With the nerdy mind-demon finally out of the way, the second half of the season marks the return of egotistical Ash, the Ash that offers to pay his diner bill with sex in lieu of cash.  It also provides clear direction to where the final battle is likely to ensue, more of the gory deadite battles we know and love, and poses even more questions about Lucy Lawless’ Ruby.

Ruby and Fisher arrive at the Brujo’s property not long after the Ghost Beaters have left.  The Brujo’s body is still smoking and the fires still burning.  The atmosphere is much more ominous as the pair split up, expecting Ash to pop up around the corner.  A demon wind blows through, bringing the worst looking CGI fire demon forth from the funeral pyre. As Ruby tries to destroy it, the demon calls her a double crosser and vows never to let her get her hands on the Necronomicon.  He pulls her into the fire and after an explosion erupts, there’s no sign of her or the demon.  Also gone is Ash’s hand, but Fisher is so close she drives off in Ruby’s car anyway.  Who, or what, is Ruby?

Over a stack of hotcakes, Ash reveals his current plan of attack to his sidekicks.  He needs to get back to the place of origin to finish this; the cabin in the woods that started the whole thing some thirty years ago. Proving that he does have a small heart beating somewhere inside his chest, he tells his crew that he doesn’t want them to die and therefore they must stay behind.  Aww, he doesn’t want to have to cut their heads off. They refuse to be left behind though.

Fisher finally has Ash in her sights, but being that she’s not cleared for duty she calls her superior to bring Ash in. He tells her to wait, but does she? Of course not. Pablo and Kelly, dismissed to the trailer while Ash fakes paying their food bill, discover that the Necronomicon is having some serious beef with Pablo’s new necklace. Letting the book out of the trunk, it tries to suck the necklace into the book.  With the pages temporarily open, the demon wind has no trouble finding the diner.

After delivering a sexual offer no one in their right mind would accept, Ash waits in the men’s room for the propositioned waitress to come collect. Instead, he receives a knee to his nards courtesy of Fisher and a very unfortunate head dunk in the communal urinal. Fisher’s superior shows up long enough to believe Fisher has the right killer before the demon wind crashes through the diner.

It’s an all-out bloodbath, in glorious practical effects.  Ash gets to test his new power glove in a fight with the deadites, while Kelly and Pablo provide backup. Intestines spewing, bodies shredded by ceiling fans, and Kelly taking out a lot of built in frustration by shoving a deadite’s head into a deli slicer.  Then pummeling it repeatedly with a meat grinder, while Ash and Pablo look on in admiration. Fisher finally gets it. Now seeing the light Fisher joins the fold, accepting Ash’s offer to tag along.

We’re still episodes away, but it’s apparent that we’re building toward a climax that will make Evil Dead fans ecstatic.  A showdown in the very cabin where it all started.  Though Ruby and Ash’s severed hand disappeared, it’s very likely they’ve already RSVPed for that reunion. The gang still have a few more stops between now and then to prepare, and now they’ve acquired more muscle in the form of Fisher.  It’s a welcome change, as up to this point Fisher has been stuck in her blind cat and mouse game and hasn’t been given the opportunity for growth. The return of a more light-hearted Ash and gory deadite battles also contributed to one great episode.