Ash vs Evil Dead Season 3, episode 9 recap: Judgement Day

This week on Ash vs Evil Dead, the Dark Ones make their way through the rift as evil wreaks havoc on Elk Grove. Pablo feels a closer connection with the Necronomicon while Ash seeks out a way to defeat Ruby and get Kelly’s body back.

Something sinister is fast approaching but first, Ash must finish a few things before he prepares for battle. He must defeat Ruby and finally get rid of her evil doings that plagued his life for years. While doing so, he must also get Kelly back or at least Kelly’s body so she can finally escape the rift. With the penultimate episode of Ash vs Evil Dead season three, there was no doubt things were about to get crazy.

Pablo’s Brujo powers certainly come in handy when dealing with the rift but this episode gives him more answers regarding his connection with the Necronomicon. Being a Brujo Especial also seems to affect his relationship with evil which comes into play with the Dark Ones. Brandy is back from the dead but that definitely doesn’t mean evil gives her a break.

Never leave a man behind

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Brandy is feeling the residual effects of being brought back from the dead. Ash and Pablo take her back to the house to regroup. Ash is sick and tired of Ruby targeting her loved ones and he declares that it is time to end her “once and for all.” At that moment, Pablo goes blind and he then gains vision into Ms. Prevett’s house. Pablo realizes that he is seeing through the eyes of the Necronomicon which is still in Ruby’s possession. From his connection with the book, he and Ash learn that Ruby needs to find the rift and they can’t get Kelly back until they get Kaya out of her body. They decide to split up with Ash targeting Ruby while Pablo goes to the hardware store to lock down the rift. Ash even gives Brandy his boomstick to protect herself while home alone.

Meanwhile, Ruby has Zoe, the Knight of Sumeria, held captive and they are draining her blood. Kaya is worried about the Dark Ones but Ruby does not seem too concerned. Ruby is creating a new page for the Necronomicon and to do so, she needs Zoe’s skin. After Ruby takes what she needs, Zoe tries to escape but Kaya finds her and kills her.

A storm is brewing

Pablo makes his way to the hardware store as a bad storm is approaching–or possibly something worse. When he gets to the cellar, the rift is already open. Pablo tries to use his powers to close it but it doesn’t work and the Dark Ones make their way through. At first, they go after Pablo but instead, they take the lost pages of the Necronomicon from him and they hightail it out of there. Pablo goes back outside where he finds the people in town running through the streets.

As the Dark Ones come through the rift, Ruby senses their presence. She speeds up her process of binding the new page to the book as Kaya smears a circle of blood around them. Ash then breaks into the house taking Kaya at knifepoint, or in this case daggerpoint. Ruby tries to make a deal with him because they both need something. Ruby needs to know where the rift is and Ash needs Kelly’s body. Ash says no deal but then deadite Zoe scratches him letting Kaya break free.

Ashy Slashy’s daughter

Brandy is watching from the window as people run crazy in the streets. She hears a mysterious noise in the house and arms herself with the boomstick. The iconic unseen evil force breaks down the door chasing her through the house until she jumps out the window. Brandy takes refuge in the work shed and barricades the door. Her phone rings with her mom’s caller ID and then comes to life and the phone bites off her thumb.

Now locked in the shed, she wraps her hand while the evil voice mimicking her mother taunts her. Her arm starts to become infected so she uses a table saw to cut off her arm. The scene turns out to be a hallucination and her arm is still intact but she is still missing a thumb. The sequence in the shed resembles Ash’s experience in the infamous cabin shed when he first faced evil, indicating that Brandy is on a similar journey. Or it at least it proves that Brandy has the same toughness as her dad. She decides to face evil and proclaims that she is Ashy Slashy’s daughter and gives herself a confidence boost. The phone has turned into an evil googly-eyed creature and it goes after her. Brandy powers up the snow plow and kills the creature. When she finally leaves the shed, she runs into Pablo. He thinks that the Dark Ones don’t target him because he has his feet in both good and evil. Pablo explains that the Dark Ones have the lost pages and if they complete the book, humanity is doomed.

The Dark Ones

Ash faces off against Ruby but she clearly has an advantage–like always. She even manages to get her hands on Ash’s trusty chainsaw and crushed it much to his dismay. During the fight, the Dark Ones appear. The shadow figures take Kaya from Kelly’s body and send the traitor to her fiery death. Next, they put their focus on Ruby and they suck out her soul until her lifeless body crumbles.

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While the Dark Ones focus on Kaya and Ruby, Ash takes the Necronomicon and Kelly’s body. Ash is heading back to town but he needs to get in touch with Pablo. He uses the Necronomicon to see if Pablo can reconnect through the book. Ash wants Pablo to go back to the rift to get Kelly back but Pablo tries to warn him not to go back to the hardware store. The message isn’t conveyed clearly so Ash decides to head back to town. A message comes through the radio that Martial law is now in effect.

Time to test the mettle of man

There is havoc in the streets as people are running wild. Pablo and Brandy try to make it to the hardware store to warn Ash what is happening. They see the Delta speed by and swerve around the chaotic street and crash through the bar window. The Dark Ones reemerge and throw Ash into the streets. Pablo sees them put the book back together which means they are all too late. It is now time to test the mettle of man, just as Bruce Campbell teased during our interview with him in February. As the episode ends, the ground opens up and out comes the biggest creature that evil has ever cooked up.

Sneak peek at the series finale episode

As we head into the final episode of Ash vs Evil Dead season three, it is also officially time to say goodbye to the series. In some not so groovy news, Starz officially announced that the show has been canceled and the next episode will serve as the series finale. The show has produced three seasons of outrageously fun content and we can only hope the Ghost Beaters go out with a bang as they face their toughest test yet.

Here is a short clip for what’s to come in next week’s series finale, “The Mettle of Man”:

Next: Ash vs Evil Dead Season 3, episode 8 recap: Rifting Apart

Ash vs Evil Dead airs Sunday nights at 9/8c on STARZ so be sure to tune in!