‘Evil’ On Paramount+ Renewed For Season 3. Season 2 Finale Streaming on Sunday

(Photo: Elizabeth Fisher/CBS ©2021Paramount+ Inc.)

A white female psychologist, a black male Catholic priest-in-training, and an Indian male technician walk into a monastery, where no one has spoken a word for the past 130 years. Sound like the beginning of a joke? It’s not. This is just one episode of the Paramount+ television series, “Evil,” starring Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, and Aasif Mandvi. The series was created by Robert King and Michelle King and is streaming the season two finale this Sunday, October 10th, 2021.

“Evil,” has as many plot twists as an old oak has layers. Not only is each episode focused distinctly on a specific topic, such as murder, possession, exorcism, even urban legends, and aliens; but there is an underlying core plot that encompasses every episode into a deeper, and more involved, storyline.

An unlikely trio, Kristen Bouchard (Herbers), David Acosta (Colter), and Ben Shakir (Mandvi) are part of a team hired by the Vatican to investigate the long backlog of various supernatural claims that have been made to the Catholic Church over the past few years. Some of these claims require immediate consult, such as with possible possession of children; while others take more time to decipher, such as when the team went to visit a supposed miracle at the monastery mentioned above. What makes them work best together is the mutual respect they have for one another; their different upbringings; viewpoints; and lifestyles. Not alike in any way, Kristen, David, and Ben work very well together. They are able to assess the cases they are tasked with investigating, with three different sets of perception, allowing answers to each scenario be found more easily and quickly. Unfortunately, however, answers to any question in this series are often doors to even more questions. Nothing is ever as it seems.

The team, early on, makes a connection, that seems to be worldwide, one that indicates they are fighting against demons- 60 of them to be exact, all identified by a specific stamp, which is found, only, on one of the Vatican’s most hidden, controversial and archived, archaic works. A “map of the Evil to come,” if you will; this old document suggests a symbol for each demon and suggests that they can join together to unleash Hell upon Earth. The team has stumbled upon something that goes so much deeper than “just” diabolic infestation, or a supposed miracle…this is a betrayal of epic proportions. If the church has known all along of these prophecies and these demons, succeeding in their havoc, yet have done nothing to stop the oncoming consequences, then what is to come of humanity? Hence the need for this team, as more and more people are reaching out to their church for answers to questions that seem to have only impossible, or supernatural, origins.

Let’s talk about Kristen Bouchard, played by Katja Herbers, who is a Dutch actress most widely known for her work in the American drama, “Manhattan.” The skeptical, confident, gorgeous 40-something girl-mom of 4; wife of pro-climber, Andy, and ex-professional-climber herself; psychologist; and former expert for the Queens DA team, Kristen has taken the job with the church for its higher pay, although she is dubious about all things spiritual in nature. Since her husband is away climbing so often, Kristen is in charge of their four girls, and the house, on her own, so she often enlists her mother Sheryl (a fabulous Christine Lahti, in her element, looking fantastic; a character who has a dramatic impact throughout the entire story) to help with watching the four girls, relying on her to be there when she needs to get away for work. Kristen’s new job with the church is not a fixed schedule, but something that has erratic hours. She needs to be available at all times and is often called away from home during all hours of the night. Precise and almost abrupt, Kristen is a very strong-willed

Let’s talk about Ben Shakir, played by Aasif Mandvi, a British-American of Indian descent best known for his work on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” aka ‘Ben the Magnificent,’ by Kristen’s girls: the third member of this hosh-posh team. Ben is a technical and equipment expert; a hacker-IT genius who helps the team in adjacent technological ways to prove that there is a scientific reason for every claim made to the church. He’s the guy proving everyone else wrong, with the backing of science. Rebelling against his own Islamic upbringing, Ben doesn’t practice and is a proud atheist who doesn’t back down from an argument when one arises. He always backs his theories with scientific hypotheses, and if he can’t find an immediate answer, he’s scrolling the internet for answers and using his extensive knowledge base of all things technical to find one. He has a dry wit and is the most comical of the three…usually.

The characters of “Evil,” are varied and enigmatic. One, in particular, is a main protagonist. Meet Leland Townsend, portrayed by actor Michael Emerson, who claims to have sold his soul to the devil, and who also used to work with the Queen’s DA (“Evil,” is set in New York) as an expert witness of psychology, like Kristen had been doing; she’d first encountered him at the trial of a serial killer, during the first episode of the first season. An almost comical character, given Leland’s meek, almost nerdy appearance, mild manner, and high-pitched, nasally voice, Leland seems to be everything he claims to be, despite these things: a demon in a human meat suit. He leads a wild life. (Counseling a wayward, and a very angry young man that he’d been stalking on the side, brainwashing him into planning to pull off a mass shooting, was one of Leland’s main stories during season one.)

Leland Townsend is a deeply complicated character, one who has secret therapy sessions with a giant hoofed creature that resembles an upright-sitting, bi-pedal goat, who takes notes as Leland lays on a couch and confides in him. This strange, hairy creature makes quite a few appearances throughout “Evil,” and most often, the scenes are so comically and outlandishly portrayed, that this show, at times, seems like a comedy. Leland dancing in a cornfield to a funky beat while the creature towers above the corn in the background, gripping a scythe, is just one example. Leland also starts dating Kristen’s mother in season one, as a way to torment and annoy Kristen even more than he already does.

Kristen’s mother, Sheryl, is also a key player in this tale. How she fits into this is more than just being targeted by Leland for nefarious purposes. Turns out that Sheryl has secrets all of her own.

Ben’s girlfriend is a revelation, as a woman who believes her dead sister has grafted herself to her arm, and therefore won’t let her see Ben anymore without throwing a fit. Ben tries to help her separate from this idea and has the hardest time believing that it could possibly be true, but he’s falling in love with Vanessa and wants to help her. Things have gone awry for Ben lately, and that’s not just because of his girlfriend. He’s also having night terrors.

In fact, there are two characters yet to be spoken of. The first is George. He’s a demon, or maybe just a night terror of Kristen’s. She doesn’t know. But George has left real pee on her floor, so what’s the scientific answer for that? Upon meeting Leland, both she and Ben have developed these demons who come to them in night terrors. Ben was warned about having bad dreams by Leland. The next thing he knew, his sleep was being disturbed by a rather sexy demon named Abby, who is either an apparition or dream. Ben isn’t sure which. Ben and Kristen haven’t spoken of their night-terror demons. However, both have become integral parts of their personal stories. They’re both terrifying and comical at the same time- and Ben still doesn’t believe 100 percent. 

Another character worth mentioning is Sister Andrea, a nun who spends twelve hours a day working in the church, cleaning and being productive, using her time to meditate and talk to God. She’s been getting close to David, and exuberant and insistent about David’s special place in the church. There’s more to the story regarding Sister Andrea, as we find out in episode 12 of season two- Andrea the Nun is no one to trifle with. She’s determined to get David to his graduation and won’t let him give up on himself.

Uncovering the truth behind the numerous mysteries that unfold in this series, “Evil,” will come to a climax this Sunday when Paramount+ streams the season two finale; and any lover of good acting, great writing, plot twists, and full-on unexpected left turns, will agree that the season’s best supernatural thriller is “Evil.” Hands down. The mix of horror, comedy, sex appeal, tension, and, sometimes, interactions with what may be the devil himself- “Evil,” has it all.

The season finale of “Evil,” episode 13, titled ‘C is for Cannibal,’ airs on Saturday, October 9th, 2021 only on Paramount+. Mark your calendars for this one if you’re all caught up; if not, perhaps starting at the beginning is better. This tale is unlike any other and well worth the watch. With rich characters and absolutely bizarre scenarios that border on the fuzzy line between the paranormal and the unexplainable, “Evil,” is a show that you can’t afford to miss!

Written by Mandie Stevens

 

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