'Ash vs Evil Dead' Recap: 'Judgement Day'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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'The time has come to test the mettle of man...'
- Pablo

I have to wholeheartedly admit, that I was a touch hesitant to watch Ash vs Evil Dead this week, due in large part to the unfortunate news that dropped on Friday in that, season three of this magnificent series would be its last. Because I won’t lie, this news upset at me first. I love this series, and I’ve been a fan of the franchise for over twenty years and this, this is the Evil Dead 4 that all of us have been waiting for, and the thought that it is coming to an end when it’s at its absolute best, was a tough one to swallow at first.
 
However, I took a moment, and quite frankly, got over it. Because every story has to come to its end, and this has been one hell of a ride and it would be stupid of me to not tune in for the final two episodes of a season that has hands down delivered some of the finest Evil Dead moments/stories the franchise has ever known and I’m glad I took the time to get any ire out of my system, because it allowed for me to watch ‘Judgement Day’ with a clear mind and thank the Prophesied One for that, because my goodness…this was just a stunning episode through and through.
 
In fact, this was an outright clinic on how to set up a series finale for a show because the stakes have never been higher in this saga and as to what made this story so incredible, is the sheer fact that everything fell to pieces in a matter of minutes for the Ghostbeaters. Because Ash was looking to finish this whole mess with Ruby and get Kelly back in the process and by focusing on whipping some Dark One ass, the team was unprepared for the fact that Ruby’s pals were able to use the Rift to open their own gateway into our world and that led to some serious chaos.
 
Because suddenly, Elk Grove transformed into Ground Zero for a Deadite plague, with those disgusting monsters popping up left and right all over town and just like that, this saga took a page from the first film, and brought the terror that original movie provided us with back to life because the fall of Elk Grove was downright chilling, and it also led to one of the coolest moments of the night, wherein we discovered that the skill set that Ash has when it comes to smacking Evil around, is passed down from generation to generation since Brandy followed in her father’s footsteps and tore Evil a new one. 

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​If anything, Brandy’s journey brought forth the finest mix of horror and comedy that the evening had to offer. But there were still plenty more scares and dark moments waiting in the wings for us. Like the fact that Ash’s showdown with Ruby put him within an inch of his life, and ironically if it wasn’t for the Dark Ones, he might have died right there. But the desire for justice from these Evil Demons saw Ruby and Kaya meet their end in ugly fashion and to make matters worse, these beings eventually got their hands on the Necronomicon and its lost pages, allowing for them to create some kind of powerful and massive abomination, and who knows if the Jefe will be able to stand up to a Deadite, that is tall enough to reach the tips of the clouds…
 
So, yeah. Wow. That’s really the only word to describe this episode, because it was epic through and through. I mean, for the first time in a long time for this franchise, it felt as though danger was everywhere, and that was further enhanced by the apocalyptic feel to this episode by way of the Emergency Alert System announcing that Martial Law had been declared and that the National Guard was on its way to Elk Grove. All of that really gives you a sense that the odds are finally against Ash, and I honestly don’t know how the Jefe is going to get out of this one without the Necronomicon or his trusty Boomstick and Chainsaw at his side.
 
But what I do know, is that this episode was freaking fantastic and I cannot get over how intense it was or how well it set the stage for next week’s series finale and I’m now dying to see how this saga ends. But alas, we all must wait to find out how Ash will rise to this occasion, and in the meantime, at least we can bask in a stunning tale, and the awesomeness that is Brandy since she’s got a knack for killing Evil and spitting out quality one liners while she works. Either way, the end draws near in more ways than one and I get the funny feeling that next week’s series finale is going to be nothing short of incredible and that it will wrap up this amazing saga in proper fashion. Until next time.       

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