Well it’s done and sadly, this is probably the last we’ll ever see of Ashley Williams. Despite fans wanting more from “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” Starz! Verified that the series was officially cancelled after three seasons, and Bruce Campbell confirmed that he’s hanging up his boom stick and chainsaw as Ash forever. It stings to know Ash won’t be back in live action form at least, but you know what?
On the bright side we got three whole seasons of a great series. “Ash vs. Evil Dead” continued the movie series, paved new roads for the series, introduced new deadite fighting heroes we can root for, and never held back on gore, grue, and deadite chopping action and comedy. Thanks to Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell for giving fans a last hurrah for Ash Williams. Hail to the King.
Here are ten of my favorite moments from “Ash vs. Evil Dead.”
10. Seeing the Drafter For the First Time
Season 1
For a long time we’d only ever seen the Drafter through a black and white lens and as a horrific force of nature that would chase its victims. It’s chased just about everyone in all three Evil Dead films including Ashley Williams. For the first time in season one we finally get to see what the Drafter looks like, and it surely enough, is a force of pure evil nature, capable of flipping a car on the road without losing a beat. If it can do that, then overtaking a human being is no problem.
9. The Kandarian Destroyer
Season 3
After the arrival of the Dark Ones, they finally unleash the apocalypse by splitting the Earth in two and releasing the mega-deadite known as the Kandarian Destroyer. The Mega-Deadite is powered by anger and despite being attacked by the military at all corners, it just gets more and more powerful. As the drafter infects everyone on the ground, turning them in to deadites, Ash has to figure out one last way to kill the destroyer. It’s a hell of a showdown for the prophecized one.
8. Ashy Slashy
Season 2
In Season 2, the demon Baal managed to convince Ash that he’d been in a delusional state all of his life and that his status as a demon killer was fantasy. The way he’s able to manifest that personality is through a mouthy puppet known as Ashy Slashy. Of course Ashy Slashy ends up being nothing but a deadite who makes Ash’s life miserable, and then eventually crosses Kelly, who he takes control of for a while and begins battling with. Ashy Slashy is a hilarious addition to a pretty fun season.
7. The Return of Cheryl Williams
Season 1
Much to the surprise of fans Ellen Sandweiss from “Evil Dead” returns to reprise the role of Cheryl Williams, Ash’s ill fated sister. After being raped by the trees in the original film, she becomes a deadite and is stored in the cellar of the dreaded cabin. When Ash returns to the cabin, the deadites revive her through an old picture of her, creating a manifestation that is, of course, anything but welcoming. It’s a great reunion for the hardcore “Evil Dead” fanatics hoping for a callback to Raimi’s original classic.
6. Pablo’s Heroic Death
Season 2
Realizing his destiny as El Brujo Especial, Pablo becomes the only one who can stop Baal, especially after he absorbs the Necronomicon Ex Mortis. After the group finally brings down Baal, Pablo manages to destroy his Earhly presence much to the group’s shock and joy. But the party is quickly ended when Pablo realizes during carnage, Baal split him in two. There was never a guarantee Pablo would return, but it was a nevertheless heroic death for an admirable, and noble underdog hero working with Ash.
5. Ash Returns to the Cabin
Season 1
Hoping to cut Ruby off at the pass, Ash has to return once again to the dread cabin we all saw in the original “The Evil Dead.” As always the cabin is less a setting or back drop and so much more of a character, as it turns on Ash, traps people inside of it, and even does battle with Kelly, who works her hardest to make it through the sentient abode without getting herself killed. It’s shocking how tough it is to walk through wood and rusty nails without getting injured.
4. Pablo becomes a Deadite
Season 3
With one foot in the darkness and one in the light, Kelly and Brandy Williams are shocked when Pablo becomes a bonafide deadite. After spending the last two years learning about the path to evil and how easy it is to become a deadite, Kelly ignores the warning about his potential to become a villain. Lo and behold, Pablo becomes a vicious deadite hell bent on terrorizing the girls, looking for various ways to get in to Ash’s trailer. Don’t underestimate Pablo, he’s a horrific deadite and a force to be reckoned with.
3. The Death of Kelly
Season 3
Despite Ash and Pablo’s warnings, Kelly seeks vengeance for he becoming a deadite and travels to Ruby’s hide out. There she confronts her with a Kandarian dagger and takes her head on. While Kelly is a heavy fighter and a great survivor, she’s sadly no match for Ruby who hobbles her and impales her with the dagger mid-combat. It’s a sad fate, but thankfully not the end of Kelly Maxwell.
2. Brandy has her own Evil Dead Experience
Season 3
Brandy Williams is Ash’s blood and her destiny as a Ghost beater comes full circle when she has her very own “Evil Dead” experience. After all hell breaks loose, the drafter comes after her in full on black and white vision, chasing her through her house, up the steps in to bed rooms all the while she screams and flees. After the drafter bursts through a door, she jumps out a window and ducks in to a garage that bears a shocking resemblance to the shed from “Evil Dead II.” There she confronts her very first personal deadite in the form of her cell phone, loses an appendage like dad, and even almost severs her own hand off. It’s a wonderful tribute and passing of the torch to Ash’s daughter.
1. Ash vs. The Apocalypse
Season 3
Giving us yet another cliffhanger to Ash’s journey guaranteed to keep fans asking “What happened next?” for the next thirty years, after Ash defeats the Kandarian destroyer, he’s dragged away and put in to a chamber. He awakens years later to discover his hand has been replaced with a robotic limb. He also has a servant in the form of a gorgeous female android, and is faced with a world that has become a virtual apocalypse. Mankind either lost the battle against the deadites, or is currently at war, and now it’s up to the prophesized one to get back in to battle. With the fates of Kelly, Pablo, and Brandy up in the air, we’ll never know what season four would have had in store, but it’s a solid closer indicating that Ash’s battle against the deadites is eternal and his fight is never over. Groovy.