Z Nation Review: Going Nuclear

Nice to see Z’s dog alive and kicking. The entire crew is wandering through the forest. Seems someone defaced Mount Rushmore. Hilarious commentary from Murphy (Keith Allan). This is why we can’t have nice things. Ha! The crew discovers a potentially safe location.

The team explores one of the warehouses and find nothing, but a gallon of water. A radioactive zombie! Murphy farts, which lures over the zombie. More glow in the dark zombies! Another group of survivors show up wearing HAZMAT suits and help the crew fight off the glowing zombies.

Doc (Russell Hodgkinson) is hitting some excellent one liners, as the team discovers the zombies are getting contaminated by a radio active reactor. Grady and Amelia (Anna Marie Clausen) introduce themselves and lead the team to their hideout. Grady explains he is destined to die anyway. Grady and Amelia have an airplane, but it only fits a pilot and one passenger.

In order to continue to Northern Lights the team must stop the radiation. Therefore, they decide to team up with the father and daughter pair to shut down the reactor. 10k (Nat Zang) covers the crew from outside and continues counting his kills. A nice montage of slow motion kills follows, before the team makes their way inside.

So far so good. The zombies keep dropping, as the team makes their way further inside. Grady makes it to the control room, while the other survivors wait outside.

Meanwhile, Citizen Z (DJ Qualls) continues playing his call for help on loop. Grady returns back outside and transforms into a Z. The team suggests sending in Doc to finish the job. Amelia is a pilot! Not a nuclear scientist! She suggests getting Homer Stubbins (Gary Taylor) to help. Of course, he is locked up in the woods and refuses to talk to anyone.

The team split up to capture Homer. Looks a little like Reggie Ledoux’s complex, only smaller. After a scuffle, Homer agrees to speak with the team. Homer doesn’t seem to care, but he still decides to help. Homer has a whole stash of alcohol and weapons. Homer reminiscences about his son, Max, while talking with 10k.

Seems that the team is attempting to contact Citizen Z on Homer’s satellite phone. The team argues over who gets to go with Homer. 10k accepts the job. In their Breaking Bad meth making suits, the men enter. 10k and Homer must use a small grounded drone to clear blockage within the core. Little Robbie the drone shoots lasers! The zombies destroy Robbie!

The team rendezvous outside and explains the situation. Now they’re going to have to make it to the Lab. Murphy makes a joke about Fukushima. The team formulates a plan. They have thirty minutes to pull it off. While part of the team enters the tunnels, Murphy continues getting drunk. Amelia Earhart and Murphy are ready to fly the plane using alcohol. Murphy and Roberta (Kellita Smith) share a bonding moment, before the plane takes off.

As Roberta returns to the reactor, the team makes their way to the core. Murphy says he misses his foxhole buddies, as the plane begins to nose dive. Murphy should’ve known better than to get into a plane with Amelia Earhart!

After the crash, Murphy escapes the plane. Amelia has transformed into a Z. Instead of giving her mercy, he lets her zombie follow him. Meanwhile, Roberta searches for an escape vehicle, while contacting Citizen Z. Z jokes about Zombiepedia and explains you shouldn’t let the zombies’ splatter you.

Homer decides to enter the core on his own, but 10k decides to go with him. Is 10k becoming TWD’s Glen? Not the new Glen, but the old, brave Glen?

10k and Homer continue to their destination. When they come under attack, Homer gets his suit ripped open. The pair share a moment. Homer desires for 10k to live the life that his son never had, before they continue on. Back on the outside, Cassandra (Pisay Pao) says they shouldn’t have left the men alone.

Using a crane type system, 10k moves Homer closer to the rods. Homer explains he wants to be shot, once the reactor is fixed. Meanwhile Murphy continues walking. Of course, he continues drinking, with Zombie Amelia following him closely. Murphy begins throwing rocks at Amelia and suggests she go home. Of course, she continues following him.

Homer attempts to guide the last rod into place. It works! While 10k wants to get Homer out, Homer suggests he shoot him. Instead, Homer cuts the cord and drops into the nuclear materials.

10k rejoins the group outside, but he is furious and upset about Homer’s death. Roberta returns with the alcohol and golf cart. Murphy shows back up and says the vodka was good fuel for ten minutes. The team discover zombie Amelia following him. He says allowing her to follow him felt right and tries to stop the team from killing Amelia. He suggests it is time for a different kind of mercy. The team drives off on the golf cart, with Amelia reaching out towards Murphy.

Review


Whether or not this episode moved the story along remains to be seen. Still, Z Nation continues taking risks, when it comes to strange zombies and natural disasters. Throughout the episode, Murphy and Doc offered some comedy relief, which was a plus. On the other side, the radioactive zombies were fun. Of course, it was likely 10k who stole the show.

While the show started off with jokes and humor, the episode ended with a bleak remembrance that no one is safe and mercy can mean a variety of different things. Therefore, this episode was good and deserves an 8 out of 10.

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