'Ash vs Evil Dead' Recap: 'Second Coming'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

'You defeat me, we accept exile from this realm...and your friend shall be returned.'
'Okay, you defeat me, I guess all kinds of bad crap's going to happen for a long time. Got it.'
- Baal and Ash

Despite the fact that the Evil Dead franchise is a devout horror story, filled to the brim with terrifying moments as the Evil tries its best to conquer mankind...it is also a story filled with hope. Because regardless of how hard darkness pushes to accomplish its goals, Ashley J. Williams is always there to push back and provide Evil with one hell of an ass whipping and keep all of mankind safe in the process. But the second season of Ash vs. Evil Dead has surprised all of us in a way we never expected...by robbing us of that hope in slow and methodical fashion.

After all, this was the first time we've ever seen Ash this vulnerable. His weaknesses have been on display all season long, and the hits just kept coming as he said goodbye to friends and family in rapid fire fashion and when all is said and done, the cliffhanger from last week truly provided all of us with the sense that maybe, just maybe, Ash could be defeated by the Evil for the first time in his life, unleashing darkness and horrors unimaginable upon all of mankind. Despite the fact that 'Second Coming' resolved the whole mess with Henrietta in quick and awesome fashion, it didn't take long for that sense of dread to return because 1980's Ruby found her way to the Cabin and after a brief attempt by Ruby Prime to convince her younger self to give up the book and her foolish quest for world domination...Ruby Prime received the business end of the Kandarian Dagger and we were forced to say goodbye to another Ghostbeater.

As if that wasn't a hard enough pill to swallow, we also quickly learned that Baal is no dummy after all. It turns out this demon was merely biding his time and when he slashed Pablo in the asylum...he  stole Pablo's skin, and banished the young man's soul to Hell. Meaning the idea to travel back in time to save Pablo and the world that Ash received was Baal all along and he used Pablo to finally exploit a weakness in Ash, all to get his hands on the Necronomicon and bring about the end of the world and with Ash and Kelly now in Baal's possession, the Jefe makes one last ploy to try and defeat good ol' Bill, by challenging him to one final showdown, one without powers; just mano y mano and the winner...gets everything they want in life and the loser...receives a fate worse than death. Oddly enough Baal agrees to the contest and that battle is on, but it doesn't take long for the age old demon to cheat, leaving Ash and Kelly in dire straits.

This was perhaps the darkest moment in the series to date and it's also when hope completely disappeared. Because, there was no secret plan to get out of this mess. No chainsaw based solution. It truly seemed as though the end had come at last for Ashley J. Williams...in fact Baal even mentioned the Prophecy stated he would be the one to defeat the Jefe. Their only way out of this mess...was for Ash to appeal to Baal's primitive side and in a quick moment of distraction, he managed to finally defeat the skin stealing jerk and send him, and the cabin straight back to Hell...and after a brief moment of respite, Pablo returned to our plane of existence as well and believe it or not ladies and gentlemen, Ash Williams...did it. He finally saved the world from evil, and he even enjoyed a hero's welcome back home and it finally seems as though Ash is going to be able to live a normal life filled with peace and quiet...at least for a little while. Because Ruby is still out there, keeping a close eye on the Jefe, and in the middle of the woods, someone has discovered the Necronomicon amid the ruins of the cabin...

Either way, kudos to the show for taking us on one hell of a ride in this season finale. There was truly no hope to be found, Ash and Kelly were genuinely in danger all episode long and that wonderful twist in storytelling allowed for the fear surging through our veins to quickly turn to joy when Ash delivered the killing blow to Baal and I'm fairly certain I'm not the only one who stood up and cheered at their television when that iconic moment went down, because Ash won baby, and he's finally getting to enjoy a little taste of happiness for a change and I hope it lasts for a while because it's only a matter of time before Ruby makes her move and the Jefe is called upon to save all of mankind once again. Until next time.

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