Evil: How to Build A Coffin: A Father’s Love

I had received screeners for the first four episodes of this season of Evil and when I got to this episode and began to take notes, I was going to title this review “Protect Sister Andrea At All Costs”. As the episode went on and I got to “that part” the only title that came to mind was “A Father’s Love” and we will talk about “that part” soon; but it is still: protect Sister Andrea at all costs.

Leland is in bed peacefully asleep when he is awakened by the anti christ screaming and needing his diaper changed. The sequence is pretty funny as Leland struggles to be a single dad and I chuckled when the baby threw up on him. He is having a video meeting with the Manager and the other big wigs from the company and the baby throws up on him again and they all laugh at him. I will never tire of seeing Leland getting thrown up on. He calls Sheryl and begs for help, but he will have to do something for her in return. It is always interesting how the writers can add in humor in a show that touches on such serious subject matter at times.

The Sisters are called into their own meeting and basically told that they need to do more chores much to Sister Andrea’s annoyance. As she is doing the laundry someone’s clothes have giant tears and rips in them. We do not get much information on this in the beginning of the episode as David is told about the next assessment. The team watches a news segment where a reporter named Stuart Lawry is having difficulty putting his words together while reporting on an awards ceremony.Kristen thought it was a mini stroke but his wife explains that his tests came back clear. Something changed about him within the last month. She does not believe it is a demonic possession but she read that Exorcisms may have a therapeutic effect. Father Frank asks the team to help as he is close with the couple.

Kristen conducts her own tests on Stuart who is doing fine until asked to describe a picture. Meanwhile Father Frank and Mrs. Lawry talk about the loss of her father and Sister Andrea who is mopping butts in to ask the Father to raise his arm (to inspect his clothes). The moment is comical as Sister Andrea usually is. I always enjoy it when she is on screen. Before he can perform her request they are stopped by the sound of Stuart trying to attack Kristen. He is held back by David and Ben and is shouting gibberish. Kristen still believes he has a brain injury. Just then, Ben starts to hear the Jinn in his head talking about thoughts of being intimate with Kristen. This is a shock and something new as Ben has not previously shown a romantic interest in Kristen. The Jinn continues to invade Ben’s thoughts and he begins to have trouble articulating as well as Kristen and Father Frank. It seems that whatever is bothering Stuart is starting to affect them.

Mystery solved as the issue with the clothes is a bite mark and the clothes do in fact belong to Father Frank. When the Father sits down, Sister Andrea sees a huge hole in his side and a demon has dug deep into him. That was one of the creepiest scenes from the show yet. Across town, when Sheryl shows up to help Leland, the music is turned up so loud so she turns it off and finds the baby is crying in the closet and Leland hiding in the bathtub under blankets wearing headphones. The scene is so hilarious as Leland is in full panic mode and pathetic. The baby projectile vomits on Sheryl and honestly it is what she deserves.

Kristen is on the phone with a doctor trying to get answers about tics being the cause of Stuart’s issues and she again is having trouble remembering words so she decides to give herself a cognitive test. Simultaneously, David is hearing a confession and has the same symptoms when trying to counsel a man cheating on his wife with a co-worker. Also, Sister Andrea is praying in the chapel and sees a demon. How are they allowed in a church? I feel like that breaks all types of rules. She battles the demon with some garden shears and right when she is about to stab him she is stopped by David but she has trouble speaking to him to tell him what is wrong. It appears this demon’s bad breath causes a lack of cognitive function.

Back at Ben’s apartment the Jinn is telling him to go to Kristen as she wants him and he starts to see flashes of her. He tries to drown him out with music but it does not work. Renee shows up and apologizes for leaving him in a field covered in goat’s blood last season. Apparently Ben called her over but he does not remember. While in bed he tells Renee everything and he thinks that the Jinn called Renee as he did not do it. Something is happening and for the first time Ben does not have the words. Throughout the episode they meet again, he tells her about the accident looking for her advice. She has a theory that he is living in two universes. We never get any follow up to this, so is it true, is it not true? We need to find this out quickly.

Kristen goes to see Kurt for help and Robin, his receptionist, snitches to Leland that she is at the office. It also turns out the sound of Kristen’s voice gets the baby to stop crying. Leland uses the tapes of her sessions to keep the baby quiet. Sherly’s price for helping are the bottles in the room that they hold Andy in and that apparently keeps her young? Leland says if she stops using them she will prune.

The team gets together to talk strategy and they realize that they all are having trouble articulating. Sister Andrea is walking around with the garden shears and alerts David to the demon problem. These scenes kept offering comic relief throughout the episode. Sister Andrea hears Father Frank sleeping (he mentioned earlier that he finds himself sleeping during the day and doesn’t know why) and the demon digging into his side. As she tries to get the demon he awakens and is startled; he dismisses her. However later in the episode she gets the little demon who talks back to her. His name is Tommy but he is the demon of grief.

Sister Andrea informs the Lawrys that there is a demon attached to Stuart and that it feeds off his words as we see the demon get fatter and uglier. When she returns to her room she is attacked by the word demon (who let Tommy out). She stabs him with a crucifix and he flees. When she returns to Father Frank, she sits with him and they talk about Monsignor in a beautiful scene they both let go of their grief causing the little demon to leave and Sister Andrea is able to kill it by stepping on it. She decides to go to the Exorcism of Stuart Lawry where she kills the word demon because he has gotten too fat off the words to flee. Once dead everyone’s words return to them.

While playing the tapes, Kristen tells her therapist that Andy always wanted a son and she thinks he will leave her because she never had a boy. Leland calls Andy over with the Feliz Navidad song. When Andy shows up Leland tells him that he always wanted a boy, planting the seeds in his mind. He also tells him to inject Laura with a drug to kill her while she sleeps, he is most likely compelled to obey but he cries tears while listening to the instructions. Just when you think the episode is full of too much comedic writing we get this dark, evil (no pun intended) plan from Leland to remind us this show is about the supernatural and bad things will happen.

Andy does as he is told but instead of stabbing Laura with the needle, he stabs himself in a selfless act. It was touching in that he fought the programming and it proves that his love for his family is stronger than the demons. In a heartbreaking scene, Kristen wants him to go to rehab but Andy wants to get away from them because he is scared he will hurt them and decides to go to a psychiatric hospital. The best part is that he lives but I am worried about what that means for the future. Will Leland come at him even harder now? Also another grief demon is watching them – that cannot be anything good.

Final thoughts: We did not get much of David this episode so we are still left wondering about his role in the end of the world. The episode blended humor and seriousness well to deliver an emotional episode that while slow in the beginning, the last twenty minutes kept you on the edge of your seat. You cannot help but to feel for Andy, even if you want Kristen and David to end up together. His will to fight Leland’s programming and save his daughter was excellent. The shocker is learning that perhaps Ben has some type of romantic feelings for Kristen. We did not get to see the girls in the last episode so when they appeared I was happy to have them back. Sister Andrea is my hero and the only character with all the sense. Why no one takes her seriously is beyond me. This show knows how to leave you wanting more.

What did you think of the episode Evil fans? Leave a comment and remember to connect with me on X @jereereviews.

About the Author – Je-Ree Olenik

Je-Ree is the definition of a Jersey Girl. A true nerd who loves her comics. When not watching tv she is a paralegal by day. She loves writing, reading, binging all the newest shows and spending time with her family. Twitter @jereereviews

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