"Ash vs. Evil Dead" Recap: "The Host"

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

"Shoot first, think never."
- Ash

Well, it was bound to happen. After four kickass episodes of Ash vs. Evil Dead the show finally decided it was time for a break and delivered us the always dreaded "filler" episode last night. You know the kind of episode I'm talking about, a bunch of stuff happens, some of it cool or some of it not cool to satisfy us just enough until we get to something else next week.  

Thankfully, because of the fact there is such an awesome cast on this show and because of how kickass this show is in general, this filler episode actually turned out to be better than most and while this go round may not have moved the plot forward a ton or revealed some incredible revelations about the Evil Dead universe, it was pretty heavy on something that I always enjoy, character development, specifically for Ash and Pablo as they raced to save Kelly from the clutches of Eligos. 

After all, when we last left our intrepid Ghost Beaters we found out Kelly was possessed by the demon Eligos and well, the old monster was able to provoke Ash and set him up to look like he's the one carrying a demon instead. It leads to the Brujo making the decision to exorcise the demon from Ash, and as he prepares to free the evil spirit that isn't there, we find Pablo in serious danger as Eligos uses his crush on Kelly to its own advantage. The demon promises Pablo with a kiss if he takes the strangest bong hit I've ever seen...straight out of the barrel of a shotgun.

Thankfully, Ash is able to convince the Brujo that he's not the one filled up with a demon and that's when the fun begins as they rescue Pablo and finally get down to the business of exorcising Eligos from Kelly. Of course, nothing works and that's when a special moment from Pablo came about as he decided to be a bit of a hero and asked Eligos to take him instead of Kelly. It was enough to finally draw the demon out and that's when Ash finally showed his true calling as a Jefe, remembering his crazy acid trip just enough to figure out how to destroy the beast. Although Kelly is saved and the monster defeated, the battle came at great cost as Pablo has to say goodbye to his Brujo, but is given a gift from beyond before the group heads out once again.

So like I said earlier, this was a real basic episode, one that gave us everything we enjoy about the show. Plenty of laughs, plenty of splatter and gross out moments, but the plot didn't move that far. But I will give the show this, it was good to get the Eligos storyline resolved since it's been with us for a couple of episodes and I really do have to give props to the show for giving us a little more of Pablo tonight, and for finally showing us a little growth for Ash as well. But while I have complained about there not being enough plot advancement, still doesn't mean I didn't love the episode. It was a lot of fun, and really how can one go wrong with Bruce Campbell kicking Deadite ass after all these years? The answer is...you cannot. Until next time.

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