Note: there will be spoilers below!
Recap
Last episode, Ash grabbed Kelly by the throat when he was in his trance because a demon had taken control over her. He’s tied up now and gagged while she tells a different version of what happened. Pablo thinks the demon must have gone into Ash back at the book store. Pablo’s uncle, Brujo, says he can cut out the piece of Ash’s brain infected. He’ll be cured but just lose his sense of smell and all feeling below the waste. Kelly decides they should get a little wasted while Brujo takes care of Ash.
Ruby and Amanda are headed towards Ash while following the directions his severed hand gives them.
Kelly found some of Ash’s weed and Pablo hasn’t quite figured out something is wrong. She’s smoking through Ash’s shotgun. She tries getting Pablo to take a hit and puts a shotgun shell in. She gets tired of waiting and shows her true colors. Ash is finally able to tell Brujo that he’s not possessed, Kelly is. They manage to tie her up and Brujo tries curing her but the demon is fighting it. It doesn’t look like they can get the demon out of her.
Brujo and Pablo leave. Kelly manages to come back and tells Ash the demon isn’t going to leave. There’s only one way to end it. She asks Ash to kill her. He raises the shotgun and Kelly asks her to put a cross on her grave. “Kelly’s Jewish. Fuck you.” Pablo figures he can fight the demon if enters him.
The demon exits but Ash can’t shoot it because it keeps teleporting away. It goes after Brujo and knocks him back. He gets impaled. Ash comes up with a new plan, “Shoot first and think later. Or don’t think at all. Shoot first, think never.” He throws up the shotgun, takes a swing at the demon with the chainsaw. It teleports away. Ash catches the shotgun as it comes down and shoots right where the demon rematerializes. Kelly comes to, not knowing what happened.
Pablo says his goodbyes to his uncle. A medallion appears at his funeral pyre and Pablo thinks it's a sign. Ash tries apologizing for everything. Pablo says it’s not his fault but Kelly says it totally is. Pablo gives Ash his new hand. Seeing he can make a fist, he says he’s going to shove it up a Deadite’s ass.
Thoughts
Things were looking pretty bad for Kelly. Even though Dana DeLorenzo is a series regular, it almost felt as if this was it for her. While possessed, we got to see a different side to her. This allowed Ray Santiago to show Pablo for who he really is. He truly has feelings for her but wants to only see the best in her. Despite everything happening, he wasn't willing to give up on her. He was even ready to put himself in her place to free her from the demon.
Bruce Campbell shows that even while bound and gagged, he can deliver a heckuva performance. The show keeps getting better and better. We still suffer through the half hour format which leaves us wanting more but unlike the battle in the bookstore a couple episodes ago, the pacing was just right here. It could be in part because the action picks up immediately from the last episode. It could also be that we got to see Ash's trippy trance last time. With Kelly, one of the core cast, in danger, the struggle felt close to home.
The fight against the demon was great. We also got to see a little maturity on Ash's part as he tries apologizing to the others for everything. As the show continues, we see more layers forming. It's becoming more than just a show about Ash and Pablo and Kelly are becoming more and more important to the overall story. Ash vs Evil Dead is one of the best things to happen to TV in a long time. It keeps getting better and better each week.