"Ash vs. Evil Dead" Recap: "Ashes to Ashes"

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

"Honey, I'm home."
- Ash

Last week on Ash vs. Evil Dead we were all given one special treat in the closing moments of the episode when we saw Ash's Evil Hand make its way back to the cabin where this thirty year nightmare began. I make mention of that because I thought this was a simple setup shot. Something to tease us and tide us over until the season finale because that was when we would finally reach the cabin. Turns out I was completely and utterly wrong, since this is the week on the show we came back to the cabin and with good reason, there's a lot more story to tell in this awful place. 

Top it all off, the return to the cabin also signaled a return to the series' true roots in every sense of the words. After all, the cabin is in its own right a character in the story as well and it was wonderful to see the old place one more time. In fact there isn't a detail they missed about the cabin or the work shed. Everything was here, from the pastel blue room, the piano that Linda played so long ago and everyone's favorite mounted deer head popped up too. But despite the nostalgia, the cabin is still quite the deadly place. Not to mention, this is the first episode of the show that I've enjoyed that was actually light on the jokes and heavy on the scares since this particular portion of the story completely felt like The Evil Dead in every way and well...it made this episode truly magical.

But It's important we keep in mind the deadliness of the joint as get into the breakdown portion of this recap, because if you recall from last week, Ash abandoned his friends at the survivalist camp in the hopes of sparing them from the horrors this place brings forth, and now we see why because this episode also unleashed an epic surprise, but more on that and the danger of this place in a bit because as it turns out, despite what the episode led us to believe in the first few moments, Ash didn't have to face this alone after all. Fisher, Kelly and Pablo split up to find Ash and Amanda found him first, ready to help him put an end to this. Shortly after stepping back into the creepy cabin once again, Ash announces he knows exactly where the Necronomicon must be buried within the house, deep within the cellar, but it's chained up tight meaning Ash needs to find a crowbar in the work shed where Linda was...taken care of so long ago. 

Turns out the Evil was waiting for the chance to get these two apart since upon his return to the work shed, the skull of Linda comes to life, taunting our hero with promises of death and dismemberment and giving him a sense of urgency to get the hell out of there and with good reason. For while he battles with the past, Amanda is surprised with something new...a second Ash. The Evil Hand he lopped off ages ago has managed to grow a doppelgänger Ash and well...it's one evil dude. He's quick to bring as much harm to her as possible and well...here comes the reminder of how deadly a place this cabin is and that epic surprise I mentioned, because after one big time battle between the two of them...Evil Ash kills Fisher. No joke, the noble Amanda, who went from trying to bring Ash to jail to helping him, didn't make it out of this one alive.

Of course Pablo and Kelly show up at the most inopportune moment (finding the cabin with a little help from some folks on a hike) to see Ash hovering over her body and wondering if the Jefe has lost it, leading Ash to track down his twin and battle him out in fun fashion before leaving us with a cliffhanger and man...needless to say this episode left me breathless. It was simply intense, with the old school scares that got me as a kid making their return here and the fact that so many moments in this episode completely mess with your mind. Not to mention, kudos to Bruce Campbell for making Evil Ash truly wicked and creepy. Either way, there's only two episodes left of this stellar first season and well, I'm nervous now. I made mention a few weeks ago that I wondered if everyone would survive this season and our first casualty has arrived and if last night was this intense...what the are next two episodes going to look like? Guess we will find out this Saturday...until then.

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