Evil: Exorcism Part 2

Andy: "You got more demanding."
Kristen: "You don’t know the half of it."

Evil takes a moment to reckon with some consequences from earlier in the season and introduces my favorite ever supporting character.

Evil: 2 Fathers

"Is he talking about his seed again?"

Sometimes the title of an episode is an interesting metaphor. Or an obfuscation of what the episode is really about. Or an underpinning message that will only make sense in hindsight once you've seen the episode and reflect.

And sometimes an episode about two different fathers is called '2 Fathers' and you just get on with things.

Evil: Vatican III

"The Vatican doesn’t apologize."

Evil splits its attention this week as the various threads of the season start coming into focus. Was that a mixed metaphor?

Evil: Let X = 9

"Do you have any idea how weird it is for me to be involved in this? I mean, I go to Whole Foods during the day, and at night I say things like, ‘Would you have told the exorcist?'"

Jeffrey Epstein and vindictive ICE raids. Did this air in 2019 or last Tuesday?

Evil: October 31

'Sorry, no candy. Happy Halloween!'

I mean, they kind of had to do a Halloween episode, didn't they.

Evil: Rose390

"Ben the Magnificent!"

Federal Statute 38746-4/A(3): Every television genre show must, at some point in its run, do an episode about a creepy, possessed child. See appendix b RE: standard definitions of 'creepy,' 'possessed,' and 'child.'

See also: Musical episode.

Evil: 3 Stars

"Oh, I would want. That would be great. Yes, please, please, yes."

Kristen, David, and Ben investigate a possible case of Diabolical Obsession. Just another day on Broadway.

This Week: LinkedIn is Innately Evil

Billie Doux: So what is everyone watching this week?

I am so pleased to share the news that the Canadian time travel series Continuum is available again in the U.S. It just popped up on Prime, and I'm already rewatching. If you like exciting, complex time travel stories and didn't catch Continuum when it first aired, give it a try. It's one of those shows that keeps adding layers of complexity and coolness as it progresses.

Evil: Fear of the End

“Actually kind of satisfying.”

Well, it ended. Not with a bang or a whimper, but with some cool Italian sunglasses and just enough possibility for the future that I’m going to hang onto hope. “Despair is Satan’s masterpiece,” after all.

Evil: Fear of the Unholy

“This seems... mean.”

Twenty-five years after Robert Putnam warned us of the dangers of bowling alone, those of us who live in WEIRD Anglophone cultures are beset by loneliness. The US Surgeon General declared it an epidemic. The UK has a loneliness minister. The World Health Organization called it a “global public health concern.” It’s as bad as smoking 15 cigarettes a day and is likely caused and causing the “ruins of civil society.”

Evil: Fear of the Other

“My mother always said that if you ran into your doppelganger, you would die.”

Evil takes us on a journey through the long dark hotel corridor of the soul this week. As a standalone episode, it was very good. As the antepenultimate episode of the series, it doesn’t do much.

Evil: Fear of the Future

“Just so you know, this is hurtful.”

I don’t know what to make of this episode. The arrival of Ellie was so exciting! It seemed like Evil had an endgame, and one that might even set the cancelled show up for a new, slightly rebooted season in another parish on another streaming service.

Evil: How to Survive a Storm

“Greater love hath no man, than laying down his life for his friends.”

Whoa.

Evil: How to Build a Chatbot

"Jesus, pillow, and Michael Bay.”

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.

Evil: How to Save a Life

“So is it possible that all of this is a trick of the mind?”

Evil gave us another amazing episode, and I’m getting very optimistic about how this season—and probably the show—will end. The most notable change from past events is that people are finally talking to one another.

Evil: How to Dress a Wound

“You should ask your mother about all the ways she’s betrayed you.”

I’ve been reading Mikey’s reviews of the most recent season of Doctor Who. He’s so great at talking about episode structure, and that got me thinking not only about how this episode is structured, but also the way that the tragic train engineer’s story symbolizes this show’s start-and-stop progress (and seems to finally be moving forward).

Evil: How to Dance in Three Easy Steps

“It’s a metanarrative. I’m evoking the tropes of the genre to ask questions of the genre.”

This episode was, perhaps unwittingly, extremely meta, just like Dr. Boggs’s novel. What do I mean? Let’s start with AOLs.

Evil: How to Fly an Airplane

“Everyone, these are the exorcist assessors.”
“Heeeeyyyyy!”

The true cross! Airplane ghosts! The Vatican! Awkward family conversations! Legal liability! This episode has almost everything, but also not much at all.

Evil: How to Build a Coffin

“Um, sorry, what’s the word?”

I feel terrible for Ben. This is also the episode that convinced me to review this season of Evil. Those two facts are related. Here’s why:

Evil: How to Slaughter a Pig

“There's a 20% drop in sales because of fears of possessed pork.”

Content warning: don’t watch this episode while eating pork. In fact, don’t watch this episode while eating anything at all.