The series is set 30 years after the events of the Evil Dead trilogy, and follows Ash Williams, who now works at the "Value Stop" as a simple stock boy.
Having spent his life not doing anything remarkable since the events of the trilogy, Ash will have to renounce his routine existence and become a hero once more by taking up arms and facing the titular Evil Dead.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.430 million household viewers and gained a 0.15 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.
[1] In its original American broadcast, "The Host" was seen by an estimated 0.430 million household viewers and gained a 0.15 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode a "great" 8 out of 10 rating and wrote in his verdict, "'The Host' ended the Elegos arc in awesomely violent fashion, though perhaps at the expense of some of the franchise's zaniness.
"[5] Gina McIntyre of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "It's a rare thing in the Evil Dead universe to truly recover from a demonic possession — Ash is one of the few who's played host to a malevolent spirit and lived to tell the tale, and to be fair, that was a couple of movies ago.
"[6] Stephen Harber of Den of Geek wrote, "This tacks on a triumphant end to an uneven half hour that reminds us that above all else, Ash vs Evil Dead is a stoner horror sitcom.
"[7] Carissa Pavlica of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "While that might not be the very best of phrases for those of you sporting guns in the real world, it sure worked for our hero on 'The Host'.
"[8] Jasef Wisener of TV Overmind wrote, "As I had hoped, 'The Host' got back to the greatness that this series showed in its first few episodes before taking an unfortunate pause last week.