Starz
Ash vs. Evil Dead zips along with the third season of the hilariously gory Bruce Campbell franchise.
The third episode of season 3 is titled “Apparently Dead,” which is an excellent pun because two parents come back from the dead in this episode. Both instanced did nothing but drive Ash Williams further apart from his daughter Brandy.
Here is a look at our five takeaways from Ash vs. Evil Dead, season three, episode three – “Apparently Dead.”
1. The return of a loved one
More from Ash vs. Evil Dead
- Ash vs. Evil Dead finale to mark the end of Ashley Williams
- Ash vs. Evil Dead canceled by Starz
- Ash vs. Evil Dead: Ash fights a baby while Pablo becomes El Brujo Especial
- Bruce Campbell backtracks on Evil Dead movie idea
- Ash vs. Evil Dead: 5 takeaways from ‘Unfinished Business’
When this week’s episode of Ash vs. Evil Dead starts, the Starz series proves why it is the most irreverent show on television today. Brandy is at the funeral home, preparing for her mom Candy’s funeral when her dad Ash shows up. After stealing flowers from a vase to present to Brandy, he lets her know that he is there for her.
However, this is a funeral on an episode of Ash vs. Evil Dead, and as the show has proven over the last two-plus years, nothing is sacred. In this case, Ash learns that the funeral parlor reattached Candy’s head — which is not a good thing. As a result, Ash went in to pay his respects and is attacked by the revived Deaditte that used to be Candy.
After a hilarious — and very wrong — battle INSIDE the casket, Ash decapitates Candy again but is knocked out when the lid falls on him. Flash forward to the funeral itself, and as Brandy is giving her speech to the mourners, Ash busts out and the head goes rolling.
This leaves everyone aghast, Brandy running away in tears, and Ash realizes that Brandy’s guidance counselor is none other than Ruby, who tells Ash to back off or his daughter will pay for it. This is the perfect way to re-introduce the battle between Ash and Ruby, and it happened early in this season.
Starz
2. The return of Brock Williams
Up next is the return of Ash’s dear old dad, Brock Williams (Lee Majors). Last we saw of Brock, he died after realizing that his son was a hero and not the serial killer that all of Elk Grove assumed he was (at the time). Since that time, Ash has re-opened his dad’s hardware store, but this reunion was not pleasant.
While Brock was very indifferent to his son, who he believed cost him everything and abandoned him for 30 years, he came to love his son and respected him at the end. However, it was Ruby that brought Brock back from the dead, and he was back to his angry, antagonistic ways when Ash came home and saw him spending time with Brandy.
Of course, bringing Brock back from the dead was a very wise plan for Ruby, as he won over Brandy and then she stood by while Ash had to kill his old man in front of her — using the trusty chainsaw just to make matters clear. It was a great fight (and the fact that Brandy kept getting knocked out was hilarious as well), but it all ended tragically for Ash.
3. Ruby has a plan
Of course, this is all the plan of Ruby. She has — somehow — been the guidance counselor for Brandy for two years and has worked on finding her chance to make her big move. From last week’s episode, it seems that Ruby had no idea that Brandy was Ash’s daughter, so that was just dumb luck on her part.
However, she now seems prepared to use Brandy to (a) take Ash’s mind off the business of stopping the evil at hand and (b) driving Brandy away from Ash to mess with his mind. On both parts, her plan is working.
Ash was not willing to look for the Kandarian Dagger — sending Pablo, Kelly and Dalton after it without him. That worked out perfect for Ruby. Second, Ash was left fighting Brock — in front of Brandy — and that alone made it look like he was the psychotic killer that she always believed him to be.
Ruby is shattering the entire group from within and is driving everyone away from Ash Williams.
Starz
4. Dalton pays the price
The fact that Ruby separated Ash from his companions had dire consequences. Pablo had another visit from the naked woman from beyond to tell him that he needed to find the Kandarian Dagger, and it was close to where they last saw it – the cabin in the woods.
Ash refused to go because his first mission is to protect Brandy. When Pablo, Kelly and Dalton arrived, they began to dig and found a lot of the items from the iconic cabin before Kelly finally found the dagger. However, the Force rushed them from the woods and separated them all.
Unfortunately, it got Dalton.
Kelly finally found Dalton impaled to a tree. He claimed that Pablo did this to him, playing off last week’s episode where he said that Pablo would kill them if they didn’t kill him first. When he asked for the Kandarian Dagger, Kelly refused, and Dalton showed that he was now a Deaditte and attacked Kelly.
Right before Dalton could get to Kelly, Pablo drove the truck into the woods and smashed it into Dalton. When Kelly arrived at the truck, both Dalton and Pablo were gone.
This was a shocking scene because Dalton — and the Knights of Sumeria that he is a member of — looked like significant players in season 3. Now, there is a chance that the other Knights show up now that Dalton is dead and possessed, but for now, it is back to a team of three — plus Brandy.
5. The further estrangement of Brandy
The fact is that Brandy watched Ashley decapitate her already dead mother once again and then watched him kill her grandfather just as she had gotten to know him. It does have to be mentioned that Brandy still comes across as utterly dense on season 3 of Ash vs. Evil Dead.
The fact is that Brock died, and as a lifelong Elk Grove resident, she had to know that. The fact that she merely dismisses this and believes Brock over Ash is unbelievable at best. If Brandy doesn’t come around soon and pull her head out of the dirt, it will be impossible for fans ever really to get behind her.
Now, Brandy is leaving to live with Ruby, who she refuses to believe is as evil as Ash tells her that she is. Right now, Brandy deserves everything she gets — including the bloodbath from the chainsaw tearing through Brock.
Next: Ash vs Evil Dead ratings falling dangerously low
While this was bad for Ash and Brandy’s relationship, it at least ended with a laugh, as Ash said “kids” and the episode ended with a funny song that Bruce Campbell sang about not understanding kids today.
That is the brilliance of Ash vs. Evil Dead.