"Ash vs. Evil Dead" Recap: "Fire in the Hole"

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

"What's out there knows that you're alive, and it wants you to be...un-alive."
- Ash

As it turns out, Ash vs. Evil Dead has figured out how to manipulate its audience, in a good way that is, because last night's episode managed to surprise me in ways I never expected. For starters, I honestly thought this particular tale was going to be a big time filler episode and it turned out to be quite the opposite. 

In fact, "Fire in the Hole" ended up being a fantastic little character study for Pablo and Kelly and for the first time ever in the history of the Evil Dead franchise...Ash did something stand up and noble, despite looking like a jerk while doing it, and of course along the way there was plenty of guts and gore as the Ghost Beaters did their best to survive the Evil in the middle of a survivalist camp, thanks to a now possessed Lem.  

Yes, this evil version of Ash's old drinking buddy was taken over by the Evil at the end of last week's episode and he made it back to the Militia's home base before Ash and the gang could arrive, which means when they do...it's nothing but carnage. Naturally, the Militia members are a little skeptical of why on earth Ash and his group are inside their compound, despite Ash's claims that he can help, and that distrust only gets worse when one of them realizes Amanda is a cop. It leads to the Militia turning on their guests and Ash and Amanda find themselves dumped into a bunker where Lem is waiting for them while Pablo and Kelly head out into the woods to escape.  

That's where things became interesting as we got that sweet character development between Kelly and Pablo as we were witness to the both of them becoming badasses before our eyes. Granted, Pablo took a little longer to get there, but Kelly...well she is as strong as they come and the gal can fight and the episode's funniest moment came by way of her figuring out how her assault rifle works without killing Pablo in the process. As for Ash, well he and Amanda have a few surprising moments of romantic chemistry as they deal with Lem in the dark and I have to say, this whole sequence of the story was vintage Evil Dead, as it provided some solid laughs and some genuinely tense and creepy moments the series is known for. 

Of course in the end Lem and the rest of the Deadites are defeated and the group, stronger than ever prepares to make their way to the cabin to finish this...and that's when Ash surprises us all, by leaving them behind. Sure it's a slight dick move, but the guilt on his face, the fear he expressed over possibly seeing them die, that's why he did it. It's the nicest thing the man has ever done and those final moments of the episode were a fan's delight. Ash's evil hand returned home if you will to the cabin where this nightmare all began, setting the stage for one grand showdown with the Evil. It's the moment we've all been waiting for, and it's just around the corner...

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