Evil returns and dives into the deep end!
This is the season of demons, and Evil Season 3 Episode 1 didn’t skimp on them, metaphysical or personal.
If this is how the premiere kicked it off, then we’re in for a spectacular season.
Let’s start with the obvious — what happened with David and Kristen after the credits rolled on Evil Season 2 Episode 13?
As it turns out, it depends on who you ask.
What Kristen wanted was exactly what she received — to be absolved of her sins, specifically LeRoux’s murder.
Katja Herbers was spectacular as the weight of what she’d done was literally lifted from Kristen’s shoulders as she sobbed into David’s shoulder.
Given the toll that burden had taken on her and how she and David had danced around the smoldering something between them, it’s no surprise that they both lost themselves in that moment.
For Kristen, it was another mistake, and not one she was eager to weigh her down again. Once David stopped them from what seemed inevitable, Kristen walked away.
But David’s demons are far greater. He hasn’t been lugging around the kind of secret Kristen had, and facing a future without sex opened the door for demons to attack.
The struggle was real, but the power was so great that David succumbed. The demon even had it covered if Kristen refused to acknowledge what happened.
When they finally talked about it, David was still unsure. Logically, he must have believed that Kristen was downplaying what happened. After all, she told him they would never speak of it again.
But the second time, his demon Kristen was even more flagrant, with dirty talk and a literal forked tongue.
Mike Colter and Katja Herbers must have had a blast with those scenes. They were sultry and sexy without any emotional connection, which has to be much easier when filming those kinds of scenes than the opposite.
It was downright freaky that in the throes of passion, David spied Sister Gertrude in his room, watching intently with one eye.
I know her name because of the press materials, but have we seen her before? Is she a real nun or an entity? It was difficult to tell, but in that moment, that was not a surprise.
David’s demonic troubles fit in perfectly with their latest case, weighing the human body just before and after death in search of a soul.
The study was disturbing, and the loneliness required for the experiment was almost inhuman at a time you’d most need comfort. But David’s eventual theory was fantastic.
David: That was crazy.
Ben: Know what’s even crazier?
Kristen: Oh gosh. I, I, I don’t know if I have room for more.
Ben: The doctor said that she had stage 4 cancer ASPS, the same that Ignacious was dying of.
David: How’s that possible?
Ben: I don’t know. It was overlooked.
David: Or…
Ben: Yes, Father?
David: Maybe souls don’t weigh anything. Maybe demons do. Maybe demons weigh us down.
Kristen: You’re saying a demon left Ignacious during his near-death experience?
David: Yes. You pointed at the sensors near the roof. They were green throughout. What if that was the energy from the demon that left Ignacious? When the sister died, the demon possessed her. That’s why she died heavier and with the cancer that left Ignacious.
What if the weight is losing one’s demons and not their soul, and what if that demon could then transfer into another at the time of their death?
Ignacious didn’t just experience 56 seconds of death, a loss of 24 grams, and rebirth; his personality changed. David’s theory suggests that Ignacious was free to be himself for the first time in decades.
It was also fitting that the demon was working against Ignacious’s feelings for “Matt,” aka Monsignor. While some might want to think that his feelings for Monsignor signified darkness, the route Evil took suggested the opposite, and it worked.
David: What happened?
Scientist: I don’t know, but he was medically dead for 56 seconds with a loss of 24 grams.
Monsignor: His soul left his body?
Ben: He’s still 24 grams lighter.
Kristen: So he’s walkin’ around without a soul?
Monsignor: Obviously, he can’t be without a soul because there he is.
Instead, the demon in question was cancer, and you can’t come up with a better analogy for cancer than a demon consuming your body. Chemo and radiation are the tools of exorcism and sometimes have the same success rate.
Another story dancing around demons came from Andy’s return and demand that Sheryl pack her bags.
Andy: I don’t know what you’re about with your little voodoo dolls and all your stuff, but I don’t want it near my family, so I want you out by the end of the week.
Sheryl: You’re an ungrateful asshole, do you know that?
Andy: Yes, I do.
Sheryl: I’ve suspended my life to babysit for free. I’ve put everything on hold-
Andy: Congratulations, now I want you out.
Sheryl: Shut the fuck up. How dare you.
Andy: Yes, how dare I? How dare I be a husband?
Sheryl: Your time to be a husband was a year ago.
Andy: No, no, no. Listen, Sheryl. That doesn’t work anymore, OK? The guilt trips, the nasty comments. Do I look affected by it? Now get the fuck out of my house.
Sheryl: Listen daddy, you don’t want to get on my bad side.
Andy: Oh my God. You have a bad side?
Sheryl: You’re on.
There’s no love lost for Andy. The man should have worked much harder to find a job closer to home so that he could help Kristen raise five girls.
But Kristen has forgiven too much from Sheryl in exchange for a free babysitter. The conflict of interest between Kristen, Sheryl, and Leland should have been enough to motivate her to toss Sheryl out the door.
Seeing a demon on Sheryl’s bed didn’t leave Andy questioning if he was seeing things or not. He didn’t care. Why take the chance? Hit the road, Jack.
Sheryl is fighting back with all of her “power” if you will, and Andy discovered her shrunken mentor’s head under the bed. It was a little disappointing that Andy didn’t seem to put that together with Sheryl’s threat of game on, but maybe it was because the girls are a constant distraction.
Surely, if things begin to go wrong between him and Kristen, he’ll consider what he flushed as a possible source.
Speaking of the girls, Kristen and Andy sure have their hands full with that brood, but they’re smart kids.
Bumblebee Valley was indicative of myriad honey traps on the internet that lure children with ridiculous age requirements for the material advertised. Another kid could have fallen head first into Leland’s lure, but hilariously, Lexis turned the table on him.
Leland thought he had it made when Lexis entered his world, but his constant chatter about her mom tipped her off that it was a scam, and Leland was to blame.
Leland was already in the hot seat from Evil Season 2 when he was skulking around Lexis at school.
In a premiere filled with excellent scenes, Kristen serving Leland with the restraining order was one of the best.
Leland: Yes, Ms. Bouchard?
Kristen: Hello.
Leland: Hello. Would you mind backing up a few feet? [chuckles, while Kristen places an envelope on his chest] What is it?
Kristen: A restraining order. You’ve been served.
Leland: Monsignor. Can’t we settle our disagreements without these ad hominem attacks?
Monsignor: Ms. Bouchard, this is not necessary.
Kristen: Oh, it’s not a restraining order for me. I can take care of myself. It’s for my 11-year-old daughter.
Monsignor: Excuse me?
Kristen: Mr. Townsend has approached my daughter at school on four separate occasions, and he’s asked her to keep it secret from me.
Leland: Oh, this is-
Kristen: And he’s also made her uncomfortable with his touch.
Leland: I did not. What are you talking about? This is insane.
Kristen: Luckily, one of my daughters took a photo, and that is why the court granted me this injunction.
Leland: That. That is a misinterpretation!
Kristen: I guess it’s a good thing that the Catholic Church has no issues with older men touching children.
Truly Herbers is a marvel on this show, and she ran away with the premiere. It’s her world, and everyone else is currently living in it.
Kristen’s actions and how she addressed the girls about Leland as an immediate threat were smart moves, and her girls sucked up the knowledge. Girls gravitate toward heroics just like boys, and like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, they picked up their keyboards and went on the offensive against Leland.
Watching Kristen’s house sometimes seems like hell on earth to someone like me, who lives alone. Judging from Leland’s reaction, he probably won’t disagree.
As all of this unfolded, Sister Andrea was taking note of her allies. In this case, that means who believes and who doesn’t. Since her arrival, she’s been keen on what’s about to go down, and she knows that to fight the deep darkness, people have to have faith.
Of course, that’s all dependent on the faith vs science of it all.
Honestly, hearing her talk about the unfaithful heading to the pearly gates to be turned around for not believing was a little disturbing.
What did you think of the premiere?
Did the conversations about the soul and demons strike any chords?
Share your thoughts below!
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on Twitter and email her here at TV Fanatic.