"Paul Levinson's It's Real Life is a page-turning exploration into that multiverse known as rock and roll. But it is much more than a marvelous adventure narrated by a master storyteller...it is also an exquisite meditation on the very nature of alternate history." -- Jack Dann, The Fiction Writer's Guide to Alternate History

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Evil 1.4: Raising the Ante



I generally don't like or review TV series in which children and babies are endangered - actually take away the word "generally," I don't like them at all.  But I'm making an exception for Evil 1.4, because the child and baby endangerment was part of a much larger, crucial story in the series.

As I've indicated earlier in these reviews, the central tension in Evil is the conflict between science and religion - which one provides the better explanation of evil, and with it the means of best dealing with it?  Up until episode 1.4, science was pretty much the victor.   But that changed.

In the main story, we encounter what science would call a sociopathic boy, who is a danger to his family, especially the new baby.  Our intrepid team comes to the conclusion that an exorcism might help, but before the exorcist is able to do his thing - or attempt to do it - well, if you've seen the episode you know what I'm talking about, and I won't be talking any more about that here.

But there is also a secondary story, which is powerful and frightening, and that concerns Kristen's four talkative and delightful daughters.   The virtual reality game they're playing is supposed to be disconcerting - for adults.  Ben gets this, and assuredly makes the game childproof.  But ... of course, that doesn't work.  Ben's too good to have made a mistake in his lock-out programming.  So, either someone else is removing the lock, or there's a real, evil something in that game.

Before we can see what damage it can do, the episode ends.  But this leaves the story wide open in the next and subsequent episodes to see what kind of evil has invested that otherwise well-designed virtual game.

I'll be watching.

See alsoEvil: Incubus Mystery ... Evil 1.2: Miracles and Racism ... Evil 1.3: Possessed Alexa

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