Evil Season 3 Episode 9 Review: The Demon of Money

Well, there’s bad news associated with this review.

Evil Season 3 Episode 9 is fantastic, as always, but now there is only one episode left for this season.

With the number of things dancing around leading into the finale, it’s going to be difficult to let go while we wait for Evil Season 4!

Please tell me I’m not the only one who got momentarily concerned when Kristen visited Kurt.

Of course, she’s far too cunning to fall prey to any shenanigans he could have hoped to subject her to, but still, it was difficult not to worry.

At least Kristen realizes she’s going through something dark and might need help. Unfortunately, her first call was to Kurt, now handily under Leland’s thumb.

Kristen’s biggest fear isn’t that Andy might not come home but that, in the back of her mind, that might be the easiest solution for her life.

Everyone has those thoughts, but not everyone has experienced what Kristen has gone through. She saw her baby ripped from a woman’s womb, and part of her was relieved. That would have been my second thought after shaking off the horror in front of me.

Things are always slightly askew in Kristen’s world, and it’s impossible to fault her for dark thoughts. All things considered, she is a rock of good judgment and mothers her daughters beautifully. Most wouldn’t bend but break if shouldering the same experiences.

Kristen saw first-hand how strangely Kurt was acting, and it’s given her pause. He was her go-to, and now she’s pulling back on recommending him and will likely find another therapist if she decides to continue work on herself. Imagine if she understood how intricately involved Sheryl was with Leland.

Kristen can see Kurt’s changing behavior but can’t see Sheryl’s. She’s too close to Sheryl, and frankly, she needs her to help with the kids. She’s willing to overlook Sheryl’s faults for her own needs.

Still, she needs to focus a little more on Kurt, especially since he’s getting validation from her girls. When Kristen looked at his book, once she saw the pages of ASCII-type characters, she didn’t look any further. But Kurt is writing something, albeit backward, about Kristen and the girls.

What’s really frightening about that is that Kurt doesn’t recognize that he’s spitting garbage onto paper. It begs the question of how much of himself remains. He was acting strangely during Kristen’s session, and he was downright giddy when he got feedback from her girls on the horror story he’s writing.

Does he recognize his book’s change of focus? He originally wanted to write about something much different. If we didn’t already lose one character and have another in jeopardy, I’d wonder how long he had to live.

Grace Ling’s return promises to upend Leland and Sheryl’s hard work, and they’re not happy about it. The Church, however, is thrilled at her return.

Now that David is a friend of the Vatican, he’s a part of many more exciting stories. He’s not viewed only as a lackey but as a cherished member of the inner circle. When someone as special as Grace looks to David for comfort, it raises him up in the eyes of the Church.

If working under the micromanaging eye of the Church doesn’t fluster Grace, she can get through anything. She might not have been flustered, but she was aggravated. David reminded her of what her presence meant to the Church.

Grace, ask for what you need. You’ll get it. They need you more than you need them.

David

His understanding of Grace provided an opening for Grace to become more intimately involved with Kristen and her family, which put a new spin on Leland and Sheryl’s work.

Spending time with Kristen’s family is the perfect scenario for Grace’s gift to flourish. Sitting in a room with a bunch of old men crowding her stifled her process, despite all the blow-up toys they brought in for her.

Wasn’t that bizarre? No wonder confession is a set of prayers for forgiveness of sins, not actual discussion. They don’t have the skills for anything more nuanced.

Grace got all kinds of signals by spending time with Kristen’s family, but I wonder how clearly they come across. Before she shared her drawing and warning with Kristen that Andy needed her, she told Laura (I think) that her dad would be home on Thursday.

I thought he’d return in a body bag, but after what happened to Monsignor, Kristen will likely take what Grace said to heart. And even though Kristen considered life without Andy a little easier, she’ll do what she can to save him.

So shortly after having conversations with Andy about how hard it is to do it all alone, Andy all but disappeared. That’s got to be weighing on Kristen’s mind, making her reconsider his return. Once she knows that he’s been waylaid by nefarious forces, that feeling should subside.

Where are things going with Leland now? He’s been outed as a murderer. Grace and Monsignor had to fight him for survival. Monsignor lost his battle, but Grace, someone the Church reveres, was at risk by a former Church insider.

That has to change Evil’s trajectory significantly, right? If it doesn’t, we’ll need validation on my theory that merely being in Leland’s presence alters how people behave. There would be no other explanation.

It’s hard to imagine pushback to Grace’s input and even harder to imagine she’d fall prey to Leland’s trickery. I’m ready to see Leland’s prominence tested. He’s been skating too easily of late. Sheryl, too, should feel some heat.

If Kristen saves Andy, they may unite to keep Sheryl out of their lives.

Grace also offered Kristen some insight into what’s going on with Lexis. What’s going to be important for Kristen is to rattle the cages until Sheryl falls out, revealing she’s been manipulating Lexis and offering her up to Leland on a silver platter.

There was a case of the week, too. In traditional Evil fashion, it was ambiguous, leaving even Ben grasping at straws to explain it.

Ben: [laughs] OK. So it’s The Ring, right? The supernatural world is watching movies and, they’re basing their rules on a B movie.
Kristen: Hello, that’s not a B movie!

First of all, I agree with Kristen. The Ring isn’t a B movie! It’s solid and has withstood time, launching myriad imposters in its wake. That’s commendable, dammit!

Just like in The Ring movie series, there isn’t an explanation for why DF stock instigated a demon to follow its investors. We don’t even know if all investors experienced it or if it was just the small sample of people on the show who was in its path.

It was fun watching Ben try to science his way out of it, though. When Karima was scared, Ben wasn’t sure how to react. His sister has been his rock of late, so for her to flounder at an explanation shook him up a bit.

David: I can stay with you if you want. Bunk with you the next couple nights?
Ben: OK, now I really feel like an asshole.

Kristen’s plan to rid them of the demonic force was brilliant, but it also suggests that she needs to remain concerned about her dark thought and be vigilant in determining why she can’t get a handle on them.

David: What happens when you start to be followed by-
Kristen: A demon? I think I can handle that.

Grocery Store Guy was a piece of work that nobody needed to haggle with, and he’s unlikely to be missed. But it might just be the tip of the iceberg regarding Kristen’s thoughts. I hope it doesn’t come back to haunt her.

What comes in the wake of Monsignor’s death? That was very unexpected. Will they bring in someone else to run the assessments division, or will it fall under Victor LeConte’s purview?

What do you imagine Andy’s fate will be? How much longer can Leland be a public figure after killing Monsignor?

So many questions arise after “The Demon of Money,” and there’s no doubt that the finale will blow us away.

One more to go!

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Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on Twitter and email her here at TV Fanatic.

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