Ash vs. Evil Dead: You Can Never Go Home Again

At the end of season 3 of Ash vs. Evil Dead, it seemed life had finally returned to normal for Ash (Bruce Campbell), Pablo (Ray Santiago), and Kelly (Dana DeLorenzo). Ash and crew, had not only vanquished evil but also rid his hometown of all "deadites." As season 4 opens, Ash, who has now retired from his demon fighting days, is settling into the comfortable life of being town hero and new owner of "Ashly Slashy" Hardware Emporium, which he runs with the help of Pablo. The peace does not last long however. As we saw in last season's finale, unbeknownst to Ash, the Necronomicon was not destroyed in the cabin fire. Instead, it was recovered by a girl who found it in the mud. In the premiere episode, we learn she apparently thought the Necronomicon might have been of some value, so she attempts to auction it off. As luck would have it, the auctioneer is somewhat of a "renaissance man" who can actually read ancient Sumerian. In an attempt to identify what it is, he begins to read aloud one of its incantations. In classic Ash fashion, this reawakens evil, in the form or Ruby (Lucy Lawless) and all the deadites, demons, and devils that had been banished to the netherworld, allegedly for all eternity. Naturally, since it was Ash who defeated them previously, one of their first goals is to find Ash and punish him and his crew.

Keeping with one of the show's fundamental elements, the premiere episode is proof-positive, the creators are not going to skimp on the gore and gruesomeness. To be sure, in the opening sequence, after being brought back to life by the auctioneer's reading of the incantation, Ruby appears before him and asks him give her the Necronomicon, when he hesitates, Ruby punches him in the head with such force that his skull is liquefied, eyes popping out and all, into a red mushy mess. Of course, the return of Ruby means a return of the "crew." But it looks like the crew will have some help in the form of Brandy Barr Ash's daughter (played by Arielle Carver-O'Neill), and Dalton (played by Lindsay Farris), a member of the Knights of Sumeria, a secret society sworn to battle evil, wherever it rears its blood-spewing self. It's also good to see the creators seem to be doubling-down on the comedy. I mean, the shows was always quite funny, which is why I like it, but last season seemed more intent of pushing the horror roots of the story. In the first episode of this season, however, the jokes are plentiful and funny. That bodes well for the rest of the season as does Ruby's return, and the fact she is not pretending to be anyone or anything less than 100 percent evil

What do you think?