Ash vs Evil Dead 207 - Delusion - Spoiler Free Review

PREMIERES SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13th at 8:00 PM ET/PT

Official Synopsis: Ash wakes up in an asylum and a seemingly helpful doctor tries desperately to get him to admit his horrific acts so his healing can begin. Ash's world seems to crumble around him. Was this all in his head? Is he really Ashy Slashy?

Good: Bruce Campbell's performance, the cinematography, a couple of strong one liners and Joseph LoDuca's score
Bad: A little derivative and more could've been made of the puppet.

It was always going to be hard to top episode 6 and so episode 7 wisely chooses to shift gears and do something completely different, tone wise anyway. In terms of story, sadly, they didn't exactly go with "completely different". The thing they chose to do was something of an old chestnut in the TV world and that is "The episode where the characters are really in an asylum and think they're crazy". The other thing they do is introduce an Ash puppet. For those of us who were Whedon-ites back in the day, Buffy did an episode in an asylum (in fact there were always demons trying to alter her reality and seduce her) and Angel did a puppet episode (when it ran out of any other ideas).

Initially this, I've seen it before vibe, might put you off this episode. Don't let it! because in true Ash Vs Evil Dead tradition, just like with the possessed classic, they make this all their very own and put a groovy spin on it.

Firstly, the set design and cinematography are just incredible! This episode has some lighting design which is old school Hollywood, atmospheric and charming as hell. Secondly, most of this episode is the Bruce show and a slower pace so he can really shine. The cast are always excellent and this goes without saying but Bruce Campbell and Dana DeLorenzo, especially, shine in this episode. It's not just emotionally or in the line delivery either. The physicality, as always, is a joy to watch. Thirdly, these more atmospheric, all in one set, type episodes allow Joe LoDuca's brilliant score to come through and really be heard. I found myself noticing and loving the music in episode 7 a lot. Lastly, there are a couple of classic one liners in this episode that had me laughing out loud. It definitely feels like the dialogue writing in the series is getting better and better.

I don't know what you all thought (please comment below and tell me) but the addition of the puppet felt odd to me (no pun intended). They didn't do a whole lot of stuff with it, like they could have done. there was potential but I never felt it was truly put to great use. The other thing that was slightly off in the episode were a couple of incidents of childish humour. It's something the series has always had a little of and in some contexts its bearable, this episode should've stayed dark and stuck with the one liners. It would've kept the tone consistent.

These are minor gripes though because, again, this was another superb episode. I loved how, without him killing a single deadite, this episode convinced me of Ash's strength and world saving ability more than anything. It is one, like last week's though, that is going to make you wish it was an hour long (heck I could've watched this for a 90 minute movie length) or make you wish the Season was at least 15 episodes long. When it finished I wanted there to be more and more in the best and worst way possible!

Let me know what you thought of the show BELOW!