[granville1]

Not epilepsy, but likely a brain “legion” (sorry). Recall that Amfortas duplicates the symptoms of his own patients (the hand convulsion). His “twin” informs him that yes, he had a part in the murders. The haunting question is, can Amfortas, like Karras before him, be redeemed?

Also the name “Amfortas” is taken from the Grail myth. Amfortas was the Fisher King who chronically/eternally suffered from a debilitating wound. In fact, his wound (said to be in the thigh and symbolic of physical and spiritual impotence) is called “The Amfortas Wound”. Hence Blatty’s Dr. Amfortas also suffers from a chronic psychological (the problem of pain) wound – and a neurological (his lesion and the altered state it causes) wound.

So – yes, I’d say that Amfortas is the guilty party vis a vis the murdered priest in the confessional. He had access to the surgical shears and the succinocholine. But I don’t know if he can be termed a true catatonic – the brain lesion is probably classified as a different type of illness in neuropsychology.

[Blizzi]

The legion pun tempted me too 😛 So it was significant that he injected himself in the thigh for the pain (yay, I get something 🙂 ). When he hit his head on the coffee table, it was his temple. Why did he write down the time? Dr. Temple was banging on his door while he was writing it… was he having an episode or attack then? It took me a couple of days to figure out why the Gemini stuffed the nurse with light switches 😛 so please bear with my slow reactions 🙂

[granville1]

Good pun-catches! I don’t recall what he wrote when Temple was knocking… Guess I’ll need to re-read it again…

[Blizzi]

lol I read it twice… I still don’t get that part 😛

[ekm]

The question unanswered is whether or not Temple’s stroke was an unhappy coincidence.

[Blizzi]

(Epilepsy or lesion? I don’t remember which) Why was he writing down the time? I think I’m missing something 😛 And at the end, when the police found the windbreaker (as the one the suspected murderer had) does that mean it was he who killed the priest while possessed by the Gemini? (Because “catatonics are so easy to possess”?)

[Author]

Posts