'Stan Against Evil' Recap: 'The Black Hat Society - Part 2'

Written by Scott Edwards

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

‘Yeah, well, the ancients didn’t have the shovel technology we have available to us today.’
– Stan Miller

After digging down to Evie’s coffin, Stan and the Black Hat Society have released a Wraith that will stop at nothing to kill them. But this Wraith has never faced a man as determined as Stan Miller before, who is able to defeat the beast with a shovel. Reciting what she knows about the legend, Lara has Stan remove the eyes from the Wraith, so he can travel back in time to save Evie from her death. Arriving at the old Eccles farmstead, Stan is told that he only has to walk through the door with the eyes and he will travel back in time.
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Walking out of the farmhouse in 1692, Stan sees a wisecracking Evie tied to the stake awaiting her punishment for being a witch. Untying her, Stan’s memory is starting to come back about who Evie really is, but there is little time for him to put it all together as Eccles is able to unleash a Wraith, or what he calls ‘God’s Solider’ to bring the two back to him. Being able to fight off the beast once again, the two make it back to the farmhouse, but Evie is ready to take a final shot to end the torment of Eccles before he can kill anyone else. Pushing his friend back through the time traveling farmhouse, the two pick up where they left off before Evie was taken to the past and life seems to go back to normal.

Enjoying being back at the office, Evie is just one happy camper, but there is still something that is latched on to her. Disappearing when talking to Leon, Evie can see herself, but no one else in can. Not knowing what this means for her, she heads over to Stan’s house to get any advice. While waiting and talking to Denise when visible, once Stan walks in, she vanishes once again. Wanting to find a reason why, she finds out that Stan has a plan that will keep her solid in this time stream, but the risk involved might be more than either of them are willing to take.

Thinking that everything is back the way it should be, Stan gets a friendly visit from Eccles who has just one message for him, his daughter or Evie must be returned to 1692. Hearing that his good friend will be caught in limbo if one of them does not leave the time stream, Stan has made up his mind and is ready to pick up poor Constance and send her back to her father. But Constance is ready for any fight that the former sheriff is willing to bring her way and tries to stop him, yet finds out that there might be a way around the rules that Eccles has set. With plenty of tricks up her sleeve, Constance may have the power to travel to anywhere she likes, but will it be in the best interest of Willard’s Mill if she does?

This is a very good ending to the season-opening cliffhanger, since there is very little time passing between the episodes, actually just a commercial break. Even though Stan does not remember his past of killing the demons that are trying to kill him and Evie, he is able to bring the fight to the un-killable Wraith who does not stand a chance against a shovel. Watching as Evie arrives home is great, and it seems like nothing has changed in the town outside of her absence. But the real story is about what is going on in Stan’s head, knowing that he can time travel now, he might have the opportunity to go back in time and save his wife’s life. I don’t know how that is really going to change the time stream, much less if it is possible in the Stan universe, but I do know that things happen for a reason, and the possibility of keeping someone alive could cause more problems than solutions. Stay Scared.

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