El Jefe (Ash vs Evil Dead)

"El Jefe" is the first episode of the American comedy horror series Ash vs Evil Dead, picking up where the original Evil Dead movies left off. It aired on Starz on Halloween night in 2015. Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi, and Tom Spezialy wrote the episode, with Sam Raimi directing.

The story takes place about three decades after Ash Williams returned from the year 1300. He now works as a stock boy at a store called Value Stop and lives in a trailer. After a disturbing moment in a bar restroom—where a woman's face briefly turns into a demon during sex—Ash realizes he accidentally unleashed evil forces years ago when he read the Necronomicon while high on marijuana with a prostitute.

Plot

Meanwhile, Michigan state police detective Amanda Fisher and her partner John Carson investigate an abandoned house. Inside, a possessed woman stabs Amanda's hand with scissors and kills Carson by hanging him from antlers. Amanda shoots the woman's head off, but her partner reanimates as undead, forcing her to kill him too. This leaves Amanda seeing dead people, which a mysterious woman named Ruby insists is real.

At work, Ash tries to get his paycheck early but is denied. His co-worker Pablo wants to help him leave town, bringing along their colleague Kelly. Ash is attacked by a possessed doll wielding a box cutter, but Pablo kills it.

Ash explains his past to Pablo, who believes Ash is "El Jefe"—a prophesied hero his shaman uncle warned about. Ash rejects the title. As a storm approaches, Kelly discovers her dead mother has visited her father, and she and Pablo leave on his motorcycle. Their manager becomes possessed by Deadite forces.

Pablo takes Kelly to Ash's trailer, where Ash initially refuses to help. After a possessed neighbor grabs Kelly, Ash finally accepts his old life: he cuts his arm with an axe and kills the neighbor with his shotgun.

Another neighbor, Vivian, appears possessed, stabs Pablo, and nearly stabs Kelly's eyes. Ash grabs his chainsaw and beheads Vivian, saving Kelly. He agrees to fix everything, and when Pablo asks how it feels to be back, Ash replies, "Groovy."

Development

The project started as a fourth Evil Dead film before Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell decided on a TV series. It was announced at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2014, and Starz ordered the series that November.

In its original U.S.