Season 2 comes to a close with the return of several characters we thought were dead, and the death of characters that were also already dead.

The thing I loved about the original series of movies was the continuous ramping up of the absurdity. The over-the-top violence and gore and comedy from Army of Darkness had its humble beginnings as a straight-up, serious horror movie in Evil Dead. Evil Dead 2 split the difference, offering straight horror with some absurdly bad-ass moments and lots of comedy.

The TV series seems to be continuing the same path. All season, we’ve seen the blood and gore continue to ramp up, as well as the gross factor. In this episode, we got a little too close to Henrietta. As a horror movie nerd, not a lot makes me recoil in disgust, but this scene did it for me. Bravo to the writer who asked themselves the question, “what if Henrietta breast-fed Ash?”

The finale certainly skated the line between nostalgia and wondering if the writers had gone through their entire bag of tricks. It’s a delicate balance to strike, but since we saw a fight between Ash and Henrietta nearly 30 years ago, do we need to redo the fight exactly? The answer, of course, is yes. As long as you can balance out the references to the original with a new take on it.

Ash and crew return to a hero’s welcome with a parade and cheerleaders. Just as Season 1 ended in victory, so did Season 2. But Ruby’s reappearance in the crowd means maybe we shouldn’t get too comfortable yet. Will Season 3 Ruby be friend or foe? We’ve got a long wait to see.

Overall, Season 2 is better than Season 1, and gives me even more hope for the seasons to come.

And if you watched the episode and didn’t hang on tight for the post-credit scene, I recommend you do that.