This episode had many touching moments, and more than a few tense scenes. But I will always remember it as the episode that made me hoot with laughter when that last guy fell through the glass ceiling because he was playing on his phone.
So let’s start there: not with the glass ceiling pratfall (although it was amazing), but with Sheryl’s almost-successful attempt to fully destroy Leland professionally. From the body armor dress to hot potato baptismal certificate to the subtle way she undercut Leland to the boss, I thought she might win this round.
Then the boss picked a new baby Antichrist, and Leland stabbed him and ate his heart. This show sometimes goes harder than Michael Bay.
There’s also everything going on with Ben. I’d assumed, based on the repeated mentions of the many-worlds hypothesis, that Ben was living a literal double life: that at some point during the day, there were two Bens out in the world(s). Apparently I was wrong, and Ben has been losing time and getting pre-migraine hallucinations. His recording “glasses” (which are so Get Smart) make that clear, since they record events he doesn’t remember, but which his body was physically present for.
The solution to the problem was almost as funny as the guy falling through the glass ceiling. The sunglasses and fedora made me expect a Breaking Bad joke so much that I’m surprised we didn’t get one. The tinfoil cap was majestic in its absurdity. The doctor with the old-fashioned mirror thing on his head (what are those called?!) ... well, I wish we’d gotten the full recording of exactly what he said, and some clarity about why Ben’s mom knew about the doctor.
Although the image of Ben wrapped up like a baked potato, resting his head on a little pillow, was a great sight gag, I’m concerned that his story still feels so separate from the team. Back in “How to Build a Coffin,” Ben hinted that he felt sidelined within the team, saying that his input led to “well, we usually just punt.” I wonder if that’s why he’s not cluing Kristin and David into the extent of his situation, and I’m annoyed that they’re not asking reasonable questions about his tinfoil yarmulke.
Perhaps that’s because Evil, once again, spent a bit too long on the case of the week. Individually, each scene was interesting. David is still processing his grief about Julia. Kristin is struggling with sexual tension for David. Ben and Karima are thinking about their parents. Collectively, though, that was a lot of time that could have been spent moving forward instead of treading water, since I doubt Julia, for instance, is going to suddenly become relevant to the plot.
Will Kristin’s past? Leland’s speech to the boss reminded us of just a few of her sins. Is there going to be a comeuppance for what she’s done? What about the "global unrest" we saw in the newsreel at the end of the episode?
This is Evil:
- Father Ignatius: “Holy water and computers just don’t mix.”
- Winston Churchill: “Do you want my emojis spoken or printed?”
- Rant: Why do men of a certain age on television always have grapefruit for breakfast? Grapefruit can cause serious problems with some medications. Also, I’ve never met anyone in real life who eats that. Jesus, it’s not even enough food to start the day strong!
- At DF, women’s bonuses are paid in Victoria's Secret’s gift cards.
- Did you know that Evil has little easter eggs in each episode? I have zero patience for that sort of paratextual astroturfed viral marketing, but if you're into that kind of thing, here's an article with some ambiguous descriptions.
- A bandaid is one solution to blocking your laptop camera. You can also buy little sticky things that allow you to toggle from the camera being blocked to being open.
- It just occurred to me that Billie has enough of my emails and reviews that she could create a chatbot of me if I’m ever late with a review. Billie, please don’t do that.
Four out of four baked potatoes.
Josie Kafka is a full-time cat servant and part-time rogue demon hunter. (What's a rogue demon?)
Josie, I hereby promise never to create a chatbot of you. :)
ReplyDeleteThis chatbot thing... I lost someone in August, my cousin who was also my lifelong best friend. I moved here to be near her, and we were in contact every day. After she died, I checked my phone to see if I had any old messages of her so that I could hear her voice, and was unhappy that I had deleted every old message.
So I kind of get the chatbot thing in theory. In practice, though, it is unbelievably creepy. I would never, ever do it.
Question. If Leland killed and ate the manager, is Leland the actual devil now? I've never been totally clear on who the manager is. Was.
This episode's skipping ghost message: "It takes only 50 seconds to watch this intro: a haunting lasts a lifetime. (longish pause) Don't risk it."
Billie, the internet reminded me that this is not the first time Leland has eaten a demon. He ate his therapist demon in an earlier season.
ReplyDeleteSo I think he just takes on their powers.