"EL DIABLO" Turning the Corner February 13, 2000

by
Gordon Hom

The Evan downslide finally comes to a head in "El Diablo" and it's Joe (not Nash) that finally saves Evan. Evan has stolen Joe's gift watch to Inger, but this pales in the face of Evan attempting to take his own life. The emotional pain in this scene is palpable and riveting, as Cheech Marin casts off his comedian baggage by holding his own in a serious scene. Joe emerges as his savior filled with forgiveness and humanity. Joe adds a new dimension as Joe reveals to Evan his own troubled past as a rookie police officer. And what of Evan, as he walks into a church? Let's see what happens here...

"El Diablo" resounds with unlikely and unpredictable emotional truth, from Evan's self-destruction to the twisted murder of passion in the main story. A jealous wife asking her cheating husband to murder his lover? How unlikely in logic that is, but comprehensible in emotional terms, as Nash comments after the husband's tearful confession "Now that, I can believe."

The sordidness and degradation of this episode makes for hard viewing. From Evan - beat-up, unshaven, and suicidal, to Terry stating that her pimp "owns" her, and the twisted main murder plot, there is an emotional pain and ugliness to "El Diablo." It's entirely appropriate that aging porn star Ron Jeremy makes an appearance as a voyeur/pervert who witnesses the murder. The devil has indeed visited, and to see Evan turn this corner and seek spiritual revival is like surfacing from the sewer. Let's clean off this dirty feeling...

For more, see synopsis for Episode 92

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