If you’ve been keeping up with Syfy’s Z Nation, you’d probably agree that the last two episodes were a step up for the series. We can only hope that the followup episode continues to climb the ladder.

The show starts off with quirky commentary from Citizen Z (DJ Qualls). His southern accent is a little more obvious here. He is mindlessly killing time hitting some golf balls, until he gets a notice at his computer. Someone trying to hack the great Citizen Z? Stop the beeping noise!!! A whack from a broom solves the problem. Of course, it starts again. What is this? A space shuttle has arrived at Z’s headquarters?

Back in Nebraska, the crew is desperate for water. Doc (Russell Hodgkinson) suggests drinking his own urine, while Murphy (Keith Allan) isn’t bothered by the lack of fluids. Uh oh! A hoard of zombies is headed towards the group. Finally, after a little encouragement from Murphy, the crew seeks shelter in an abandoned building.

Quick little half a minute intro and we’re back to Z. Someone or something has tracked blood into Z’s building. Is it Mork? Robin Williams reincarnated? Mork finally lifts his mask and is able to breath the air. This guy is definitely creepy. Back with Murphy, the crew seems all but given up, without H2O. A new survivor, Otis (Thomas Olson) joins the group. He explains the insane severity of the hoard, which is supposedly miles long. He shares his homemade hooch with the others. Wow, anti-freeze and castor oil. This guy must be MacGyver.

As the crew rehydrates, zombies storm into their hiding place. Back to Z and space boy (Conner Marx). Sounds like the astronaut, who appears to be Russian, came from the International Space Station. After three years in Space, Yuri ran out of food and crash landed back to Earth. Two lonesome loners in a pod. The pair share a toast to surviving.

Meanwhile, the zombie hoard continues roaming the streets. The crew, aside from Murphy, is still lifeless and unmotivated. Looks like they’ve found themselves in a morgue. Doc almost gets bitten, as he opens a door to one of the slabs. Looks like the crew is going to pretend to be corpses and hide on the morgue tables.

(Nice commercial from 12 Monkeys. This peak anyone else’s interest a bit?)

Citizen Z begins to explain his process and technique to Yuri. He seems a little too trusting. Man, those NSA punks have too much control. That alone is scarier than the zombies in any show! Space boy is definitely an interesting character, but he seems a little off. At least, Northern Lights is a little less lonely with him, for now anyway. Now the crew is stowing themselves away at the morgue.

Back at Northern Lights, Citizen Z and his new friend are having a field day. A little hilarity, as the pair hits some golf balls, ride around in a golf cart and play some card games. Then, they proceed to play video games and finally a little more golf, before Yuri disappears. Z discovers the Cosmonaut checking out some of the equipment at Northern Lights. Citizen Z seems to be becoming a little suspicious of his new pal.

Back at the morgue, there isn’t enough spaces for the entire crew. Warren is zipped in a body bag, while Murphy walks among the dead. As usual, the hoard of zombies totally ignore Murphy, as he exits the room and we head into a commercial break.

Back at Northern Lights, Z and Yuri are back to video games. Z explains that you need to shoot the zombies in the head to kill them. Yuri is continuing to grow a little creepier, as he starts to sound a little like Borat. As Z runs off to the bathroom, he discovers an interesting tidbit about the space station on his zPAD. It appears that Yuri must’ve killed his entire crew. Now, Citizen Z is on the hunt for his new friend, with gun in tow. As Yuri continues to call Z Simon, he is ordered to step away from the machine.

The dialogue continues back and forth, with Z totally in control. Yuri attacks and the gun is tossed to the ground. Now, Z is in a desperate struggle to gain the upper hand. He gets the gun, after a fight. Back to Murphy, who is wondering the streets among the hoard of zombies. As he climbs on top of a vehicle, two of the zombies stare at him, as if awaiting orders. He spots something inside one of the buildings. Back to Z, who has tied up his new/old friend, the Cosmonaut. They mention that the dog continues sleep, as it has the entire episode. Has this a-hole poisoned Z’s dog? KILL HIM NOW! Commercial break.

It seems Murphy has made his way to the building, where he saw a flashing light. Back at the morgue, Warren and the rest of the crew begin having personal, internal struggles. Warren daydreams about food, Doc thinks about hippie’s music and 10k (Nat Zang) sleeps soundly. In the other hole, Cassandra (Pisay Pao) desires not to die alone. Otis goes nuts and gets out of his hiding place, only to be killed by zombies.

Yuri and Z continue discussing the dog’s condition. A few seconds later, Yuri escapes, grabs Z by the neck and throws him in the chair. The tables have certainly turned.

(Syfy shows a commercial for Spartacus: War of the Damned. Great series, if you’ve never seen it!)

Now, Yuri is in total control. Citizen Z believes that Yuri has blamed him and the dog. Yuri continues to say that something is wrong with this specific face. Now, he is making Z fight for his life, by choking him to death. Back to Murphy, who has found a couple and immediately steals all of their supplies. Outside, Murphy accepts the lady’s requests and sends her zombie boyfriend or husband upstairs.

Yuri continues choking Z and asking the same question. This doesn’t look good for Z. Finally, Citizen Z declares that all of the oxygen is gone. He struggles to the entrance, with his dog and hits the switch to open the door. While this saves them temporarily, what horrors will opening the door lead them to?

Murphy makes his way back to the morgue. The streets have finally cleared, aside from a few zombies. Inside the morgue, one big zombie remains. He notices Warren inside of the body bag, as Warren enters and scares him away. What control does he have over the zombies? The answer remains to be seen. Murphy is the hero of the episode, as he returns water to the crew, which he stole from a now deceased family. Perhaps the final commercial break?

With his new found knowledge, Citizen Z fixes the machine, which he broke with the golf balls. He goes back and plays some Dead Rising. As him and the dog stare out the door, he claims it is just him and the dog alone again. So Yuri was a figment of his imagination? Either way, this was definitely reminiscent of A Boy and his Dog!

The crew is having a good time, as they chow on the food that Murphy found. Soon, Murphy begins claiming that the crew needs to go. The episode ends up with a weird up-close view of Murphy’s eyes. Is he transforming into something here?

Review


Z Nation followed with a solid episode this week. Although there wasn’t a whole lot of character develop, aside from Citizen Z and Murphy, the pace was swift and the episode held my attention throughout. Citizen Z’s wake up call from the imaginary Cosmonaut was interesting, but perhaps without any lasting effects. Murphy’s adventure, which was informative, suspenseful and hilarious, definitely carried the episode.

Overall, this episode pushed the story successfully. What happens now? Does Citizen Z take more action to protect his quarters or is he forced outside? Is this going to turn into a full recreation of a Boy and His Dog, which we obviously wouldn’t mind? Does Murphy transform and become the leader of the Zombies? Only time will tell, but without this episode none of it would be possible. Mockie liked it and gives it an 8.5 out of 10.