Ash Vs Evil Dead: 02.06: Trapped Inside Discussion [SPOILERS]

[DocLathropBrown]

All right, more comments--

Easily the best episode of the show since "Ashes to Ashes" last season. There was a much less flippant tone to the proceedings, and most jokes were subtle. There also weren't any jokes that inturrupted the serious vibes. More of that, please.

I, too, would have liked a little bit more emotion out of Ash toward Cheryl, at least at-first. Cheryl should have tried fucking with his head a teensy bit, like Linda in ED2 when she turns human again to tug on his heartstrings. But as others have said, Ash would know that it wasn't really Cheryl and the initial shock of seeing her would wear off quickly, as it did.

It's funny to me personally that my own head-canon for ED1 between brother and sister has been made semi-official by this episode (that Ash and Cheryl had a slightly tempestuous relationship and she must have been the older sibling).

The episode was absolutely, finally, truly, Evil Dead. The use of location, isolation, atmosphere--it was a culmination of all this season has been building toward  in its improvements over season 1 (in that department). It had its eerie moments. Particularly the tight close-up of Cheryl looking devious as she flew down the hallway toward her room--that genuinely creeped me out--and that's something the movies did a lot that the show has done for me very rarely. Nothing but improvements, here, people.

The worst bit of the episode was Chet jerking off in Cheryl's room. Really? It's not only gross but it isn't funny, either. I would have simply had Chet sitting there in the dark, drunk and holding her photo (like in the promo pic for the episode, ironically), mournfully reminiscing. Would have given him a few words about it, too, to show that there's a deeper side to him. Considering that no one ever saw her body and her death was just rumored (basically), her return thus could have had more power over Chet, who would insist that it was actually Cheryl and Ash couldn't dare harm her--putting him directly in harm's way but also putting Ash in an awkward position where he can't get Cheryl without hurting Chet. Only for it to backfire on Chet, big time.

I mean, they were setting up a test of Chet's loyalty to Ash, and Ash's reverence for him. Imagine if they'd really gone-to-town with that idea and made it something of a fucked-up hostage situation. Chet is holding Ash hostage via Cheryl and Cheryl holding Chet through manipulation of his feelings for her. Would have put Ash in a very delicate situation. I would have ended the episode on that as a cliffhanger.

THESE are the kind of things that the show could do to compete with The Walking Dead more directly--the drama. But I've commented on that in the past.

Parting thoughts--Ellen Sandweiss really brought her A-game, and I was surprised to see her embrace the tree-rape (I know she's said she has, but one never knows if they mean it). It made for the standout one-liner of the episode. She gave the episode an energy and a mania that really made it feel like Evil Dead.

Is it too much to ask to see Sarah Berry again? Please? I loves me some Annie.

 

[Hurley]

That's one criticism I see coming up a lot that I really don't agree with. Ash knows that was not the real Cheryl. He knows better by now. To me, it wouldn't make any sense seeing him torn about killing her again. I'm glad he wasn't cracking any jokes about it, that's for sure, but I definitely wouldn't want him having second thoughts about killing her or feeling bad about it. Brock's death, on the other hand, is a different case. Brock was still alive, never turned into a deadite and had unresolved matters with Ash. That's the death that deserved a little more emotional resonance and should've given Ash pause.

The problem with this for me is, that if the return of Cheryl after 30 years is not gonna faze Ash, nothing ever will. Sure, he know's she's a Deadite, but that doesn't mean she doesn't represent all the original fear and guilt that's rooted in Ash. I mean, to get under Ash's skin is the sole reason why the Evil brought Cheryl back. If he's scared just from the get go but then kills her off like a regular Deadite, what was the point?

Like Maid said. Remember Linda from Ashes to Ashes episode. Ash knew this wasn't Linda, but he was still pretty fucked up about it. And that was only her head!

 

[Muzzlehatch]

We Germans got new episodes always one day later so I can not add anything new. I just have to agree with most of the stuff you guys already wrote:

+ one of the best episodes since S1E8
+ Ellen's performance
+ I like Chet's childlike innocence, even if he's jerking off in his dead girlfriends room
+ Baal's character is a clichee, but way more interesting than Ruby's children
+ sets, lightning etc.
+ overall pacing
+ Ash killing Cheryl in the trunk
+ Ash portrayal by Bruce this time

- the masturbation thing was ... well it could be more embarassing*. at least they handled it subtle enough not to destroy the general atmosphere.
- Chet going downstairs to get a beer? ... yeah ... sure ...
- Lacey is there because ... ?
- Cheryl could be around a little longer, missed opportunities here dramawise (just like with Brock)
- I do not really get, how Baal's manipulation works. What he says is not very subtle. Everyone involved with him (Emery) should know that they are manipulated to the worse
- The Ruby-Pablo-Book-Voodoo-arc is kinda meh ... I was never a big fan of these supernatural tropes a lá "there is this kind of ritual/macguffin that can ban the evil". I also do not get the logic: The book is in hell but Baal on earth and the book wants to get back trough Pablo. Why?
- the 30min format eliminates everything boring, but it is also one of the main problems of the show: we get story tropes, but the story and the character's itself lack substantial development, because there is simply no time for it.

* I would expect the show runners to force poor Chet to splash his ectoplasm through the whole room. You know, just to be super edgy.

 

[Muzzlehatch]

Is it too much to ask to see Sarah Berry again? Please? I loves me some Annie.

Me too. But I also would love to see Raymond and Henrietta again.

Spoiler: Spoiler

I read somewhere here, that the season could end with Ash traveling through time again to stop himself from getting the book or going to the cabin in the first place. For that they could revisit ED1 and ED2 in a BTTF2 way (which would be kinda tricky I guess, if they do not recast a younger Ash and only use old footage). But they could also arrive a little bit earlier and show how the Prof killed his possessed wife and how he banned the evil to the sourrounding woods. I was always curious how he did this and how he ended as a tortured ghost. Maybe old Ash had his hands in this?

 

[Guywiththegun40]

I must be getting cynical in my old age because I just felt annoyed with this episode at wasted potential for cheap, moderately funny to unfunny jokes. Cheryl was amazing but a lot of it was interrupted for that sleazy Ash vs Evil Dead humor that cuts all tension for me. Ash showed little no emotion regarding his sister, even throwing in a sex joke when talking about her? Come on. Even Cheryl was getting in on the fun. Where was the crazy, rabid deadite from the fruit cellar? Ellen did amazing with the material but come on, by the end she was reduced to another deadite-lite just there for fodder for humor. . And the show is still going with this notion that a deadite = an "evil" version of the host? WTF is that? Ash responding to it as if its actually Cheryl, his sister (and saying rude shit to her)? Note to writers - These are evil-as-fuck Kandarian demons in the BODIES of their hosts, not Evil Versions of them. Get it through your heads, please.

I hate to say it but this is not Evil Dead. This is now a parody of Evil Dead. Everything is just cheap and played for laughs. I'm hanging on but each episode is just leaving me disheartened.

Sorry Bruce.

 

[Nick el Ass]

We just got a spiffy new behind the scenes video for Trapped Inside featuring Ellen on the Starz Website. I'm sure it's on all social media too, but I can't figure out how to embed Facebook videos... and I'm too lazy to learn. https://www.starz.com/video/c27567f1050144f59ec213dc89f438f0

 

[Groovy83]

Sorry I missed coming on here last week (Containment, which I feel served well as a "set things up" episode and

Spoiler

introduction of Baal

), but this episode (Trapped Inside) is certainly my favorite episode this season since the premiere episode.

Spoiler

I had a very strong feeling we were going to see Cheryl's return this episode, and man I'm so happy to have seen her again! She really looks amazing, but am sad to see her go so fast. Wish she had a few episodes to run about but as usual...

 

AvED really pushes its narrative constantly further. I suppose this is a result of a 10 half hour episode series, and a great reprieve from the Walking Dead styled shows which spreads narrative tortuously throughout a 16 hour long episode series. It's one of the main reasons why I love this series, it moves so fast. It's never a dull experience.

Spoiler

Sad to see Chet go. Again a bit too soon, I wanted him to have a hero's death or something, but considering what next week's preview looks like, we are going into a totally radical direction psychologically. Still, awesome death, and it's good to give Cheryl a meaningful kill.

All three storylines of the episode worked to a terrific pitch, and the pace never made it feel like one plot was slowing down the others. I worry for poor Pablo, who seems to be bearing the brunt of the horror.  

 

[icantbelieveitsnotmurder]

I must be getting cynical in my old age because I just felt annoyed with this episode at wasted potential for cheap, moderately funny to unfunny jokes. Cheryl was amazing but a lot of it was interrupted for that sleazy Ash vs Evil Dead humor that cuts all tension for me. Ash showed little no emotion regarding his sister, even throwing in a sex joke when talking about her? Come on. Even Cheryl was getting in on the fun. Where was the crazy, rabid deadite from the fruit cellar? Ellen did amazing with the material but come on, by the end she was reduced to another deadite-lite just there for fodder for humor. . And the show is still going with this notion that a deadite = an "evil" version of the host? WTF is that? Ash responding to it as if its actually Cheryl, his sister (and saying rude shit to her)? Note to writers - These are evil-as-fuck Kandarian demons in the BODIES of their hosts, not Evil Versions of them. Get it through your heads, please.

I hate to say it but this is not Evil Dead. This is now a parody of Evil Dead. Everything is just cheap and played for laughs. I'm hanging on but each episode is just leaving me disheartened.

Sorry Bruce.

This. This right here. Except to me it doesn't even feel like an Evil Dead parody. This is just My Name Is Bruce the TV show.

 

[Sutter Cane]

@Stutter Cane

Ummm, Her and Ruby single handily killed her kids by themselves, provided a emotional weight for pablo to concentrate on getting the spell they needed to stop baal, kept a angry mob from breaking in and killing them all while keeping linda cool under pressure . Uhh i say she's served the story very well so far so i'm gonna disagree. The one that should be looked at as not serving the story well is probably lacey's character, she been kinda dead weight this entire time.

lacey's character is a minor one, so I don't expect anything from this character.

Kelly have no background.  They clearly don't know what to do with this character.  I must admit she have her moments but that's all.  Ash is the chosen one, Pablo was raise by his uncle shaman and merge with the book of the Dead.  Ruby is a dark one who wrote the book. Kelly got dead parents. She's kind of "supportive" but not essential to the story IMO.  They could bypass anything you said, choose a temporary character to fit the role.

 

[MaidOfKandar]

I must admit that was a great episode, one of the best so far!  Once again thumbs down for Kelly...Now she's the one who throws bad one liners...Each time I saw her on screen a voice tell me : "I'm just here to be bad ass, I have no real purpose in the story since season 1ep01"

I read all your guy's reviews before I watch it usually and end up thinking the episode is way better and feel left down.

Ellen was pretty good but needed better writing--and the way they killed Chet was so lame. "There's a demon biting chunks out of my neck and threatening to bite off my cock--let's ignore my friend's instructions and wander out for a beer." I mean really, there's dumb and then there's unbelievable.

And once again Bruce is just cracking jokes like nothing happened right after.

But even as dumb as Chet was, he still had more charisma than Pablo or Kelly and he was barely in the show. It makes no sense why they are both still alive, well I mean at least Pablo has to find the Necro word or whatever first. For the most part their only connection to Ash is as random Value Mart employees--like Value Mart creates magical bad asses or something...

Also I think the gore explosion gimmick in the beginning is really starting to hamper the show. Last episode and this one started off with some creepy atmosphere established, but then they have to jump into gore explosion instead of just letting the show play out and build.

I don't understand why Baal let them all go when he could telekinetically lock them all up in the previous episode and why they left the Sheriff behind (so Baal could take his skin and call the State Troopers/Fed, you know what any semi-smart demon would). But then Ash has to waste time go looking for him... like... why didn't they just take him with as a major liability/vulnerable guy who could be easily possesed?

I also don't understand why they let Ash get beat up and Ash lets Baal take his gun and hit him? I mean Kelly and Black Linda were firing into the crowd for the longest time and then they just watch him go down and even turn their backs like they don't give a crap (yet still make semi-concerned faces at him?).

I feel like the 30 minute format is really killing the pacing and they keep trying to fold things up and then insert a random cliff hanger.

It's a fialure in both writing/editing, I think the cliff hanger can be something ultra simple, ie the glyph appearing on Pablo would have been a good enough ending--getting all the townspeople involved just overcomplicated things. There's just too many characters doing too many things we don't care about--and this episode really needed a lot of time with Chet, Cheryl and Ash and the story ended up getting slammed together and sort of short-changed.

Pretty much completely agreeing with Maid this week.

Also can we talk about how suddenly ripped Pablo is? I'm curious if Ray is just in this shape regularly, or if he started working out specifically for season two.

[font=Arial, sans-serif]After the last couple episodes I was starting to lose my AvED mojo. Last night’s episode had flaws, but it was pretty damn entertaining and has me kind of excited for the rest of the season.[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]Like everyone’s been saying, Ellen was such a standout. I didn’t quite understand how her resurrection worked exactly, but I appreciated the pacing of that sequence. Part of me wonders if Chet was originally meant to have spilled some “DNA” on the photo in order to help along the regeneration process, and although extremely crude and clunky, it would’ve at least given some purpose to his actions. Also, why does Ruby never translate possessed Pablo’s incantations for the group, or the viewer? If ever there was a valid reason for corny exposition, that would be it, no?[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]As a brother of two sisters, playing up the brother-sister sibling rivalry during Ash and Cheryl’s showdown was great, but could’ve gone a bit further. Either way, Deadites are always way more fun when antagonizing someone they're personally connected to, and not just some random extra. I really hope we get cameos from other original cast, even if not in their original roles.[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]I'd like to have seen Ash act a teensy bit more conflicted about fighting Cheryl, until of course she killed Chet. Once she killed Chet you can write his actions off as reactive and emotionally motivated, but the show had been subtly playing up Cheryl as a traumatic and painful memory for Ash all the way up to that episode, and when she turned Deadite he didn’t seem to hesitate at all in trying to kill her. At least he might’ve flinched for a moment while she was pinned by the trunk. I dunno..[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]As for her Deadite appearance, I liked that they tried to amalgamate Cheryl’s many different Deadite looks from ED (complete with forehead bandage and grey skin) into one that made sense without looking too cheesy. I’m not going to nitpick too much about the tree line from Ash. Yes, we didn’t see her tell him about what happened, but when you’re dealing with a universe as inconsistent as this one, you can forgive certain continuity flubs.[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]The Pablo/Necronomicon stuff is finally starting to seem interesting to me, as is the Kelly slowly morphing into a hero/badass of her own right who has a soft spot for our little Pablito. Those moments with Ash worrying about Pablo in the beginning were also rather endearing. I love this weird little family they’ve all become. Not so sure what to make of Linda/Lacey at this point, other than late season fodder.[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]Favourite moment: During the crazy shit storm unfolding outside/inside the house, Ash is running past Linda, and pauses for one casual moment of acknowledgement to say “Hey”, and then continues chasing Cheryl. Something about that moment was just so perfectly absurd. It’s the kind of nonchalant acknowledgement you normally save for a vague acquaintance you might pass on the sidewalk, or coworker at the office. In this context, it gave me a good unexpected chuckle.[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]“Baaaaaal” (aka Bill), I still don’t get this guy. If he’s too powerful for Ash, Ruby has lost all her powers, the Necronomicon is gone, he can control people’s minds when not in disguise, then why the heck does he have to hide in people’s skin? So far, I’m not digging him as the big bad.[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]Crossing my fingers for a resurrected Chet, as a half Deadite sidekick (ala Sam from Regeneration) for either Ash or Baal(sack).[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]Finally, are we ever going to stop for a beat to mourn poor Brock?[/font]

It feels like this show doesn't realize that they can have storylines carry over into following episodes and everything ends too abruptly. This show is a prime example of lazy writing.
Everything with Cheryl could have EASILY been drawn out over a couple of episodes and I really wish it had been. In all honestly I was waiting for this and hoping that it would be handled well and maybe we would see some emotion from Ash. Oops. Guess not.
I've been continuing watching the series with some weird hope that it might, in some way, at least attempt to capture the feel of the original without blatant references. Apparently that's too difficult. Much easier to have Ash repeatedly talk about pancakes.

Let me just get this off my chest first… WHAT IS IT WITH THESE WRITERS AND THEIR OBSESSION WITH TURNING EVERY CHARACTER INTO A SLEAZY PERVERT AND EVERY DEADITE INTO A HORNY SEX MANIAC? Seriously, enough is enough. Find out who’s the writer that keeps coming up with this stuff and fire him already. Also get him some psychiatric help while you’re at it. I can't stand this crap anymore.

Now that I got that out of the way, allow me to say… YES! THIS IS IT! FINALLY! THIS WAS THE BEST EPISODE THE SHOW HAS HAD SO FAR! THIS IS EVIL DEAD, GODDAMMIT! Loads of atmosphere, high energy, inspired camerawork and sound design, kickass music, decrepit old houses, real stakes, confinement, mind games, aggressive and unrelenting deadites. It only took them 16 episodes to get it right. Almost everything was on point. There were moments in this episode that reminded of all three films in the series. There was some The Evil Dead, some Evil Dead 2 and the ending was totally Army of Darkness.

Ash finally feels like the Ash I know and love. I didn’t have a single problem with his characterization or dialogue in this episode. This is the real Ash. Take note, writers. More of this Ash, less of the stupid, lazy, sexist, racist and utterly incompetent bully douchebag you’ve been trying to pass as Ash for the past 15 episodes, please.

Ellen Sandweiss… I love you. Screw giving Bruce an Emmy, but please, someone give one to Ellen. She was amazing. How’s this woman not a respected character actor? I was worried about Cheryl’s return, but they nailed it. She was the best antagonist and deadite in the show so far. Loved nearly everything about it. That's because of the execution, Ellen's performance and because she had a personal connection to Ash.

I was incredibly and very pleasantly surprised to see that not a single character annoyed the hell out of me in this episode. The scenes with Cheryl and Ash, Baal and the sheriff, and Pablo were all great. If it wasn’t for the awful sexual stuff I already mentioned, this episode would’ve been nearly perfect. They actually made some stuff I didn’t like before (like Baal’s stupid schemes and skin suits) look better. This was the first episode on the show that put a smile on my face and made me feel like watching it again.

Now, I agree with a lot of the criticisms you guys brought up, but most of that stuff are actually left over issues from previous episodes. Those are flaws of the show in general and not of this episode in particular. Yes, all of the side characters other than Pablo have been pretty much useless up until now, and this episode did nothing to change that. Lacey and Linda B are practically non-characters. Everything Kelly does is just a reaction to what’s going on with other characters. She has no story of her own. Teaming up with Ruby to kill the demon children was Ruby’s story, not hers. Giving support to Pablo is Pablo’s story, not hers. Being the “daughter Ash never had” is Ash’s story, not hers. If you remove her from the show, everything would have happened the exact same way. Even though she’s active, she’s completely inconsequential to the plot. Brock and Chet were two complete wastes of good actors and running time. Brock was just a pervy old man and what did Chet actually do in the show? He got drunk, gave Ash a ride and jerked off on Cheryl’s clothes - which did nothing to make his character better and wasn’t even funny… It was just awkward and unnecessary. That’s hardly what I’d call a good character. By the way, what was with that Ash speech about “he always had my back and would never betray me”? They were obviously talking about Chet dating Cheryl behind Ash’s back, but wasn’t just last episode that Chet tried to leave Ash alone to deal with the Baal situation in the precinct and said Ash was on his own? He most definitely didn't have his back and tried to betray his trust there. That line from Ash didn’t make any sense and really didn’t seem consistent with Chet’s recent actions. There were still some hints of the immature writing we’ve seen on the show up until now, but thank goodness, it wasn’t as prominent as usual. Baal still looks like a chump. Even though I don’t like the skin suits, I’m actually glad they're there, cause then I don’t have to look at his aging rock star getup too much. His plans don't make much practical sense either. Ruby’s backstory and the whole deal with the Necronomicon are still an incoherent mess, but at least it led to some cool moments in this episode.

This episode renewed my faith in the show, even if there are still a lot of issues left to fix. This episode shows they can actually get it right when they want it. Please, keep it up. Don’t fall back on old habits. I’m not trusting them completely yet (I watched the clip from the next episode and, eh, I don’t know about that puppet… At the moment I don’t like it at all), but this episode was certainly a firm, confident step in the right direction.

[font=Arial, sans-serif]I'd like to have seen Ash act a teensy bit more conflicted about fighting Cheryl, until of course she killed Chet. Once she killed Chet you can write his actions off as reactive and emotionally motivated, but the show had been subtly playing up Cheryl as a traumatic and painful memory for Ash all the way up to that episode, and when she turned Deadite he didn’t seem to hesitate at all in trying to kill her. At least he might’ve flinched for a moment while she was pinned by the trunk. I dunno..[/font]

That's one criticism I see coming up a lot that I really don't agree with. Ash knows that was not the real Cheryl. He knows better by now. To me, it wouldn't make any sense seeing him torn about killing her again. I'm glad he wasn't cracking any jokes about it, that's for sure, but I definitely wouldn't want him having second thoughts about killing her or feeling bad about it. Brock's death, on the other hand, is a different case. Brock was still alive, never turned into a deadite and had unresolved matters with Ash. That's the death that deserved a little more emotional resonance and should've given Ash pause.

All right, more comments--

Easily the best episode of the show since "Ashes to Ashes" last season. There was a much less flippant tone to the proceedings, and most jokes were subtle. There also weren't any jokes that inturrupted the serious vibes. More of that, please.

I, too, would have liked a little bit more emotion out of Ash toward Cheryl, at least at-first. Cheryl should have tried fucking with his head a teensy bit, like Linda in ED2 when she turns human again to tug on his heartstrings. But as others have said, Ash would know that it wasn't really Cheryl and the initial shock of seeing her would wear off quickly, as it did.

It's funny to me personally that my own head-canon for ED1 between brother and sister has been made semi-official by this episode (that Ash and Cheryl had a slightly tempestuous relationship and she must have been the older sibling).

The episode was absolutely, finally, truly, Evil Dead. The use of location, isolation, atmosphere--it was a culmination of all this season has been building toward  in its improvements over season 1 (in that department). It had its eerie moments. Particularly the tight close-up of Cheryl looking devious as she flew down the hallway toward her room--that genuinely creeped me out--and that's something the movies did a lot that the show has done for me very rarely. Nothing but improvements, here, people.

The worst bit of the episode was Chet jerking off in Cheryl's room. Really? It's not only gross but it isn't funny, either. I would have simply had Chet sitting there in the dark, drunk and holding her photo (like in the promo pic for the episode, ironically), mournfully reminiscing. Would have given him a few words about it, too, to show that there's a deeper side to him. Considering that no one ever saw her body and her death was just rumored (basically), her return thus could have had more power over Chet, who would insist that it was actually Cheryl and Ash couldn't dare harm her--putting him directly in harm's way but also putting Ash in an awkward position where he can't get Cheryl without hurting Chet. Only for it to backfire on Chet, big time.

I mean, they were setting up a test of Chet's loyalty to Ash, and Ash's reverence for him. Imagine if they'd really gone-to-town with that idea and made it something of a fucked-up hostage situation. Chet is holding Ash hostage via Cheryl and Cheryl holding Chet through manipulation of his feelings for her. Would have put Ash in a very delicate situation. I would have ended the episode on that as a cliffhanger.

THESE are the kind of things that the show could do to compete with The Walking Dead more directly--the drama. But I've commented on that in the past.

Parting thoughts--Ellen Sandweiss really brought her A-game, and I was surprised to see her embrace the tree-rape (I know she's said she has, but one never knows if they mean it). It made for the standout one-liner of the episode. She gave the episode an energy and a mania that really made it feel like Evil Dead.

Is it too much to ask to see Sarah Berry again? Please? I loves me some Annie.

That's one criticism I see coming up a lot that I really don't agree with. Ash knows that was not the real Cheryl. He knows better by now. To me, it wouldn't make any sense seeing him torn about killing her again. I'm glad he wasn't cracking any jokes about it, that's for sure, but I definitely wouldn't want him having second thoughts about killing her or feeling bad about it. Brock's death, on the other hand, is a different case. Brock was still alive, never turned into a deadite and had unresolved matters with Ash. That's the death that deserved a little more emotional resonance and should've given Ash pause.

The problem with this for me is, that if the return of Cheryl after 30 years is not gonna faze Ash, nothing ever will. Sure, he know's she's a Deadite, but that doesn't mean she doesn't represent all the original fear and guilt that's rooted in Ash. I mean, to get under Ash's skin is the sole reason why the Evil brought Cheryl back. If he's scared just from the get go but then kills her off like a regular Deadite, what was the point?

Like Maid said. Remember Linda from Ashes to Ashes episode. Ash knew this wasn't Linda, but he was still pretty fucked up about it. And that was only her head!

We Germans got new episodes always one day later so I can not add anything new. I just have to agree with most of the stuff you guys already wrote:

+ one of the best episodes since S1E8
+ Ellen's performance
+ I like Chet's childlike innocence, even if he's jerking off in his dead girlfriends room
+ Baal's character is a clichee, but way more interesting than Ruby's children
+ sets, lightning etc.
+ overall pacing
+ Ash killing Cheryl in the trunk
+ Ash portrayal by Bruce this time

- the masturbation thing was ... well it could be more embarassing*. at least they handled it subtle enough not to destroy the general atmosphere.
- Chet going downstairs to get a beer? ... yeah ... sure ...
- Lacey is there because ... ?
- Cheryl could be around a little longer, missed opportunities here dramawise (just like with Brock)
- I do not really get, how Baal's manipulation works. What he says is not very subtle. Everyone involved with him (Emery) should know that they are manipulated to the worse
- The Ruby-Pablo-Book-Voodoo-arc is kinda meh ... I was never a big fan of these supernatural tropes a lá "there is this kind of ritual/macguffin that can ban the evil". I also do not get the logic: The book is in hell but Baal on earth and the book wants to get back trough Pablo. Why?
- the 30min format eliminates everything boring, but it is also one of the main problems of the show: we get story tropes, but the story and the character's itself lack substantial development, because there is simply no time for it.

* I would expect the show runners to force poor Chet to splash his ectoplasm through the whole room. You know, just to be super edgy.

I must be getting cynical in my old age because I just felt annoyed with this episode at wasted potential for cheap, moderately funny to unfunny jokes. Cheryl was amazing but a lot of it was interrupted for that sleazy Ash vs Evil Dead humor that cuts all tension for me. Ash showed little no emotion regarding his sister, even throwing in a sex joke when talking about her? Come on. Even Cheryl was getting in on the fun. Where was the crazy, rabid deadite from the fruit cellar? Ellen did amazing with the material but come on, by the end she was reduced to another deadite-lite just there for fodder for humor. . And the show is still going with this notion that a deadite = an "evil" version of the host? WTF is that? Ash responding to it as if its actually Cheryl, his sister (and saying rude shit to her)? Note to writers - These are evil-as-fuck Kandarian demons in the BODIES of their hosts, not Evil Versions of them. Get it through your heads, please.

I hate to say it but this is not Evil Dead. This is now a parody of Evil Dead. Everything is just cheap and played for laughs. I'm hanging on but each episode is just leaving me disheartened.

Sorry Bruce.

Sorry I missed coming on here last week (Containment, which I feel served well as a "set things up" episode and

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introduction of Baal

), but this episode (Trapped Inside) is certainly my favorite episode this season since the premiere episode.

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I had a very strong feeling we were going to see Cheryl's return this episode, and man I'm so happy to have seen her again! She really looks amazing, but am sad to see her go so fast. Wish she had a few episodes to run about but as usual...

 

AvED really pushes its narrative constantly further. I suppose this is a result of a 10 half hour episode series, and a great reprieve from the Walking Dead styled shows which spreads narrative tortuously throughout a 16 hour long episode series. It's one of the main reasons why I love this series, it moves so fast. It's never a dull experience.

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Sad to see Chet go. Again a bit too soon, I wanted him to have a hero's death or something, but considering what next week's preview looks like, we are going into a totally radical direction psychologically. Still, awesome death, and it's good to give Cheryl a meaningful kill.

All three storylines of the episode worked to a terrific pitch, and the pace never made it feel like one plot was slowing down the others. I worry for poor Pablo, who seems to be bearing the brunt of the horror.  

 

[MaidOfKandar]

I must admit that was a great episode, one of the best so far!  Once again thumbs down for Kelly...Now she's the one who throws bad one liners...Each time I saw her on screen a voice tell me : "I'm just here to be bad ass, I have no real purpose in the story since season 1ep01"

JMO, my enjoyment of Kelly usually depends on the storyline.  I like it when she's reflective of Ash's rashness but he tries to make her see she's going overboard and she straightens up and goes to take care of business, like in the last episode.  The way she was in episode  2 - joining Ash in jeering at those teens and pouring beer on Thomas - was just pure assy behavior.  And the vagina stuff, even though that's become endearing.  

I think she has absolute worth in the plot, it's the uneven writing that gets her.

Ellen was pretty good but needed better writing--and the way they killed Chet was so lame. "There's a demon biting chunks out of my neck and threatening to bite off my cock--let's ignore my friend's instructions and wander out for a beer." I mean really, there's dumb and then there's unbelievable.

And once again Bruce is just cracking jokes like nothing happened right after.

I don't understand why Baal let them all go when he could telekinetically lock them all up in the previous episode and why they left the Sheriff behind (so Baal could take his skin and call the State Troopers/Fed, you know what any semi-smart demon would). But then Ash has to waste time go looking for him... like... why didn't they just take him with as a major liability/vulnerable guy who could be easily possesed? 

JMO, the Chet stuff was excusable because he's supposed to be so bombed out he has no real perception of reality.  But he seemed awfully sober pre-death so.  

I agree that Ash just being immediately over it was a wrong move; they even let him mourn Amanda last season before the blah necrophile stuff happened.

The Baal stuff was all because of his mind control powers.   But yeah, when you're a high muckity-muck Deadite you really don't need to skin people alive and run around in their body when you could possess them from afar (cue my complaint that they've forgotten Deadites are supposed to be invading spirits, which seems to be an issue on and off with the writing).  I suppose he wants to use Thomas as a puppet.

Pretty much completely agreeing with Maid this week.

Also can we talk about how suddenly ripped Pablo is? I'm curious if Ray is just in this shape regularly, or if he started working out specifically for season two.

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It's been mentioned that Ray has a nude scene this season, so I think he's been prepping.

[font=Arial, sans-serif]...I didn’t quite understand how her resurrection worked exactly, but I appreciated the pacing of that sequence. Part of me wonders if Chet was originally meant to have spilled some “DNA” on the photo in order to help along the regeneration process, and although extremely crude and clunky, it would’ve at least given some purpose to his actions. Also, why does Ruby never translate possessed Pablo’s incantations for the group, or the viewer? If ever there was a valid reason for corny exposition, that would be it, no?[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif] [/font][font=Arial, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]I'd like to have seen Ash act a teensy bit more conflicted about fighting Cheryl, until of course she killed Chet. Once she killed Chet you can write his actions off as reactive and emotionally motivated, but the show had been subtly playing up Cheryl as a traumatic and painful memory for Ash all the way up to that episode, and when she turned Deadite he didn’t seem to hesitate at all in trying to kill her. At least he might’ve flinched for a moment while she was pinned by the trunk. I dunno..[/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]Favourite moment: During the crazy shit storm unfolding outside/inside the house, Ash is running past Linda, and pauses for one casual moment of acknowledgement to say “Hey”, and then continues chasing Cheryl. Something about that moment was just so perfectly absurd. It’s the kind of nonchalant acknowledgement you normally save for a vague acquaintance you might pass on the sidewalk, or coworker at the office. In this context, it gave me a good unexpected chuckle.
[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]Finally, are we ever going to stop for a beat to mourn poor Brock?[/font]

i think it was supposed to be an amalgamation of the Deadite ability to bring the undead to life.  Pictures bleeding lifeblood is a new idea, though.  I suppose it was supposed to be a callback toward the hemorrhaging walls.

You hit on something I really wish they'd done with Cheryl but failed to.  Sigh.

Also that moment was hilarious and I never noticed it until you pointed it out!

I'm sensing they're going to ultimately blow town without burying Brock, which is gonna be weird.  Presumably whatever was left of Cheryl is buried somewhere in town, too.

It feels like this show doesn't realize that they can have storylines carry over into following episodes and everything ends too abruptly. This show is a prime example of lazy writing.
Everything with Cheryl could have EASILY been drawn out over a couple of episodes and I really wish it had been. In all honestly I was waiting for this and hoping that it would be handled well and maybe we would see some emotion from Ash. Oops. Guess not.  
I've been continuing watching the series with some weird hope that it might, in some way, at least attempt to capture the feel of the original without blatant references. Apparently that's too difficult. Much easier to have Ash repeatedly talk about pancakes.

I'm guessing it was so short because Ellen was only availible for a certain length of time?

Let me just get this off my chest first… WHAT IS IT WITH THESE WRITERS AND THEIR OBSESSION WITH TURNING EVERY CHARACTER INTO A SLEAZY PERVERT AND EVERY DEADITE INTO A HORNY SEX MANIAC?

. Everything Kelly does is just a reaction to what’s going on with other characters. She has no story of her own. Teaming up with Ruby to kill the demon children was Ruby’s story, not hers.  Even though she’s active, she’s completely inconsequential to the plot. ..... By the way, what was with that Ash speech about “he always had my back and would never betray me”? They were obviously talking about Chet dating Cheryl behind Ash’s back, but wasn’t just last episode that Chet tried to leave Ash alone to deal with the Baal situation in the precinct and said Ash was on his own? He most definitely didn't have his back and tried to betray his trust there. That line from Ash didn’t make any sense and really didn’t seem consistent with Chet’s recent actions. 

Your first point is really interesting to me.  I think the writers tend to remember Deadite Linda's behavior and apply it down the line, which is wrong.  Henrietta and Sheila and a good half-dozen characters turned and were not as lascivious as Cheryl was.

The weird thing is that Kelly had a story - getting revenge for her parents - but they haven't been brought up as a reason for her hyper-angry behavior.  Why, I have no idea.

This is an excellent point; if what happened in the previous episode hadn't happened I would believe in the unspoken loyalty between them.

The worst bit of the episode was Chet jerking off in Cheryl's room. Really? It's not only gross but it isn't funny, either. I would have simply had Chet sitting there in the dark, drunk and holding her photo (like in the promo pic for the episode, ironically), mournfully reminiscing. Would have given him a few words about it, too, to show that there's a deeper side to him. Considering that no one ever saw her body and her death was just rumored (basically), her return thus could have had more power over Chet, who would insist that it was actually Cheryl and Ash couldn't dare harm her--putting him directly in harm's way but also putting Ash in an awkward position where he can't get Cheryl without hurting Chet. Only for it to backfire on Chet, big time.

I mean, they were setting up a test of Chet's loyalty to Ash, and Ash's reverence for him. Imagine if they'd really gone-to-town with that idea and made it something of a fucked-up hostage situation. Chet is holding Ash hostage via Cheryl and Cheryl holding Chet through manipulation of his feelings for her. Would have put Ash in a very delicate situation. I would have ended the episode on that as a cliffhanger.

Is it too much to ask to see Sarah Berry again? Please? I loves me some Annie.

Ugh this is such a good scenario.

Also YES I want some Annie and some Sheila out of this show!

That's one criticism I see coming up a lot that I really don't agree with. Ash knows that was not the real Cheryl. He knows better by now. To me, it wouldn't make any sense seeing him torn about killing her again. I'm glad he wasn't cracking any jokes about it, that's for sure, but I definitely wouldn't want him having second thoughts about killing her or feeling bad about it. Brock's death, on the other hand, is a different case. Brock was still alive, never turned into a deadite and had unresolved matters with Ash. That's the death that deserved a little more emotional resonance and should've given Ash pause.

The problem with this for me is, that if the return of Cheryl after 30 years is not gonna faze Ash, nothing ever will. Sure, he know's she's a Deadite, but that doesn't mean she doesn't represent all the original fear and guilt that's rooted in Ash. I mean, to get under Ash's skin is the sole reason why the Evil brought Cheryl back. If he's scared just from the get go but then kills her off like a regular Deadite, what was the point?

Like Maid said. Remember Linda from Ashes to Ashes episode. Ash knew this wasn't Linda, but he was still pretty fucked up about it. And that was only her head!

Ash also has a long, long history of falling for Deadite trickery behind him, and it happened a couple of times in season one.

- the 30min format eliminates everything boring, but it is also one of the main problems of the show: we get story tropes, but the story and the character's itself lack substantial development, because there is simply no time for it.

And the thing is that the show's purposefully 30 minutes long because Bruce doesn't wanna go there with the depth.  Why I don't know but that's a choice they made.