SummaryDavid Acosta priest-in-training (Mike Colter) recruits Kristen Bouchard, a forensic psychologist (Katja Herbers) and Ben, a carpenter (Aasif Mandvi) to help him evaluate if the phenomena reported to the church has scientific explanations or are actually supernatural in this series from from Robert and Michelle King.
SummaryDavid Acosta priest-in-training (Mike Colter) recruits Kristen Bouchard, a forensic psychologist (Katja Herbers) and Ben, a carpenter (Aasif Mandvi) to help him evaluate if the phenomena reported to the church has scientific explanations or are actually supernatural in this series from from Robert and Michelle King.
It’s like nothing else on television. The start of the fourth season bursts out of the gate with two of the best episodes in the history of “Evil,” followed by a pair of episodes that are creatively rockier yet still captivating. “Evil” takes big swings—even the ones that don’t connect are fascinating. And weird as Hell.
Once again, Evil smartly plays with these themes without revealing the truth. ... While exploring the ramifications of possible paranormal activity, Evil season two proves [it] isn’t to be missed.
Just finished the season finale, and I'm close to saying definitively that this is the most interesting, most progressive show on network television. I'm a little shocked that it wasn't nominated for emmmys/golden globes. The lead actress (from WestWorld) is phenomenal, and her two investigation partners are amazing. The character of Leland (Ben from Lost) is perfectly diabolical, and the demons/devils are understated and hilarious. It's the perfect way to balance the intensity of the subject matter, which can get heavy.
It is excellent. ... It’s got what you might call “The X-Files” energy—and that’s no small thing. ... “EVIL,” is a finely constructed, thoughtful, potentially addictive procedural about a hot priest-to-be, a gifted psychologist, and a dishwater-fixing hacker who team up to fight demonic Alexas and prove or disprove miracles, and you should watch it. Just trust me on this one.
Delaying tactics are the price of doing open-ended horror 13 episodes at a time. Happily, the business in the foreground of “Evil” remains more than sufficiently entertaining. ... Beyond what some might consider a too-deliberate pace, there isn’t a lot to complain about with “Evil.”
"Evil is the best new broadcast show of the season by a considerable margin, and it will be very fun to watch it settle into itself and play with its form and tone even more, the way The Good Wife did. Hopefully it's not too weird for primetime."
By going with a trio rather than a duo, and making both Kristen and Ben doubters, the Kings try to sidestep the binary believer vs. skeptic set-up that was so familiar from X-Files and its many imitators. But this approach can feel muddled, with stories generating problems for both skeptics to solve via their respective specialties, while there’s not a lot of tension between them and David. ... But it’s when Evil lives up to its name that it’s most interesting.
The show is a cross between psychological thriller and horror and it delivers on both aspects. Gave me the creeps, without using splatter or extreme violence. Well directed, shot and acted, it's a favorite for this winter. Special congratulations for Michael Emerson's acting, which created a villain to remember.
(This is intended to be a spoiler-free review.) A great start to a show gone horribly wrong. Think Goosebumps for intellectually-numbed adults. The transition from blossoming supernatural/psychological thriller hybrid to confused satire is painfully tangible, and the only reason I continued watching after Rose390 was to see how it ended so that I could be through with the show and the investment I'd already made up to that point. The writers are complete boomers, and it shows in the cringeworthy, minimal-effort way modern technology and the Internet are painted. The dialogue is implicitly misogynistic and racist at nearly every turn, if not just plain prejudiced. The writing only gets worse and worse, and what used to be a fairly believable, immersive world quickly dissolves with lazy, silly interactions, random awful actors popping in, and soapbox-tier twists. There are some genuinely tense and gripping moments, but these are outweighed and washed away by the number of times I wanted to go back and smack the pencil out of the writer's hand out of frustration. The end of the first season makes absolutely no sense and leaves so many more details unexplained and outright contradicted. I don't even know who the intended audience is, because that seems to shift with every episode. I am deeply disappointed, and I know the Kings could've done better, because there are some stellar moments and performances in here. I can only recommend watching this show if you go in thinking of it as a parody or college production.
My biggest problem with the show are not the daughters or the liberal cringe. No, the problem with the show lies in its very premise. A scientific view of the world is not compatible with a supernatural view of the world. And any attempt to marry both is going to do a disservice to either one or both of them. I can't speak for the religious side (although many reviews on here clearly seem to indicate that they don't approve, either), but to me, the bias against science became clear the minute when I grew increasingly annoyed at the reason-driven characters trying to rationally explain what was clearly supernatural. As a writer, you're free to create any reality you like. And that's fine. But if you try to use your fantastical version of reality to make claims about reality, you're no longer just telling a story. You're actively lying. And this show is lying. It pretends to discuss big themes, but all it really does is use the freedom of writing to confirm the convicitons the writers already have. If a character has a crisis of faith, the show's writers will develop the plot in a way that proves the character wrong for doubting. In reality, of course, things would play out differently.
Meh. Annoying screaming little girls, with an apparent lack of adult supervision. Idiot grandmother with ridiculously poor judgement, who looks to be too close in age to her daughter. Daughter(Kristen) who looks way older than her said 30's. Why is there even a husband if we never hear or see him? And he's an Mount Everest Guide??!! What's the rationale for that? But then what's the rationale for sooo many things..... If they made the show a bit Campier then I could get onboard.