimate episode, "Tigers and Bears," Ralph and Holly's team suffers a major casualty after a slip of the tongue allows the monster to brutally kill a key detective, and possibly others.
The team's in Tennessee because they know the creature's trying to fully assume to form of Claude (Paddy Considine), a bouncer from back in Georgia, who's visiting his brother Seale (Max Beesley). It's not fully converted to Claude after scratching him at a nightclub but because it's hungry, the monster has already tried to steal a kid from a forest park resort to take to Bear Cave at Cecil and devour. That was foiled by bystanders but when local cops try to finger Claude, the creature's mask fell off and Ralph's team sticks up for him.
They realize that Bear Cave is the current nesting grounds but Claude is not involved in the conversation, with Holly making it clear he can't know their plans because the Grief Eater already has a mental connection to him. They send him, the lawyer Howie (Bill Camp) and Seale away in isolation for a road trip to get food and to stay at an inn, but after bonding Howie overhears the siblings arguing. Seale, who's always high and paranoid, spills the plan and Claude is livid because he knows it means he just inadvertently allowed the Grief Eater access.
Then, in the blink of an eye, the disfigured Jack arises from his hole, knowing what needs to be done. The Grief Eater in the shadows of the cave and has already sent a message to his mind, causing Jack to gather his hunting equipment, including sniper rifles. He hurries over to the cave and before Howie can alter the crew via phone, Jack starts picking them off. As the episode ends, Alec Pelley (Jeremy Bobb) is shot through the head. The screen then cuts to black as six more shots are heard, leaving the audience guessing at who else got hit.
Holly's boyfriend, the intuitive Andy (Derek Cecil) is an option, as well as Ralph's second-in-command Yunis (Yul Vazquez). And based on the trailer for the final episode, they won't be part of the hunt. That's because Holly and Ralph are the only ones in the cave, but this could, of course, be a misdirection.
Jack might have some trouble to contend with, though, because Howie and the Boltons have armed themselves and are coming as the calvary. Still, Alec is a big loss since he kept Ralph grounded and was also superstitious, making him a great bridging point for Holly's supernatural theories. Jack knew what Alec was worth because these kinds of cops are the most dangerous, which means Holly is most likely his next target.
Starring Ben Mendelsohn, Cynthia Erivo, Bill Camp, Mare Winningham, Julianne Nicholson, Paddy Considine, Jeremy Bobb, Yul Vazquez, Marc Menchaca and Jason Bateman, The Outsider airs on HBO on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.