Word Without End – The episode begins six years into the pandemic when Isherwood ‘Ish’ Williams (Alexander Ludwig) is driving alone on an isolated road when he hits a lion. He gets out and considers ‘mercy killing’ the lion when he notices someone watching him. He chases his eavesdropper and catches what appears to be a young traumatized girl. She doesn’t speak, only screams, and fights Ish’s every advancement. He eventually lures her back to his truck with the offer of apples, but instead of riding upfront, she rides in the back under a tarp.
Ish returns home and briefly discusses the situation with Emma (Jessica Frances Dukes) before introducing her, Heather (Leah Belle MacDonald), and Alex (Kawhi Hollywood) to the young girl. Emma is just as accommodating as Ish and tells the young girl they are going to unload the apples. The girl clearly understands what they are saying.
After unloading the apples, Ish is discussing the new girl with one-half of his new roommates, Jorge (Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll), when Murine (Elyse Levesque) shows up with what appears to be a pie or casserole for the new girl. Later that evening, everyone gathers outside where Heather and Alex can’t keep their eyes off the new girl. Murine is equally intrigued, whereas Emma tells Ish that he needs to return to where he found the girl and look for her family.
The following morning, Murine attempts to bond with the new girl by bringing her breakfast. This does not go as intended but once the girl notices Murine has scars as well, she appears more trusting. Murine even gets her inside to take a bath while Ish and Jorge return to the woods and discover what appear to be two crude cabins. As they search through the macabre scene at the cabins, Murine goes through the mysterious girl’s belongings. Shortly after Murine discovers a letter identifying the girl as Evie (Milania Kerr), she comes out of the bathroom. Murine shows Evie her new room and proceeds to share the letter with Ish, Jorge, and Emma. The letter is from Evie’s mother and is basically a plea for whoever finds her to take care of her. Apparently, Evie’s father took his frustration out on Evie and her mother had come down with some type of illness when the letter was written.
Everyone agrees to take Evie in and although Evie’s presence elates Murine, she continues to refuse to share her past with Jorge. As time passes, Ish and Emma have another baby that they name Joey (Samson Peake Ondego). Emma has a much easier time with the delivery and Ish immediately takes to him.
7 years into the pandemic while celebrating Joey’s first birthday, Ish’s intruder alert goes off. After hurdling the kids inside, Ish, Emma, and Jorge hit the surrounding woods armed and in search of who might have tripped the alarm. For some reason, Jorge immediately assumes it has something to do with Evie, which turns out to be untrue. Emma and Jorge are the first to run into Molly (Luisa d’Oliveira). It isn’t long after Ish shows up that Jean (Hilary McCormack) and Ezra (Brikett Turton) join in the standoff. After a bit of back-and-forth disputing and the introduction of Raif (Riveer Codack), the group retires to Ish and Emma’s house.
Back at the houses, Murine immediately asks the new group if they know Evie. Ezra claims they don’t know anyone anymore. Molly reveals herself as a trauma surgeon and explains how she met Ezra and Jean. As it turns out, Jean was actually a famous musician and Ezra was a big club promoter. When the group claims they traveled from Oregon, Ish asks why they left. Molly claims that it was a flu outbreak. Raif eventually interrupts the conversation with the announcement that he is tired. When Emma mentions the house next door, it becomes clear that Ish is hesitant with the newcomers staying so close.
While Emma and Ish continue to debate the newcomers staying, Jean, Ezra, and Molly settle into their new living arrangements. Being that Ish and his group haven’t been in the area they are hunting today, he spends several precious minutes laying out the rules for the newcomers. Despite Molly’s pleas, Ish is adamant that they stick with food items and guarantees her that all the medications have been looted.
Things immediately start off on the wrong foot at the hunting site when Ish and Ezra get paired together. While they argue about everything from career choices to names, Molly and Jean split up. Jean visits the local liquor store while Jean goes to the hospital. Ezra even breaks off from Ish to get a guitar when they return to the meeting spot. Ish immediately notices Molly’s absence and questions Jean when they arrive back at the meeting spot. Ezra plays the whole thing down by claiming that Molly can take care of herself. This immediately comes into question when the footage abruptly switches to Molly and shows her facing down what appears to be a wild lion. She uses a fire extinguisher to scare the animal off and later also uses it to break into the door which is known as the backup stash.
Ish isn’t too happy with Molly’s daredevil stunt but is far less scathing than normal when he learns about her finding the backup stash. Ish continues to have doubts about the newcomers but Emma is adamant about community and Ezra, Molly, and Jean staying. Even though Ish begins to yearn for his time alone at his cabin, he begins to see the importance of community when Jean regales the entire community with a song over a bonfire.
After the bonfire, Jean relapses with a bottle of liquor she got during the group’s earlier outing. At the same time, Jorge tells Murine about his father moving the family from Caracas to a tiny village in Guajabal when he was 8. Jorge says he fell in love with the village’s surreal atmosphere and feels that Evie is getting a similar experience thanks to Murine. This causes her not only to see Jorge in a different light but she sleeps with him.
It is Molly who not only discovers Jean’s relapse but learns that she did so because she was trying to abort her baby. Molly tells her that she can’t drink away a baby and promises to always be there for her. She also promises not to tell Ezra. The following day before the group sets out for gardening day, Jorge gives Ish a hammer that he found during their outing yesterday. Ish is clearly touched but jokes about the hammer being more for smashing rocks than discovering them.
With gardening day ended, the footage skips ahead. Jean has her baby and introduces it to Raif while Jorge and Murine welcome a new child as well. Jorge and Ish celebrate the moment with a cigar. 14 years into the pandemic, the story returns to a regular pace with the celebration of Heather’s (Amarah Taylor) birthday. As Heather blows out the candles and cake is passed around, Ish gets tasked with watching Joey ride his bike.
The next scene briefly shows what appears to be an approaching storm before showing Ish and Joey at the library. It doesn’t take long to see that Joey shares Ish’s love for books. He also appears to be interested in weather and moon cycles because he notes that tonight will be the 17th straight moon with rain. By the time Joey and Ish return home, it appears to be raining and hailing. Ish begins a headcount but Emma is well ahead of him. It is Heather who notices that Lucky is missing. Unfortunately, it is Ish who finds him outside, crushed by a fallen tree. He does not take the death well at all.
Shortly after Lucky’s death, Ish and Jorge are working on a construction project when Ish notices that everyone is missing. When questioned, Jorge tells him that all he knows is Evie is watching Joey in the park. Ish puts down his tool and claims that he is going to give her a break.
At the park, Ish finds Evie watching Joey just as Jorge claimed. Things take a drastic turn when Ish notices a feral mountain lion approaching. He tells Evie to get Joey and immediately intervenes. Although Ish has his hammer, he is unable to do anything. The episode ends with him looking as if he is being mauled to death.
Earth Abides Review
Not a horrible episode, although it felt a bit long and drawn out at times. I am very much enjoying this series but I do wish they would find a way to more effectively tell the story without such long episodes. The one thing I admire about the series is the continual time jumps. I am sure this will likely end because if they aren’t careful, all main grownup characters will be dead by the end of the first season. I also understand the desire for community and human connection, but I am not sure how I feel about all the births. Every time you turn around, someone is pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or having a baby. I’d give the episode a 5.6 out of 10.
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