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“I Just Had To Sit Down For A Bit”: Evil Ending With Season 4 Gets Candid Response From Mike Colter
Warning: This post contains spoilers for Evil season 4, episode 11, “Fear of the Future”
Summary
Leland’s backstory and how it impacts David inEvilseason 4 is explained by star Michael Emerson, who portrays Leland Townsend. With only a few episodes to go, the Paramount+ Original from creators Robert and Michelle King is barreling towards its grand finale and has revealed some crucial details about Emerson’s character. It’s revealed that, at one point, prior to the events of the show, Leland was actually on the same path that David (Mike Colter) is going on, but he ultimately turned to the dark side.
In an interview withScreen Rant, Emerson revealed that he was surprised at reading the script. In the quote below, theLostactor also spoke about why the reveal makes sense for Leland Townsend and how itmakes the character even more dangerousto David, Kristen (Katja Herbers), and Ben (Aasif Mandvi). The quote is below:

That was a surprise to me when I read the script that you’re describing. I thought, “Oh, wow.” Because it had not occurred to me, nor had anyone spoken to me about it. I guess once I heard it, I thought, “Oh, all right. Well, that makes sense.” And then, also, it kind of darkens the portrait of him, and it makes him seem more dangerous.
Leland’s Reveal Is The Kind Of Clarity Evil Has Needed All Along
It gives the show some added momentum near the end.
Evilhas tended to function by not explicitly endorsing one side or the other.Echoing itsX-Filesinfluence, it could be that angels and demons exist. Or, alternatively, it could just be that people like Leland are motivated to commit horrific acts. But even with that balanced framework, these last few episodes are finally looking to come together in a way that the show largely hasn’t since its 2019 debut.
Despite thedivisive cancellation ofEvilby Paramount+, the supernatural horror has been given additional episodes to wrap up its core stories. The series has used that time, like with the reveal of Leland’s backstory, to give the narrative a jolt of forward momentum that it has largely sidestepped in favor of ambiguous cases of the week and building uncertainty.

10 Burning Questions Evil Season 4’s Final Episodes Need To Answer
The Paramount+ show Evil will soon conclude with a four-episode season 5. There are many unfinished stories that need answers in the series finale.
It’s not likely thattheEvilseries finalewill address the overall question of the Catholic battle between the forces of good and darkness, based on how the story has operated up to this point. But it does look like it will provide closure to the stories of Kristen, David, Ben, and Leland. That may be one positive to glean from the overall unpopular cancellation decision, which is that audiences are finally learning about what it is that has pushed Leland and what it means for the trio that wants to defeat him.
Evil
Cast
Evil is a psychological mystery series that follows a skeptical forensic psychologist, Kristen Bouchard, who teams up with a Catholic priest-in-training and a tech expert to investigate purportedly supernatural incidents. The series delves into complex themes of religion, science, and the nature of evil through its deeply layered narrative and character development. The show stars Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, and Aasif Mandvi.