Despite being tagged as a 'supernatural drama', Evil has many elements of horror intertwined with religious themes. Truly a departure from the legal dramas that have been the Kings' mainstay. The series actually capitalizes on our fascination with religion and horror, which is seeing a resurgence with many movies like The Nun and The Pope's Exorcist, while exploring the age old theme of good versus evil. So what is the series basically about? It concerns a Catholic seminarian and later priest, Father David Acosta (Mike Colter-Luke Cage), aided by a forensic psychologist and lapsed Catholic, Dr Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers) and a technical expert who was formerly a Muslim turned atheist, Ben Shakir (Aasif Mandvi), who is hired by the Catholic Church to investigate purported supernatural events. In the course of their bizarre investigations (we are talking about cases that are straight out of the X-Files), they encounter many elements of evil that tests not only their faith and strengths but which starts to blur the lines of reality. Throughout the series, the team is also dogged by Dr Leland Townsend (played devilishly by Michael Emerson-Person of Interest), also a forensic psychologist who dabbles in the occult and who frequently encourages others to commit evil acts. He also has a strange obsession with Kristen and her family.
Although the Christian faith and its symbolism is predominantly featured in this series, it does explore the beliefs of other religions too as evidenced by the third episode of Season 2 entitled 'F is for Fire' which concerns a foster child of Catholic-Muslim parents possessed by an 'ifrit' or 'fire jinn'. As I said earlier, despite being labeled as a 'supernatural drama', viewers should not underestimate the series' ability to surprise them with pure moments of horror like in Kristen's nightly visits by the demon George or the fourth episode of Season 2 entitled 'E is for Elevator' which is a thinly veiled tribute to Japanese horror. So is Evil a horror series? Yes, but it is also so much more than that. Currently, I don't think there is anything on TV that is more original than this series which combines all elements of the supernatural, horror, dark humor and drama so seamlessly. Kudos to the Kings for taking a risk with this series and perhaps with lesser known actresses or actors like Katja Herbers and Aasif Mandvi who are both wonderful as the lead characters. Special mention also goes to veteran actress Christine Lahti's performance as Kristen's mum. While waiting anxiously for the final season(s), I can't help but feel that it is a shame that this series is ending abruptly. Although the series was not given the full credit it deserves during its run, I at least hope that Paramount+ will give the series a good send off it deserves.
Lastly, for those who are curious about this series, you should binge on the first three seasons first before viewing the final fourth and fifth seasons to have a fuller understanding and experience of the show. For me, the series has been a fun (albeit unpredictable) ride which is coming to an end.
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