It’s nice to see that Stars has the decency to give us a third season to such a fantastically awesome series. Episode one starts off innocently enough with Ash, Pablo, and Kelly having moved on with their lives. I was a bit disappointed at the lack of Kelly in this episode but her grand introduction more than made up for it.

The episode also introduces another player named Dalton who apparently is a Knight of Sumeria. Nothing is really revealed about the character except that he works with Kelly. Obviously, there’s going to be some Pablo jealousy cause we all know he has the hots for Kelly (I mean, who doesn’t). The whole Knights of Sumeria is a good idea and I wonder if they’re going to use it to link the series to Army of Darkness. Did his trip into the past create the order?

This episode is dedicated to the revival of the evil of the Necronomicon as well as the revelation that Ash has a wife and daughter. Of course, this is a pretty interesting angle as it creates another emotional connection for Ash to deal with throughout the series. Brandy seems to be the typical high schooler with plenty of sarcasm and defiance so seeing these to bond will be interesting. I honeslty would’ve liked to have seen more from Candace but she got her head cut off and, like Kelly losing her parents, would be a better cattlyst for Brandy to bond with Ash.

The whole demonic Rachel fighting Ash and Pablo with the band intruments is actually one of my favorite moments in the series. Even with the introduction of Brandy and Rachel with the demonic mascot taunting them was pretty dark.

On the other side of the coin, Ruby has also been reintroduced and has the Book of the Dead. We don’t get to see much of her, though we do see her punch a guy’s head off, and later gets impregnated by apparently drinking her blood she smeared on in the book. Now, whether this will lead to Ash dealing with her children from season two or something else will revealed in future episodes.

The Verdict: In the end, Episode One “Family” is actually the right step to throw us back into the Ash vs. Evil Dead series. Bruce Campbell’s having fun as well as the other performances. We get a new story with new characters, while being reunited with the original. Episode One “Family” gets 4 out of 5.