Holly Gibney Is the Best Thing About 'The Outsider'
Image courtesy of HBO
I feel about HBO’s The Outsider the same way I feel about most Stephen King-based creations: the set-up is great, the tension builds, and the ending is kind of meh. What made the show worth watching was Holly Gibney. Holly is a private investigator with otherworldly intellect, and she’s the first person in the series to actually make some headway in the case that the main character Ralph Anderson is investigating, trying to find a killer of children who feeds off the families’ pain. Show creator Richard Price took some liberties with Holly’s character, who is already well-known for the book and TV adaptation of Mr. Mercedes, and the choice proved to be a good one. Portrayed by Cynthia Erivo, Holly brings a complexity and authenticity that, for me, makes the whole show.
Holly’s attitude toward the inexplicable and her determination to find the truth is an attribute I admire, even if it makes people scream “ARE YOU INSANE?!” at her over and over again. We’re introduced to Holly’s character as she gazes out the window, naming the make, model, and year of every car that passes by. When she meets Ralph, who is trying to recruit her to help solve the Maitland murder, she explains that she’s filled with knowledge about things she doesn’t even particularly care about -- she can rattle off baseball stats while having no interest in the sport and identify movies she hasn’t seen from just a quote. The tension between Ralph and Holly’s relationship lies in that he refuses to believe there’s a paranormal explanation for the murders he’s investigating, while she is ready to accept that some things -- like her own brain -- can’t be simply explained by forensics or medicine. She makes her stance clear from the beginning: she will not rule out anything that could lead to the true killer, however illogical it may seem.
Erivo delivers Holly’s dialogue in the quick, calm, eloquent manner we might expect from a highly intelligent character (think Sherlock), but she brings a humanity to the character that is unexpected and makes her more interesting and relatable. We learn that as a child her parents tried to find an explanation for her unconventional behavior, which meant a series of examinations that haunt her still. We see that Holly’s acceptance of the extraordinary stems from an acceptance of herself. When she’s introduced a couple of episodes in, she brings with her a sense of relief that, finally, someone will be following the ominous clues left behind by the killer that Ralph has been ignoring so far. Her openness is the key to finding the killer.
SPOILERS FOR THE OUTSIDER FROM HERE ON OUT
Hands down, the best episode of the series is episode 6, “The One About the Yiddish Vampire,” where Holly lays out the results of her investigation thus far and reveals her theory on who is committing these murders. It’s a tense episode as we anticipate how different parties will react to Holly’s claims, which we know will sound preposterous to at least half of the people in the room (particularly Ralph). Adding to the tension is the fact that Jack, who we know is under the control of the dark entity behind the murders, is chauffeuring Holly. I was excited, but not surprised, to see that this episode was directed by Karyn Kusama, director of The Invitation and master of tension. At this point, we’ve spent half the season watching Ralph disregard every single clue that would lead him to the truth, and the stress becomes almost unbearable as Holly presents her information while Ralph struggles to take her seriously. Holly puts him in his place when she tells him how hard it was for her to set herself up for humiliation in that room, but she did it because she wanted to find the killer, and she refuses to close herself off to any possible explanations.
This same openness allows Holly to have a lovely relationship with Andy Katcavage, a former detective who she meets during her investigation. Andy is immediately transparent about his interest in Holly without placing any expectations on where it might lead, and they quickly form a bond without wasting any time in the push/pull typical of on-screen relationships. Holly finds comfort in Andy, something everyone will need as they get deeper into this case. Andy is also quick to help Holly with the investigation without questioning the supernatural aspects of her suspicions. Their endearing relationship makes Andy’s death all the more heartbreaking (that’s what you get for loving a character too much), but it allows us to see a side of Holly that can be irrational in the face of pain as she puts herself in danger in the midst of her rage. While this type of character can often be portrayed as cold or out of touch with their emotions, we get to see Holly in moments when she’s driven by nothing but emotion.
The other relationship that anchors the show is Ralph and Holly’s. Every single interaction they have involves Ralph dismissing Holly’s claims as illogical -- he wants forensic evidence and “hard facts,” and she gives him ancient lore and unfathomable (to Ralph) ideas about shapeshifters. But it’s Ralph who Holly wants to ride with when the team decides to follow the killer’s trail and finally try to catch him. Holly tells Ralph that she feels grounded by him because he challenges her assumptions, but she asks him to be equally open to challenging his own ideas and to start accepting that this case will not fit his preconceptions of what’s possible. I don’t have much to say about the culmination of their investigation, but I did enjoy Ralph and Holly’s parting words, as they leave open the possibility of working together again and Holly gives Ralph a cheeky shrug when he asks her, “what else is out there?”
The resolution of the show wasn’t nearly as scary or satisfying as it could have been, but with that caveat in mind, it is worth watching if only to enjoy this wonderful version of a character who is already beloved by many book lovers. Erivo’s Holly is an exciting female character that we don’t see often -- she’s smart, vulnerable, brave, and her nails are on point! Here’s to more complex women characters in horror.