Yup. Best episode in the show so far (but that's not saying much). All in all, it was fun... And that's all I'm asking from this show at this point. I've already given up on it being actually good, but it can be fun. A few inventive ideas to be found and some unexpected stuff happened. That said, the character writing is still awful and the dialogue still sucks. Sorry, but nostalgia, ridiculous violence and a cool set are not enough to make me lose my mind over this thing. It's still very flawed, full of script and execution issues and even when they get something right, it still feels a little "off" to me. Like it's just trying to copy the Evil Dead feeling and energy instead of actually having it. I really hate what they turned Ash into. He's just a sleazy, racist, oblivious, stupid old man without a compelling character arc or clear motivations. As a matter of fact, his stupidity has turned into the show's equivalent of "a wizard did it". Every time something out of character, convenient or contrived happens, their justification for it seems to be "Ash is stupid, lol". I also don't care one bit about Pablo or Kelly and I hated Amanda. Ruby is still somewhat interesting, even though they haven't done much with her until now. Sorry to be the party pooper again, but I honestly feel there's nothing this season can do anymore to make me love it. I really wanted to like it, but I just can't get past how disappointed I am with how it turned out and the direction they decided to go with it. But I'm glad so many of you are invested in it and enjoying it thoroughly.
- Turns out I was wrong about the characters never leaving the front porch. Still seems like a really stupid thing to do, but I don't know what else they could've done with the hikers. "They're safer out there than in here". No. They're not, Ash. You out of all people, should know that.
- It kinda surprised me that Evil Ash went out like a chump and was taken out even before the title card came up. Also, the way they figured out who was the real Ash was kinda lame. That was a little disappointing, but no biggie. It's just that Bruce was doing such a great job with it and Evil Ash was such a cool presence that I wish they had done more with him.
- Turns out Amanda really is a better character dead than living. She was a cool deadite and I loved her little puppet show. However, I didn't think her make-up looked very good.
- The lighting on the exterior scenes felt wrong. Too much light. Too damn bright. Some shots were so bright that it looked like day.
- I really hope Ruby is possessed by a dark one instead of actually being one. Maybe she was taken by the dark one that was stalking her at the Brujo's place after she was dragged into the funeral pyre. The Ruby that came out of it wasn't really Ruby, but the dark one. I'd like that.
- Still not a single word of explanation on why/how Ash has the book and Ruby has the dagger. I'm just throwing that out there. I truly don't care anymore.
- The book's face attaching itself to Pablo's face was a cool moment and pretty inventive. I'm curious to see what it will lead to. Hopefully they'll actually do something interesting with it. The fact that next episode has double the running time is a good thing. Maybe that'll give them the opportunity to do some more elaborate stuff instead of being forced to solve everything they set up in a manner of minutes.
- Preview for next episode looks good, but some stuff in it kinda reminds me way too much of the ED remake. I hope it's just an impression.
- What was the AoD reference that everyone's talking about? I seem to have missed it. =/
Hurley said:
OK, watched it for the second time and besides some nitpicks like some of the dialogue and a few weird shots (AKA flying Ruby), I only have two major complaints for this episode.
One: the way Kelly and Pablo recognized the real Ash makes absolutely no sense. It would be Evil Ash, not the real one, who would want both of them to die, because the Evil spirit doesn't care if it dies (and we actually saw Deadites with suicidal tendencies in the past). Also Ash wouldn't sacrifice himself. No fucking way.
Two: this complaint is maybe a bit more personal, but I'm interested in what you guys think about it: I just don't like the talking Necronomicon. It felt weird for me in the comics and it feels weird for me here, like some unnecessary attempt to have a villain with a face (pun intended). What do you think?
Yeah, that flying Ruby shot was terrible, but it might make more sense next episode if it turns out she's possessed by a dark one. Still, it looked ridiculous... And not in a good way. Just a poorly conceived, poorly executed shot that ruined the moment.
I agree with you on both points. I also didn't like the way they figured out who was the real Ash and I wasn't very fond of the talking Necronomicon.
