'Evil' Episode 5 shows how smooth Leland Townsend is with the ladies and fans can't believe he's 'got game'
This article contains spoilers for Episode 5
Ten minutes into tonight's episode of 'Evil' and Leland Townsend has established his expertise in the art of picking up ladies. He might be a twisted, creepy man haunting and taunting Kristen Bouchard and David Acosta on regular days, but he isn't stopping at just that.
Taking his plans of leaving Kristen tormented to a whole other level, he has moved on to her mother now. And if viewers are to be believed, the dude's got game.
Tonight's episode five, 'October 31' focuses on the eponymous day of the dead — Halloween. There's an old case involving exorcism that immediately needs Kristen's expert opinion on the victim's mental stability but she has promised to take her kids trick or treating.
Clearly work calls are a priority, so she calls her mom in to babysit. When her mother comes over, she's in a great mood — strumming the guitar and speaking of having met a "real man" who has charmed her off her feet.
And who would this real man be, other than the extremely unsettling Leland himself. Rewind to the beginning of the episode, and we start off with a tinder date.
We see a middle-aged man struggling to keep the conversation flowing with his date — Shirley, Kristen's mom. Shirley's date gets a sudden case of the hiccups and has to rush to the restroom.
A third person sitting right behind Shirley makes his move on her, speaking of how hiccups like those could lead to a heart attack. Shirley, shocked and taken aback at the same time, is immediately drawn into the eerie Leland's very offbeat take on things.
When she asks him how he could have estimated she wouldn't be offended by the heart attack joke, Leland weaves a smart, tactful story of how he gave up trying to ensure he wasn't offending people with his words, years ago.
"Kindness is hypocrisy," he says, minutes before talking about how he got stood up by his date, who actually met with a car accident. Moments later, he asks her to leave the restaurant with him, saying he'll be waiting for her outside, while her date is still "hiccupping to death" in the bathroom.
When Shirley gives in and meets him outside, before she can finish what she was saying about babysitting her grandkids, Leland pretty much sweeps her off her feet and kisses her with a burning passion one would expect only in the 'Dirty Dancing' franchise.
Taking to Twitter, fans expressed their shock and surprise at how smooth this criminal called Leland Townsend is. One user commented: "Leland's creepiness is alluring?? Apparently letting loose your inner weirdo is the way to pick up beautiful people? I’ve been doing this wrong my whole life."
Certain fans claimed "So, uh, Leland's got game?" while others mostly pointed out the plenty of red flags this demon comes with. It's like one user shared: "We are not shipping Leland and grandma. This is not a ship. This ship will sink."
'Evil' airs on Thursdays at 10 pm only on CBS.