By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Put your climbing ax in the air and wave it like you just don’t care! Because white privilege is here, so Kristen’s in the clear, all The Protectors in the house say yeah!
Dr. Bouchard is discovered as Orson LeRoux’s murderer in this week’s Evil, which is a study of the insidiousness of racism and how it may just be a demonic undertaking after all. But she also gets away with the crime, which highlights how Kristen’s experience in the world — and, specifically, with the police — is markedly different from David’s and Ben’s. And how she rails against that… until it benefits her.
Meanwhile, a white cop who shoots a Black woman claims the Devil made him do it, and a TV Producer Who In No Way Is Dick Wolf might be responsible for spreading infernal propaganda. Oh, and what’s all this about Ben and gene editing? Read on for the highlights of “C Is For Cop.” (And make sure to read our interview with Katja Herbers about Kristen’s big development.)
‘THAT’S MY TRAINING’ | In Bishop Marx’s office, Ben, David and Kristen listen as a representative from the policeman’s union tells them about an incident we saw at the very start of the episode: A white police officer approached the car of a Black woman with his gun drawn and repeatedly instructed her not to move. When she reached for something in her car, he shot four times. The cop in question, Officer Jim Turley, is pleading temporary insanity: He saw a gun in the woman’s hand, but she was really just reaching for her cell phone. But Turley also is Catholic and believes there was a “demonic intrusion” that led him to believe his victim had a weapon. Or, in other words, “He believes he was momentarily possessed when he saw a gun,” the union rep says.
After the rep steps out, Marx admits to his highly over-it team that he took the meeting as a favor. “A racist cop killed a Black mother, and now he wants the Church to give him a —,” Ben starts. “— Twinkie defense?” Kristen finishes. But the bishop urges them to look into it, so they speak with Turley. Kristen is surprised when he recognizes her; it turns out, their girls go to the same school. He swears that he only wants to understand what happened. A highly unimpressed David asked if Turley would’ve behaved differently if the woman in the car looked like Kristen, aka was white. Turley admits that he doesn’t know if he would’ve approached the situation the same way, but that if Kristen didn’t follow his shouted commands to stay still, he would’ve fired. “That’s my training,” he adds.
Later, Kristen and Mira — so nice to see her! I thought she had been swapped out for Anya, who is also good! — have a canned cocktail in front of her Kristen’s house. Kristen asks her about Turley. “Not everything is about race,” Mira says, recalling a time when she nearly shot a dad whom she thought was brandishing a rifle near his baby but who was actually holding a mop. “I’m not saying there aren’t bad cops. There are. But Officer Jim is one of the good ones, and so am I,” Mira says. “At least, I think I am.” Then the conversation turns to LeRoux; the new thinking is that LeRoux’s wife had her boyfriend do it.
TO SIGIL AND PROTECT | The next day, David, Ben and Kristen watch Turley’s body-cam footage and notice something rather intriguing: The cop has a tattoo of a demonic sigil on the inside of his forearm. David then pulls out his phone and fires up an app designed to record pull-overs from the passenger seat; he’s been pulled over five times in the last year, a number that shocks Kristen. Anyway, in one of David’s videos, the officer that stopped him also has the same tattoo. Could it be that there’s a satanic gang within the New York City Police Department?
Mira tells Kristen that the ink is a superstition that a lot of cops get to ward off getting shot. Oh, and LeRoux’s wife’s boyfriend has an alibi for the time of shooting, so while Mira’s at Kristen’s, she’s just going to have a perfunctory look-see, cool? Kirsten sweats a little as Mira searches the kitchen for a serrated blade, like the one that killed Orson. (Note to Kristen: It would probably help if your eyes didn’t keep darting to the climbing ax hanging in the closet.)
Before Mira leaves, she casually notes that she’ll have to talk with Lexis, because she was the only one who can say whether or not Kristen was at home at the time that LeRoux died. So without explicitly saying so, Kristen asks her daughter to lie and say that she remembers Kristen tucking her in that night.
MEET EDDIE | Which leads us to Sheryl, who is up to some freaky stuff. At the start of the episode, we see her muttering to herself as she walks throughout the house. And later, when Lexis confides in her grandmother that she thinks Kristen wants her to lie, Sheryl heavily suggests that she tell the truth and then seals the deal by showing Lexis the creepy doll to whom Sheryl has BUILT AN ALTAR WHAT?
Yep, there’s an old-fashioned, marionette-ish doll Sheryl calls “Eddie,” who’s flanked by candles and whom Sheryl apparently has been worshipping. “When you need something, you bring him a sacrifice and he will bring it to you,” she says as she lights a dollar bill in front of her highly freaked-out granddaughter. Sheryl whispers to the doll, the flames grow unnaturally higher, and Lexis runs out as Sheryl croons, “Eddie, my Eddie” in very disturbing fashion.
WHAT IS CAS 3? | Let’s see what Ben is up to, cool? One night, courtesy of Abbey The Night Terror, we learn that Ben dropped out of college because he was offered a lab job at “U of M” (Michigan, I’m guessing?). As she tortures him, she ask him about “CAS 3” and says, “You thought your gene editing was going to change the world.” As photos flash of children with malformed bodies, Ben screams, “It was! It was going to end childhood diseases.” Then she makes a reference to something bad that happened to some children, Ben says he had nothing to do with it, and then he wakes up.
After Ben gets the string-around-the-wrist tip for lucid dreaming from Kristen, we later see him reading an article about genetic editing in Beijing and crying. That night, Abbey returns, but he’s able to take control of the situation and go after her with a knife similar to the weapon he wielded while playing a VR game. When the succubus notes that it’s two against one, he looks around and sees David, armed with a samurai sword, protecting his back. “I was always here,’ he tells Ben, who wakes up.
The next day, the two men have a conversation about forgiveness. (Side note: I can’t put my finger on why, but this scene feels dreamlike to me. Anyone else?) It boils down to Ben asking how he can get forgiveness for “a job in my past that I’m not proud of.” David invokes the 12 steps, telling his non-believer friend that he just needs to apologize to an entity bigger than himself — even if it’s something like the United States Post Office. So Ben goes down to the Queens Plaza P.O., bumps into a mail carrier and blurts out his apology. “I forgive you,” the put-out postal workers says. “Get some help.”
THESE ARE THEIR STORIES | Back to the Turley case. The reason those officers have that tattoo is because it’s associated with a Law & Order-type TV show called Justice Served. Via the police union’s rep, David, Kristen and Ben meet with the series’ creator during a location shoot. The executive producer freely admits that it’s a sigil that’s been used on police shows since Dragnet. (Side note: The highly successful series creator is the mastermind behind five TV shows and came up with a lead character who badgers suspects and doesn’t play by the rules. I’m not saying that Robert and Michelle King are coming for Dick Wolf, but I’m not saying they’re not, either.)
The Justice Served EP says that his shows are “aspirational” and that he’s only giving the viewing public what they want. As the trio leave, Ben says that the man is right. And soon after, the union rep is back at the church, letting them know that a grand jury cleared Turley, so he’ll have no need of a defense. “So was that The Protectors protecting one of their own?” David wonders, and receives a not-well-veiled threat in response.
On the way home, it intensifies. Both David and Ben are pulled over in separate incidents; the cops are clearly trying to intimidate them. And at home, Kristen thinks there’s someone in/around her house, so she starts to call 911 but thinks twice and calls Mira instead. Moments later, there’s loud knocking and someone is trying to open the back door; Kristen grabs her good ol’ ax and goes outside… where a bloody Orson LeRoux says, “Long time, no see.”
Kristen is scared beyond belief as she chokes out, “You aren’t real. You’re a manifestation of my guilt.” He taunts her. She knocks him down. He talks about how intoxicating it is to kill. And then Mira and Anya show up and find Kristen, alone, on the ground with her weapon in front of her. The detectives note that the blade is serrated, and that Lexis — whom Sheryl let talk to them while Kristen wasn’t home — couldn’t corroborate her mom’s whereabouts on the night of the murder. Kristen knows this is the end of the road, so she says, “I’m guilty” and starts crying.
Mira asks Anya for a minute alone with Kristen, then won’t let Kristen talk as she points out that her friend is a “good suburban mom” and that LeRoux was a piece of hot, flaming garbage. “What happened to LeRoux was justice,” Mira continues. “Some people deserve to die. Cops know that better than anyone.” Kristen is still crying hard, but not objecting, as Mira wraps up: “I’ll say we saw a Black man back here, we came out and scared him off.” She leaves, and Kristen kneels on the ground and sobs, a beneficiary of the very inequality against which she so recently railed.
At the end of the hour, Ben, Kristen and David are on to their next case: the non-decomposing corpse of a monk, who might’ve been humming in his coffin. When they reach the monastery where the odd events have taken place, the brother who opens the door puts a finger to his lips: The order is silent, and our favorite trio is expected to follow suit. Yep: Silent episode next week, everyone!
Now it’s your turn. What did you think of the episode? Sound off in the comments!
Sadly silent ep is not next week! Evil doesn’t return until late-August
It’s going to kill me to wait till then!
C is for Cop is a very good example of why streaming (as opposed to airing on network) as definitely been the correct call not only in language and visual freedom but controversial and/or uncomfortable topics. This episode dealt with the ways people who identify themselves as “the good guys” and truly see themselves as fighting evil can easily betray their better natures and excuse unethical ,even criminal acts, rationalizing it as the end justifies the means. Kristen’s careful plan to free herself from the guilt that someone innocent could be framed for LeRoux’s murder seemed to unravel when Mira told her that Emily’s boyfriend (and thus Emily as a possible accessory) was under suspicion .I was actually hoping it turned out he did not have an alibi because it would be interesting to see if she would continue to remain silent.As it was she compromised her morals further by trying to manipulate Lexis’s memories.And now Mira and Anya are accessories after the fact and Kristen has not objected to letting police,neighbors,etc to be wary of some “Black man” trespassing in the area.
Dang–Sheryl is into some crazy s—t!! She’s come a long way from appearing a lonely woman so obsessed with having a man in her life that Leland could easily manipulate!! When I first saw the back of the head of the doll “Eddie” in the kitchen I thought it was going to be a mock-up of Leland as a voodoo doll and Sheryl would be sticking pins in it!!
I have, like, fifty questions regarding everything with Sheryl and that Eddie doll. WTAF, indeed.
.
Those last ten, fifteen minutes or so were crazy intense. Kristen walking around her yard with the ax had me anxious enough, but then when LeRoux popped up…I honestly don’t think I breathed the entire time she was “interacting” with him.
.
And that ending with her and Mira…what a strange mix of emotions. On the one hand, I’m glad Kristen’s secret is out now, at least to the cops. And I’m also not surprised that Mira would cover for her, for all the reasons she mentioned, as well as their friendship.
.
But yeeeeeeeah, the whole “blame a black guy” aspect, and Kristen going along with that…eesh. And Mira deciding to tell the cops that it was some black guy lurking around has me now wondering, since the cops are keeping tabs on the team for how they handled this case, what happens if one of them sees David showing up at Kristen’s home sometime? Are they going to assume he’s the guy Mira was talking about? Or, even if they know he’s not, are they going to use that as an “excuse” to go after him? A deeply unsettling thing to think about.
.
Plus, there’s also the fact that Mira now has a whole lotta dirt on Kristen that she can use if and when needed in the future. And they’ve already had their tense moments as it was last season, so…. Yeah. Not the “sigh of relief” ending Kristen, and perhaps some others, would want it to be. I don’t think this part of the story’s anywhere near over yet.
.
And speaking of freaky situations….good god, Abby is quite the brutal little kink demon, isn’t she? She is really putting Ben through one hell of a wringer here. I’m both very curious and very nervous to find out what on earth happened with this job Ben had that he’s so incredibly guilty and upset about. It sounds disturbing, whatever it is.
.
Did love everything with Ben talking to David and Kristen, just ’cause it’s nice to see somebody on this team finally opening up a little about the fact they’re stressed and need some help! I hadn’t considered the dreamlike quality of David’s conversation with Ben, but now you mention it, I can see where it would feel that way. I did like the moment in Ben’s dream where David reassured him he’s always been there-it’s nice to be reminded of the long friendship these two have had, and that it’s still strong even now.
.
And I loved Kristen teaching Ben about the whole thing with the string on the wrist, and the implication that they have been discussing his night terrors. I’d been hoping they would…I’d like to see one of their conversations about it sometime, it’d be interesting to see them comparing notes.
.
Interesting case, too. I liked all the debate it caused among everyone, including the team, with Kristen trying to understand and sympathize but not fully being able to do so the way Ben and David could. And yes, the jabs at certain TV shows/producers was a good touch, too :D. The fact that the case was resolved the way it did was sadly unsurprising, too-talk about being true to life.
.
Yeah. Good episode to leave off with before this upcoming break…and on that note, judging from the promo for what’s coming in the second half of the season, can I just say that I want it to be the end of August already :p?
“We’ll just say we saw a black guy back here and we scared him off.” Damn. Up until that moment, we trust Mira. We think she’s a good cop. We don’t question whether she’s one of the “good” cops even when she’s letting Kristen off the hook for murder (legal definition of murder, anyway, if not moral). We also trust her word when she says the cop who shot the black mother at the traffic stop is “one of the good ones” so we’re open to believing something else might’ve been going on when that happened. Then, at the end of the episode, Mira casually drops that line, almost like it’s an afterthought, and it hits like a thunderclap. Mira’s not objective, whether or not she realizes it. Mira’s compromised too. Nothing is safe, nothing can be trusted. We must check our expectations and assumptions at all times. We cannot know what we think we know and be comfortable in that. Powerful, clever ending. This is why I watch television. It’s what I’m always hoping for, the kind of storytelling I want to see.
I must say I think if a grand jury returned a decision not to charge a white cop for shooting an unarmed black mother at a routine traffic stop in 2021, at this moment in time, every city across the nation would erupt in flames, though. I don’t think that happened on the show. I just don’t see any scenario where the case doesn’t at least get to trial because the public would absolutely demand it under threat of severe civil unrest.
It was dark. Did the cop know she was an “unarmed black woman”? Of course not. Maybe question why she would reach for something without even giving notice she was doing so? If it had been a white guy with a criminal record reaching for something in the passenger seat… that would have been excusable to fire on him, I guess.
Different rules for different skins colors is what goes on today.
Yes, such a powerful ending. True evil is at its most persuasive when it’s masquerading as good. I love the way this show portrays the nuances in even our main characters’ motivations. And their grappling with guilt when it dawns on them what they have done. I suspect we will see the ghost of LeRoux again. I also suspect Kristen will have trouble with her allowing a racist lie to explain why she was acting crazy in her back yard.
As for Sheryl? Holy smokes. That woman is in another category altogether. A doll altar? Could she be any creepier!!
How exactly was Kristin a “Karen”? And what exactly is the true definition of a Karen by the way? If there is no clear answer perhaps one shouldn’t throw around such a silly label.
I was wondering how she was a Karen? I assumed the definition was expanded to include getting away with murder and Viola Davis just failed to cover it before her show was cancelled.
Some ‘labels’ are okay?
So…
Long delay between season 1 and 2.
Meandering plot so far this year with increasing pointlessness.
Heavy handed and hackneyed episode that screams ‘ripped from the headlines’ while ripping on the most iconic ‘ripped from the headline’ series.
And now a month long break despite it being a shortened season.
This series is expecting too much of its audience to keep the faith.
Oh,ye of little faith!! I definitely am of the opinion Evil knows exactly who it’s core audience is and that the overwhelming majority understand very well that Season 2 was originally edited to be aired on CBS –and now is taking advantage of a short break to re-edit and re-film scenes with the added freedom of streaming. BTW Season 1 was 13 episodes–Season 2 is 13 episodes.
What is Sheryl ‘s end game?
I sure miss this show.
Wow. Reading the comments, it’s clear white libs hate cops. Talk to the people actually living in the high crime neighborhoods, and you’ll hear how much they need and want law enforcement where they live. The posters here clearly have no interaction with those people.
This episode was a bridge way too far. The cop didn’t know who was sitting behind the wheel when he pulled them over. And who in their right reaches for something in their car when it is dark before letting the police know they are doing so?
Cancelling our Paramount app over this. I really liked the show, but this was just over the top awful. I wish anyone involved with this script was banned from asking law enforcement for any help with anything.
I don’t know what comments you’re reading. Most of the discussion here is about Sheryl turning into a witch and Kristen’s guilt. The storyline of the episode was in line with what’s going on in our society. Just like the last one was a thinly veiled criticism of Amazon and it’s practices. The series is good at being culturally relevant. Part of the point Was to allow the viewer to explore their own ideas about the situation. Also, the police officer literally said he knew it was a black woman in the car before he stopped her. The whole episode showed us that there are often shades of Gray in these situations and that we can’t always leap to our own biased conclusions. Just like Kristin killing LaRoux. The situation was far from black and white. Canceling Paramount plus is your prerogative, but it seems like the only one having a violent reaction to the episode is you. Most of the people here, including me, are more interested in what’s going on with Cheryl and that creepy doll, or Ben and his s&m Night demon. The episode just showed that not all police officers are saints, but they aren’t demons either. Cops can be just regular people that sometimes make mistakes. I fully respect police officers for the job they do, but I will also call out bad behavior, in the same way I would for a doctor or a teacher. And I’m one of those white liberals you’re talking about. LOL. It’s a cool show that shines a light on some social issues. I hope you find a new show on a new network that you can enjoy. Have a wonderful day.
Yeah the conservative GOP LOVES Cops – except the ones at the Capitol on January 6. I’m sure Paramount will miss you’re free week that you were going to cancel anyways.
I wish y’all quit piling on Kristen you keep trying to make her a villain and bringing up the white privilege if anybody should get away with murder it should be a mother that is protecting her children against the serial killer I don’t care what excuse you use she is not a a villain if you looking for villains try her mother Leland and a couple of other people but she is not the villain once again this is a good reason why she needs David in her life
Robert,clearly you very much admire and feel protective of the character of Kristen—however,viewers are not trying to portray Kristen a the “villain” of the the series. The show itself right from the start deliberately made Kristen a sympathetic protagonist and the show itself is choosing to use the sympathy and empathy for Kristen to demonstrate how even people who want to be “good” can be vulnerable to “evil” influences . Re-read Katjja Herbers’ recent TVLINE interview “Kristen unraveling will continue…”. In the actress’s own words while Kristen did not intentionally set out to use the fact that she’s “white,has friends in the police department..doesn’t look like the type..and drives a Subaru” to be given a pass she is very aware that’s a major part why she’s given a pass.”Her guilt is going to get bigger and bigger”….”She’s going to unravel more and more”.
Love, love, love the show “Evil”. However, I’m so disappointed that the whole “Karen” thing is still being used in a pejorative way to identify crazy bigoted women in this article. It’s gender-specific (where’s the non stop use of the male version, TV line?), AND, I know two different people with this classic name who are cool ladies. Please stop giving this tired trend a continuing lifespan. Thanks.
She could have said anything! Why did she say, “ we”ll say you saw a black man and came out to scare him off?”
Sheesh