Recap of Ash vs. Evil Dead
Season 1, Episode 4:
Brujo
- Brujo: Ash, control yourself. Stop being a bitch and act like a jefe.
Amanda is stuck handcuffed to a shelf inside Books from Beyond with Deadite Lionel menacing her. She pulls the gun closer with her leg and shoots Lionel, but he proves more resilient and lunges at her, trying to blow her brains out with the gun. But the mysterious woman appears in the shop and drives a spike through his body, pinning him to a wall.
The Ghost Beaters are on their way to El Brujo while Kelly feels sick. Pablo says they should take her to the hospital, but she says she just has a tiny concussion. Suddenly, the car starts acting up, locking the door. An evil spirit attacks the car, almost causing them to collide with another vehicle, and Ash decides to use a nitrous booster to get away from it, but the engine gives out. They barely manage to get to El Brujo's property, where an invisible barrier stops the spirit.
The woman explains to Amanda about the Deadites, saying that 30 years ago Ash killed her parents and sister at the Knowby Cabin and that she's been looking for him ever since. Deadite Lionel recognizes the woman, but before he can say anything, she chops off his head and crushes it. She tells Amanda they could help each other out.
At El Brujo's house, Pablo explains his relationship with his uncle is a bit strained since the latter thought his nephew was turning his back on his heritage. The shaman greets them, saying that he's been expecting them since two days ago, when the ill wind whispered Ash's name. He berates Pablo, believing that he's always been taking it easy , and the young man apologizes for not realizing he's been wrong. While Brujo and Ash are arguing, Kelly approaches one of the altars and hears ghostly whispers, becoming startled. Brujo tells Pablo to watch her while he prepares a concoction for Ash that would send him on an inner journey to look for the answers he seeks. Pablo decides to take Kelly's mind off of dark thoughts by offering to help him build a new arm for Ash from a Power Glove and various electronics.
Amanda offers to provide police support to the woman, but she declines and shows her Ash's real right hand which has only recently started twitching. Brujo helps Ash enter a trance, and he starts experiencing hallucinations, like an eyeball in the shaman's mouth, Felix the Cat cartoons and old-school Playboy volumes. His mind goes back to the events in the cabin and through every ValueStop he's been working at. He wakes in a shallow grave with his eyes sewn shut, and Brujo explains that he has to learn to see without sight to find the answer. Brujo asks him what helped him survive all these years, and Ash explains that his philosophy is "shoot first, think never". Embracing it helps him regain his sight, and he also gets a chainsaw. Ash takes control of the trip and ends up in Jacksonville which is his spiritual center, and he has both his hands. He explains to Brujo that he wanted to go there 30 years ago, but the events at the cabin happened, and the shaman says that he'll find the answer in that city.
Pablo continues working on the hand, and he and Kelly have a good-natured laugh about Ash dying his hair when she starts hearing the whispers again. She becomes possessed by Eligos, but he quickly hides any sign of possession and pretends that everything is fine. Kelly sabotages the glove and electrocutes Pablo.
In a trip, Eli, Ash's pet iguana, visits him and tells him to stop screwing around. Suddenly, the beer in his hands is replaced by the Necronomicon, and the trip takes a turn into a dark place. Kelly lures Brujo out by saying Pablo needs his help and turns Ash's idlily into a nightmare, sending him into the cabin where Eligos shows up. He starts torturing Ash, sending him through layers of horror. Eli tells him to get control of the trip back, and he starts fighting back against the demon, while in the real world he's choking Kelly. Brujo and Pablo try to stop him, and the latter has to knock him out, with none of them realizing Kelly is still possessed.
Tropes:
- Big Damn Heroes: Ruby appears just in the nick of time to save Amanda from Deadite Lionel.
- Brain in a Jar: In one of the nightmares, Eligos puts Ash's head in a jar without the rest of his body.
- Brutal Honesty: El Brujo doesn't mince his words when he tells Ash what he thinks of him.
- Demonic Possession: Eligos takes over Kelly's body
-
Dye Hard: Ash is revealed to be dying his hair black, with Pablo commenting that his pillowcase is totally black. - Happy Place: For Ash, it's Jacksonville, Florida.
- The Mirror Shows Your True Self: Eligos is seen in the possessed Kelly's reflection.
- Mushroom Samba: Ash takes a ayahuasca to go through a Journey To The Center Of Mind
- Nitro Boost: Ash uses a nitro boost to get away from an evil spirit, but the engine breaks down from the strain.
- Percussive Maintenance: When the radio in the Delta glitches out due to the Evil Force, Ash chalks it up to age and hits it a few times.
