‘Evil’: Leland’s Trial Takes a Dark Turn (RECAP)

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Evil Season 4 Episode 12 “Fear of the Other.”]

We had a feeling that Leland’s (Michael Emerson) trial would go his way—Evil couldn’t end with it being the legal system that took him down, after all—but we didn’t quite expect the twist that brings it to a close.

First, Boggs (Kurt Fuller) takes the stand as Leland’s psychiatrist, and Kristen (Katja Herbers) watches in surprise. When Boggs hesitates to give his professional opinion of the defendant, his lawyer Henry (John Carroll Lynch), appearing as a demon to the psychiatrist, leans in close. Boggs says he suffers from schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder, which have rendered him so ill that he can’t realize the criminality of his actions. But Boggs doesn’t stop there, as much as Henry wants him to. He says that Leland is a considerable threat to public safety and should be locked away in a maximum-security mental psychiatric facility for life. Leland’s reaction? “Oh, he’s dead.”

Henry then puts Leland on the stand to “explain” his actions. He claims that he offered IV therapy and Sheryl diverted the IVs for her own purposes. It’s during his testimony that Sister Andrea (Andrea Martin) walks into court, sniffs out the demon in Henry, and tells him she sees him and he’s lost the element of surprise. On her way out, she alerts Kristen that he’s the evil coming to New York.

When it’s Kristen’s turn to testify, she speaks of how she met Leland and presents evidence of him telling a defendant how to fake possession to plead not guilty by reason of insanity, how he targeted her family (with photographic proof and a court-approved restraining order), and his termination letter from the Catholic church after multiple children playing an online game came forward and accused him of being a pedophile. Henry tries to object, but Judge Jeter (Richard Kind) warns him he doesn’t want his ruling. Kristen then presents a second restraining order from after her mother’s death and Leland moving in next to her. Henry tries to call her unhinged and hysterical, but as the judge points out, she’s not the one who seems unhinged. Kristen says she may come across as emotional because she’s been hearing her mother’s legacy torn to shreds, when Sheryl was a kind, loving, giving mother and grandmother.

Michael Parmelee / Paramount+

When the prosecution says their last witness is being transported from county lockup, Leland realizes they have Leslie (Molly Brown). She goes over to Kristen in the courtroom before taking the stand, from which she sees Henry in all his demonic glory, corpses and all. The judge asks her to talk in his chambers, and once there, he asks if she’s being intimidated in court. She says she isn’t, but he insists she can tell if someone’s lying. Leslie admits to knowing what Leland is capable of. After confirming she’s still willing to testify, Judge Jeter gets a sword and cuts her head off, then rolls her body up in a sheet and dumps it out the window into the dumpster below.

Back in the courtroom, Judge Jeter dismisses the case with the prosecution’s witness now a no-show. Leland must still abide by the conditions of Kristen’s restraining order, and he promises she and her family will never see him. Henry then explains to Leland that everyone has a price on their soul.

Meanwhile, the church is shutting down the assessors’ program, and Kristen begins to think about the next stage of her career—starting her own practice in her garage. She asks Boggs for referrals, and he agrees, revealing that he’s closing his practice since he’s going on a promotional tour for his book and hitting the conventions.

Related

Is 'Evil' About to Go There With Kristen & David?

Through one of their last cases together, Kristen, David (Mike Colter), and Ben (Aasif Mandvi) get a glimpse at “what-if” versions of themselves on the website Find My Doppel. Kristen’s identical match is a hipster, David’s is a kickboxer, and Ben’s is a family man. Kristen looks up David’s and dreams of him, and then, as the episode ends, she keeps replaying the video of hers.

David, meanwhile, admits to Sister Andrea—who faces her past when the son of the man she had been with before becoming a nun needs their help—”I’ve never been more lost.” The two play the piano together, and with each chord, a bright light overtakes the room.

What did you think of the latest Evil? Let us know in the comments section, below.

Evil, Thursdays, Paramount+