The time has finally come! Since the start of Ash vs. Evil Dead I've been anticipating the episode when Ruby and Amanda either confront or team up with Ash, Kelly and Pablo, but, in a refreshing twist, we didn't get either scenario. Instead, "The Killer of Killers" uses the moment to subvert expectations and introduce some intriguing new story details.
Ash is nowhere to be found when Ruby and Amanda arrive at Brujo’s place, but the talismans are still aflame. While Ruby heads inside, Amanda spots the trailer driving away in the distance, but before she can alert Ruby and go after them, the drafter strikes. It goes straight for Amanda, but Ruby steps in. She manages to save Amanda by pushing the creature into a fire, but it winds up dragging her into the flames right along with it. It’s a compelling encounter with a shocking big finish, but this is the first time an Ash vs. Evil Dead creature isn’t 100%. It’s a solid design, but it’s almost as if it’s missing the texture necessary to make it feel appropriate in a real world setting.
Assuming Ruby’s long gone, Amanda hops in her car and goes after Ash herself. He’s a ways down the road with Pablo and Kelly at the Western Moose sports bar having breakfast. While slicing and dicing some pancakes with his fancy new hand, Ash explains to them that he knows his next step; “all roads to destroying this evil lead right back to where it all began, the cabin.” Ash attempts to forge forward alone again, but Pablo and Kelly insist on sticking with him - even if means becoming deadites and getting decapitated themselves.
While Ash has a chat with an old buddy named Lem (Peter Feeney), things continue to get awkward between Pablo and Kelly. Pablo finally spills the beans and tells her about what she did to him (or tried to do to him) while she was possessed, but before Kelly can confirm whether or not she’s got real feelings for him, Ash returns to tell them the plan. They can come with him to the cabin but there’s one condition - he has to make a pitstop along the way, presumably at that militia camp Lem told him about.
While Ash tries to sweet talk the waitress (Rachael Blampied) into giving them their meals for free, Pablo and Kelly continue their conversation in the trailer. Pablo gives her most of the details, but holds back when he gets to the whole “I’m not ready” part and tells her that he just blacked out instead. It appears that their chat is shifting in Pablo's favor when Kelly admits that Eligos might have been preying on how she really feels about him, but then she blurts out that Eligos was probably just turning the fact that she thinks that Pablo is the sweetest, purest guy out there on its head. Poor, Pablo.
But there’s no time for sulking on this show. Their conversation is interrupted yet again, and this time it’s by the Necronomicon. When Pablo gets a little too close to the chest where Ash keeps the book, something starts banging around inside. Turns out, the book’s got an issue with Pablo’s new necklace and as soon as they open the chest up, it lunges for him. But, fortunately, they manage to lock it up again. After Pablo suggests some new ways to destroy the Necronomicon, Kelly points out that Ash once said “we need the book to help with the deadites.” That’s when Pablo realizes that maybe Kelly doesn’t want to destroy the book because she wants the deadites to keep coming so she can get revenge.
Meanwhile, back in the restaurant, despite Ash’s persistence, he fails to get the waitress to comp his meal but it’s no big deal because before he can get in trouble for not paying the check, Amanda tries to arrest him and then the drafter attacks. After wiping out the waitress, some restaurant patrons and Amanda’s superior at work, Lieutenant Boyle (Andrew Grainger), most of the victims return as deadites and Amanda has no choice but to fight alongside Ash. But, even then, they can’t beat them all on their own and that’s where a much-needed Pablo and Kelly come in. Ash sparks a fair amount of carnage but Kelly takes the spotlight when she gets to thin slice the deadite waitress’ head and then bash it with a meat cleaver over and over and over again.
Before they take off, Ash has his most civil conversation with Amanda yet and invites her to come along with them. She takes the offer, seemingly wholeheartedly without any plan to double cross him, and off they all go.
I'm starting to feel like a broken record, but the consistency on this show is serving the material exceptionally well. Yet again, we've got an episode that keeps the focus on one primary location and highlights one big battle while still managing to throw in tons of new, curious details that take the season narrative another giant step forward.
Episode 7 is titled "Fire in the Hole" so my money is on a post-drafter attack Lem running back to the militia and turning them all into Deadites, which would make for one insanely epic battle - especially considering how director Michael Hurst nailed the big fight scene in this episode. And then of course we're left wondering what happened to Ruby. Lucy Lawless is a main player on the show so it's pretty obvious that this can't be the end of her character. Plus, this official image released by Starz a while back kind of proves it. So that makes the more pressing question, which team is Ruby on? The skeleton creature called her a double-crosser so perhaps she was once on the wrong side but has better intentions now.
Episode Rating: ★★★★
Extras and Ashisms:
- "Ruby! You double-crosser! The others will never let you get the book for yourself, and neither will I.” - The Creature
- Ash’s hand is bound to pop up again … but when?
- “You’re hurting those pancakes.” - Kelly
- “You two fun bags almost done?” - Ash
- When Pablo and Kelly are fighting the Necronomicon, the book seemingly lands on a very specific page. Is that picture of the evil entity that just fought Ruby? Could it be The Dark One? And how about those swords on the other page? Maybe one is what Ruby wields in the third episode.
- “Would you like me to string your racket?” - Ash
- “What? You never saw a guy with a chainsaw hand before?” - Ash
- “Well, good news. I found a piece of pie with no blood on it.” - Ash
- “Welcome to my world. You walk into a diner, all you want is a pile of hotcakes. What do you get? A pile of corpses and everybody wants to blame it on you.” - Ash