Review: Evil S01E11 ‘Room 320’

We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.

Warning: Post contains spoilers

During “Evil” season 1 episode 10 “7 Swans a Singin,” Catholic Church assessor David Acosta (Mike Colter) was brutally stabbed. David’s assessor partners contractor/professional skeptic Ben Shakir (Aasif Mandvi) and forensic psychologist Dr. Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers) visit the hospital where David recovers. Kristen’s friend, homicide Detective Mira Byrd (Kristen Connolly), aids in the investigation into his attack. While being rushed to the hospital, David kept repeating “Ghana,” which leads to an old case where a coder attempted to kill himself.

In the hospital, David is visited by the mysterious priest Father Douglas (Michael Mulheren). The priest leaves his rosary and instructs David that should he need anything to turn the crucifix face down. It soon becomes clear that something’s amiss at the hospital. A nurse with squeaky shoes, Nurse Linda Bloch, nicknamed Nurse Plague (Tara Summers) seems to be making certain patients worse rather than better. Acosta is thrust into a hallucinatory roller coaster in which he, and accordingly the audience, can’t really trust what’s transpiring on-screen. David’s roommate at the hospital claims that Nurse Bloch is intentionally killing off black patients at the hospital.

While David recuperates, Ben and Kristen search for Ghana, David’s attacker. This begins with a visit to JJ, the previous Kristen. JJ, or Judy, collaborated with Ben and David, and investigated Ghana. Their investigation reveals that Ghana was Rose390, the user in a VR game Haunted Girl, who played with Kristen’s children. Ben lures Ghana back into the game using an avatar and voice modulator to mask his true identity. Using the VR game, the police manage to track Ghana to his apartment and arrest him, finding the bloody knife in his trash can. Nurse Bloch’s locker reveals trophies, wristbands, from patients that she’s killed.

Observations:

This isn’t the first time “Evil” has tackled racism in the medical profession. “177 Minutes” grappled with that topic as well, and it’s an unsettling episode once again. David hallucinates, or at least we think so, replete with otherworldly horror elements. Cenobite-like creatures roam the hospital at night, presumably manifestations of Acosta’s drug-addled mind. But fantasy and reality mesh well, ultimately leading to a sinister plot by Nurse Bloch to drug and ultimately murder black patients.

The Ghana attack seems a bit odd. While I enjoyed meeting Judy, and didn’t predict the twist that there was a Kristen before Kristen, Ghana’s presence feels a bit stuck in. There’s been no mention of him before, and the coincidence that he interacted with the Bouchard daughters in Haunted Girl is a bit far-fetched. Nevertheless, Ben, Judy, and Kristen teaming up for an investigation proves delightful, particularly when Ben imitates a young girl in Ghost Girl. Overall, it’s a pretty solid episode with truly terrifying imagery.