Z Nation Season 3 (2016)

 

Catching up on the Zs - its wild peril in season three of this splatterific series, first shown in 2016  

Curiously the third season begins with an episode set sometime in the second. No Mercy is introduced as a flashback episode though it’s not clear when it is supposed to be set, especially if, like me, it’s two years since you watched season two. It’s a feature length premiere that re-introduces us to the attributes that make Z Nation a top-class adventure series with a creative edge when it comes to the Zs themselves. For example, we have zombies sporting metal helmets so that they can’t simply be despatched in the usual manner with a shot to the head.

They are part of the force used by an enigmatic character known as The Man who is searching for scientists whose name he has on a list. One of those names- Doctor Miles Teller -is holed up at a remote community built around a research lab. It just happens to be close to where our motely band of protagonists currently are. It’s a brisk episode with plenty of action yet not without a heart either. Teller’s wife for example was isolated years after she became infected from one of her experiments attempting to find a cure. Her glowing semi zombie appearance is alarming yet she is not a monster and the episode makes her sympathetic even though she can’t speak. 

Unfortunately, that doesn’t quite work as well with a sub plot about a feral boy, only able to make animal noises, who starts to copy 10K (they name him 5K!) though this puts him a risk.  Unlike Teller’s wife, the boy’s inability to speak and the fact that 10K isn’t the most loquacious character hampers this plot though there’s a terrific chase the two are involved in.  As ever the episode is presented for maximum impact, director Abram Cox enjoying the opportunities all the dust and sunlight offers to contrast the harsh outdoors with claustrophobic indoors. Why the community paint everything red when about to defend the place isn’t clear but it definitely makes for a great visual.

A New Mission opens season three proper by taking us back to the perilous scenario our group found themselves in at the end of season two with Murphy and 10K on a submarine lab which exploded while the others were surrounded by Chinese troops. As a season closing cliffhanger, they don’t come much better. Turns out the Chinese are on a similar mission as just about everyone else- finding “the Murphy”- and they arrive with a nifty weapon in the form of a ball that can slay several zombies at once. A sort of understanding gradually emerges between the two forces as the situation intensifies and they find themselves battling not just Zs but also Enders, savage humans who are basically wild animals, racing to a supply drop they run into both forces.

Meanwhile it’s a devious Murphy who emerges from the wreckage of the sub now in control of some of the crew, scientist Doctor Merch and, it seems, 10K. Throughout the episode you sense our blue faced friend is up to something with his mission to create more of these so called Blends which are people he has bitten and who are now subservient to him yet not actually zombies/ The zombies themselves no longer attack them.  There is a strong hint that 10k has also been bitten as he is now sticking with Murphy, obeying his commands. As the former drives off after failing to get the others to go with him, someone shoots the Zs near them. Is this 10K with some free will or did Murphy order him to protect them suggesting some hidden agenda. Its concepts like the blends that raise Z Nation above just being another shoot-em-up spectacle. Talking of which we also glimpse a pile of zombies trying to eat each other only they’ve become a giant rolling ball. Its gruesome, inventive stuff!

It does seem that Murphy wants to have things his own way after being pushed and prodded around and this conflicts with Roberta and the other’s mission. It’s a great episode for Kellita Smith who manages to convey Roberta’s frustration and anger when they are prisoners simply by facial expression. We all know what she’s thinking! Once again there is some excellent action, notably shadowy gymnastics in an old factory before the team set off on their new mission to stop Murphy. Admittedly this does seem a bit odd when they have literally been talking to him five minutes earlier but they now have a new team member in the form of Sun Mei, the only survivor of the Chinese troops. Judging from this episode she needs to match her earlier tough exterior with some grit as later on she crumbles when things go wrong. And the end of the episode explains why the flashback episode was shown the week before when we see The Man with a new list that has only one name on it- that of Murphy. Everyone’s looking for him!

The Citizen Z scenes always act as an amusing counterpoint to events elsewhere and we catch up with him again this episode after he’s been rescued by a fan girl who lives in the Arctic with her grandparents. These sequences are a little surreal and, at the end, as the four of them watch the Northern Lights a reminder of simple pleasures that the characters in this story rarely have.

“We’ve one more favour to ask- would you bite my wife?” is a memorable line in the quirky Murphy’s Miracle in which we follow Murphy, 10K, Doctor Merch and their entourage to the city of Spokane, a picturesque waterfall laden sort of place where one might want to start building a new world. Murphy- Keith Allan at his best- loves the place strutting about like a peacock to increasingly incredulous looks from the others especially when he finds a seat that will be his throne. En route he had helped a family whose daughter was dying- his bite turning her into a Blend, hence that last line. Murphy’s new purpose feeds an intriguing plot though we’re kept in the dark as to how much free will those he does bite have. In this episode we see some are totally subservient whereas both Doctor Merch and 10K appear to have some autonomy though a scene where the latter is refusing to kill an Ender whereas his hand is not obeying suggests it is limited. 

Pursuing Murphy the others end up in a small town of McCloud where he has actually planted their tracker in a zombie but they end up rescuing the local mailman Becker who seems to have some sort of affinity with local Zs who he keeps at bay with lumps of meat- “roadkill” he says. Anyone that’s watched the show up till now will recognise that such an off the cuff remark is likely to be pivotal and indeed later on we find the source of this so called road kill and what Becker has really been up to all this time. Carl Johnson plays him rather like a character from a Joe Dante movie; chirpy and seemingly so normal that there’s something abnormal about him. The pace is a level down from usual though this makes full impact of a moment towards the end when all hell breaks loose. This scrap takes place in semi darkness with director Alexander Yellen making maximum use of torchlight and shadows including one superb shot where we view matters through the silhouette of a hollowed-out zombie head.
The more eccentric tone of this episode is further heightened by the sequences up North as Citizen Z spends time with Kaya and her odd grandparents before discovering they are short of food so leads them back to the Northern Light base where he spent his time in the first two seasons. 

In a series that does wild peril as well as Z Nation, episode four, Escorpian and the Red Hand stands out as putting our characters in extreme danger. Driven by Jason McKee’s taut, distinctive approach and a thunderous sound mix matters barrel along with the tone more likely to be found in a series finale. The direction, editing and sound combine to provide an urgency.  Our group’s arrival in a new area is greeted by zombies hanging from their guts over a bridge while the town has been ransacked and splattered in graffiti pertaining to the Red Hand. They are of course the criminal group that Hector used to belong to.

Yet the reason why this place has been targeted remains in doubt and the storyline though fairly simplistic, does provide a twist near the end. What its really about though is some excellent action scenarios as Roberta and Hector plus the less than friendly locals are trapped in a large warehouse. The others shelter elsewhere to deal with Addy’s infected tooth. It’s almost a source of comedy that her situation causes as much problem as the zombies or the gang. The edge this episode has is created by the fact that both humans and zombies are equally dangerous. The only niggles are why the gang stop their attacks- maybe they think everyone is dead – and the slightness of the story. Hector’s conflicted feelings over what is happening and his past could have been explored a bit more though the hint is we’ll likely see more of the Red Hand at some point.

Back in Spokane Doctor Merch has been secretly working to assuage the effects of Murphy’s control with covert injections and when she shares this remedy with 10K they plot to escape and take Murphy’s vaccine with them. When this plan mis-fires it leads to 10K’s most heroic, action orientated escapade yet culminating in a dive off a bridge into raging water below. It looks like a real stunt rather than digitally created so it may be either Keith Cox or Cyrus Leisy who are the credited stunt people on this episode.  Doctor Merch’s fate is as horrendous as anyone’s has been in this series and Lisa Cornado will be missed from the series.

The peculiarly monikered Little Red and the Wolfz (a great band name that would be!) focusses on just two of the main cast, each in unusual scenarios. While10K endures perhaps the worst day anyone might have; Murphy tries to work out why Doctor Merch killed herself and how it might allow a breakthrough in the vaccine work. His narrative pins down a little more about this most elusive character whose claims about wanting to help everyone are often at odds with his selfish actions. He spends the episode theorising out loud accompanied only by Doctor Merch’s dead body with whom he converses – and ends up eating some of her brain - though naturally she doesn’t answer back.  Lisa Coranado does a great job staying totally still while Keith Allan is in his element as he increasingly turns into professorial mode compete with cultural quotes as he tries to solve the problem.

We cut between him and 10K who after his daredevil leap last episode is fleeing into woodland. We are taken into the harsh beauty of the Washington countryside with every conceivable camera angle as 10K flees varied pursuers including what appear to be a pack of mutant wolves. We don’t even see them properly yet incredible edits and sound effects are enough to make them scary. It soon becomes clear that what we’re watching is 10K’s fever dream as he is led by a mysterious woman in red who always knows the right direction. Its surreal and stylish as well as highlighting the natural beauty of the area close to the Spokane River. As someone who doesn’t always get a lot to do from one episode to the next, the likeable Nat Zang has our support as the character is put through the wringer and again beats seemingly impossible odds.

Director Juan Mas pulls out all the stops along with editor Jason A Payne and cinematographers Peter N Green and Frederico Verardi. Every frame is carefully crafted with cinematic skill taking advantage of the surroundings. There’s also a pounding incidental score that gives proceedings a tribal edge. This episode is a strong example of how the show tries different things and how what on the surface may appear to be a filler episode is in fact quite crucial narratively and incredibly exciting and enjoyable dramatically.

Doc flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest is the sort of episode fans of a series often treat with less reverence as it is played more for laughs than with serious intent. A series like this though, often grim, and unrelenting, needs these occasional sweeteners and this is actually very good. Doc is on his own and knocked out by someone wearing the full rhinestone Elvis regalia. He wakes up in a mental facility overseen by a character named Nurse Ratched, entirely deliberately of course who dominates the handful of patients with a firm hand. When he is able to prove his assertion he is a doctor, she allows him access to their newest patient who turns out to be 10K. There then follows what is essentially something of an enjoyably chaotic farce albeit one where zombies are massing outside.

Visually the clean corridors were our characters exist contrast with the messy Z ward that we later see (I expect they were the same corridor redressed) and there is a stylisation about this episode. Apart from the One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Elvis references, we have a girl called Winona who resembles the actress Winona Ryder in her Eighties youth, 10K now sports a Manga hairstyle and the ending takes place in the sort of sunset drenched country look of many a film. Even the presence of a yellow school bus, seemingly untouched since the outbark conjures memories of Eighties films.  

The lively guest characters are frequently funny notably Brandon Morino who makes the best of a ton of Elvis references peppered across the witty script. Austin Hillebrecht’s hyper delusional Liddy is also a highlight while Kate Witt’s serous Nurse is a great counter balance to everything else. The biggest surprise though is a hitherto unseen attribute for comedy exhibited by Nat Zang who spends the whole time looking stunned, surprised, or delirious which is such a change from 10K’s usually ultra serious demeanour.  Russell Hodgkinson leads from the front showing both the practical and amusing side of Doc’s personality as he has to react to changing circumstances. Since his persona in season one as a typical stoner type of character, Doc has evolved into a much more interesting and caring individual. Naturally there’ also plenty of action as a couple of trips through a Z ward provide yet more inventive ends for our undead friends. Some may find this episode crosses the line in terms of treating mental conditions as a source of levity but the episode doesn’t mock the patients, indeed once proper medicine is found Doc gives them what they need to calm down the more extreme symptoms.

At the end Doc sees the bite that Murphy had give 10K and the latter is insistent that he doesn’t tell the others. Looking at contemporary reviews of the time there was some speculation about where this was going and I’ve not looked ahead to find out. Yes you can still progress unspoilered nine years after the fact!

After a run of strong episodes, Welcome to Murphytown is a somewhat disjoined affair that moves between Citizen Z and his new friends moving back to Northern Light and Murphy’s increasingly successful operation in Spokane where The Man shows up. There are still some odd ideas thrown in; including a pack of zombie kids used like wolves, and there’s plenty of brain eating on display. It’s just that the episode doesn’t coalesce as well as the previous ones this season.

Murphy’s previously all blue skin is now blotchy which nobody comments on presumably because they are all under his control. He’s in his element now; that spacious room we saw a few episodes back now has a throne, a large dining table and plenty of crockery. Occasionally he goes to the window and waves to his disciples below, meanwhile he’s also sent promotional vans with his image on the side to recruit more to his causes. It’s one of these that the others- now reunited with Doc and 10K- hijack though soon they split up again. Doc and Addy are going to find Murphy’s child Lucy while the others head for Murphy himself. Their purpose – to “stop” him seems somewhat nebulous given how much he commands. As to whose side 10K is on becomes an issue when they discover his secret bite and use of the phials he took from Murphy.

The narrative hasn’t really built a convincing enough case yet as to why Murphy is so wrong. His blends are immune to Zombies, yet live as people comparatively safely. They can even eat meat again- is there too much wring with that? Yet this episode wants us to view them as being wholly bad and needing to be taken down. No doubt there may be some twists further on but it does feel as if the story has boxed itself into an awkward corner. Also sending Citizen Z back to the base seems a retrograde step given we had two seasons worth of plot there. It would be more interesting to take the character elsewhere. As for the Man his indomitable strength and singular sense of purpose sometimes seems overplayed given the scenario.  So, the episode is ok but what’s this? Warren mentions she and the others have been fighting zombie spiders. Perhaps that is the episode they should have made.

All the way through Election Day, Anastasia Baranova looks fed up as well she might. Having had little to do this season thus far when she finally gets an episode to just herself and Russell Hodkingson they are plunged into a somewhat clumsy political analogy. Of course, when this was made, a certain Donald Trump was running for President – the results would have come though around the time the episode was shown- but attempts to provide a small-town version of the hustings don’t really work. Doc and Addy, on their way to find Lucy, encounter what seems to be a genuine Presidential limo but inside are old associates, the conmen Sketchy and Skeezy. This time they are parading around pretending to be the President and company. Sketchy speaks before a small town about building a wall across America to keep out the zombies. If the townspeople half believe it, much to Doc and Addy’s frustration, its perhaps because they use the same sort of empty rhetoric of hope that litters many a genuine election. However, the set up seems as fake as their pitch.

I suppose this worked better at the time of the crucial real election by showing just how hollow political promises are but at this distance it seems almost childish in its humour. Yet I’ve seen reviews saying the episode was excellent so perhaps American viewers appreciate it more than we would. More interesting is Doc’s investigation and solving of a problem with a mysterious virus while poor Addy has to mediate a presidential debate. It would be wrong to call this satire and the scene at the end where the potential `candidates` are fighting each other in the mud is about the level we have here. Only a sudden zombie attack and Doc’s investigations save the episode from being a spoiled ballot. And let’s give Addy something decent to do soon, shall we?

The season well and truly picks up again with Heart of Darkness, a fantastically poised episode in which Roberta seeks out the fake Escorpion in an attempt to persuade them to join her to stop Murphy’s plans and of course she has the real Escorpion with her. The Red Hand’s boss lives in a melodramatic underground lair which takes so long to reach via random weird things- hands walking about, guilty humans tied to posts- that it almost becomes comical. When he finally arrives through darkness and lifts his cowl, I was wondering if he does this every time someone turns up. His identity is not too much of a shock for those who’ve seen every episode as its none other than Vasquez, last seen vowing to avenge his family who died at the hands of the real Escorpion.  Only Vasquez is so traumatised he has no memory of these events. The tension in the poorly lit room is palpable. 

Kellita Smith is excellent as Roberta tries to deal with the changing situation and draw Vasquez back from the brink but it climaxes as it was always going to in a fierce combat between the latter and Victor who taunts him deliberately, his guilt mixed with strategy. It doesn’t end well for them - in fact both characters seem to die; Vasquez at Roberta’s hands. I can only surmise that his gang were as transfixed by the drama as I was as they all watch the whole thing happening and before you know it are riding in a truck with Roberta now leading headed for Spokane. This must be the way the gang decide their leader.

The episode might have benefitted from making an earlier reveal to allow at least some of Vasquez’ amnesia to clear; certainly, they could have taken several minutes from all the wandering around underground. We do pop back to Murphy who is now broadcasting to the world his vision though surely if he advertises too much someone would come along and try to steal his vaccine. And what’s with his skin which is now only half blue and half white. Odd transformations are all the rage at this stage. We assume Hector’s dead but at the end cut back to his body and his eyes shoot open he’s not a zombie but what is he?

They Grow Up So Quickly sees Addy and Doc find Lucy who appears to be controlling her surrogate parents and more significantly is about five years older than she should be. The episode plays with the idea of her will being channelled through her parents and how Doc and Addy manage to get on her right side. Then things go awry when our old shiny headed fiend The Man turns up and kidnaps Lucy. It’s an episode that mixes playfulness with a deadly edge- Lucy plays with local zombies and encourages Doc and Addy to engage in a game of hide and seek. There’s also the idea that she has a psychic link with her father even though Murphy is a long way away. The tone plays about right so it never gets too silly and also makes a change from the usual zombie attacks. Madelyn Grace as the five-year-old Lucy is excellent, adding a menace behind some of her more childish behaviour yet able to show fear when threatened. DC Douglas and Kim Little as Ma and Pa Kettle also play well with the combination of being protective country folk yet also a little strange. Doc’s kid friendly explanation to Lucy about her real parents is funny too.

The other plot sees how Murphy now has control over 10K having made him a Blend and even given him a new name- Thomas- plus a mission. Murphy is puzzled by why 10K still seems to somehow resist the enthusiasm that the other Blends share and challenges him with a knife game and also offers the original vaccine -which is what 10K stole earlier in the season- but the latter does not take it. It feels like there’s something going on with him as if he is not quite as under the control of Murphy as the others. In a way there’s a parallel between these two plots which are about coercion and control.

Courtesy of both his prominence in several episodes and the amount of material he’s had, Russell Hodgkinson’s Doc has become the lead character this season and features again in Doc’s Angels. He seems to get odd stories as well- only a few episodes back he was incarcerated in an eccentric asylum and this episode is no less weird yet equally enjoyable. It actually opens out of character with a vicious assault on a zombie by two Enders suggesting the kind of episode that this is most definitely not. A heady mixture of fairy tale ingredients, the story finds him taken in by three very charming ladies. They live in a cottage in the middle of dense woodland and a mini labyrinth. The only difference between them and some of those old stories of dangerous women in woods is they have a radio antenna.

Obviously never having read this sort of story, Doc is soon being fed, read poetry and having his hair tied up and its clearly enormous fun for the cast. To spice up matters there are also trained zombies lurking some of whom have been bedazzled with jewels and who seem to obey the trio sometimes in an unruly manner. The Siren trio are played by Debra Wilson, Nadine Valasquez and Annette Toutonghi each with a different approach but all aiming to relax Doc in any way they can. Russell Hodgkinson, always so good at reaction shots, is in his element here.

Of course, the viewer will know there’s a secret in the basement (it’s always the basement!) which the episode waits a considerable length of time to reveal it but it’s worth it, hinging as it does on something one of the ladies said earlier on. This sets up a frantic climax which plays loosely with the geography of the place and has Doc perform a stunt so ridiculous that you know if wouldn’t really work but then again after what we’ve seen this episode why not? His reason for going there- to send a message to Citizen Z to pass on to Warren and co- is ultimately successful before he has to high tail it away wearing a fluffy pink negligee which might possibly even frighten the zombies away!

Not the episode that the title suggests it will be The Siege of Murphytown instead draws together various plots with considerable ease. Admittedly sometimes this means not really being very thorough such as the way Warren and Sun get into the heart of the Spokane compound. Perhaps the most convenient development sees Citizen Z flying all the way to Spokane and happening to pass the compound in the midst of a fierce confrontation between Warren and Murphy. And how exactly did a plane fly so far without needing to refuel? Yet you can forgive these easy fixes in the midst of an episode that contains some great scenes and has more humanity too. For a season in which most of the regular characters have become more brutal there are some chinks of optimistic light here. As soon as Murphy hears about his daughter his arrogant preening villainy is replaced by fatherly concern. As if to underline how something warmer shines on the episode Kaya reveals to Simon she is pregnant.

Not that its all sweetness and light. The episode centres mainly on Warren and Murphy whose two confrontations here delve into what drives them- Murphy’s messianic mission which he believes is succeeding and Warren’s determination to get his help to save the wider population. There is some grudging respect between the character’s partly perhaps because of all they're gone through and it’s an interesting choice that the writers have Murphy and his goons allowing Warren and her mercenaries to go free after the first discussion.  Kellita Smith and Keith Allan are both great in these scenes which really get to the core of their characters. The fact that they end the episode riding off together to get Lucy is unexpected ten minutes after they were trying to kill each other. It’s an episode that gets the right balance of story and action, horror and optimism paying off some of the slightly labyrinthine developments leading to here.

Possibly inspired by the early Steven Spielberg movie of the same name, Duel sees Addy pitted against The Man, the season’s somewhat invincible if unexplained henchman. It’s a game of to and fro with Addy having to rescue Lucy only for her to be recaptured. The USP of the episode is that Lucy keeps growing so is played by two different actresses and there are some amusing nods to her ageing. The best part is an extended sequence playing out around a boatyard and if you think Addy is well and truly pummelled then, you should see what happens later. Her resilience is something truly heroic in a series that has its fair share of miraculous escapes. In this case you feel she deserves to survive but its touch and go in this episode.

For such a tense scenario though the writing does have some levity especially Lucy’s clues as to their destination. She also seems to know the real names of all the zombies suggesting perhaps she can read their minds somehow. Not that zombies are supposed to have minds of course. And the one weakness of the episode is how easily The Man is able to keep taking her when she has theoretically all the zombies on her side.

If anything The Man changes his behaviour more than Lucy does- one minute he’s the ruthless thug, the next he’s an irritated parent. Still, it makes for some inventive scenarios even If you wonder why he doesn’t just kill Addy after all she’s done to stop him. For Anastasia Baranova, after a fairly low-key season, it’s a chance to grab the spotlight which she does even though mostly to convey how badly hurt Addy is. Her character’s heroic determination, the flashes of humour and the action makes this episode a more valuable one than it might otherwise be.

Everybody Dies in The End is not actually the final ever episode, the series ran for two more seasons in fact. Yet it has the heft of one and is well named because technically nearly every character does appear to die in one of those trademark season finale sequences which leaps out of nowhere. Pursuing Lucy to a lair inside a mountain our different parties meet up and eventually get inside after some trouble with zombies that neither Murphy or Lucy can control. Their disparate adventures merge  but we should know by now things will not go according to plan and they definitely don’t.

For one thing 10K is dying, no wonder after the various drugs he’s had pumped into him the whole season. Poor Nat Zang has had to spend the last third of the season in various states of near death but this episode he actually does die, briefly. Death of course is no barrier to continuing as Murphy is proof (he seems shocked when Warren tells him he has been dead for four years) and a complex manoeuvre is put in place to save our manga haired hitman- choke, bite, inject, hope for the best. After one of those false starts where everyone thinks it hasn’t worked, it has. If we thought that was the shock of the episode then its just the taster.

The Man- whose bond with the now bratty teenage Lucy flips from captor to surrogate parent- has summoned the mysterious people from Zona, or Zone A according to the helicopter that they send. In a no holds barred finale this all coalesces on a rooftop. Incidentally though this episode is home to some of the most dramatic incidents of the season, the dialogue is fairly one note and never rises to the occasion of the visuals. Anyway, to go back to the title, by the final scene it appears that Murphy, Warren, Addy, 5K, Lucy and The Man are all dead. Chances are most of them are not but it’s a humdinger, especially when the action slows to follow the route of a bullet that takes two of them out.

Addy incidentally, in what is unintentionally amusing, sets off to climb up this sheer rock face and the next day is still climbing. After a while we cut back and she’s still climbing. This is the woman you’ll recall who had her arm broken and was severely pummelled what must be about two days ago in fictional time. Its symptomatic of the logic of season three which is sometimes as clear as the zweed smoke Doc likes so much. It is all tremendously involving though despite any flaws and the characters work well together even though the writers keep separating them. When a great big futuristic craft lands at the very end- something that surely has somehow been constructed after the zombie apocalypse- you realise the series has a lot more in the tank.