Photo Credit: Syfy
Warning: Spoilers Ahead
Man, what a kick-ass episode last week! FINALLY, things start going right for our survivors where it seems there has been nothing but bad luck since the beginning of the season. The Zeroes are dead (well, most of them), El Scorpion got exactly what he deserved and became zombie chow, and the group made off with cars and supplies, all geared-up and back on the road to California. Yay.
So far, there have been 2 big things that have been missing from this series since day one. First, the back stories of most of our characters. True, we’ve gotten bits and pieces of our survivors’ lives before everything blew to hell but only general details. And, second — and perhaps more importantly — a glimpse at the world leading up to the zombie apocalypse. Lucky for us, we get both in tonight’s season 2 penultimate episode.
The scene in the below Sneak Peek is actually the opening of the episode with Citizen Z AKA “Simon Culler” (DJ Qualls) having been arrested by the FBI for espionage. I swear I literally jumped up and cheered in this scene because the guy has been MIA for most of the season. Welcome back, Citizen Z! Here we learn all of the details about how Simon ended up at Northern Lights. The Feds want to throw the book at him for his crimes, but fortunately, the NSA sees more value in our hacker friend than just throwing him in prison. As it turns out, they’ve got a big zombie problem brewing worldwide, and they need a hacker and cryptography expert to keep an eye on the situation from the North Pole. Best part of the scene (besides DJ’s geeky haircut!) — Citizen Z saying “Is this some kind of code word?” when the NSA agent hands him a piece of paper with “Zombies” written on it. Then, his face dropping when he realizes this isn’t a joke.
At first I thought this particular flashback was some kind of one-off, but this actually becomes a theme for the entire episode. After the survivors’ cars break down and they are forced to continue on foot, each character takes the time to reflect back on how they got here, hence everyone basically gets his own flashback. By the end of the hour, we know everyone’s past — what they were doing moments before the apocalypse hit, what their lives were like, and who they were with. I really don’t want to spoil it for everyone, but I will say each character will get their moment, and some of the back stories may surprise you. Doc is a good example. Surprisingly, the guy had a regular job back then, and if you think about what we know about him today, his profession shouldn’t totally shock you. It’s just hilarious to see him in normal clothes, short hair and sitting behind a desk.
One teaser I will give you is that Mack (Michael Welch) is back for this episode as part of Addy’s (Anastasia Baranova) flashback. He’s a hockey player and meets Addy when the outbreak hits in the middle of a game. They really don’t know each other and only agree to team up after nearly everyone is killed in the building, and they are virtually the only people there left standing. For those who have really missed the Addy and Mack combo since “The White Light,” this should be a real treat.
The episode ends with the flashback that I think most of us have been waiting for — that of “The Murphy.” Clean-shaven, nice “pretty boy” hair, and clad in an orange jumpsuit, all while cheating fellow inmates at a game of poker in the prison yard. I’m not going to spoil this one for you, but considering that they DO make it to California and Murphy (Keith Allan) will obviously have a big part in next week’s finale, it seems appropriate that the episode would end on this note. Let’s just say Murphy is the same old asshole pre-Z as he is now.
The season 2 penultimate episode of Z Nation is titled “Day One” and airs tonight at 10/9c on Syfy.
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Promo:
Sneak Peek:
