Evil (2019) s03e06 – The Demon of Algorithms

It seems like it’s been a while since “Evil” has done a “modern technology will ruin our lives” fear-mongering episode. Or maybe it’s just Algorithms fully integrates “Evil”’s streaming status (f-bombs galore) with the format, making it feel like the epitome of the sub-genre. This episode’s about TikTok and how it ruins everyone’s life. The episode accidentally raises the real concern TikTok’s format could have terrible consequences for someone suffering Munchausen by proxy but someone psychiatrist Katja Herbers doesn’t realize it.

The episode starts with Herbers, Mike Colter, and Aasif Mandvi investigating a possession. The episode’s got two cases; teenager Malina Weissman’s live-streamed possession and single mom Lena Hall’s live-streamed house haunting. In between, Mandvi posts debunking videos, which bring him more hate than hearts, and Herbers and Colter also become addicted to the videos. Herbers watches drunk mom tips while Colter watches horny or marginalized priest confessions. The trio is constantly getting notifications to watch new videos, which raises some real questions about whether the “Evil” writers’ room knows how to silence notifications or if they just assume their viewers are too stupid to silence notifications. Neither option’s great.

Especially since we’re supposed to believe Mandvi’s a genius.

There are also some other yuck connotations once Colter gives up the TikTok for letting a demon suck on his soul. “Evil” always plays like the Catholic Church pays half the budget, but this episode also feels like the FCC is writing plot points. However, the TikTok stand-in is American (and intentionally ruining people’s lives), not Chinese. It’s also unrelated to Christine Lahti’s subplot about working for a literal demon at a tech start-up. It feels like the things should be more connected.

Other than the Gen-Xers discovering TikTok, the main subplot is Herbers’s daughters outing Michael Emerson as a sixty-year-old man pretending to be a teenage boy on their Animal Crossing internet game. It ought to be a lot more fun, though it’s nice to see Emerson getting even limited comeuppance. Then the finale has a big, concerning reveal for another subplot.

Decent direction from Peter Sollett keeps things moving, even though Hall’s bad as the haunted house mom and the script (credited to Patricia Ione Lloyd) condescends to the audience. It’s a strangely hacky episode. While it’s got the best use of cursing on the former network show, it feels most like a network burner episode. “Evil” can’t catch a break.

Evil (2019) s03e04 – The Demon of the Road

“Evil”’s original conceit was a supernatural procedural. Hot priest-to-be Mike Colter, hot-but-appropriately-aged psychiatrist Katja Herbers, and funny and cute tech guy Aasif Mandvi investigate cases and prove they’re either not supernatural, or their solution gets left up in the air, but the danger abates.

It’s changed over the seasons, though this episode leans in heavy on the religious people—both Churchy and Demonic—are just more susceptible to hallucination, whether through brain chemistry or mental health conditions. Not important. Yet. Maybe next episode.

Anyway.

The show’s always maintained the procedural element—they’re demon-busters on a mission from God (well, the Christian god, well, the Catholic god)–but often mysteries get solved off-screen or not at all or don’t even turn out to be mysteries. Sometimes the approach makes “Evil” better; sometimes, it makes it worse. This episode is straight procedural and for the better. The demon-busters get a case, they investigate, they solve.

It ties into the overarching “cannibal demon cults” plot line, with some biggish reveals; it’s subplots for Herbers’s family, Andrea Martin’s got a big subplot where Michael Emerson’s successfully relying on the Catholic Church’s misogyny to force her to retire. But it’s a mystery episode, first and foremost.

And it’s a good, creepy, fun mystery.

Trucker KeiLyn Durrel Jones has a strange experience driving one night and blacks out. When he gets home, he starts sleepwalking and getting scary to his wife, Jennean Farmer. She goes to Colter, who agrees to investigate the case (it’s unclear why his boss didn’t want to take it).

So Colter, Herbers, and Mandvi road trip to upstate New York and have a creepy experience with a possible drone, possible flying demon. They spend the rest of the episode solving the case while having bizarre experiences related to it. It’s all perfectly straightforward.

The other subplots range in prominence. It seems like Martin’s is important, even bringing in Kurt Fuller for an appearance, but then doing nothing with him after implying they would. Herbers’s worried about not setting a good example for her daughters—as a self-advocating woman—but it ends up just reminding why her husband, Patrick Brammall, is such a dipshit.

The demon cults is just the last scene reveal, though it does figure in—at least somewhat—to Martin’s story.

Good direction from Peter Sollett, decent script (credited to Dewayne Darian Jones). It’s not a big swing “Evil,” but it’s an assured, successful one.

Evil (2019) s01e11 – Room 320

I resent how affecting this episode of “Evil” gets because it doesn’t deserve to be. The stuff about Katja Herbers and Aasif Mandvi discovering how the guy who attacked Mike Colter before hiatus is the same guy who posed as a creepy little girl in AR to stalk Herbers’s kid early on in the series… not affecting. It’s all connected in “Evil” just gets an eye-roll because it’s so contrived. Terrorizing its viewers about technology and the possible demonic influence—blah.

But Colter trapped in a hospital bed where a racist nurse (Tara Summers) is apparently killing off all the Black patients? Effective. Affecting. Even though Peter Sollet’s horror direction is lousy and the episode’s never as scary as it ought to be. It’s always manipulating, which just happens to work out because Summers is so unstoppably evil (because her white colleagues don’t care about the Black patients enough to check on them) and Colter’s so sympathetic.

There’s also a reveal on the pre-history of the show, with Herbers just now finding out she’s not Colter’s first psychiatrist sidekick. Previously he had Megan Ketch, who has longer hair than Herbers and no kids (or husband) but otherwise looks the same. No explanation of why no one mentioned Ketch’s existence to Herbers before—it’s almost like Mandvi didn’t work as steadily with Colter before Herbers came along either. Ketch teams up with them to try to catch the bad guy. The one who put Colter in the hospital, not the bad guy in the hospital.

There are all sorts of question marks and plot holes due to Colter being constantly overprescribed painkillers and unable to discern what’s real and what’s not. It’s also not clear if he’s in a Catholic hospital… seems like… no. But then yes. But then no. I guess it doesn’t end up mattering given the conclusion, which is in the open-minded “Evil” so we can find out later on Summers was really inspired by Michael Emerson (blissfully not present this episode) to kill her Black patients and get away with it because the hospital doesn’t notice all of her Black patients dying on a daily basis when in the hospital for routine things.

Maybe the scariest thing about “Evil” is how reasonable it seems Summers could get away with it.

Is it a good forty-two minutes of television… no. But it’s an effective forty-two minutes of television, which is something given how silly it gets when it’s trying to be scary.

Evil (2019) s01e04 – Rose390

The show goes a little overboard with the scary tech angle. Even more than last time. This time it’s pedophiles hacking AR games and grooming kids when they’re playing on their headsets. The kids in question are lead Katja Herbers’, as it’s not clear the problem child at the center of the episode (Luke Judy) is even using the headset. It’s also not clear if the hacker is a pedophile or if they’re Michael Emerson, who doesn’t appear in the episode, but maybe because he’s hacking AR games to encourage kids to kill.

“Evil” appears to work a lot better either with Emerson and without Herbers’ kids or without Herbers’ kids and with Emerson. Maybe because with Emerson around you can’t believe Herbers wouldn’t have her family locked in a safe room, clutching a shotgun. The show hasn’t really done anything with Emerson threatening her family. It’s just an “of course he did, he’s the bad guy,” which seems narratively and dramatically suspect.

Mike Colter gets something to do except mope about not getting as good of God visions when he trips anymore. Funny how he played Luke Cage but now he’s the one chasing the dragon. Wokka wokka. This episode is all about him bonding with annoying little Judy and even trying to give him psychiatric advice even though Colter’s just guessing what he ought to say. One would assume, despite him shrooming to see God, Colter at least knows not to mess with burgeoning serial killers’ minds. Surely the Catholic Church wouldn’t let him act so irresponsibly. For a different kind of wokka wokka.

Speaking of the Catholic Church, Clark Johnson’s back as Colter’s exorcist priest buddy. It’s nice to see Johnson but it’s a kind of crap part. He’s around to add some dramatic heft and he doesn’t even get to add much.

But it’s a more solid episode. The stuff with the family is actually good and disturbing instead of being annoying. Sure, the show’s take on hacked AR games probably ought to be a little more grounded in reality if they’re going to terrify parents. It’s all so creepy they could’ve gotten away with Herbers reading a number aloud to call to report the game or something.