'Evil' Episode 9: Fans thrilled as Leland's plan flops terribly, but criticize CBS for showing the incel suicide plot on TV
This article contains spoilers for episode 9.
The last time we saw Leland Townsend on CBS' new supernatural thriller 'Evil', was two weeks ago, in episode 8, where he was trying to inspire a fairly impressionable teen into acting like one of those incel overlords. The term stands for 'involuntary celibates' and is widely used in millennial and pop culture lingo to distinguish men who are unable to find themselves a romantic partner, despite desiring. And on 'Evil', we saw an incel-type character Sebastian, who got rejected by a barista and was then coaxed into 'teaching her a lesson', by none other than Leland. Fans and viewers were worried at the time about the morbid extent of Leland's misogyny, but their glee has been unmatched ever since Leland's plan flopped terribly.
On tonight's episode 9, titled 'Exorcism Part 2', we see Leland's new pupil suffering from a crisis of conviction as he gears up to take revenge on the innocent girl who rejected him. Leland, with his ever so menacing and diabolical ways, is able to convince the young teen to carry out the sick task, after crafty manipulation - something the demon is a pro at. But what was supposed to be Sebastian taking out innocent life through a devastating mass shooting, actually ended up with him dying - something that visibly caused Leland to lose his shh*t and fans couldn't stop gushing about how iconic and hilarious every bit of watching the demon lose, was.
Taking to Twitter, they expressed their joy and thrill over what was the first time Leland Townsend's scheming brain took a blow, as they wrote: 'The incel active shooter storyline on #EvilCBS ended in the most magnificent way possible. Surprising to see that on CBS. Also surprising how laugh-out-loud funny it was." Another fan noted the dark nature of Evil's comedic tone, and shared: "OMG Sebastian accidentally killing himself made me GUFFAW. The comedy on #EvilCBS is PITCH BLACK, like Mariana Trench abyss DARKKKK"
However, Sebastian's suicide before carrying out Leland's task was also met with criticism, as viewers pointed out how risky the nature of portraying something like this on TV is. "Are you aware that tomorrow is the anniversary of the #MontrealMassacre? Not a great time for this "encourage-an-incel-to-murder-women" storyline on your show," asked one fan, directing the question to the show's Twitter account. Another religious fan took offence on the way suicide was portrayed on screen, and shared: "How could you broadcast such a crude SNUFF scene on tonight's episode of a young man killing himself. Plot could have done without it. I am catholic and support and enjoy the premise of the show, but this scene was uncalled for! Suicide should not be entertainment!"
'Evil' airs on Thursdays at 10pm only on CBS.