One of the many mysteries of Ash vs Evil Dead, Starz’s raucous horror-comedy sequel to Sam Raimi’s beloved Evil Dead film trilogy, is Ash’s unexpected, miraculous luck with the ladies.
That’s not a slight against star Bruce Campbell, who powers the gory, groovy series with his unabashed glee at reprising the role of dim-witted Deadite slayer Ash. But while Campbell is the epitome of B-movie cool, his boomstick-wielding fictional counterpart’s idea of a smooth pickup line is “You know, I was gonna take [those tanks of] propane and blow the doors off, but I’ll happily blow your doors off first.”
That line’s as unsexy as, well, doors and propane. But wouldn’t you know it—it actually works. And it almost, almost earns Ash his first kiss of the series.
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In Saturday night’s episode, “Fire in the Hole,” Ash begins his journey back to that cabin in the woods where his 34 year-long Deadite nightmare first began, in 1981’s Evil Dead. After encountering an overaggressive, conservative-leaning militia (“Save your lies, Hillary!” one man snarls at Ash’s friend, unprompted), Ash finds himself trapped in a basement, handcuffed to a police woman who, until recently, desperately sought his demise.
“We should get handcuffed together more often,” Ash says abruptly, coming face-to-face with Amanda Fisher (Jill Marie Jones) in the exclusive clip below.
“You wouldn’t even know what to do with me,” Fisher answers coyly.
“Oh, honey bunny, I would destroy you in the best possible way,” Ash says, with all the self-perceived charm and confidence of a cartoon Johnny Bravo.
“This dude just can’t turn it off,” show runner Craig DiGregorio tells The Daily Beast of Ash’s propensity for cringe-worthy pick-up lines. “He always picks the most inopportune times to act like a lecherous asshole.”
And yet, doors and propane aside, Ash’s seduction goes off without a hitch. An utterly charmed Fisher leans in for a kiss. “[The lines] work because he’s very charismatic and he kind of just wears everything on his sleeve. He doesn't hide too much,” DiGregorio says. “He picked a bad time to make an interesting offer to a lady he is interested in, but because he is so charming it kind of works—which makes you shake your head a little bit.”
Much of Ash’s appeal, DiGregorio admits, comes from Campbell, whom he describes as one of few actors who can convincingly (and oh-so endearingly) portray a douchebag with a heart of gold.
“He totally knows that character,” DiGregorio says, adding, “There are very few people who can pull off charismatic and asshole in the same breath. And he does it so well.”
Watch the exclusive clip below, featuring Ash and Amanda’s almost-kiss.
