‘Ash vs Evil Dead 2×04’ Review
Dealing with the fallout from last week’s Ash vs Evil Dead, episode four leaps straight into the action. What it also does though is fall into the trap of being an episode about progression. A stop-gap between a major plot point, and hopefully one to come in the next episode.
With the Delta still possessed and on the move, Ash (Bruce Campbell) and Chet (Ted Raimi) give chase with Pablo (Ray Santiago) trapped in the Delta with the Necronomicon. Ruby (Lucy Lawless) and Kelly (Dana DeLorenzo) look to get business sorted, as they go after Ruby’s evil spawn.
When I call this an episode about progression, it’s because it doesn’t offer that much to offer anything new, but teases what is to come in the future. What we do get though is plenty of gore to keep the fans happy, as well as some cheesy scenes which show that the DNA that runs through Ash vs Evil Dead isn’t just from the horror film, but has roots in Xena too.
While it’s nice to see Chet appear in this episode, Ted Raimi’s appearance is fleeting. The chemistry between him and Bruce Campbell still shines though and offers a highlight of the episode. Hopefully he’ll be around again to offer a helping hand (or a few drinks) when needed. When Ash finally faces the Delta in battle, it feels suitably epic for the show, though it is what happens in the car itself which his more important.
What is obvious from the battle Ash goes through is that the male members of the group make the foolish decisions, as ever. Ruby and Kelly manage to kick ass and show themselves as being the stronger members of the group. What is interesting though is that at the end of this episode, we really can’t tell if the conclusion is a good thing, or once again Ash has managed to make everything worse (with more than a helping hand from Pablo).
What I found with episode 4 of Ash vs Evil Dead is that this was the weakest episode so far, but still fun. Lee Majors (as Ash’s dad Brock) still manages to make an appearance giving advice, and the level of gore on show keeps things interesting for the horror fans. In the end though, it is obvious that while it features some big stunts, this episode is something of a filler, leading up to bigger events still to come.
Even if this episode is merely a bump on the road to a successful season, it does feel that we have little to worry about with Ash vs Evil Dead. The structure of the show gives the audience short bursts of Evil Dead chaos, and that is what we are used to now. Just because we don’t get much in the way of story doesn’t mean that this episode is a failure, as I said it is more of a progression of the season to the bigger events still to come.
Ash vs Evil Dead 2×04 is a gore packed episode that may feel slightly lacking, but is important to get to where the story is going. Progressing to the closing act of the story bigger things are obviously on their way. Hardly a failure, this week is about action and destruction. Next week we’ll hopefully get a little more story to add to it too.
Ash vs Evil Dead is available in the UK through Virgin Media On Demand.
