{"id":3,"date":"2005-12-01T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2005-12-01T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/idolchatter\/2005\/12\/chainsaw-conversions.html"},"modified":"2005-12-01T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2005-12-01T12:00:00","slug":"chainsaw-conversions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2005\/12\/chainsaw-conversions.html","title":{"rendered":"Chainsaw Conversions"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

I\u2019ve heard of conversion by sword, but conversion by chainsaw?<\/p>\n

As another devoted fan<\/a> of \u201cInvasion<\/a>,\u201d I was stunned by last night\u2019s episode, in which Deputy Lewis Sirk is convinced by Sheriff Tom Underlay–who is looking more and more like the head alien–to cut off his miraculously regenerated left arm by telling him that \u201cpeople don\u2019t like change\u201d and that he was going against God\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the episode we learn that Sirk, who lost his left arm in battle, is a devout Christian. He says he \u201cprayed on\u201d a decision to tell a possibly-murdered girl’s birth parents that she was dead. Sheriff Underlay questions why he would do such a thing, why he would go around his authority like that. Sirk responds that he\u2019s \u201cloyal to someone else first,” that someone being God. Sure, it\u2019s clich\u00e9, but we know which camp he\u2019s in–and it doesn\u2019t seem to involve glowing creatures with acidic blood.<\/p>\n

The Sheriff and Sirk meet later that night at an inlet to check out some possible illegal polluting. The Sheriff doesn\u2019t seem too surprised when one of \u201cthe lights\u201d (a.k.a. the aliens) grabs Sirk, drags him out to sea, and proceeds to implant its suckers in him. Props to the director for including the gratuitous closeup of the cross around his neck right before he goes under.<\/p>\n

The next day Sirk shows up at Underlay\u2019s house dazed and with two arms! The Sheriff doesn\u2019t seem alarmed to see Sirk alive, but is very disconcerted that he has returned with a new limb. Sirk proclaims that it\u2019s a miracle from God. As Sirk joyously shoots basketball hoops, Underlay discusses the \u201cmiracle\u201d with Father Scanlon (also an alien?), who heads the creepy survivors-support-group at his church. The Father recommends that Underlay suggest to Sirk that his miracle should be kept to himself, that it is \u201ca private communion with God.\u201d But Sheriff Underlay thinks “a greater sacrifice is needed.” Oh no you didn’t!<\/p>\n

Taking Sirk out to an abandoned poacher\u2019s shack, the Sheriff explains that, \u201dThis isn\u2019t God\u2019s plan… He took your arm for a reason son, to challenge you. It defines who you are now. Wasn\u2019t that his plan?\u201d The Sheriff must certainly be using some kind of alien mind control because any right-minded person would refuse to chop off a brand-new arm, but Sirk falls to his knees crying, looks up to the sky in one final moment of tormented confusion, and then walks into the cabin with the chainsaw revving.<\/p>\n

Is Sirk now a born-again, born-again Christian so to speak? And, is the Sheriff scared that the new limb would stir up too much curiosity, or does he really feel that it\u2019s best for Sirk to lose his arm–to stay with God\u2019s original plan, since he knows that the new arm is part of the aliens\u2019 plan and Sirk will become a totally different person? Maybe it\u2019s both.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the beauty of \u201cInvasion,\u201d you\u2019re never quite sure what\u2019s real and what\u2019s not.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve heard of conversion by sword, but conversion by chainsaw? As another devoted fan of \u201cInvasion,\u201d I was stunned by last night\u2019s episode, in which Deputy Lewis Sirk is convinced by Sheriff Tom Underlay–who is looking more and more like the head alien–to cut off his miraculously regenerated left arm by telling him that \u201cpeople…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":274,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nChainsaw Conversions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chainsaw Conversions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I\u2019ve heard of conversion by sword, but conversion by chainsaw? As another devoted fan of \u201cInvasion,\u201d I was stunned by last night\u2019s episode, in which Deputy Lewis Sirk is convinced by Sheriff Tom Underlay–who is looking more and more like the head alien–to cut off his miraculously regenerated left arm by telling him that \u201cpeople…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2005\/12\/chainsaw-conversions.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Idol Chatter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2005-12-01T12:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ellen leventry\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Chainsaw Conversions","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Chainsaw Conversions","og_description":"I\u2019ve heard of conversion by sword, but conversion by chainsaw? 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