Review: Evil – D is for Doll s02e12

The penultimate episode of Evil’s second season is upon us, and ‘D is for Doll’ does not disappoint.  With many ongoing threads continuing, it’s not exactly a self-contained story, but on recent form this isn’t as critical as it might be on some other shows. *Warning! Some Spoilers Ahead!*

These threads have been intriguing for a long time, and the writers have managed to make them interesting, while keeping the mystery, but also not make them annoying by not revealing anything.  At the moment the biggest of these is whatever the hell is going on with Sheryl (Christine Lahti), as she dabbles in and out of various dodgy situations with Leland (Michael Emerson) and Edward (Tim Matheson).  It’s been difficult to know if Sheryl is a force for good or evil, and this episode doesn’t entirely clear that up either.  Her path has been kept a mystery for a long time, but her character keeps getting better and better.

Sheryl’s move to the front of things has definitely shifted Leland back in the story regarding threats a little, but to a degree that has made him a much more interesting character, as he has to contend with not being omnipotent.  In the early days it seemed like he might become too much of an impossible force to fight, but his troubles and weaknesses have just strengthened the narrative.  With Edward also coming into the mix, it’s not entirely clear where Leland now stands either, but if Sister Andrea’s (Andrea Martin) warnings are anything to go by, he is not impotent by any stretch.

For the team, it has not been an easy ride this season, and while Kristen (Katja Herbers) seems much more stable in ‘D is for Doll’, everyone around her is wobbling.  David (Mike Colter) in particular is having a hard time deciding if he wants to go through with his ordination and has doubts about committing to that life.  This is handled very well here, and the touching scene between him and Kristen is much less difficult than you would imagine.  Their recent trials and Kristen’s ‘exorcism’ have probably helped there, but the growth in these characters is there for all to see, which is superbly played by Colter and Herbers.

The principal focus of ‘D is for Doll’ though is, as you’d imagine all about freaky dolls.  They have been a staple of the horror genre for a very long time, from ‘The Great Gabbo’ in 1929, through ‘Child’s Play’, ‘Saw’, and ‘Annabelle’, so are a common sight.  What’s great here is that they don’t really play into that too much, or the obvious tropes, and just treat it like any other case.  It even backs that up by having Kurt (Kurt Fuller) meet what is presumably a demon attached to the doll.  It’s a nice touch and we get to witness a fresh reaction to what must have become blasé to the rest of them. It’s in keeping with how Evil has setup things and it’s all the better for it.

As is always the way, the case bleeds back into Kristen’s home life and her daughters get linked with a second doll.  You could say they were unlucky, but then with Kristen and Sheryl around, it’s not surprising this stuff gets attracted to them.  This whole section isn’t really covered by ‘D is for Doll’, so presumably we will get some callback on this in the season finale next week.  What we do get is that doll finding its way to Sheryl and her then using it in a ritual with her own doll.  Sheryl’s doll has never really been explained, so this starts to link a whole number of things together.

These last few episodes have essentially been carefully leading a lot of threads back together as we head to the finale.  It’s been a much more freewheeling season that the first, with a lot of carryover between episodes, but that hasn’t been to Evil’s detriment at all.  If anything, there has been more freedom in the stories, which has allowed the characters to really be stretched.  There definitely hasn’t been anything too formulaic going on that’s for sure.

As per usual, Evil has taken a common topic and spun it into something much more interesting within its own tangled plot, adding it’s own signature.  How this all plays out is anyone’s guess too, which is a credit to the writing.  That we can be here now, after many satisfying episodes, not quite knowing how it is going to play out just underlines once again that this is a top-notch series.