The days of being saddened by the end of a TV series, and of wondering if a series finale will stick the landing, are largely over. But sometimes we still get that old experience, like with “Evil” (Paramount Plus), which recently wrapped its fourth and final season after a 50-episode run.
Creators Robert and Michelle King (“The Good Wife”) are masters at balancing melodrama with the sheer fun of making a TV show. That’s why when I look at the 14 episodes of Season 4, I’m most fond of the hooky premises and the friendship between assessors David (Mike Colter) the priest; Kristen (Katja Herbers) the agnostic psychologist; and Ben (Aasif Mandvi) the logic- and evidence-driven scientist and techie.
The Kings don’t quite stick the landing. I suspect the last four episodes – in which the title format changes from “How to …” to “Fear of the …” – would’ve been expanded into a full Season 5 if the show wasn’t canceled. The storylines are wrapped up, but in shorthand, cheaper-than-usual fashion.
“Evil” Season 4 (2024)
14 episodes, Paramount Plus
Creators: Michelle King, Robert King
Stars: Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi
The actors, writers and designers can certainly do showcase episodes. “How to Survive a Storm” (10) has shades of “Buffy’s” “The Body” and “Fear of the End” (14) taps into “Buffy’s” “Restless” with VR goggles showing the trio their possible futures.
Diverse characters and ideas
But I like the premise-of-the-week episodes more, because the concepts are so wild and fun, allowing us to think and laugh, and often set in great locales. Some standout aspects of Season 4 are a mystery at an atom-splitter facility, a demon that robs people of clear speaking ability (the actors and dialog writers shine in this dementia parallel), a trip to tunnels under the Vatican, a “Suspiria”-style dance mystery, and a Stephen Hawking-esque scientist who is also an open misogynist.
In the latter case, I find it’s actually quite respectful to the idea of diversity to not make the minority character (a wheelchair-using, speech-impaired man) into a perfect hero, but instead into a nasty person. Kristen reacts to him thusly, reporting his inappropriate comments. I admit to finding humor in the incongruity.
The Kings’ sense of humor and grounded nature go hand in hand. I suspect they found it amusing to house Kristen and her four daughters in a duplex next to elevated train tracks, and to have scenes interrupted by noise. Likewise, they must’ve smirked when writing scenes of the four girls talking over each other; I always smiled too, rather than getting annoyed.
While certainly a horror show due to its mood and cinematography, “Evil” sometimes reminds me of a darker “Wonderfalls” in Season 4, with the subplot of Sister Andrea (Andrea Martin) fighting off demons in the church that only she can see. The show’s internal reality is well-enough established that her colleagues, like David and the delightful Wallace Shawn as Father Ignatius, accept Andrea’s ability as genuine.
Everyone’s on a journey
Through four seasons – and especially by the end, when the trio has become comfortable friends – “Evil” has been a smart portrayal of different views and the notion that everyone is on a journey. Some aspects of another’s journey are relatable, some aren’t — but if they aren’t hurting anyone, be respectful.
David and Andrea are devoutly religious but have doubts; Ben is devoutly atheist but has doubts about that; and Kristen tries on various hats and ultimately likes the label “agnostic.” She’s comfortable still being on the journey.
Colter especially has grown as an actor; when “Evil” began in 2019 on CBS, I thought, “Oh, a lesser show for the Luke Cage actor,” but now I think the large but vulnerable David is his shining role. Herbers brings a natural, sexy confidence. And Mandvi – the “glue guy” that every friend group needs – smirks in the face of absurdities while also getting full threads for Ben (including a too-short tryst with the quirky Renee, played by the pretty Gia Crovatin).
Christine Lahti does yeoman’s work as Sheryl, who desires injections to become youthful but also wants her daughter Kristen and four granddaughters in her life; “Evil” sells her short but she’s still great. And Michael Emerson’s consistency might be most impressive, because his Leland Townsend is never more than a Devil-influenced court jester yet he’s always entertaining.
Ongoing forbidden love
Those supporting characters could not have gone on forever, but the main trio could’ve. I suspect many fans are most disappointed to not get a clearer answer to the “Will they or won’t they” between David and Kristen. Rather than merely being cutely awkward in that TV fiction way, they are remarkably mature by Season 4, with Kristen at one point openly saying that they both know David is special to her but logistically they must try to be great friends.
Those logistics aren’t what “The X-Files” did – Mulder and Scully are mutually uninterested in romance for several years – but instead the opposite. They both would like to be together – more than half the episodes feature at least one of them dreaming or seeing sexy visions of the other – but Kristen is committed to her husband and four kids and David is committed to God.
That the friendship can nonetheless work is a nice, hopeful statement from “Evil,” but TV fandom being what it is, many fans would’ve liked one more season to explore the collapse of Kristen’s marriage and the rise of David’s issues with the church. I, too, wished for one more season – but primarily for the clever premises-of-the-week in the Kings’ idiosyncratic world where there’s room for God, science, technology, psychology and doubt.