Everyone loves it when a story finally comes together or at least makes an attempt to start making sense of it. It takes most series more than a few episodes to try and find proper footing for the overall plot, and up until now Ash vs the Evil Dead hasn’t made it entirely clear. Granted, they did let it be known early that Brandy was the main target of whatever evil was being summoned. Ruby especially was mad about getting to her but we were all left to wonder why. If it was her connection to Ash then why Ash? I mean we do know why Ash, but we don’t really know why other than some cryptic prophecy foretold by Ruby.
Relationships are also a huge part of this series. Though it’s almost never actually serious, we do get a sense of major characterization when the gang is all together. Kelly and Pablo of course is a major one, especially with the strain Dalton and his subsequent death brought upon it. The major showcase of characterization is of course between Ash and his new daughter and Ash and his current relationship with fatherhood. These may sound like the same thing, and in a way they are, but at the same time they are completely different.
Recap
The episode picks up in the aftermath of the fight between Ash and his Deadite father as he begins to dismember his corpse to prevent him from rising again. Clearly this is hard work for him (not really). Hilariously enough, his real father shows up Star Wars style as a spirit. Apparently, he’s returned to enjoy being a ghost and to be surprised that he’s actually a grandfather. Seems he came back to let Ash in on a secret that he didn’t get to tell Ash before he died, well show rather. Back on Kelly’s end she’s struggling to deal with what happened with Dalton and Pablo and returns to Ash’s home long after he’s already gone and see’s the mess that was Brock Williams.
Brandy returns to the house not long after, looking for her phone, and tells Kelly what she just witnessed in the previous episode. Kelly finally decides to give her the talk about what’s really going on in hopes that she’ll stop this whole “woe is me” act. They’ve all lost people in this fight. But since the demons are after Brandy, Kelly wants her to stay close. Before they can even drive anywhere, a deadite Pablo comes crashing into their windshield. After some rumbling and tumbling, and Kelly taking a bite to the leg, the two ladies hide themselves away in Ash’s fortified trailer. This doesn’t stop Pablo from constantly trying to break in.
Ash and Brock end up actually going back in time, well it’s more of a memory. Either way he’s trying to show him something of importance that happened at the hardware store. Turns out another Knight of Sumeria was looking for Ash, revealing his hilarious full name in the process, Ashley Joanna Williams. The reason Brock named this is pretty funny, but I digress.
Anyway, the Knight tried to find Ash to save him from the Dark Ones back in 2012, and he had some lost pages ripped from the Necronomicon. Turns out they stole the pages from Ruby, who Brock knows as Sasquatch. This scene is actually very reminiscent of Evil Dead 2 but we’ll get to that. Brock’s former self refuses to believe in the nonsense. The argument gets violent and the two end up fighting, causing the Knight to fall down into the cellar. Brock believes him dead, so he locks the cellar up and never looks back, locking away the lost pages as well.
Back in the trailer, Kelly is working with her leg being wounded, all while Pablo is still trying to break in, which reminds Kelly that he is a powerful vagina. She does let Brandy know that she wont kill him Pablo, that she needs to save him, a similar conversation she had with Dalton. Ash finally opens up the cellar in the hardware only to find the stairs empty. And we get yet another fun Evil Dead 2 reference.
After looking around Ash finally finds the Knight’s body. He’d apparently survived his fall and lived the rest of his life on Spam. He also managed to write stuff in the style of the Necronomicon all over the walls, right behind the lost pages. Ruby is also aware of this, as the book reacts to Ash finding this apparent portal on the wall where Ash can see some of the souls taken by the book. The wall itself sprouts tentacles as it begins to bind Ash, who frees himself using his chainsaw. Brock also gives Ash the real Mrs. Prevett’s address and some fake compliments.
Back with Ruby, the woman that Dalton had mentioned in his previous story about the Knights, appears in the book. She tells Ruby that a portal to the Netherworld has been made and that the Dark Ones can use it as a means to escape. It seems Ruby isn’t really on their side after all. Kaya beckons Ruby to see her free from the Dark One’s clutches, but she requires a a host to do this and apparently Ash still has to be dealt with? Ruby returns to the ruins of the cabin to find Dalton and releases him from his possession for a short while in order to find out what exactly the Knights are up to and how many of the order are left. She also asks where the rift was and the lost pages—what Ash found. Dalton kills himself before he can become a demon again.
Things are getting worse at the trailer as Pablo’s face is literally coming out of the wound he left on Kelly. Ash gets to Ruby’s house to find it empty, until he discovers the surviving Nordic woman in the attic along with the crazy demon baby Ash. The episode ends as we get to see a toddler strike absolute fear into Ash with a hilarious but slightly terrifying scream.
Review
Now, I really want to mention these first just because they made me so giddy and what not. This episode was giving a lot of Evil Dead 2 references. They were pretty obvious, but awesome to see nonetheless. The first one was a little more important than the second and draws directly from the end of the second film.
If memory serves you’ll remember that the only way to stop the Dark Ones was hidden in the missing pages brought to the Cabin midway into the movie and their purpose was both to bring them into the physical realm and then banish them into space and time. Because of licensing issues, Raimi could not use anything associated with Army of Darkness, but I believe he’s trying to go in a similar direction with playing the line as much as he can, which I can really appreciate. The second nod of course was just a rehash of his fight with Henrietta, twice in the cabin cellar from both the second film and previous episodes.
The major issue in this episode is pulled from the previous, and that is what happened to Pablo after he disappeared with Dalton. While it’s still not clear if he had anything to do with Dalton’s death as the deadite mentioned, we know he is now possessed again. Whether it has to do with the Sumerian writing all over his body or not is still up for debate, but the fact that he is a monster now speaks volumes to Kelly’s character, who is more worried about saving him than killing him. Suck on that Dalton. Speaking of relationships Ash’s encounter with his “son” wasn’t more than a split second but it is something to look forward to in the next episode.
A big reveal in this episode was also the appearance of Kaya, a woman introduced by Dalton in his history of the Knights. While we didn’t get to see much of her, we do get a lot more information on Ruby’s endgame. Clearly, like Dalton mentioned, she is not with the Dark Ones but nor is she good. It seems Ash will be a major thorn in her plans, being part of a prophecy and such. What I surmised from this scene is that Ruby is trying to defeat the Dark One’s herself if only to gain their power and domain. But if Ash destroys them himself she’ll be unable to do so. As for finding a host for Kaya’s rebirth, I think that’s her role for Brandy. Agree with me? Let’s discuss it in the comments.
