Evil (2019) s03e10 – The Demon of the End

“Evil” leans heavily on this season finale being a transitory one, making efforts to close off some strangling story arcs. There’s some more complicated Katja Herbers and Mike Colter making eyes at each other; she, of course, doesn’t know his demon is just her in a schoolgirl outfit, which gets touched on this episode. Nun Andrea Martin shames Colter for not keeping his demons in check. She’s seemingly forgiven him from a few episodes ago, so now they can have awkward moments while Herbers’s husband, Patrick Brammall, is around for once.

Presumably. The show never seems to have Brammall available when they need him. He gets a significant arc in this episode, which ends with at least two threads going into season four. The only person without a future-facing plot line is Aasif Mandvi, actually. He’s just along for the ride.

The episode begins with a resolution to last episode’s shocking cliffhanger. Turns out Li Jun Li isn’t going to be a new regular; there are some “trust us, we’re the Catholic Church” shenanigans, with the episode further pressing the religiosity button. They try real hard to give Herbers a “questioning her agnosticism” story arc. She makes a deal with God and everything at one point. It’s not a great arc, but Herbers is lined up for an all-time big reaction scene at the beginning of next season, so the show makes it up to her. And it does give her and Colter more time together.

There’s a possibility Wallace Shawn is joining the show as a regular next episode. It seems like the job’s his if he wants it. He’s good. But the show’s also set up so it doesn’t need him to return regularly to keep things going; they’ve got the requisite cast down to an already unmanageable ten, but with fourteen or so familiar characters. It’s such a big show for so little.

The case involves Herbers’s previously off-screen only newish neighbor, Quincy Tyler Bernstine. Bernstine and Herbers share a duplex, an arrangement the show’s never made particularly clear before. The place next door is haunted and it seems to be because Brammall flushed a demon baby head down the toilet at the beginning of the season. The mystery keeps Herbers close to home for her family arc there; otherwise, it’s barely relevant. The big season finale stuff more involves Brammall, and then Herbers’s missing egg from her fertility clinic. They tack a scene on with it to get to the main cliffhanger.

It’s okay? Probably the smoothest John Dahl-directed episode I remember and, given my aversion to seeing Rockne S. O’Bannon’s name on the script credit, probably his smoothest episode too? It’s “Evil,” there’s only so much it can ever do.

Oh, there is some great stuff with Martin and Herbers’s oldest daughter, Brooklyn Shuck. It’s the first time in ages Shuck’s shown any character outside being part of the sister banter.

Evil (2019) s03e02 – The Demon of Memes

Usually, when “Evil” veers too far into Catholic Church propaganda, Katja Herbers remarks about them all being a bunch of pedophiles or pedophile enablers. I can’t remember if she mentioned they killed hundreds of indigenous Canadians and buried them in holes.

She’s not in the scenes she needs to be this episode to make such comments, so the episode—script credit to Davita Scarlett—does one big fake news related to the Church’s crimes and a second eyebrow-raiser. The first involves the episode’s “case.” Kids are spray painting a message on Catholic properties as part of an online prank; in reality, people are spray painting messages about the Church covering up the murders of hundreds of indigenous Canadian children.

The eyebrow-raiser is Mike Colter’s subplot, which has him joining the Vatican secret service. Appropriately suspicious Brian d’Arcy James recruits him, with the mission involving one of the series’s outstanding but forgotten big arcs. Not the one directly affecting most of the cast (the demonic fertility agency), but rather a considerably less pressing one. Colter asks about the fertility agency, but the Vatican’s not interested. Live demon babies are a-okay.

But obviously, the Vatican secret service is for laundering Nazi gold and shuffling rapists.

Anyway.

The rest of the episode checks most of the “Evil” boxes. The kids are slightly in danger: daughter Brooklyn Shuck knows a boy who’s doing the pranks; he’s got to do it. Otherwise, this demon the kids can see on Google Maps will kill him. Herbers and Aasif Mandvi investigate—Colter’s called away on secret business—and find a grad student (Jay Will) squatting. The episode flexes about unused living spaces and people experiencing homelessness, but it’ll demonize them by the end.

Shuck accidentally sees the demon on Google Maps, so she’s worried she’ll be next. The show never explains how her friend, Uly Schlesinger, who’s locked himself in his room for days, counting down the clock on the curse, has apparently been doing the required tasks for the demon. Shuck starts the list: they all occur outside your room.

That plot takes a backseat to Colter’s, which is fine; it’s not a very good mystery. And at least Colter’s plot is intriguing. Though Herbers and Mandvi do go visit returning guest star Brooke Bloom for a scene; it’s the first Herbers has seen Bloom since killing her serial killer husband, which Colter definitely knows about but thinks the visit is okay, and Mandvi suspects and maybe doesn’t think the visit is okay.

Meanwhile, Christine Lahti, Michael Emerson, and Tim Matheson are conspiring against Herbers’s husband, Patrick Brammall. He wants to kick Lahti out of his house—which, unbeknownst to Brammall, would probably put his daughters very much in immediate danger from Emerson. It’s a weird subplot because Brammall’s such a jackass you’re rooting for the bad guys to get him off the show.

It’s a very low okay episode. Herbers and Shuck don’t have enough chemistry in their mother and daughter scenes, the one jump scare’s super cheap, and the cliffhanger’s boring. But at least Colter gets something to do; hopefully, that emphasis will continue this season.

Outlander (2014) s01e02 – Castle Leoch

This episode features a scene where highlander heartthrob Sam Heughan fails to rescue a woman from being raped. It’s a flashback. Time-traveling World War II nurse Caitriona Balfe is just making intrusive conversation. The rapist is Tobias Menzies, who plays Balfe’s future husband and his present-day, eighteenth-century ancestor. Balfe mooning over memories of Menzies while his other visual representation is as a vicious rapist is another of the show’s wild swings but whatever. Let’s concentrate on the show making a point to objectify the victim.

When I thought “Outlander” was throwing the nudity into the home video releases, it kind of made sense. Dudes buy blu-rays, and dudes like pointless nudity. But “Outlander” is a show targeted at women. From a book series targeted at women. So Heughan is all heroic and fantastic for the women viewers, then there’re numerous shots of the victim’s boobs to appeal to the women’s male partners? Then there’s another pointless nude scene for Balfe.

I guess Heughan’s got very shiny pecs in a warm light scene but the show’s otherwise anti-beefcake. Just vulnerable women naked, both times without their consent. It feels very off and very odd.

The episode story pairs with the last one, with Balfe getting acclimated in the past while poorly narrating the experience. She’s overly confident in her knowledge of history, and it gets her in trouble. The show doesn’t think about the connotations of her being unreliable in her self-confidence, not even bringing in the narration being past tense so she’d be aware of her failings. There are some renaissance fair-ready costumes, an ally for Balfe in Annette Badland, and a pal in Lotte Verbeek. Balfe needs all the friends she can get because Graham McTavish is having her followed everywhere by a couple of his goons, and at least one of them definitely wants to rape Balfe. He wanted to rape her last episode; he’s ominously eying her this one; the other goon tells her to watch out because he’s rapey. So even though she’s seemingly safe, she’s not. Correspondingly, of course, no women are, and yet we’re supposed to like the dudes.

“Outlander” is very much a “the patriarchy isn’t real” type of show.

Balfe also meets the local lord, played by Gary Lewis. He’s McTavish’s brother and has a degenerative disease, so there’s a weird relationship between the two. Both give fine performances, even with the tepid writing.

Besides being boring and the narration being bad—not to mention the “but it’s realistic, so it’s okay” nudity—“Outlander”’s biggest problem is the thoughtless plotting. Also, in addition to the flashbacks, there are flash-forwards to inform Balfe’s character development. So "Outlander"'s also got the problem of being very cheaply told.

Though Heughan would make a good live-action He-Man, I guess.

Outlander (2014) s01e01 – Sassenach

I’ve been operating under the misconception the home video version of Sassenach was an extended cut, and they’d added all the nudity. Nope, it was apparently in the original Starz version. Cool.

The nudity’s all of star Caitriona Balfe, who’s the narrator and protagonist of the show, but when it comes time to drop her drawers, the eyes are all director John Dahl’s. “Outlander” is a historical hard sci-fi romance. Except for the most history in this episode is Balfe’s husband Tobias Menzies droning on about his family genealogy. The only thing more boring than actual genealogy? Some boring dude talking about fake genealogy. Menzies and Balfe are in Scotland on a post-World War II holiday; they’re trying to reconnect after being apart for five years. He was in military intelligence—not an agent himself, but the office guy who sent them to their deaths—and she was a nurse.

Supposedly they’ve been having a rough time since the end of the war, but it seems mostly to be a lack of trying. In the tedious narration, Balfe explains whenever they’re having problems, all they need to do is get jiggy, and then they’re fine. Though they may need to get jiggy in public for it to work. Or at least be a little exhibitionist-y about it. Not to kink shame. Though it’s very unclear why Dahl’s so keen to ogle Balfe (especially since “Outlander”’s target audience is women, you can even google it) and not Menzies. Other than once Balfe gets to the past and runs into Menzies’s ancestor he can’t shut up about, it turns out the ancestor is an eager rapist and cruel piece of shit.

Eager rapists and cruel pieces of shit are two different things on “Outlander” because Balfe eventually ends up with a group of Scottish highlanders—there be many more than one—but only two of them don’t want to rape her. One because he’s not cool with rape (Graham McTavish, who gives far and away from the best performance) and one because he’s the hot guy (Sam Heughan). Everyone in the past is filthy and gross except Heughan, forecasting his and Balfe’s chemistry. Plus, he’s injured, and she has to nurse him over and over.

The present-day material starts dull and gets worse as Menzies gets more and more enthusiastic about the genealogy, but it also becomes clear the narration isn’t going to stop. I’m not sure if the narration’s from the source novel or the writers’ room (Ronald D. Moore got the credit, which is an inglorious one), but it’s terrible. And never once matches the corresponding action. It’s like an object lesson in why poorly executed narration is so damaging.

Once Balfe gets to the past, where she brings mid-ish-twentieth century mobile army nursing techniques, the occasional helpful future knowledge tidbit, and enough curse words to shock all her new wannabe rapist pals, the narration pretty much stops. At least until the cliffhanger. But the quiet’s nice. And Heughan and Balfe do seem like they’ll have sufficient charm together. But, wow, is it a rough and endless sixty minutes.

Evil (2019) s02e02 – A Is for Angel

I don’t have this feeling often with “Evil.” Maybe ever. I can’t remember what kind of potential the show had at the start; but what if it’s good. Like what if “Evil” can get actually good. What if it can not waste its lead actors. Because after a somewhat rocky beginning where Mike Colter is in mock confession—his professor being Dylan Baker, who is either got to be very good as an evil priest or they’re doing a casting against type thing but it’s Dylan Baker so why wouldn’t you type-cast him since it’s a recurring guest spot—and the first of the episode’s Catholicism is super-sexist digs. The script’s credited to Davita Scarlett and it will blow up a lot, introduce a lot, and constantly remind the Catholic Church is garbage.

Watching Katja Herbers dispassionately smack bishop Peter Scolari with facts, which maybe last episode introduced but this episode it becomes a thing Colter comments on… it’s awesome. And it’s not even where “Evil” hints at potential achievement this episode. There’s very awkward team bonding for Colter, Herbers, and Aasif Mandvi—they’re all keeping secrets from each other, some more important than others–but they all still want to work together. But then there’s also Michael Emerson’s character taking it up a notch, particularly with fiancée Christine Lahti, and all sorts of reveals and promises for future action.

Engaging, interesting future action.

Maybe the move to Paramount+ and the freedom to CGI in the word “fuck” is what the show needed. Though—and it just occurred to me—they’re going to be able to get away with a lot more truthful presentation of the Catholic Church on streaming than they would on network.

But, no, can’t get too excited. There are still big problems—though John Dahl’s direction won me over by the end of the episode; I was very critical for the first act, but he finds a real rhythm with the actors. It hasn’t felt so much like Colter’s show since… probably ever.

It’ll take a lot to get the ship righted and unless there’s a big committed shift it’s not going to happen, but it’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed “Evil” this much. And if the character developments stick—particularly with Lahti and Emerson—the show’s going to get a lot more entertaining.

Real good supporting performances this episode too; Jessie Mueller as the new cop (the one from last season isn’t coming back apparently) who gives Herbers grief, then Joniece Abbott-Pratt and Hampton Fluker as the case for the episode—he thinks he’s possessed by an angel, she’s the concerned then endangered wife.

Also—Andrea Martin. She’s apparently joining the cast as an acerbic nun who counsels Colter and she’s a delight.

I mean, maybe it’s got a chance. Maybe’s very good for “Evil.”

Evil (2019) s01e10 – 7 Swans a Singin’

This episode of “Evil” has a particular creative pedigree. Nineties neo-noir wunderkind (albeit flash in the pan) director John Dahl. Eighties and nineties sci-fi guy Rockne S. O'Bannon scripts. Seeing either of their names in the credits for “Evil” just tells of careers gone wrong; seeing both of them in the same episode, well… it feels like “Evil” is a pasture to be put out to. Though O’Bannon feels like he gets how to do an “Evil,” he knows just what contemporary middle class fears to exploit. Kids, obviously. The episode’s about a Catholic girls school where everyone spontaneously starts humming the same song from an inappropriately crude Christmas cartoon on YouTube.

But the actual fear is of YouTube influencers, particularly the make-up ones. Taylor Louderman plays the influencer, who ties into the Michael Emerson plot, natch, and she’s terrible. Also the show using Emerson as the occasional bad guy in his office sending out evil into the world isn’t working. It’s not like Emerson ever wasn’t silly, but he’s even more silly in his crappy little office engineering the downfall of western civilization. Or talking dirty with girlfriend Christine Lahti on the phone.

Lahti’s going to be all “Evil” at some point, as she starts manipulating her granddaughters this episode. While wearing red!

While Mike Colter, Katja Herbers, and Aasif Mandvi investigate the school and the humming, Colter has also got to deal with someone sending him pictures of his transgression with dead fiancée’s sister Renée Elise Goldsberry (who went from being featured guest star to third tier subplot) and Herbers has her home nonsense going on with the daughters and husband Patrick Brammall. Though Brammall’s growing on me. His performance isn’t getting worse. New Church boss Peter Scolari is just getting worse. And Lahti’s not fun anymore because she’s now just around to act as a constant threat to her granddaughters, who are obnoxious but still kids and the grandmother betrayal thing is really harsh.

Wait, forgot—the Christmas cartoon also tells kids to get stoned, because you should fear YouTube and counter it by… well, it’s unclear. “Evil” tries to terrify its audience with fear of tech but, other than calling the Catholic Church to investigate, has no opinion on alternatives.

There’s an okay cliffhanger? Or at least a surprise one. The episode woefully underuses Mandvi.