Our first impressions of “Home”, Ash vs Evil Dead‘s much anticipated second season return

Well, it seems that evil doesn’t stay dormant for long. Season 2 of Ash vs Evil Dead is almost here and we got a look at the very first episode, and it’s just as good as anything the first season had to offer.

Now that Ruby and Ash’s deal is in effect – allowing Ruby to rule the underworld and keep her demons from hassling Earth in exchange for Ash, Pablo and Kelly’s safety and return to normalcy – things are going well. The trio reside in Jacksonville, Florida where they party all night at a resort but when Ruby’s “kids” turn on her, she seeks out Ash’s help in order to send them back. This takes Ash and the gang back to his hometown of Michigan where everything comes to a head.

The bulk of Home is spent formulating character arcs for the rest of the season and they’re much more pronounced than season 1, while still building off of the growth we’ve seen in each character. Ash is just pissed that the truce has been broken, Kelly is haunted by the idea that maybe she doesn’t need Ash, Pablo’s pendant is keeping evil at bay and Ruby is as sympathetic as she has ever been.

It’s a wise choice throwing Ruby in with the gang. She’s a perfect fit and a great replacement now that Amanda has been killed off. With Ash finding her irresistible and Kelly wanting to straight up murder her, it should be an interesting and potentially hilarious season.

Although Ash is regular old Ash, Home offers a lot in the way of backstory. We meet his father – who, perfectly displays that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree by calling Pablo an immigrant and asking Kelly to have dinner with him – and learn why he left Michigan in the first place. When he enters a bar to get some clues, we’re introduced to a town that ridicules and threatens him because of his involvement in the original murders at the cabin. Earning the moniker “Ashy Slashy”, it’s the first real time we’ve ever seen Ash genuinely hurt.

Of course, it wouldn’t be much of an opening episode without a bit of the ol’ ultra violence. and Home has it in spades. It opens by literally letting the limbs fly and Kelly, once again enters bezerker mode and drowns her and Pablo in blood.

Now that the show has proven to be a success, it seems much more polished too. The CGI is better, the atmosphere is more effective and the camera work continues to improve.

Home was a wonderful preview into the second season of a brilliant show. It outlined very clear character arcs, ramped up the gore, gave Ash some fantastic one liners (“I should have my spicy man meat in a mother/daughter sandwich right now”) and posited a very intriguing storyline. As always, I’m looking forward to this and I don’t think we’re going to be disappointed.

The second season of Ash vs Evil Dead roars back into action on Stan from October 3rd. New episodes are available every Monday, fast-tracked from the US.

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