WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Evil Season 2, Episode 9, "U Is for U.F.O.," now streaming on Paramount+.
As the episode title suggests, this week's Evil tackles potential U.F.O. sightings. Captain Sampson, a U.S. Air Force pilot, claims she saw something — an out-of-this-world spacecraft, an angel or perhaps God — while in the air, leaving her feeling joyful and more close to the Lord than ever before. The Church, "keeping an open mind," assigns David, Kristen and Ben to assess the pilot's credibility to see if God created life off Earth.
Ben is able to track down a young student named Asha, who also saw the U.F.O. at the exact same time as the fighter pilot. She also describes a feeling of joyfulness passing through her, but admits she was high the whole time, putting her testimony into question. Kristen visits a colonel at a nearby Air Force base, who informs her that object was simply a CongoRun satellite launch and that the pilot has been grounded until further notice.
Meanwhile, Dr. Boggs agrees to see Kristen and Andy in a joint session for a limited time, despite the conflict of interest it presents, him being the former's therapist and all. Andy explains his concern for Kristen and the various changes she has been going through over the last few months, including her cross burns on her stomach. This is the first time Dr. Boggs hears of this, and he is rightly concerned, but Kristen once again claims that they were accidental. Andy also brings up the french fry incident, which has since gone viral on YouTube. Kristen defends her actions and her work with the Church, saying she is now more empowered and assertive, no longer letting those who hurt her get away with it.
But Kristen's actions have consequences beyond herself and the poor man nursing his french fry wound. Her daughter's have seen the video, courtesy of Sheryl, and see their mom as a badass. (During the daughter-grandmother viewing, Sheryl, in her best mother-in-law voice, innocently asks, "You know what I find interesting. Why didn't your dad say anything?") So Kristen and Andy call a family meeting, condemning the french fry incident and announcing that Andy will return to Colorado for one month to shut down the climbing business. Andy also wants to start having more family dinners, which scares his daughters into thinking they are becoming religious. "Only Mormons do that," Lila deadpans.
Still, the damage has already been done. Andy and Kristen are later summoned to Laura's school after she called her teacher a "fucking liar." Laura was showing the video to her friends, and the teacher did not believe that was the young girl's mother wielding the french fry bag. Kristen clears the incident up, but that does not stop her feelings of shame from rushing through her body.
That night, while David is practicing his meditation, he gets an unexpected visit from Leland, who claims he was attacked by a winged monster in a vision. At first, David dismisses Leland's claim as another farce, but when the psychopath draws the same avenging angel from earlier in the season, the priest-in-training decides to do some more investigating. He and Ben check out the camera they installed on Leland's computer to see if he was actually dreaming, but David begins to suspect that Leland knows he is being recorded.
It turns out David was right to be suspicious, as Leland was lying about the entire ordeal. He meets with Demon Therapist, who commends Leland for his efforts, but wonders if Leland, in his con to fake an exorcism, actually now wants an exorcism. Leland denies this allegation, but Demon Therapist still decides to write up a report for the "Manager." To prove he has the "will" to go through with everything, Demon Therapist asks Leland to bring "the blood to prove it." Oh, and his dream journal.
Ben and Kristen figure out that there was no satellite launch that day and call in the other two pilots who were flying at the same as Captain Sampson. While one pilot is adamant they did not see anything, the other is more hesitant. Ben suspects he is hiding something and gives him his email in case he comes up with any other information.
David continues to struggle with his meditation, seeing images of death, violence and destruction whenever he closes his eyes. This time around, he also himself and Kristen in the nude lying on top of each other. In the silence, he hears a strange humming whisper coming from his computer. He gives the computer to Ben, who discovers a chip with an engraved pentagram hidden inside. At that moment, Ben also receives an email from the pilot containing a video recording of his flight. It shows a small black, circular object flying at high speed display a white cross before disappearing in the sky.
The Church jumps on the video, calling Captain Sampson back in for a meeting with Father Katagas, its resident U.F.O. expert. While she did not experience any of the physical sensations he asks about, she does recognize a smell that matches the scent from other recorded sightings. Father Katagas asks to meet with Asha, arguing that the Vatican is extremely interested in extraterrestrial life and its implications on Original Sin. "If there are other beings, could they be free of Original Sin? Would they not even be aware of what it was? Or are we missionaries? Asked to share the Gospel as we did with the Indigenous people in the New World?" he posits.
Later that day, Kristen is approached by a man named Edgar Loudermilk, who claims to be working for the American government. He says that the video Kristen and her team stumbled upon is not religious or supernatural, but a Russian drone the Americans are hoping to study. He asks Kristen to stand down, a request she brings to the Church.
The Vatican sends Victor Lecante (13 Reasons Why's Brian d'Arcy James), a member of the Vatican intelligence agency known as the Entity, who dismisses Loudermilk's claims, saying that it does not line up with his international intelligence and that they will all be traveling to Rome to further evaluate the situation. He also happens to have an RSM Fertility pamphlet on him. "You wanted me to see that, right?" David asks. "I have no idea what you're talking about," Lecante answers back. "Let's handle one thing at a time, shall we David?"
However, the next day, Asha and Captain Sampson retract their statements, having been bribed by the government — Asha got a spot at MIT, Captain Sampson was allowed to fly again. Lecante also tells David that he is not going after RSM Fertility and that David should drop it too. But David is undeterred and decides to go after the clinic anyway.
Seeking the blood for his next session with Demon Therapist, Leland goes to see Sheryl, interrupting one of her sacrifices to Eddie. She of course says no, so Leland takes matters into his own hands, hacking off Demon Therapist's head and wiping the blood on his face Joker style. The next night, Sheryl stops by his apartment, agreeing to give him the blood. Not needing it anymore, Leland invites her to dinner. "I have a knife in my purse," she warns him. "I have a knife in my apron. We'll keep each other on our toes," he flirts back as the two sit down to enjoy some spicy goat soup.
Realizing Dr. Boggs can no longer help her, Kristen goes to see David for advice. "Why are you so angry?" he asks. "Because I hate people," she answers. "I look at everyone in my day, every single person, and I realize they're awful. And I don't want to hear that people are essentially good and that they want to do good, because I don't think they do." Being the great therapist priest that he is, David validates her feelings, sermonizing about America's obsession with purity and inability to admit something is wrong. His solution? Apologizing. Saying sorry. Admitting something is actually wrong. Not sure exactly what to do with this, Kristen exits the room. But not before offering her own piece of advice to David. "Don't be a priest."
That night, while in bed with Andy, Kristen takes David's advice to heart and apologizes. "I'm sorry for not being myself," she says. "Be patient with me."