For a show that repeatedly raises the question “What the fuck is going on here,” Evil is remarkably sure of itself. The best part of this Paramount+ series is its confidence in navigating flabbergasting situations and relationships. This makes it easy to sink into Evil’s kooky, spooky world even when it gets repetitive. The show’s fourth season, which premieres May 23, is no different. But this time, the familiar craziness levels up because it’s Evil’s swan song—that is, unless another streamer rescues the project. (Seasons one and two just hit Netflix—wink wink.)
See, Evil is unlike anything else created by Robert and Michelle King, the couple behind legal drama The Good Wife, its spinoffs, and the underrated political dramedy BrainDead. Evil is the boldest, most unhinged entry in their entire repertoire. The show is also unlike any other horror drama, because it plays with supernatural concepts in an utterly human way. It’s a constant tug-of-war between science and spirituality, faith and fact, real and imaginary. Due to its ever-fascinating premise, there are no clear-cut answers or neatly wrapped-up storylines. For anyone who has stuck around, it’s unsurprising to learn that the four (of 14) new episodes screened for critics continue this tradition.
A lingering sense of unease prevails while watching the first quarter(ish) of Evil’s entertaining, funny, and admittedly confounding season four. Is psychologist Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers) evil or a target of something corrupt? What about her cute, loud daughters, especially the one who was conceived in a shady IVF facility? Is priest David Acosta (Mike Colter) getting heavenly messages or is his secret work with the Vatican causing him to spiral? And what’s the deal with the creatures Ben Shakir (Aasif Mandvi) hallucinates?
Ultimately, these queries, some of which have been around since the premiere, continue propelling Evil into deranged territory and force its protagonists to confront their real selves. At this point, it’s clear the writers don’t want to spell out if ghosts, angels, miracles, and hauntings are legit, even if they most likely are. Instead, these phenomena are used to intrinsically examine Kristen, David, and Ben’s inner machinations as they solve cases for the church. Perhaps Evil would be a more tightly-paced drama if it directly revealed whether the occult existed in its setting. But honestly, it’s a more interesting show because it doesn’t.
What distinguishes Evil from other horror-TV fare is how it explores the trio’s desires, fears, anxieties, and thoughts, which manifest themselves as everything from a sexy succubus to pervading rays of light. “We are three fucked-up people,” they proclaim in season four, ending the conversation in an adorable group hug. And that gets at the crux of why Evil works: It unabashedly explores how multidimensional humans are while dealing with emotions, and the tricks their minds play on them. Take, for example, David and Kristen’s forbidden sexual attraction to each other, or Ben’s skepticism clashing with his faith. Maybe that’s why his brain has conjured up a djinn to torment itself—unless the djinn is real, of course? Who knows.
The new episodes mine creative ways to challenge their psyches individually and as a group. Herbers, Colter, and Mandvi have always been electric, but their dynamic peaks as they deal with possessed pigs, a manipulative robot, and a portal to Hell in a particle collider. And they’re not the only ones infected with cosmic interventions this time (or are they mental breakdowns?).
Sister Andrea (Andrea Martin) sees demons no one else can, including a literal grief monster residing at the church. Meanwhile, the villainous Leland Townsend (Michael Emerson) faces the hardest nightmare: a newborn, the result of him stealing one of Kristen’s eggs and using it to inseminate another woman. For him, a supposedly horned, five-eyed boss is easier to deal with than a crying, puking child. This all brings out new dimensions to Emerson’s already spectacular performance. His energy here is matched by Christine Lahti, who plays his frenemy, Sheryl Bouchard, and Evil crackles each time they spar.
The show’s excessive risk-taking wouldn’t have paid off if it weren’t for this ensemble, and thankfully the cast is game for all the peculiarities thrown their way. And while it’s hard to predict how something as manic as Evil will conclude, if the start of season four is any indication, it will fire on all cylinders.
Evil season 4 premieres May 23 on Paramount+