Last week’s episode was a mid-season finale of sorts with Ash and his young subordinates riding off into the sunset. Only difference is the eternal wait between episodes is nonexistent. Hot on the trail blazed by the trio are Ruby and Amanda who arrive literally moments after the camper can continued on its road to salvation.

The episode fires on all cylinders from the beginning when Ruby vanishes into a fire pit after she is attacked by a demon (who is truthfully very synthetic due to the date F/X used to create it). Obviously Ruby is still a red herring who could be swaying on the fence between mankind and damnation. Although this was a conveniently expedient way to explain her absence for the next few episodes.

It was long suspected that the end game for Ash has been circumnavigating back to the cabin from Evil Dead which is stunningly fawning to the original trilogy and a perfect loop for the series to end on. Ash has always been prideful and when he insists that the cabin should be a solo affair, Pablo and Kelly are vehement that they deserve vengeance against this plague. Pablo’s obsequious streak to Ash even extends beyond death (“If I was a Deadite, I’d be honored to have you chop my head off”).

It’s encouraging that the several successors to Sam Raimi have flawlessly replicated his kamikaze lunacy with the low-angle dolly shots. Against those odds, the massacre at the Moose diner has been my favorite white-knuckle set piece so far with a rotary meat slicer and a tenderizing mallet as the unconventional tools wielded by Deadites, Pablo and an anger-ventilating Kelly who goes a little overboard on the possessed waitress. The seismic blast through the windows is a great kick-off and it only escalates to the point where political correctness is casually jettisoned when a hiding preteen is catapulted into a ceiling fan.

Ash has been so omnipotent with slaying lately that we almost forgot about what clueless womanizer he is. It was heartening to hear his “stringing the racket” monologue to the waitress to reconfirm that Campbell is still a studly, froward hoot and he might be smitten with Amanda.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

For all we knew Ash was the only mortal capable of slicing and dicing Deadites with the greatest of ease. We were mistaken as Lucy Lawless skewers the bookstore owner like an undead shish kabob. I anticipate future interactions between her and Ash resembling the bickering of Han and Leia. However, with her family’s history with the cabin and Ash, it’s not inconceivable that she bares a grudge.

Its uncanny how congruous the musical choices are for the material. Between this and The Devil’s Rejects, Midnight Rider is a sublime song for horror carnage. Unlike the corporeal Deadites in the previous three episodes, the “drafter” hailstorm is a cheesy Galactus foe for Ash to outpace with his ineffective nitrous oxide boost.

Consequently, the pagan ritualism is a loony venue for the Evil Dead playground and Ash’s ayahuasca vision quest is a trippy collage of 80’s opo culture referenda (wrestling matches, the slogan “Just Say No”, etc.). Thankfully, showrunner Craig DiGregorio hasn’t forsaken the self-deprecating humor that Raimi prided himself on ala Ash’s preliminary slogan “When evil shows up, it blows up”.

I love the callback to Ruby preserving Ash’s sentient, severed hand and Pablo’s plan to refashion him a new one with video game components. Likewise, episode writer James E. Eagan gratifies the fanbase by sketching in the gaps before the original movie with Ash rhapsodizing about Jacksonville, Florida which was his vacation spot before he went to the cabin.

It’s a shame that Kelly is already displaying signs of demonic influence. The next episode promises a somber midpoint with Kelly’s potential sacrifice to the dark side. Let’s hope they don’t neglect the congenial vein of camaraderie the shows have been coasting on.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5