‘Evil’ Keeps Us Asking What’s Up With Sheryl in Season 2 (RECAP)
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Evil Season 2 Episode 10 “O Is for Ovaphobia.”]
Leland Townsend (Michael Emerson) and Sheryl (Christine Lahti) are in a room together again. Will blood be spilled?
That would be too straightforward for Evil. But there’s definitely something very strange going on (and we’re not talking about the goat curry, a.k.a. the Demon Therapist, they have for dinner). It all begins with him inviting her to a party of influencers since, as he puts it, she is one. With a toast to their “mutual hate,” she agrees to attend, and with that, she’s set on a collision course with her daughter Kristen (Katja Herbers), David (Mike Colter), and Ben’s (Aasif Mandvi) investigation into RSM fertility, the clinic they suspect might be trying to corrupt eggs and which Kristen used when she had Lexis, her daughter with vampire teeth… and a lizard tail?!
Why You Should Keep Track of Payments Due
With RSM their focus once again, David and Ben question Kristen and other mothers who used the clinic about their experiences. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary (though Lexis isn’t the only child with too sharp teeth)… until Kristen calls about her egg storage (after another mom received a letter saying she’d stopped paying). There’s another name on the account, but Kristen doesn’t get it until she shows up in person: Dr. Cara Autry (Francesca Faridany), who left RSM five years ago. Ominously, the assistant warns Kristen that the world is coming to an end and they all have to be kind to each other.
Interestingly, Cara also paid for egg storage for Eric’s mom — remember him from Season 1? The kid who tried to drown his baby sister? When Kristen meets with the doctor, Cara says she paid for the storage because her religious convictions won’t let her destroy an unborn child. Once she has her nurse leave the room, however, she raises her voice and accuses Kristen of threatening her and abandoning her eggs because she couldn’t afford the storage fees. As she points out, she’s a well-respected doctor while Kristen was fired from her job at the Queens DA’s office. When Kristen says she’ll call the medical board, Cara has her removed from her office, claiming she physically threatened her.
Cara then leaves her office, and David and Ben follow her — to Leland’s building. When Kristen brings them with her to confront Cara next time, her assistant reports she’s taking an extended vacation. Kristen then returns to RSM with a court order requiring the clinic to transfer her eggs to another facility. However, their records only show they’re storing 11 of her eggs, not the 12 they’re supposed to have. Uh-oh…
Never Trust an Influencer?
Meanwhile, Sheryl arrives at the influencer party, in a red dress designed to attract attention, only to realize everyone else is wearing white. Oops, Leland forgot to inform her of that important detail. She’s ready to leave until the compliments begin. Leland introduces Sheryl to Edward Tragoren (Tim Matheson), the most powerful person at the party. He apparently has heard all about her. She notices a mark in his eye (a birth defect, he says).
Before their brief conversation ends, he gets her contact information and later calls her to meet him at a bar. There, he orders her drink and informs her they’re meeting up with Leland later for a surprise (that’s more “civilized” than something sexual). “Life is better with twists,” he says when she tries to press him for more details. (Not in this case.)
At Leland’s, Edward gives Sheryl a foot rub and watches the clock. That’s when she realizes she can’t move or scream. He assures her nothing he’s doing is dangerous or invasive, but she’s frozen (in terror? by evil?) as he injects her with something and Leland checks on them. It’ll be 10 more minutes, Edward determines.
When time is up, the men lift Sheryl off the couch and position her on the floor. With “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” playing, Leland goes into another room, lets the doctor (who also can’t move) know it’s OK, and retrieves a jar with some sort of liquid. Edward inserts an IV into Sheryl’s leg and has Leland put one in his, and both are injected with something as she can’t fight back, paralyzed with fear.
But the next day, David goes to Leland’s to follow up on Cara, only for Sheryl and Edward to emerge from his apartment, looking rejuvenated, dancing down the hall. They claim Leland’s not there and Cara stopped by the night before but left. What is going on?!
Vanessa’s Situation Gets Weirder
Remember how Ben’s girlfriend Vanessa (Nicole Shalhoub) told him her twin is grafted onto her? Well, according to Vanessa, Maggie’s responsible for throwing things around her apartment because she doesn’t like that her sister’s going out and ignoring her. Ben wants her to talk to Kristen, but Vanessa has a better idea: a psychic.
The psychic, Miss Marie (Patrice Chevannes), asks Vanessa if she wants her life separate and apart from Maggie. Yes, she can’t live like this anymore. Things get weird — air blowing, knocks on the table, a vase flung off a shelf — and after Marie claims Maggie is no longer attached, lets them know it’ll be $350.
But did it work? Well, Vanessa seems to be in a much better mood, eagerly dragging Ben into bed and suggesting they get tattoos. She couldn’t let loose because Maggie was always watching, but now she’s free, she explains, gesturing to the wrong arm. Yes, that means exactly what you think: Maggie is now her own person!
Ben doesn’t put all the pieces together until he says Maggie’s name while she’s sleeping and she responds to that (but not Vanessa). He thinks it’s a game at first, until Vanessa calls him to let him know her train was late…while Maggie’s in the other room. Don’t let her spoil our fun, Maggie protests as he leaves.
Evil, Sundays, Paramount+