Evil Season 1 (2020) Review

Despite this show being released last year in The US, we only got this show in The UK recently and I have now finished the first season of Evil and here is my review for it. The premise of the show sees a psychologist joining a priest in training to investigate mysterious cases and whether they are scientific or paranormal. 

Main Character

Katja Herbers plays Kristen the lead character here and she is fine, I actually think she gives a strong performance and you see that Herbers is a really talented actress that hopefully gets to do some big projects in the future, I just feel like she has been let down with the writing for her character. Her character is just not particularly likeable and it is difficult to really care about her which is a real issue when she is the lead character. 

Supporting Characters 

Mike Colter of former Luke Cage fame plays David and I thought he was really good here, it is interesting to see him as a priest and he does a good job despite the fact they don't delve into his character enough. Some interesting things are revealed about him but never really looked at enough and I just kind of wish the show could have done more with his character. Aasif Mandvi plays Ben and he is the third member of the team and he was fun to watch, I actually thought he and Herbers had good chemistry together and was an enjoyable character on this show. But there are some characters I really didn't care for, Michael Emmerson plays the villain here and he is really over the top and cheesy, I didn't find his character interesting and his whole motivations wasn't enough for me to really care. Then we get onto those damn kids, the on screen daughters of Kristen were so annoying and got on my nerves throughout the show as did Kristen's mother who was a weak part of the show. 

Story

The story has an interesting idea behind it, I thought the three main actors did a good job and most of the cases they come across are interesting and do a lot to keep you interested in watching every week. It eventually looks to build the season narrative and I think there is something there but it takes way too long and feels like it is just a set up to the second season instead of delivering a great first season and hopefully it is worth it next season. There are so many subplots here and the majority of them are super dull and offer very little to this show and one of the biggest sins is that the season finale just feels like another episode and doesn't do enough to really ramp up stuff and feel like a big deal. 

Script 

The script is okay, as I said above the dynamic between the main trio is well handled and well written to be a pretty good group of characters and that should be applauded. But there is nothing to this dialogue, I cannot remember one big dramatic scene or one scene I laughed with and that is a big let down and shows how average it is. 

Style 

The style of the show doesn't really hold back, it goes as far towards horror as it possibly can and does a good job of that which in my opinion does stand out a bit. But there is no denying that this is a very episodic structure and for me a good few of the episodes could have been avoided and get the main plot moving quicker. 

Overall

Overall, I feel like this is a pretty average first season of Evil that doesn't offer too much for me. Though I think a second season could be much better so this might be one I stick with but I wouldn't say you have to rush to watch it. 

Rating - 5/10