Evil Season 2, Episode 8 recap: B is for Brain

In Evil Season 2, Episode 8, “B is for Brain,” Ben, David and Kristen investigate a brain-mapping device that is supposed to let the user see God. The Catholic church wants the group to find out if the machine could be a way to encourage agnostic people or those on the fence about religion to convert to Catholicism.

Apart from the brain-mapping device, the other big event in this episode is the long-awaited return of Kristen’s husband, Andy (Patrick Brammall). This episode marks the first time we’ve seen Andy since he left to set up an expedition at the Bouchard climbing company in Season 1. He’s shocked by what he discovers at home, namely the stark changes in his wife.

It doesn’t take long for Andy to discover that the Kristen he left is not the same Kristen he’s returned to. She’s much more aggressive, for starters. His first night back, Andy instigates sex and finds a bunch of cross-shaped burn marks on Kristen’s stomach.

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Then she requires them both to wear gags and animal masks to have freaky sex. In the middle of them having sex, a viscous and acidic clear fluid leaks through the mattress, through the floor, into the kitchen, and continues seeping down through everything it touches. Whatever it is, isn’t mentioned again in this episode, but I’m assuming it might be a sign of something um, really bad.

The next day, Kristen beats up a man at the supermarket after cutting them in line, and Andy finds Kristen’s “kill maps” tucked inside a shoebox in the closet. When confronted, Kristen explains that the maps are a therapeutic technique to vent aggression. If someone pisses her off, she prints out blueprints of their house and plans how she would infiltrate to murder them.

It is pretty twisted, and apparently, Laura saw them while Andy was looking at them, a fact that reduces Kristen to tears. Andy comforts her until they fall asleep, and then in the middle of the night, Kristen wakes up, goes downstairs, turns the stove on, heats the cross on the end of her rosary, and burns herself.

Andy’s idea of fixing things is for him to sell their climbing company so he can take a normal 9-5 job at home. He also believes Kristen should quit her job at the church, believing it to be the root of recent behavioral change.

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At one point, Andy even goes to Sheryl for advice, unaware that she has her own serious issues to deal with at the moment. Sheryl blames him for Kristen’s changes, noting that since she’s had to do everything herself, she’s toughened up and adapted under the circumstances.

Of course, Andy really doesn’t even know half of what has been going on with Kristen, LaRoux, and all the demonic stuff. But I can’t see Kristen quitting her job at this point.

Evil Season 2, Episode 8 recap: The brain-mapping device

As mentioned, the brain-mapping device is the big new mystical occurrence the team is assigned to investigate this week. Those who wear the device typically have visions where they see their version of God or heaven, although an increasing number of people have also started to see terrifying visions of Hell.

Wanting to conduct a thorough investigation, Kristen, Ben, and David, all take a turn with the device. Ben goes first and sees his dead mother. She admonishes him for turning away from Allah and not believing. Then his vision turns dark and terrifying as Abby the demon returns, jolting Ben from his state. What he saw further ruins his sleeping habits which have already been disrupted by the elevator trauma and his guilt over CAS-3.

Kristen’s vision is even weirder. When it starts, the proctor claims her body isn’t even registering on the device. “Why because I don’t have a soul?” she quips. Since it seemingly isn’t working for her, David offers to go in her place. David actually sees Kristen murder LaRoux. When he tells her what he saw, Kristen is spooked and calls an immediate emergency therapy session.

Dr. Boggs wonders if she should confess to David as a way of creating a placebo effect where David will be more understanding to her if she comes clean. Then when Kristen goes to David’s house to chat, Leland answers the door holding David’s ripped-off arm and eating it.

Of course, we soon realize the entire segment was Kristen’s vision. She does actually call an emergency therapy session after and tell Dr. Boggs everything she saw, including what the dream-version of the therapist advised her. Dr. Boggs finds it interesting that his dream self would tell her to confess to David and wonders if Kristen is struggling to decide between Andy and David, especially since her husband just returned and she never mentions him but talks about David all the time.

He notes that when Kristen sees her future, who does she see it with? “Why does it have to be about a guy?” Dr. Boggs concedes to that point and reframes. Maybe it’s more like Andy represents being a mother and homemaker while David represents her career. However, perhaps her fascination with David lays in the fact that he’s unobtainable since he’s becoming a priest, and maybe Kristen likes the challenge.

Then again, if David were to not become a priest, he would no longer be unobtainable. Food for thought.

Interestingly enough, when David does finally try the device, he doesn’t see anything. Consulting with Sister Andrea, she believes that is because David’s visions are genuinely coming from God and not technology, hence why he saw nothing. She advises him not to mess with technology again as it could rewire his brain and make him less susceptible to God’s messages, and they’ll need his visions for the impending fight against Leland and whatever evil he delivers.

Ultimately, Ben, David, and Kristen cannot agree on whether the brain-mapping device is safe. David argues against it, because, based on Sister Andrea’s advice, it could actually be harmful and turn people away from God. Kristen is all for it and Ben is undecided.

Odds & Ends from Evil Season 2, Episode 8

• Sheryl still has the creepy Eddie doll in her room. At one point while talking with Andy, she talks to someone invisible. Either the doll or something else.
• Leland confronts Sister Andrea for the first time since his “exorcism.” He realized the “holy water” was really ammonia and tries to return the favor by pouring some on her. Sister Andrea is prepared and immediately pulls a knife on him. Hilariously, Leland is still disturbed when he leaves because he now finds a nun sexy.

New episodes of Evil Season 2 stream Sundays on Paramount+.