Confinement (Ash vs Evil Dead)

Lore & Background

In the episode, Ash and his group are trapped inside a police station, where Baal plans to turn them against each other. The plot begins with a police officer arriving at a bar, where she finds Amber's body. A demon possesses her, rips off her skin, and reveals itself to be Baal. Ash is arrested for Amber's murder and placed in a cell with Chet. Baal releases Ash, and soon Pablo, Kelly, Ruby, Lacey, Sheriff Emery, and Linda arrive at the station. The lights go out, locking everyone inside. Sheriff Emery suspects Ash, but Ruby reaffirms Baal is responsible. Pablo reveals a strange rash on his chest, worrying he might be possessed. Ruby discovers the officer is Baal, who knocks her unconscious. Emery threatens to shoot Pablo, but Ash attacks him. A reanimated flesh enters, and Ash destroys it with his chainsaw. Pablo's rash worsens, carving passages from the Necronomicon, but Ruby says he is their weapon against Baal.

Reader's Guide

Confinement received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 274,000 household viewers and gained a 0.13 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. Critics praised the action sequences and make-up but criticized the pacing and under-developed characters. Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode a 7.8 out of 10, noting that Baal lacked a big boss presence but that the episode trapped all season 2 players together. Michael Roffman of The A.V. Club gave a C+, saying the episode moved too fast and overindulged in shock tension. Stephen Harber of Den of Geek praised the scenes and one-liners. Steve Ford of TV Fanatic gave a perfect 5-star rating, calling it the best installment of the season. Merrill Barr of Forbes highlighted the creativity in spatial awareness, comparing it to a horror-centric Assault on Precinct 13. Jasef Wisener of TV Overmind called it an incredibly strong episode.

Did You Know?

• The episode was written by William Bromell, his first writing credit for the series.
• It was directed by co-executive producer Michael J. Bassett, his fifth directorial credit.
• Pablo's rash carves passages from the Necronomicon, and Ruby says he is their weapon against Baal.

Development, Run, and Cancellation

The television adaptation of the Evil Dead franchise was developed by Sam Raimi alongside his brother Ivan and writer Tom Spezialy for the network Starz. Functioning as a direct sequel to Raimi's original film trilogy, the series brought Bruce Campbell back to the role that defined his career. The show debuted on October 31, 2015, and Starz moved with remarkable speed to commit to a second season, issuing its renewal just three days before the first episode aired. Season two followed on October 2, 2016, and a third season was greenlit as well, arriving on February 25, 2018. Despite the network's early confidence, the series ultimately ran for exactly three seasons before Starz announced its cancellation on April 29, 2018. The relatively brief run meant that the sprawling story arcs involving the Necronomicon, the Knights of Sumeria, and Ash's long-buried past in Elk Grove were compressed into a tight window, leaving several narrative threads unresolved for the audience.

Premise and Narrative Framework

The show picks up roughly three decades after the events of Army of Darkness, in which Ash Williams traveled back to 1300 AD and returned to the modern era. By the time the series opens, that legendary warrior has long since faded into obscurity. He now clocks in as a lowly stock boy at a Value Stop convenience store, sharing the workplace with his friend Pablo and Kelly, who harbors a crush on Pablo. Ash's personal life is equally stagnant: he sleeps in a mobile home trailer, spends his evenings drinking alone at bars, and keeps a pet lizard named Eli as his only companion. For thirty years he has drifted from town to town, taking dead-end jobs at different Value Stop branches. The narrative's inciting force arrives when the Evil Dead resurface, compelling Ash to abandon his self-imposed exile. Pablo and Kelly, initially reluctant, ultimately throw in their lot with him, and the three form an unlikely trio determined to save humanity from the demonic threat.

Character Portrayals and Ensemble

Bruce Campbell's portrayal of Ash in the series is steeped in psychological complexity. In his own words to Entertainment Weekly, he described the character as a war veteran carrying survivor's guilt and PTSD, a man who is emotionally stunted yet remains the person you would want beside you in a foxhole. This internal damage manifests in Ash's decades of avoidance, his inability to destroy the Necronomicon, and his reluctance to confront his past. Ray Santiago brings a devoted, almost mythic energy to Pablo, a co-worker who reveres Ash as "El Jefe" and was raised by a shaman uncle who told him stories of an evil power only a true leader could defeat. Dana DeLorenzo's Kelly Maxwell, a Jewish woman whose mother died in a car accident, evolves from a reluctant participant into a fierce, improvisational fighter who becomes a spiritual daughter to Ash. The ensemble is further enriched by Lucy Lawless as the enigmatic Ruby Knowby, Lee Majors as Ash's debauched father Brock Williams, and Arielle Carver-O'Neill as Brandy, Ash's long-lost daughter, a high school senior whose life is shattered by demonic violence.

Mythology and Continuity with the Trilogy

The series weaves its new story tightly into the mythology established across the original Evil Dead films. Ash's thirty-year gap is filled with a pattern of aimless wandering, but the show also reveals a darker chapter: after the cabin events, he returned to his hometown of Elk Grove, Michigan, where the community refused to credit his tales of Deadites. Instead, they branded him a murderer for the deaths of his friends and his sister, giving him the derisive nickname "Ashy Slashy" and shunning him entirely. The Necronomicon, which Ash has tried to destroy on multiple occasions, remains an inescapable presence; he has effectively become its caretaker. The broader supernatural landscape expands to include the Knights of Sumeria, an ancient order dedicated to battling evil, and a pantheon of demonic entities including the Kandarian Demon, Eligos, and Baal. Ted Raimi, who had appeared in various cameo and stand-in roles throughout the original trilogy, returns as Chet Kaminski, a childhood friend of Ash who pays the ultimate price for a secret from thirty years prior.