Evil's Katja Herbers and Mike Colter Break Down the 'New Phase' in Kristen and David's Relationship in Season 4

[Warning: The following contains spoilers for the Season 4 premiere of Evil, "How To Split an Atom."]

Evil has led Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers) and David Acosta (Mike Colter) into plenty of temptation throughout its first three seasons. Their feelings for each other are forbidden in more ways than one — she's married; he's a priest — but the coworkers have found ways to dance across the line a few times. 

In Season 1, Kristen's dreams of David got steamy. In the Season 2 finale, they kissed for real in the immediate wake of David's ordination, right after a vulnerable scene in which Kristen confessed to murder. Their emotional encounter almost led to more in the Season 3 premiere, but they pulled back, and David spent the rest of the season hallucinating (or actually being visited by) a demonic version of Kristen he could sleep with. That fantasy turned out to be good for him, and, by extension, good for his dynamic with the real Kristen.

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"Demon Kristen, as much as she was an incarnation of evil in some way, shape, or form, was like a little drug that David could have in his room by himself after hours," said Colter, speaking to TV Guide alongside Herbers and Aasif Mandvi, who plays Ben, the third member of their investigative trio. "[David] couldn't have Kristen, so he could have a naughty version of Kristen who talked a little differently and dressed differently, which made things all better." 

By the start of Season 4, which premiered Thursday on Paramount+, the attraction between David and Kristen has stabilized into something acknowledged but manageable. But nothing stays calm for long on Evil, which means it's time for Kristen's husband, Andy (Patrick Brammall), to start stirring up trouble. 

Thanks to a little successful brainwashing from Sheryl (Christine Lahti) and Leland (Michael Emerson), Andy is convinced that Kristen and David are sleeping together. In the season premiere, "How To Split an Atom," Andy confronts David, demanding that he "stop f---ing [his] wife." The tense conversation prompts David to go straight to Kristen to talk it out — at the advice of Demon Kristen.

"I think it's really funny the way that they edited that, where it's set up that [David does] come talking to me," Herbers said. "That is maybe the new phase in our relationship, where I say, 'Do I have feelings for you? Yeah, sure. But we've been fine. We've been good. We haven't acted on it.' We're openly saying this is something we just have with each other. But we've also decided — he's a priest, I'm married. It's not happening."

"By Andy saying that to David," Herbers continued, "it does create a new tension again."

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Colter agreed. "It's a very adult thing to do, to admit you have feelings for someone and then still be around them and not act on them," he said. "I don't know if it's better or worse, but it does feel liberating to say, 'Hey, I do have feelings for you. Now let's go talk about the case.'"

Colter and Herbers also suggested that for David and Kristen, admitting to their sexual tension makes work more exciting. "I don't think they have to steal glances," Colter said. "They can just look at each other and go, 'Yeah, I'm thinking about you. But I'm still working.'"

Jumping in, Mandvi joked, "I had that dynamic with Andrea Martin."

New episodes of Evil Season 4 premiere Thursdays on Paramount+.