I almost let myself get irritated when the first Season of “Ash vs Evil Dead” ended with Ash (Bruce Campbell) making the dumbest decision possible and driving off into the Jacksonville sunset. But then I remembered it was Ash Williams and Ash Williams doesn’t do the right thing unless it’s standing between him and a beer. He’s reactive instead of proactive, and that’s why I love him so much as a character.
Season 2 picks up almost immediately after the first season’s conclusion with Ash, Pablo and Kelly (Ray Santiago and Dana DeLorenzo) working in a tiki dive bar down in Jacksonville, Florida. Well, Pablo and Kelly are working, still angry that he took the easy way out and allowed Ruby to do his dirty work for him. Ash is just partying and slashing open kegs with his chainsaw for college kids. Then, in Evil Dead fashion, everything falls apart. Fast.
Without spoiling too much, Ash and his friends are forced to travel back to Elk Grove, MI – Ash’s hometown and we quickly learn that the small town citizens aren’t too keen on Ash after the events of Evil Dead and Evil Dead II. There’s heavy air of hostility when some of the people from his past come into play.
Ash’s father, Brock Williams (Lee Major) is a highlight of the first episode. He’s just as, if not more, crass and racist as Ash which makes for some good face palming moments of laughter.
I really enjoyed these slower moments that took the time to build out Ash as a character. After all, you don’t become as rude and unapologetic as Ash without at least a little bit of trauma in your past. The way the people from his hometown treat him suggests that he developed an iron skin to deflect their constant tormenting over the years. It isn’t presented in a way that justifies his past actions, but to help the viewer empathize with him a little, which is a nice touch after watching him sink so low at the end of season 1.
These emotional bits don’t underplay the comedy though. If I’m being honest, there were very few parts in the first season that caused me to laugh out loud, but in the first two episodes of the second season, there were three jokes that accomplished just that.
Weaving between emotional moments of the past, comedy and buckets of blood should be jarring, especially in a half-hour show. But the way that Campbell owns his role as Ash has a sense of comfortability and seamlessness that I never saw coming. He’s by no means a great hero, or even a good one, but he’s great at getting the job done when he has to.
If this sense of balance continues throughout the rest of the season, we’re going to be in for a kick-ass ride. This is the best we’ve seen Ash since Army of Darkness.