As the dust settles on the finale of Evil Season 4, fans are left reeling from the twists, turns, and, of course, those tantalizing loose ends.
Who better to help us process it all than Katja Herbers, the incredible actress who has brought Kristen Bouchard to life for four thrilling seasons?
We caught up with Katja to chat about the finale, her character’s evolution, and what might be lurking in the shadows of a potential Season 5.
A Character Like No Other
From the moment Evil premiered, we haven’t been able to take our eyes off of Kristen Bouchard. She’s a psychologist, a mother, a reluctant demon hunter, and, let’s not forget, a murderer. But how does Katja see Kristen?
“She’s so much, and she’s been so many versions of herself,” Katja mused. “She wasn’t a murderer before she started the show, and then somehow that’s not even her defining quality. The writing for this character has been truly just anything an actor can dream of.”
Indeed, Kristen has evolved in ways few TV characters do, navigating an impossible world where literal demons are just as real as the figurative ones. But what stands out most about Kristen?
According to Katja, it’s her resilience. “She’s able to find lightness or keep finding lightness or keep getting back on her feet, even though literal hell breaks loose around her most of the time.”
The Fun (and Pain) of Playing a Demon
One of the unique aspects of Katja’s role is that she not only plays Kristen but also her demon counterpart, who exists in the tortured mind of David Acosta (Mike Colter).
This dual role offers a glimpse into a different side of Kristen, one that’s unfiltered and uninhibited.
“It’s lovely,” Katja said of playing Demon Kristen. “It’s so free. It’s in David’s mind, so it’s not even… I can do anything because it’s in his mind.
“She has no filter, and she doesn’t worry about the same things that Kristen worries about. All she wants is to be loved and to get some action from David.”
Despite being a demon, Katja found a way to make this version of Kristen endearing — or at least as endearing as a demon can be.
“We had fun with that scene,” she said, referring to Demon Kristen’s final moments with David. “I hope people weirdly care for Demon Kristen, although she’s just a demon. That’s my goal.”
The Finale: Laughter and Tears
The finale of Evil Season 4 was a rollercoaster, blending humor with horror in the way only Evil can. For Katja, it was a fitting end — whether it’s the end of the series or just this chapter remains to be seen.
“I was kind of awestruck by how funny and good and moving… all the things I thought the finale were,” Katja shared.
She praised the show’s creators, Robert and Michelle King, for their ability to tie up loose ends while still leaving the door open for future stories. “They were able to give a sense of closure should that be the case while also an opening for potentially more episodes.”
The finale also had its share of laugh-out-loud moments, including a particularly memorable Zoom meeting between demons where one poor soul struggled with a muted microphone.
“I had genuine laughs at some of the jokes they made,” Katja said, proving that even in the darkest moments, Evil never loses its sense of humor.
Kristen’s Uncertain Future
One of the most haunting moments of the finale is the reveal that Kristen’s baby, Timothy, is not just a normal baby after all. The scene is a perfect example of Evil’s ability to blend hard truths with an examination of faith, leaving viewers with more questions than answers.
Katja’s reaction to this revelation was both amused and a bit unsettled.
“I thought it would be fun to play it like this where she sees it, checks if she saw it, sees it again, and then really chooses to be sort of something in the middle of amused and dumbfounded,” she explained.
“Nature/nurture is a big theme of our show, and I think she thinks that even a demon baby she can love well enough for it to not be a demon anymore.”
It’s a moment that echoes Kristen’s struggles in the first season when she grappled with the idea that she might be possessed.
For Katja, these callbacks are part of what makes the show so special. “I liked giving the baby the pacifier. That’s something we came up with on the day. And I hope it excites people.”
What’s Next for Kristen and David (and Kristen and Andy)?
The finale left us with a tantalizing prospect: Kristen and David working together in Rome. The tension between these two has been simmering since the beginning, and it doesn’t seem like it will cool off anytime soon.
Katja can’t forget what David said about his commitment to God and how he will not break that promise even if it breaks him.
“I think they will continue to love each other, probably in a non-physical way until maybe at some point it does get physical,” Katja speculated. “I’m sure there’s way more to explore there. They kind of can’t live without each other, it seems.”
But what about Kristen’s estranged husband, Andy? The final season didn’t give us much closure on that front, something Katja acknowledges.
“I think that would’ve played out had we had more episodes,” she said, noting that Kristen’s decision to close the door on Andy might not be as final as it seemed.
Andy was a good provider but an absentee husband and father, which weighed on Kristen throughout the series. But she had no idea the extent of brainwashing he had experienced, which complicates their end further.
Kristen was floored to hear Andy had cheated on her and might find more in common with a fellow psychiatric patient than his own family, but he’s not the only one with secrets.
“Kristen has also committed adultery, but it has been after she killed someone, and it was that one time in the car, and I think she was just losing her mind and needed to feel her body,” Katja admitted.
“I like her hard line-ness… the way she does things. But I also think that she would want the kids to have a father… I think Kristen made a decision in that moment and, yeah, closed the door until it’s opened again.”
The Light in the Darkness
As our conversation with Katja came to a close, we couldn’t help but ask what she hopes fans take away from the finale — and from Evil as a whole.
“If I think about just my character, it would be whatever life throws at you; if Kristen’s able to get back on her feet, so can you,” Katja said, offering a message of resilience that resonates far beyond the screen.
“It’s important that throughout the horrors of our world… it’s important to also find lightness and… the fun with the horror that our show, I think, really brings.”
And with that, Katja left us with a glimmer of hope, much like Evil itself — a show that, even in its darkest moments, never loses sight of the light.
Katja’s final words resonate with us all. “Even though the world is crazy, you can have wonderful friends, and you can still laugh even if everything goes to shit.”
Whether we’ll see Kristen Bouchard and her fellow demon hunters again remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: their story is far from over.
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