TV Review: Ash Vs. Evil Dead – Season 2, Episode 2

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Season 2, Episode 2: The Morgue

SUMMARY: Ash (Bruce Campbell) and Kelly (Dana DeLorenzo) must retrieve the Necronomicon from the morgue, where it’s been hidden by Ruby (Lucy Lawless) who’s being interrogated by Pablo (Ray Santiago) but quickly turns the tables.

REVIEW: One of the things I really like about “Ash Vs Evil Dead” is how it’s just fun. So many shows now get caught up in major arcs or infatuated with the new artistic respectability of the medium. Sure, that’s a great thing, but just as in films the occasional brainless action movie is a treat, the same thing goes for TV. “Ash vs Evil Dead” sure as heck ain’t art, but boy is it fun.

This week’s episode continues with Ash back at his family home, with us getting a glimpse of his teenage room, full of beer cans (notice “Shemp’s Beer” – another of Sam Raimi/Bruce Campbell’s numerous Three Stooges references) and posters. We also get a bit more interaction with Ash’s horny pop, played by the perfect Lee Majors, although he’s yet to really get in on the action in a big way.

Most of the episode is devoted to Ash and Kelly’s morgue adventures, while the B-plot centers around Pablo’s hallucinatory dabbling with Ruby, who starts off the episode as a red herring, but actually now seems to legitimately be one of the good guys, even though Pablo has visions of her brutally torturing him, which appears to be Deadite misdirection.

One issue I had with last week’s episode is that the carnage wasn’t quite up to snuff with last season. This week remedies that, with Ash’s gross-out morgue fight being one of the most creatively violent set-pieces we’ve gotten so far. The bit where Ash pokes his head through a corpse’s anus, with his poo-covered head sticking out of the abdomen, with a flaccid penis right below his mighty chin is among the show’s grossest images – and I love it.

As usual, with the show running a scant twenty-two minutes, there’s not really enough to get in-depth about, but taken as only the second installment of season two I’d say we’re off to a great start. The gore work is exceptional as always, and Campbell is giving it his all. It was also nice to get more of Kelly this week, although her arc isn’t quite as memorable this season as it was last year when her family was killed. Hopefully she gets more to do and doesn’t lose too much screen-time to Lawless- who’s turning into somewhat of a co-lead to Campbell. Bring on next week’s episode!