Season 2, Episode 5: Confinement
SUMMARY: The gang has to spring Ash (Bruce Campbell) from jail, but soon find him being locked-up is the least of their worries.
REVIEW: I’m starting to think that Ash Vs Evil Dead has a set formula, where each amazing episode is followed by a so-so one and vice versa. Last week’s was so-so, and boom – this week’s is amazing. In fact, the fifth episode of season two just might be one of my fave episodes of the series so far, with director Michael J. Bassett expertly using the confined, cop-station setting to package an episode that actually manages to be quite suspenseful and work on a genre-level.
For me, this is pretty rare as I’ve never really considered “Ash Vs Evil Dead” to be a horror show, but a comedy – albeit an ultra gory one. Yet, this episode, which introduces what I presume is the season’s big bad, the demonic Baal (Joel Tobeck), has a few really decent horror moments, such as a somber showdown between the demon and Lucy Lawless’s Ruby. The kills are also off-the charts gory this week, with Baal’s preferred method of killing involving stripping away skin which he can slip in and out of like a suit, with his hang-nail from hell.
What’s interesting is how quickly they do away with the “Ashy Slashy” subplot, with the sheriff, begrudgingly, realizing in moments that Ash is not responsible for the gory murders that have taken over his town – not that he’s going to like the rival for his wife’s (Michelle Hurd) affections any more. My biggest complaint is that Stephen Lovatt’s sheriff character is two dimensional, with him too clear-cut a jerk, although I like Hurd’s chemistry with Campbell a lot. And really, how can she resist the red-Member’s Only jacket-wearing Ash anyways?
Meanwhile, more Pablo seems to be transforming into something big and bad, although given his stature on the show and the way it’s being hinted at that him and Dana DeLorenzo’s Kelly are going to hook-up, I expect this to be resolved in the next episode or two. This is one of the great things about the show, that plot threads aren’t left dangling and usually tied-up quickly to keep the show moving along. While it may leave the show feeling a bit hollow, it can’t be denied each episode moves along like a freight train, and as always, this is one action-packed twenty-five minutes.
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