*Spoilers Ahead*
Last week found Ash’s precious Delta possessed by the Necronomicon as it murdered a group of teens and, eventually, Ash’s father.
“DUI” opens with Ash picking up the pieces, quite literally with regards to his old man and getting ready to take it to his demonic ride after it captures Pablo. Ash eventually decides to pursue the vehicle with his old pal Chet, who is still severely wasted from the party in last episode but not so much as to keep him from asking about the chainsaw and shotgun in the back of the car.
A good chunk of “DUI” focuses on the wonderful chemistry between Bruce Campbell and Ted Raimi, the kind of chemistry one gets through years of friendship and collaboration and while their interactions are great I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to being a little bummed that we move away from Brock’s death so quickly.
Admittedly, it is very possible that Ash will deal with the death of his father, and really his entire family, down the line it feels like the show attempted to put a bit of a ribbon on that this week however with the odd bit towards the end of Brock seemingly reminding Ash, from the grave, of how to properly tighten his cheeks to keep from being thrown off the hood of the Delta and crushed to death. It’s a funnier to write than it is to actually see sadly and in a way it points out the key flaw in this episode.
It doesn’t really settle on a set thing it’s going to do, we have the fun comedy and gore that we expect but there’s nothing too insane happening here. I mean, sure, battling your demon possessed car in a shut down roller derby is fun but the poor CGI and the odd pacing really mess with the story a bit.
Elsewhere, Kelly and Ruby go to vanquish Ruby’s children and actually manage to accomplish the task with competence and grace not normally seen on this show, is this what happens when Ash isn’t leading the charge? The show doesn’t really dwell on that but it’s clearly an idea that is out there to explore.
Still, for all their hard work the same end result seems to happen, not because of them but because of Ash and Pablo. Pablo makes the poor choice of listening to the Necronomicon when it tells him that he can banish it to hell and so Pablo opens the portal, spawning it in the trunk of the Delta and he and Ash chuck the book inside and call it a day. Moments after they’ve left, however, a creature bursts forth from the Delta. Could this be the mysterious Baal, Ruby’s ex-husband and, most likely, horrifying Big Bad of the season, probably but even if it isn’t it means bad news for Ash and the crew regardless.
Bits ‘n Pieces
- Chet lives to see another episode this week when Ash refuses to let him come along to the roller derby, is Ash starting to be a bit more careful with who he drags into these things?
- Much of this episode is all on Ray Santiago, I’ve given a lot of props to Dana DeLorenzo a lot this season but Santiago carries this episode.
- Mammary Lane is a pretty great name for a strip club.
- “Pennzoil Platinum. Hello, baby.” Ash tracking his car down like a big game hunter.
- “Pablo, you don’t see another eyeball around here, do you?”
Jesse Swanson is a would-be writer, podcaster and funny guy who covers TV shows of all shapes and sizes. You can find him on Twitter @JesseSwanson