The following contains spoilers from Evil Season 4, Episode 12, “Fear of the Other,” currently streaming on Paramount+. It also contains discussions of suicide.
Despite Wrong As it heads toward its end, the Paramount+ series is devoting more time to a “demon of the week” case that Kristen Bouchard, Ben Shakir and Father David Acosta must investigate. Although Season 4 Episode 12, “Fear of the Other,” is a somewhat disjointed episode, the two stories told feel absolutely vital to the series and perpetuate the sense of impending doom that the storytellers want the audience to feel.
Leland Townsend’s legal troubles continue, though his massive, demonic attorney known as Henry Stick somehow manipulates the judge into dismissing the case. Meanwhile, David discovers that his promotion to pastor of St. Joseph’s Church is due to the archdiocese desecrating the site and selling it to an online retailer for $45 million. Kristen was supposed to get the $800,000 from Leland’s ally Edward Tragoren, but instead made a deal with her soon-to-be ex-husband Andy for 10 cents on the dollar. Even Sister Andrea must confront a shameful part of her past, while helping a young man who is possessed and contemplating suicide. This episode allows Ben, Kristen, and David to discover their own doppelgangers and unlived lives.
Leland Townsend is on trial for his life…sort of
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In a scene from “Fear of the Other” that aired exclusively on CBR, Leland’s attempt to defend himself against insanity is thwarted. He tried to threaten Dr. Kurt Boggs into declaring him legally insane, prescribing him medication and ensuring he would be free within weeks. Instead, Dr. Kurt says Leland should be locked up for life. This prompts Leland to tell his lawyer, “Well, he’s dead.”
However, Boggs may be on his book tour as Leland’s case is dismissed after Judge Jared Jeter kills Leslie, the surrogate mother of Leland and Kristen’s son, Timothy. It is also encouraging to see Kristen’s testimony in court; she comes prepared with evidence and has put on a little show for the court about Leland’s denigration of her mother. Sheryl’s Death Wrong After all, it was Season 4, Episode 10, “How to Survive a Storm,” that led to Leland’s arrest.
Dr. Kurt Boggs: Due to the severity of Dr. Townsend’s mental health issues, I have determined that he poses a significant threat to public safety and should be committed for life to a maximum security psychiatric facility.
There’s also another great Sister Andrea moment when she confronts Henry Stick, telling him she could see his demonic form. She echoes what Leland said about Stick being the “evil coming to New York,” meaning the lawyer could play a big role in the final two episodes. So while Leland may have won this round, the big battle is still to come.
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Fans of legal dramas might be a little frustrated by Wrongtrial scenes, from the lack of cross-examination to the ex parte The meeting that led to Leslie’s murder. Losing Leslie as a witness should not have caused the case to be dismissed. Of course, since this was a preliminary hearing, Judge Jeter could have dismissed the case for almost any reason. The lack of legal reality isn’t such a big drawback, since the point of this story was to turn Kristen’s victory into a defeat.
“Fear of the Other” is a very story-heavy episode, which sometimes makes the episode feel disjointed. The personal defeats that Kristen, David, and even Ben—due to his fear of success—have to face may seem disconnected from the demonic evaluation story at play. Still, they create context for the story of how a man named Paul feels driven to suicide after finding his doppelganger on the internet. These events take a toll on the characters’ souls, but the episode doesn’t have enough time to dwell on that.
Henry Stick: Everyone has a price for their soul.
The most accomplished story is Kristen’s, as she believes that losing the lawsuit, losing her $800,000 salary, and losing her job are pushing her toward something better. She vows to renounce all ties to religion, ridding her home of the Catholic and Buddhist books and iconography she had collected. But David and Sister Andrea find hope in the episode’s final shot, in which they sit at the piano playing the heavenly chord and see the “light of God” in the room.
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The series of defeats that the characters face in Wrong Season 4, Episode 10, ties in with Ben and Kristen’s curiosity about doppelgangers. Ben finds his doppelganger—a seemingly successful man with a happy family—while Kristen finds both her doppelganger and David’s. David is a mixed martial arts fighter who has faith in God, but also talks openly about using the body “God gave him” for physical intimacy. So much so that she has an explicit dream about him, due to her professed affection for David. Kristen’s doppelganger is a happy musician, seemingly free from the weight of responsibilities she carries in her life.
The main story focuses on Paul Junior, who believes that his doppelganger’s suicide led to his possession and his own suicidal thoughts. His father, Paul Senior, loved Sister Andrea and committed suicide when she refused to leave the church for him. Andrea is overcome with guilt, which David absolves in a beautiful confession scene. He reminds her that Paul Senior’s death is not her fault. Her guilt is also the reason she is so adamant that they save her son from a similar fate.
Ben Shakir: My mother always said that if you met your double, it was a sign that you were going to die.
Dealing with their respective defeats and finding their doppelgangers could have instilled a sense of despair in Kristen, Ben, and David. It’s only because of their connection to each other—and in David and Andrea’s case, to God—that they don’t face the kind of traumatic despair that drives some to suicide. Andrea may still feel guilty, but she focuses her energy on saving Paul’s son. When she learns that the church is lost, she turns to the Heavenly Chord and is thrilled to feel God’s presence in the room.
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But despite the impending defeat, the heroes remain hopeful.
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Wrong has long tried to be mysterious about what’s real and what’s not — like when Ben was haunted in Season 2. While it doesn’t really take a stance on the reality of these magical events, the TV series highlights how the characters’ faith, whether it’s their belief in the divine or the real world, gives them strength. Instead of getting discouraged by Leland’s victory, the church closing down, or whatever, the characters look to the future with hope. That’s a really magical element of the show.
Actually, Wrong Season 2 nearly redeemed Leland when he underwent an exorcism to mock David and the Church. While the show seems to promise a grand metaphysical conflict that brings about the apocalypse, the real battle and victory may be more emotional and personal. If “Fear of the Other” is any indication of what’s to come, the characters will find salvation in each other, no matter what horrors the 60 demonic houses seek to wreak on New York City. The show has always focused on the characters’ relationships with the divine, the demonic, and each other more than anything else — and this episode is a perfect example of that.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline 988 by dialing 9-8-8, or the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741 in the United States.
Evil releases new episodes on Thursdays on Paramount+.
Evil Season 4, Episode 11
Ben and Kristen meet their doppelgangers. Leland’s trial takes a sudden and violent turn. Sister Andrea faces trauma from her past.
- Release date
- September 26, 2019
- Creator(s)
- Michelle King, Robert King
- Casting
- Mike Colter, Brooklyn Shuck, Katja Herbers, Dalya Knapp, Marti Matulis, Maddy Crocco, Kurt Fuller, Michael Emerson, Skylar Gray, Aasif Mandvi, Christine Lahti
- Seasons
- 4
- Streaming service(s)
- Paramount+, Netflix, Prime Video
- Nice use of the whole series, especially Sister Andrea and Father David.
- Excellent balance between humor and horror in an ultimately dark episode.
- Good balance between great narrative movement and a demon of the week story.
- Much of how the characters’ stories relate to the episode’s demon story can be left to subtext.
- A little taste of the villains’ ultimate plans in the last two episodes.
- While charming, the episode’s ending doesn’t feel as definitive as it could have been.