Shatter – The season 3 premiere begins with Tabitha Matthews (Catalina Sandino Moreno) waking at Saint Anthony’s Hospital in Camden, Maine. A very brief consultation with Doctor Brody (Sharleen Kalayil) will reveal that she was found on a popular hiking trail with no memory. Tabitha can’t shine any light on the situation but knows it’s time to go when a nurse (Jennifer Lee) arrives with the announcement that the cops are on their way. Despite making it outside without incident, the Boy In White (Vox Smith) leads her into a confrontation at a nearby café.
Boyd Stevens’ (Harold Perrineau) vision of Father Khatri (Shaun Majumder) continues to tease him while he crudely patches up his shoulder wound at the town’s makeshift police station. Boyd immediately claims that he’s fine and everything is under control, but Khatri will just as quickly remind him that winter is approaching, food is running low, and one of his own people tried to kill him three days ago. This won’t matter for the moment because his attention will soon be focused outside on a hysterical Ethan Matthews (Simon Webster).
Jim Matthews (Eion Bailey) is there in a matter of seconds to get the situation under control but it is only minutes later when Boyd learns that he has a much bigger problem, Ethan was trying to flee into the woods in search of Tabitha and Jim has now made that his mission. He’s already in the process of gathering supplies as Boyd tries to reason with him by using his own experience in the unforgiving wilderness. By the time Kenny (Ricky He) turns up, Boyd has not only relented but he’s offering advice to make the trip safer.
Despite being at the height of morning sickness and drawing the negative attention of several Colony House residents, Fatima (Pegah Ghafoori) appears to be coming around to the idea of being pregnant. Ellis (Corteon Moore) will come to her aid during one particular confrontation with Nicky (Tamara Fifield) but he’ll also soon learn that Donna (Elizabeth Saunders) wants to harvest what little crops survived the storm.
Surprisingly enough, Jim understands and agrees with the logic of Boyd’s ‘safer travel’ approach. Things however take a turn for the worse when Ricky notes and point out that Boyd also had a travel companion, Sara Myers (Avery Konrad). Ricky voices his intention of going with Jim leads to him and Boyd outside in a more private discussion. The nearby erupting gas station window will prevent this discussion from getting off the ground at the moment. Inside the makeshift bar, Boyd and Ricky will find a hysterically drunken Jade (David Alpay).
Boyd and Ricky make plans to take Jade to the station and patch up the window while Tabitha borrows a phone from two reluctant shoppers at what appears to be some type of sidewalk sale. She’ll briefly speak with her mother but refuses to tell her any more than she and the family are fine. After rushing the conversation Tabitha notices a nearby church while returning the phone.
Both Kristi (Chloe Van Landschoot) and Tian Chen Liu (Elizabeth Moy) voice their concerns with Ricky as he gathers the last of the supplies at the diner. At the same time, Jim says a brief goodbye to Ethan and Julie Matthews (Hannah Cheramy).
Boyd is still in the process of wishing Jim and Ricky luck when a frantic Ellis requests his presence at the communal garden. Boyd’s first concern after discovering that all the crops are rotten is how many people know. The raging mob of townsfolk trying to get to the town’s food reserves at Tian Chen Liu’s house suggests that Boyd’s concern was appropriately placed. With similar concerns, Randall (A.J. Simmons) causes a huge scene at the farm when he tries to make off with Ethan’s pet goat. Ethan is the first to get involved which leads to Victor (Scott McCord) pulling a revolver and Boyd’s eventual involvement. After a rousing speech about working together to survive, Boyd will get both Victor and Randall to hand over the goat and gun.
Jim is in the process of thanking Ricky for coming with him when they unexpectedly arrive at a field dart with weird statues and several outbuildings. Ricky is much more cautious about the situation and nearly dumbfounded when Jim suggests spending the night in one of the buildings. Ricky will relent after a brief visual search.
Tabitha’s confession at the church turns out to be shockingly revealing once the Priest (David Tompa) gets her talking about Thomas. This will ultimately lead to uncovering a ‘return to owner’ address inside Victor’s lunchbox that she’s still carrying. A very brief scene at the Colony House with Elgin (Nathan D. Simmons) reveals that he is still having nightmares, despite Boyd having destroyed the music box.
Tempers are already heightened by the food shortage and with the townspeople making off with the last of the food reserves; it doesn’t take long before Boyd and Donna’s discussion turns heated. The realization that the soil is what likely caused the rotting only makes the situation worse. Once Tian Chen Liu suggests they plant several small crops in various locations, it becomes a matter of how to sustain themselves until then. Their only option at the moment appears to the farm animals, which Ethan overhears and does not appreciate. Boyd will ultimately go after him and make him feel better by viewing the animals as the heroes.
While Tabitha makes her way to the address and meets Victor’s very unpleasant father, Henry (Robert Joy), Jim and Ricky debate the fact that they haven’t yet encountered the spiderwebs Boyd mentioned. A distant stirring outside not only draws their immediate attention but causes Jim to realize he’s needlessly risking his life when his children need him more. He tells Ricky that they’ll go home first thing tomorrow.
A brief scene at the farm shows the Milkman Monster and several others releasing the livestock. Boyd is at the station trying to enjoy a drink with Jade when he notices the animals carelessly trotting down the middle of town. He will go after them and Jade will go after him which sets off a chaotic scene of events. A stampede of sheep will draw Victor and Tian Chen Liu outside. Still on the bus, Randall is the first to notice the monster approaching in the distance. He’ll attempt to alert everyone by honking the bus’s horn and flashing the lights. Ethan will try to get involved when he sees his favorite goat outside. He’ll never make it out the front door thanks to the Old Lady monster. She’ll chase him and Julie through the rear entrance of the house, where Sara surprises and leads them to Randall on the bus.
By this time, Boyd and Tian Chen Liu have managed to herd a good portion of the livestock to the barn. This will also turn bad when the Mechanic Creature (John MacNeil) shows up with the Cowboy Creature (Wil Lang) and plenty of backup.
The episode will end with the monsters verbally taunting Boyd while they literally take Tian Chen Liu apart piece by piece in front of him.
From Review
I must say the ending was very intriguing. We’ve seen the creatures act a bit out of character in previous episodes, but this appeared to be something else entirely. Other than this, the story was surprisingly bland. Although this episode seemingly takes place days after the season 2 finale, the episode does a good job of catching up with the main characters and suggesting where this season might take them.
I did appreciate the food shortage because that rarely seems to be a major focus in a lot of apocalyptic-styled series. Tabitha’s new predicament is still no doubt the most interesting and I can’t wait to see where that goes. I don’t know if it was just me but some of the characters looked a lot different. Ricky not only looked different but his character had a whole new outlook. That will likely change again if he and Jim make it back. I’d give the episode a 5.4 out of 10.
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