Okay guys, Evil is definitely getting a bit better. The pilot seemed a bit boring, if I’m being honest. Boring and cliche, but the second episode of the first season, entitled “177 minutes,” is starting to pick up the pace.
This week, Kristen, Ben, and David investigate a miracle. A girl who has been dead for 177 minutes wakes up suddenly – and the hospital has it all on tape! What really worked this episode was the conversations that Kristen and David had with each other, and just how realistic they were.
We have all been a part of the “religion conversation” – trying to either understand how someone could just have blind faith in an all-powerful being, that doesn’t guarantee any real fairness; or just trying to explain that religion gives hope and while it’s hard to explain, it just makes sense.
It was great to see the two characters try to not just explain their point of view, but also struggle with understanding the others. Ben’s opinion on religion and science hasn’t really been touched upon yet, but we did learn that he’s Muslim – and does not like to go to prayer very much. It could be very fun to see such extreme sides of the spectrum start to both make their way to middle with an open mind, broadening their horizons.
While I was more interested in the case, the relationships between the characters and the hints of an overarching plot, I’m not sure I’m in love with how Evil is handling the supernatural. For the past two weeks, both phenomena have been explained away by science. Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, and it will hold a lot more weight when something unexplainable happens – but I’m just not seeing the whole Evil aspect of the show yet, except for George the Demon… who, coincidentally was also explained away as an actor from a bad streaming show? I’m not exactly sure why the writers are doing this, but hopefully, we don’t have to wait until the season finale to see something that Kristen cannot explain.
One thing that still has me concerned about the show’s future, is just how disjointed some of the plot lines are. There seem to be so many moving parts, but as of right now, I’m not sure how they’ll all play into the bigger picture. Small dialogue drops asking how Kristen’s husband is doing, and having Leland just sort of … hovering around, seem strange.
Yes, Leland is creepy, and he loves to talk about the sexual tension between our two protagonists (which again, why do we keep bring this up? Kristen is married. Unless, she’s…. not?). I’m sure Leland will be our “big bad” this season, but what about “the 60”? They were barely mentioned this week.
And lastly, what in the world is going on with David? At the beginning of the episode, when I saw him praying hard about something tempting him, my first thought was he was tempted by Kristen. But by the end, it’s shown to us that he’s just taking hallucinogens to have “more visions.” Now, apparently it has something to do with Julia, David’s wife. But again, I’m just wondering what this has to do with… evil. With the idea of evil. Is this just another something that is going to be explained away with science?
Either way, I’m hoping that something happens to start explaining all the random events. Perhaps a case that isn’t just a weekly one, but an ongoing investigation – that makes many of the characters have to open up about what they’re doing and what they’re feeling.
Let’s see! Wishful thinking for episode 3!
Agree? Disagree? What do did you think of “177 Minutes”? Let us know in the comments below!
Evil airs every Thursday on CBS on 10/9c
