"Ashes To Ashes" is the eighth episode of the first season of Ash vs Evil Dead, and the eighth overall episode in the series. It was written by Michael J. Bassett and directed by Tony Tilse. It premiered on STARZ on December 19, 2015.
Plot Synopsis[]
Sunset bathes the woods in an orange and yellow glow as Ash Williams emerges from the dense forest behind him. He stops in his tracks, noticing several dead birds laying on the forest floor around him. Ash picks up the smallest of the birds and remarks that nothing survives in this part of the woods, only for the bird to suddenly open its eyes and begin to squawk. Williams is quick to throw the undead bird against a tree, and it explodes into a gooey and feathery mush against the bark. Ash starts walking again, following this trail of death and decaying critters until finally spotting his destination: The Knowby Cabin. Arming himself with his chainsaw and shotgun, Ash tells the cabin "honey, I'm home..."
Ash begins to approach the cabin, and just as he steps on the porch, Amanda Fisher finds him. She tells him that she split up from Pablo and Kelly to look for him after he abandoned the group back at the militia camp. Ash explains that he's not good with goodbyes, and that it's probably for the best that Pablo and Kelly aren't there since everyone who comes to the cabin dies, though Amanda attempts to quell his paranoia and tells him that she's going to help him stop this once and for all. As they step inside the cabin's living room, the deer head mounted above the fireplace falls to the floor, triggering a flashback in Amanda's mind to Carson's death, as he was impaled on a similar deer head before his possession.
Ash takes off his chainsaw and switches on his Power Glove, ready to get to work on putting an end to all this, and tells Amanda about his psychic trip with El Brujo, where he was told that the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis needed to be deep beneath the place where it all started. Amanda goes to unlock the fruit cellar door, triggering Ash's own flashback to when his sister Cheryl was locked up in there. Fisher is unsuccessful in her attempt to open the cellar door, asking Ash if there's a crowbar around there. Ash replies that there's probably one in the workshed, but he doesn't want her to go in there, as his ex-girlfriend's severed head is in there. Fisher then says that she'll stay in the cabin and watch the Necronomicon while he goes to the workshed. Ash steps out and leaves Amanda alone with the book, unaware that his severed hand is crawling between the walls nearby and seems to be growing...
The sun vanishes behind the horizon, though there's still enough light as Pablo and Kelly continue to walk through the woods in search of the cabin. Pablo is quick to point out that they're walking in circles, as now they're standing next to the Oldsmobile and trailer near the militia camp. Suddenly, the sound of unfamiliar voices carry through the woods, and Pablo and Kelly spot a group of three lost hitchhikers nearby. They call out to the group and approach them, though the group believes them to be bandits at first (as both Pablo and Kelly are armed). The two explain that they're looking for a cabin, to which the group responds that they actually passed the cabin a few miles back, and agree to take them to it.
Back at the cabin, Ash starts up the gas generator, giving electricity to the cabin before he finally steps inside the workshed. He turns on the light, and jumps at the sight of Linda's head still stuck in the vice, though now it is nothing more than a fleshless dust-covered skull. Ash grabs the nearby crowbar and goes to exit the shed, only for the door to suddenly slam shut on it's own and the knob to come right off. Ash calls out to Amanda, though she cannot hear him from within the cabin.
In the woods, one of the hikers, a girl named Heather, asks Kelly if she and Pablo are together. Kelly is quick to say no, but upon hearing Heather say that it would be nice to have another guy to keep her company on this trip, Kelly's attitude changes, and says that Pablo does have a girlfriend. The hikers then arrive at the trailhead that leads to the cabin, and part ways with Kelly and Pablo. As the group walks away, Pablo remarks that he really hopes that the group "don't end up dead" from the evil lurking in the woods.
Inside the workshed, Ash still calls out for Amanda to no response, though a familiar voice calls out from behind him. He turns around to see the dust-covered skull in the vice now has flesh and blood once more, with Linda telling him she's "better now." Ash gets angry at Linda, and returns to trying to break the door down, though Linda says that it's all because of "that cop" he fancies. Linda continues to taunt Williams, telling him that Amanda will die there, like everyone else he's ever loved.
After hearing the sounds of a piano playing in another room of the cabin, Amanda grabs her gun and goes to investigate, only to find out it was a mouse crawling across the piano's keys. Fisher steps into the room and begins to examine a notebook left behind by Professor Raymond Knowby about his archeological finds that ultimately led to his demise. As she reads, she's startled by Ash, who has been silently standing in the doorway watching her. Ash tells her that he thinks they should just run away from there and start over, just the two of them. Amanda laughs at Ash's proposition at first, but starts to come around to the idea, and kisses Ash. Williams goes to gently caress her face, only for Amanda to suddenly realize that he's using his right hand. She recoils in horror at the rotten limb that was touching her moments ago, realizing that it was hand Ruby had in her possession. Ash asks her to calm down, saying that maybe he grew a new hand... or maybe the hand grew a new version of him, but that they could still run off together. Amanda runs off down the hallway, with Evil Ash giving chase.
Linda continues to taunt Ash inside the workshed, and sends out a seemingly sentient bear trap to attack him.
Evil Ash pops out from a doorway, pushing Amanda into the cabin's kitchen area and begins to bash her head with the refrigerator door before tossing her into the shelves on the wall. Fisher manages to get Evil Ash off her and grabs a butcher's knife, chopping off his right hand. Evil Ash tries his best to play it off like the hand had "possessed" him, but quickly drops the act and goes back to attacking Amanda. The two tussle for a moment, with Evil Ash managing to get the knife from Amanda and jam it into her shoulder. Fisher staggers out of the kitchen and into the cabin's living room, with Evil Ash laughing as Amanda falls back-first onto the fallen deer head and impales herself, mirroring the death of her partner Carson.
Ash's battle with the bear trap continues, losing his Power Glove in the process and making his stump a bloody mess. Linda's taunts increase, prompting Ash to simply smack her head with the crowbar, causing her skull to completely disintegrate. With his ex-girlfriend's reign of terror over, Ash kicks open the door of the cabin and heads out.
In the living room, Amanda takes her final breaths as Evil Ash leaves her alone to die. The real Ash barges in from the back door to see Fisher impaled upon the deer's antlers and rushes over to her side, asking her what happened. Amanda tells him that his hand grew another him. Ash tries to comfort Fisher in her final moments, kissing her as she trembles and chokes on her own blood. The sound of footsteps catches Ash's attention, where he spots his doppelganger standing in the doorway. Evil Ash runs down the hall just as Pablo and Kelly come barging into the cabin, immediately noticing Amanda's bloody body beside Williams. After poorly trying to explain what's happening, Ash picks up the crowbar and marches through the hallway, only for Evil Ash to come up behind him and knock him to the floor. The two begin to fight, each exploiting the other's shared weakness until finally putting their hands on the other's throat, stating "time to die" in unison...
Cast[]
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Starring |
Guest starring
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Gallery[]
Soundtrack[]
- The Two Of Us Together - Don Gibson & Sue Thompson (The Two Of Us Together; 1973) (heard during end credits)
Trivia[]
- References to other Ash vs Evil Dead episodes:
- Evil Ash's line to Amanda about her smelling like lavender is a reference to Ash's line from The Killer of Killers, where he asks Amanda "is that lavender?"
- References to The Evil Dead:
- While approaching the cabin at the beginning of the episode following the title card, Ash walks past Shelly's grave.
- The swinging bench on the porch of the cabin swings on it's own before stopping as Ash approaches, just as it did for Scotty in the original film.
- When Amanda begins to unlock the chains on the cabin's fruit cellar door, Ash has a flashback to when Cheryl was imprisoned inside the cellar.
- After Ash gets stuck inside the workshed, the clock chime sound effect from The Evil Dead can be heard.
- References to Evil Dead II:
- While talking to Amanda, Ash mentions Linda doing "a crazy dance in the moonlight", referencing the scene in Evil Dead II in which the decapitated body of Linda dances with her severed head beside her grave.
- The photograph of Annie Knowby previously seen in Evil Dead II can be seen on the desk in the living room right before the desk collapses after Ash goes to check out the workshed.
- The reel-to-reel tape recorder's reels are identical to the ones seen in Evil Dead II.
- The first piano note that Amanda hears inside the cabin is the first note of the Dancing Game song from Evil Dead II (the song which Ash plays on the piano in the opening of the film).
- The garbled words Amanda hears on the reel-to-reel tape recorder while Ash is trapped in the workshed is the same sound clip of Professor Knowby reading his notes on the Kandarian Dagger heard later in the episode, just slowed down and reversed.
- Professor Knowby's voice actor in this episode is not credited.
- This is the second episode in the series in which Ruby is not featured, though Lucy Lawless is listed in the credits.