Evil (2019) s02e11 – I Is for IRS

There are a few enormous, series-changing swings in this episode. It starts right at the beginning, a montage set to Andrew Bird’s song, Fake Palindromes (I Shazamed it to see if it was an original song since the action fits so closely); the montage ends with one of the regular cast apparently murdering someone. Doesn’t matter the rest of the episode; it’s just all in a typical day at “Evil.” The other big swings come at the end of the episode, which turns out to be—seemingly—a conclusion to the arc Katja Herbers has been on all season.

She, Mike Colter, and Aasif Mandvi are investigating a new church of Satan for the IRS (the Catholic Church does favors for the IRS, which leads to a handful of muted wry remarks about the Church being a pedophile land-grab operation but a lot less pointed than usual; maybe Paramount+ finally got their Standards and Practices division in order). The church is a thinly veiled riff on the actual Satanic Temple, but instead of fighting for women’s rights, the “Evil” version just uses Satanic mumbo jumbo to score chicks and sell t-shirts. Gus Halper plays the frontman disbeliever—his character’s name is Graham Lucian, which is close enough Lucian Greaves ought to make a t-shirt mocking the show—and John Sanders is the creepy believer Satanic preacher who threatens people.

Except when Colter clearly shows the church brochure to “in league with Satan” Michael Emerson, Emerson freaks out. So hopefully, if Sanders comes back as threatened, it’ll be to Emerson exacting whatever. I really hope they don’t team them up.

The investigation is mostly an excuse for Herbers’s arc to wrap up with the assistance of good-looking sexual predator Halper and for “Evil” to have a few half-naked women in the episode. And for Herbers, Colter, and Mandvi to talk a lot about financial technicalities. Catholic boss man Peter Scolari (it’s hard to imagine what the show would be if Scolari weren’t such a twerp) doesn’t want them giving the IRS a thumbs down on the Satanists for religious reasons; instead he wants them to get the thumbs down for secular ones. It’s ever unclear if “Evil” realizes the commentary it’s making on the Catholic Church, especially when Herbers and Mandvi are so clipped in their pushback.

The second big swing is going to involve a great scene between Herbers and Colter, maybe one of Colter’s best in ages—remember when he was going to have a subplot this season about the Catholic Church not caring about Black people, and then they dropped it—even though the new normal it helps set up is on unstable footing. “Evil” manages to make having a familiar character be a vicious murderer less shocking than Herbers actually wanting to spend time with her husband, Patrick Brammall. Brammall, despite having gone from a Mount Everest climbing guide to a Colorado truck company owner, still manages to be a hipster cultural appropriator; it’s sort of impressive.

There are some good scenes with Kurt Fuller (though he’s now playing Brammall and Herbers’s marriage counselor even though they said he wouldn’t be because of conflicts of interest) and Christine Lahti. Emerson has a bunch to do, but it’s unclear how much is acting and how much is editing.

It’s a strange episode, and there are only a couple more this season, so they may not have time to do anything but shake more things up. If so, it’ll be a disservice to otherwise rather solid second season. Fingers crossed.

Evil (2019) s02e09 – U Is for U.F.O.

Remember last season when the “Evil” team discovered a fertility clinic in Manhattan infusing babies with concentrated evil—no doubt imported from the Prince of Darkness church—including one of star Katja Herbers’s daughters? It was a big deal plot then. This season it’s been barely acknowledged, then this whole episode is about getting the show back towards that big deal. See, Mike Colter’s only got four more weeks until he becomes a Catholic priest and will have to obey the Church no matter what—sure, like covering up babies infused with Satan’s DNA is the worst thing the Catholic Church will order him to do—and, if they’re not going to take on this hipster Rosemary’s Baby clinic, he, Herbers, and Aasif Mandvi will just have to do it themselves.

Of course, the episode isn’t about that decision at all. The episode’s about Air Force pilot April Matthis seeing a UFO and no one believing her except the Catholic Church. They’re just clamoring to get some aliens to convert. The episode makes a dig at the Church’s treatment of indigenous people, but I’m guessing they weren’t explicitly referring to the indigenous children the Church murdered and dumped. Actually, Herbers backs down from that argument with new hottie guest star priest Anthony DeSando, who’s a lot more charming than the other priests in addition to being a hottie.

The episode—ninth of thirteen—seems like it could be picking up right at the beginning of the season. Except it’s better than last season ended. It hits some familiar strong points, like scenes with Colter and Herbers talking about spirituality and being mutedly hot for one another. Then the team being entertaining together when getting plastered. Not to mention the subplot with Michael Emerson’s meetings with his demonic supervisor and his attempts at bringing Christine Lahti back into his life. A bloody return.

But not in a bad way.

It’s positively creepy; as in, it’s creepy in a positive way. “Evil”’s bringing back some of its old plots and tropes, only it’s got a far firmer footing now.

Initially, Herbers and Mandvi get more to do. Herbers has martial counseling with wet noodle of a husband, Patrick Brammall—they now own a trucking company in Colorado, not a mountain-climbing expedition company in the Himalayas, or maybe I was just zoning while Brammall was talking—and Mandvi’s interviewing another UFO witness (Malika Samuel). It seems like they’ll be doing the heavy plot lifting while Colter meditates until Colter has a vision of sexy time with an evil Herbers and then Jesus imagery. And maggots. It’s intense. Then he and Mandvi have a nice minor tech subplot.

It’s a busy but not too busy episode. It’s full. Even if the UFO story turns into this confounding conspiracy nonsense with the sole purpose of getting them interested in the fertility clinic again.

Strong direction from Clark Johnson and a thorough script, credited to Nialla LeBouef.

Who knows if they’ll pull it off, but “Evil”’s sophomore season turnaround is going strong.

Evil (2019) s02e08 – B Is for Brain

“Evil” has definitely hit the part of the production run when they knew they were streaming only. The F-bombs come in dialogue and not in voiceover or inserts. And Katja Herbers’s journey to wherever gets to be a lot more intense. Well, maybe. I don’t know; would CBS have let them do cross-shaped burns on her belly she likes rubbed to pain during gagged, animal mask sex? When the season was still in its obviously made-for-broadcast television episodes, Herbers was plotting to step out on absentee husband, Patrick Brammall (who’s a much better part of the show when we’re not supposed to like him because he’s a buzzkill). Does standards and practices prefer marital Szechuan strawberry or extramarital vanilla?

Anyway.

This episode is about Herbers, Mike Colter, and Aasif Mandvi investigating Cornell University scientist Michael Esper’s new project. He’s made a “Heaven helmet” by accident, and the Vatican wants to know if they should investigate. Now, Cornell’s a private university, and it’s unclear why Esper is willing to do whatever the Vatican wants but… whatever. The point of the experiment is actually brain-mapping, but it turns out it makes subjects have lucid heaven dreams. Colter thinks the Vatican wants it because it’ll help believers. Herbers and Mandvi think they want it so they can brainwash people with science-y stuff.

All that stuff is first act and finale fluff. The meat is Herbers, Colter, and Mandvi imagining the afterlife or whatever.

Except none of them have that vision. Instead, Mandvi has one about his mom and Islam, which works but gets dropped once the episode gets on to spicer possibilities for Colter and Herbers. See, Herbers is still hung-up on Colter whether she admits it or not–or so therapist Kurt Fuller, making a welcome return, observes–and having Brammall back isn’t making it any better.

Meanwhile, Colter’s trying to figure things out with the help of badass nun Andrea Martin, who also has a great standoff with Michael Emerson.

Plus, there’s some great Christine Lahti facing off against constant disappointment of a son-in-law Brammall.

While “Evil” hasn’t shed all of its network procedural, and maybe it’s moving towards its streaming future, it’s definitely finding its footing in the evolution. The show’s tied a bunch of knots it’s going to have to unravel; it still looks very much like a network procedural—James Whitmore Jr.’s direction is acceptable—but its momentum isn’t slowing.

Terrific acting from Herbers and Mandvi this episode. And Martin, of course.

Evil (2019) s01e12 – Justice x 2

There’s a lot going on in this episode of “Evil” but the only important thing—the only truly important thing—is it guest stars Gbenga Akinnagbe. It utterly wastes him in a “let’s not examine this too hard” plot about him being a radio comic in nineties Rwanda who encouraged the genocide. Emayatzy Corinealdi plays a Tutsi woman who tracks him down twenty-five years later to exact her revenge. It wouldn’t be so weird if the show didn’t turn it into a commentary on 2019 America, with phrases like “punching up” thrown around. There are optics to it. And to the way the episode does exposition about the Rwandan genocide. It’s not even a lukewarm take because the show’s not actually controversial (just manipulative) and it wastes Akinnagbe and Corinealdi in what ought to be an easy to do, albeit exploitative, tense talking heads standoff. She’s got him taped to a chair in a basement, after all; it’s not like there aren’t movies to guide the writers.

The show’s big addition? Mike Colter tied up in the room too; he went to see Corinealdi because she called the Catholic Church to report… her walls telling her to avenge herself upon Akinnagbe. It’s not a good main plot, but the episode doesn’t really have strong subplots either. Katja Herbers is standing off with Michael Emerson in court, with the bad guy from the pilot back. We get some big reveals on Emerson, but then the show’s got its biggest “reveal” at the end when—spoiler but because one must—Emerson’s having his therapy session with Baphomet. Not a bad Baphomet as far as network TV goes. But if Baphomet’s imaginary, it’s just stupid and if Baphomet’s not imaginary, it’s going to have to get stupider in a different way. Just because Baphomet can look good on TV in 2020 doesn’t mean he should.

Though Emerson fits the sad old posturing incel a lot better than the seventies Bond villain with kinks for religious symbolism and too many sweaters. Will he get less tiresome? Will the family get less tiresome as dad Patrick Brammall, now getting subplots instead of Aasif Mandvi, goes away for a bit then comes back, having now been the real parent when the sick kid needs an emergency procedure to add some child in danger drama and working mom Herbers isn’t taking the call. No. No, they’ll be even more tiresome.

Then there’s Brammall’s whole Buddhist subplot where the show equates him meditating to Herbers getting back with the child rapists at the Church. Religious pluralism, big shrug. He gets some ominous foreshadowing this episode too. Not just with the possibly dying child and Herbers not having told him any information about the possible medical procedures because she’s too hot for Colter to remember.

Also a religious judges are going to be the literal death of us all moment.

It’s amazing with all the stuff “Evil” has got and has had going on they’ve never actually delivered. I’m surprised they wasted Gbenga Akinnagbe, but I really shouldn’t have been.