Can't decide, I love them all. Same with the films. I've rewatched the entire series every time a new entry arrives.
Once for Evil Dead (2013), and again for every season. AVED I AVED II AVED III.

My rankings/preferences changed each time.

SPOILERS for entire series:

Season 3 was not as kinetic as the first two. (Not necessarily a bad thing).

It bothers me that the whole time-travel thing at the end of season 2 was never really addressed and the fact that they can now resurrect any character by just going into the Deadlands (and now the Dark Ones don't even inhabit it anymore, so they could probably save everyone who ever died).

That kinda stripped all tension/loss/logic away, though it didn't bother me that much until I was done with the season as I found it thoroughly engaging. There are basically no consequences if you can kill yourself and then just come back into your body with no damage, like magic.

END SPOILERS

Season 3 was certainly the most emotional.
I think it's the only entry in The Evil Dead universe to get me to cry (more than once) (though I do shed a tear when watching Evil Dead [2013]).
So that counts for a lot.

And I don't see a better ending to the series.

Overall, not as great as the first two seasons, but there's a finality and a substance (emotional seriousness) there that has my heart stuck to it.

Thanks for the reply! I have since seen all 3 seasons straight through and am not sure how I feel yet. I enjoyed season 3, even the ending, and I agree that there is more emotion to this one, but don't know yet where I would rank it. I might like season 1 best, but all 3 have great moments!

Season 3 was DEFINITELY the weakest..where me & my kids were anxiously awaiting each & every episode during S01 & S02 (each exciting, funny, gory & sometimes scary in their own right)...S03's episodes (watching it week to week) were "meh!" Craig DiGregorio's departure was DEFINITELY felt...Rob Tapert should've left well enough alone...we might've gotten the** 5** seasons Raimi had set the bar on...oh well!

S01 & S02 are tied, but S03 is definitely ranked LAST in the ENTIRE series..including the remake & Drag Me To Hell. Ending was epic though...its the way Ash was always meant to go out!

After rewatching the entire series and seeing Season 3 again, I love it way more now. I see all 3 seasons as equal, just like the trilogy of films. There is no favorite because I love them all so much.

As far as documentaries go, this is one of the best I have seen.

Yeah, the third season is cool. I actually liked it better than the first two.

I take it you guys saying you "love" S03 binged it vs waiting week to week? I'm sure I would've liked it a lot more that way!

@jorgito2001 said:

I take it you guys saying you "love" S03 binged it vs waiting week to week? I'm sure I would've liked it a lot more that way!

Yeah I binged it on Netflix. I much prefer it that way. I watch in Netflix and skip all the commercials that way.

@write2topcat said:

@jorgito2001 said:

I take it you guys saying you "love" S03 binged it vs waiting week to week? I'm sure I would've liked it a lot more that way!

Yeah I binged it on Netflix. I much prefer it that way. I watch in Netflix and skip all the commercials that way.

This aired on STARZ (to which I'm still a subscriber), which never aired any commercials to begin with. S1 premiered on Halloween 2015 (which made me & my kid's Halloween night since Sam Raimi himself directed it) & S02 premiered around Halloween 2016 time as well!

S03 on the other hand, aired in...FEBRUARY of 2018 (which was lame) and by then I think it was way too long a gap between S02 & S03 & most casual watchers just gave up on it (it was no Game of Thones..lol)...so it was cancelled! :(

Point being is watching it episode by episode weekly (similar to GOT today I guess), each episode of S01 & S02 was a delight..unlike S03, where some episodes were just "meh" and didn't have the same energy. I bought the entire digital season so definitely have to rewatch the entire series.

I loved the first two seasons because they were fresh, inventive and had a really good emotional rollercoaster ride with some episodes.

That said by the end of S2 I was beginning to sense a certain "running out of steam", and come S3 it really became quite obvious that the show had clearly run out of ideas, ramped up the spoof-gore and just ended on what I felt was a fairly flat note!

Now I am one of those patient people who is always willing to give a show time to overwhelm me (for example, season 2 of The Wire, has often been sited as being one of the weakest of the show's 5 seasons, first time round. But when I watch it again and again, I appreciated it more, to the point where now it remains my favourite season!). I have re-watched AvED on numerous occasions over the last couple of years, but I still can't find much to enthuse about with S3. It's good as a stand-alone, but doesn't really compare to S1 & 2.

@TeaCake said:

I loved the first two seasons because they were fresh, inventive and had a really good emotional rollercoaster ride with some episodes.

That said by the end of S2 I was beginning to sense a certain "running out of steam", and come S3 it really became quite obvious that the show had clearly run out of ideas, ramped up the spoof-gore and just ended on what I felt was a fairly flat note!

You sense DEFINITELY has to do with the firing of the original show runner of S01 & 2, Craig DiGregorio. He understood Evil Dead and GOT Evil Dead, unfortunately that s*** head Robert Tapert thinks he knows better and they onstantly buttheads..til he saw fit to FIRE him.

S02 was to end on a massive cliffhanger and S03 was to be COMPLETELY different...including Kelly being Ash's daughter!!!!

I can't find the more detailed article, but here's some good reading: HERE with enough details...I really REALLY wish they had stuck with it! S03 would've been VERY VERY different!

@jorgito2001 said:

@TeaCake said:

I loved the first two seasons because they were fresh, inventive and had a really good emotional rollercoaster ride with some episodes.

That said by the end of S2 I was beginning to sense a certain "running out of steam", and come S3 it really became quite obvious that the show had clearly run out of ideas, ramped up the spoof-gore and just ended on what I felt was a fairly flat note!

You sense DEFINITELY has to do with the firing of the original show runner of S01 & 2, Craig DiGregorio. He understood Evil Dead and GOT Evil Dead, unfortunately that s*** head Robert Tapert thinks he knows better and they onstantly buttheads..til he saw fit to FIRE him.

S02 was to end on a massive cliffhanger and S03 was to be COMPLETELY different...including Kelly being Ash's daughter!!!!

I can't find the more detailed article, but here's some good reading: HERE with enough details...I really REALLY wish they had stuck with it! S03 would've been VERY VERY different!

Makes for good reading, thanks. It's been awhile since I re-watched the show, so can't recall exact details regarding the closing episodes of S2 and the opening episodes of S3. But I was never a big fan of the whole "jumping through Time" narrative, as that has been done a few times before in other shows and feels a little hackneyed.

As for the Ash-Kelly thing. I don't know if that would have worked either, not that I liked Tapert's preferred route either. I understand the show had falling ratings by the middle of S2. I don't know whether that was because people were a little tired of the non-stop gore; the lack of a coherent storyline, or that the show had just run out of ideas. And because of that perhaps the writers and producers under pressures from the studio bosses, didn't really have a Plan B to give the show a much needed boost for S3. Instead we end with this, and the show was quickly cancelled shortly afterwards.

The other problem I had with this show was that the main characters end up dead/become possessed, only to return to normal life again. It's kind of like "Oh Pablo was killed, but hey, don't worry, he'll be back to normal next episode!" And that happened far too often to the point where I really couldn't care less if these characters lived or died because you just knew they would be okay in the end.

It's a real shame the show fell apart by the end of S2. Different writers, different stories, perhaps even an entirely different direction for S3 may have saved the show from its early demise.

@TeaCake said:

The other problem I had with this show was that the main characters end up dead/become possessed, only to return to normal life again. It's kind of like "Oh Pablo was killed, but hey, don't worry, he'll be back to normal next episode!" And that happened far too often to the point where I really couldn't care less if these characters lived or died because you just knew they would be okay in the end.

It's a real shame the show fell apart by the end of S2. Different writers, different stories, perhaps even an entirely different direction for S3 may have saved the show from its early demise.

That's just IT, Pablo & company getting possessed and then fine another episode is VERY MUCH an "Evil Dead" thing (remember Evil Dead 2?) I thought it complimented the trilogy perfectly! Well different strokes for different folks I reckon. I think Ash's actual daughter in S03 was 1 character too many..she didn't "add" anything to the show...the Kelly route would've been better.

As weak as S03 was, the finale of S03 was the ending Raimi intended for the series in the first place...Ash stuck in a Post Apocalyptic Future, still kicking ass and taking names. A fitting end for Bruce Campbell as Ash.

@jorgito2001 said:

@TeaCake said:

The other problem I had with this show was that the main characters end up dead/become possessed, only to return to normal life again. It's kind of like "Oh Pablo was killed, but hey, don't worry, he'll be back to normal next episode!" And that happened far too often to the point where I really couldn't care less if these characters lived or died because you just knew they would be okay in the end.

It's a real shame the show fell apart by the end of S2. Different writers, different stories, perhaps even an entirely different direction for S3 may have saved the show from its early demise.

That's just IT, Pablo & company getting possessed and then fine another episode is VERY MUCH an "Evil Dead" thing (remember Evil Dead 2?) I thought it complimented the trilogy perfectly! Well different strokes for different folks I reckon. I think Ash's actual daughter in S03 was 1 character too many..she didn't "add" anything to the show...the Kelly route would've been better.

As weak as S03 was, the finale of S03 was the ending Raimi intended for the series in the first place...Ash stuck in a Post Apocalyptic Future, still kicking ass and taking names. A fitting end for Bruce Campbell as Ash.

All this talk of the show, along with its upsides and downsides, as well as various references suggested on this thread, makes me feel inclined to watch the show in full again very soon (it's been at least 6 months since my last viewing)

One thing is for sure: Bruce Campbell IS Ash, and will always be associated with ED! And it wouldn't surprise me when Bruce does finally pass away, that on his tombstone will be written the word "Groovy!"