Review by Eric Hillis (@hilliseric)
Home Again is the title of this week's episode of Ash Vs Evil Dead. Hasn't Ash (Bruce Campbell) been home, i.e. Elk Grove, for most of the season, you might well ask. Well here, Ash returns to Elk Grove once again - to 1982 Elk Grove that is.
With Pablo (Ray Santiago) dead following his battle with Baal, Ash receives advice from his beyond the grave buddy, who informs him that should he return to 1982 and stop his younger self from reading from the Necronomicon, history will change accordingly, restoring Pablo to life. Helpfully, Pablo's flesh is inscribed with an incantation that when recited, takes Ash back to the '80s, accompanied by Ruby (Lucy Lawless) and Kelly (Dana DeLorenzo).
At the infamous cabin, Ash steps on a nail protruding from the cellar door, and his leg quickly becomes possessed by a black goo making its way through his veins. Initially considering chainsawing his leg off, Ash instead cuts into a vein in an attempt to suck the goo out, an action which results in a miniature demon making its way inside his body.
This gives way to some classic Three Stooges type physical comedy, with Ash pouring a variety of liquids down his throat to kill the demon, burning his face with boiling water in the process. When the demon pops out it's a pretty interesting stop-motion creation that I would have liked to see more of, but Ash dispatches it with a frying pan.
In the basement, Ash finds Henrietta, the wife of Professor Knowby, the original owner of the cabin, and Ruby's father of course. It's here that things get a little messy, as Henrietta originally appeared in Evil Dead 2. Prior to this the show had led us to believe its original cabin story was based on the one portrayed in Sam Raimi's first film, so how can it suddenly now switch to the cabin story from the rebooted sequel?
The answer is alternate timelines, a simple but brilliant move from the show's writers that allows it to explore not one but two backstories.
While attempting to figure out if Henrietta has become possessed yet, Ash is interrupted by Knowby, who arrives with a young female student, Tanya (Sara West), in tow. His plan is to offer the girl as a sacrifice, transferring the possession from his wife to Tanya. Ash interrupts, and the episode ends on a cliffhanger, with a possessed Knowby facing down a cornered Ash and Tanya.
The first of a climactic two-parter, this episode was a little unsatisfying on its own, as it felt like we were only seeing half of an episode. It would have been nice to see Ash explore 1982 a little before heading to the cabin, and I feel an opportunity for some culture clash comedy was missed.
The sophomore season concludes next week. Can Ash alter time, and do we really want a world in which he never battles Deadites?
