After a couple of ho-hum episodes, Ash vs Evil Dead is finally heating up, taking things back to their roots with a hefty amount of comedy and gore.
Now that the book has seemingly been plunged into the underworld, Ash is about to get his life back together. Sheriff Emery however has other plans and arrests Ash for the murder of Amber, the girl he decapitated at the bar.
Baal finally shows his face and switches bodies with one of the officers. Soon enough, the whole gang is in lock down at the police station and with Baal’s ability to cut peoples skin off and use it to disguise himself, everyone is a suspect.
While this is going on, it would appear that Pablo has been infected as his torso slowly rips open. It’s at this point that he begins to think he might be Baal.
The best part about Confinement is that it uses what made Evil Dead so scary in the first place: the demons ability to deceive people and spread mistrust. This is Baals M.O. and not only does it produce some tense scenes, but it puts everyone on edge, making for some great character moments.
Kelly is bordering on crazy at this point, controlling the room with a gun: Ruby solidifies her allegiance to Ash, Pablo’s torment finally leads him to a breakdown and Sheriff Emery shows his true colours. Confinement is a fantastic episode for development, isolating everyone’s traits and capitalising on a seasons worth of build.
I thought it might take a little longer to see Baal but he’s here now and still hasn’t come face to face with Ash so that element is still at play. Played by Joel Tobeck, he is about as malevolent as you expected him to be and just as powerful. He immediately makes you question how ‘The Ghost Beaters” are going to get out of this predicament.
He is also harbouring a sweet revelation too: That Ruby is no longer immortal. A piece of information that she has neglected to tell her new cohorts. When all else fails, I guess we all thought that Ruby could take down Baal but now with everybody just being regular Joes, things are’t looking the best.
Ash was hilarious here and the action and SFX were back on point. “Lady Cop’s” skinless body attacks the group, ripping off expendable characters arms and throwing them through windows. Ash disposes of her with Ruby’s help in what has become a trademark of the show: A bit of chainsawing that drenches everything within a small radius in blood. Bonus points for a close up of Ash spitting it it all out as he gets covered.
Highlights:
- Demons using deceit
- Great ep for characters
- Genuinely funny
- Baal
- Final fight scene
Lowlights:
- Baal should have been hyped up more before his arrival
Review Score: FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Ash vs Evil Dead is streaming now on Stan.
———-
