Review by Eric Hillis (@hilliseric)
Following a couple of somewhat uninspiring opening episodes, Ash Vs Evil Dead's sophomore season really kicked into gear with this third episode, Last Call, an over-the-top, bloody homage to the possessed car genre.
At the end of last week's episode, Ash (Bruce Campbell) was enraged to see a pair of punk kids make off in his beloved Delta Oldsmobile. When we catch up with him this week he's pining for his one true love. During a montage of flashbacks to moments from the Evil Dead series involving the iconic vehicle, one shot finally gave us an answer to a question many of us have been pondering throughout the series. Due to a rights issue, Ash Vs Evil Dead is unable to reference the events of Army of Darkness. Does this mean in the show's timeline Ash never travelled back in time to the Middle Ages? This was cleared up an inclusion of a shot of Ash and his car landing in said time period taken from the closing moments of Evil Dead 2. The question now raised concerns whether the show will feature any time travelling. Perhaps a third season could cash in on Game of Thrones fever by sending Ash and friends back to the medieval setting of Army of Darkness.
But enough speculation; on to the episode. In an attempt to lure the car thieves, Ash decides to throw a party in the local bar, Shemp's (a reference to Evil Dead creator Sam Raimi's love of The Three Stooges). With the aid of his mentally unstable barman buddy, Chet (Ted Raimi), he revives his favourite cocktail - 'Pink Fuck', a lethal Romulan ale coloured drink whose main ingredient is the drug Ketamine.
Meanwhile, Ash's Oldsmobile is being used as a boudoir by a bunch of horny teens, one of whom, Amber (Olivia Mahood), discovers the Necronomican resting under a seat and is immediately transformed into a Deadite, relieving her date of his genitals before making for Ash's party.
Not content with taking over Amber's body, the book possesses the Oldsmobile itself, setting off on a bloody rampage that makes Christine look like Herbie. Director Tony Tilse continues to impress with his work on the small screen, constructing a thrilling splatstick set-piece here, the highlight of which features Amber's boyfriend's face torn off in hilariously gruesome fashion by one of the car's spinning wheels. Tilse will return for this season's eighth episode, but if I were the showrunner I'd have him helm the entire run.
Ash Vs Evil Dead recappers have been moaning about the show's sidelining of Kelly (Dana DeLorenzo), but it seems this was on purpose, as this week we witnessed Ruby (Lucy Lawless) exploit Kelly's frustrations, the two ditching Ash to set off in search of the Necronomicon on their own.
I've complained personally about the lack of interaction between Ash and his sleazy Dad, Brock (Lee Majors), and we finally got to see the two share some proper screen time this week, as Ash saved the old man from becoming the next victim of Amber, finally convincing Brock that his son is a demon hunter rather than a serial killer. Sadly, the father-son bonding was cut short as the Oldsmobile appeared out of nowhere and brutally mowed down Brock as if it were taking part in Death Race 2000. It seems every time Ash Vs Evil Dead introduces an interesting character, they're dead two episodes later, which is a shame, as I for one was certainly looking forward to seeing more of the dynamic between Campbell and Majors.
