Z Nation - Fracking Zombies - Review: "That's Not a Refinery. That's a Zombie Factory"

Review Guide:
Episode 1.01 Pilot - Review & Advanced Preview
Episode 1.02 Fracking Zombies - Review
Episode 1.03 Philly Feast - Review
Episode 1.04 Full Metal Zombie - Review
Episode 1.05 Home Sweet Zombie - Review
Episode 1.06 Resurrection Z - Review
Episode 1.07 Welcome to the FU-Bar - Review
Episode 1.08 Zunami - Review
Episode 1.09 Die Zombie Die...Again - Review
Episode 1.10 Going Nuclear Review
Episode 1.11 Sisters of Mercy Review
Episode 1.12 Murphy's Law - Review
Episode 1.13 Doctor of the Dead (Season Finale) - Review

Z Nation - Fracking Zombies - Review

This episode was spent mainly on a detour to a refinery filling up on gas that will get them all the way to California. Nothing much really happened in the episode besides them killing loads of Zombies as per usual, which isn't a bad thing as there were some sweet kills such as when they ran down some with the truck.

We spend some more time with Citizen Z in this episode, who at this point in my opinion is kind of getting on my nerves. When he is trying to contact people he starts shouting and it gets a little irritating, especially when he keeps saying things like "delta x-ray do you copy" over and over. Also, DJ Qualls acting is terrible; he delivers one of the weakest performances on the show. I am hoping over time it improves. Anyway, the first scene we see of him he is trying to contact Mount Wilson in regards to operation bite-mark. He does eventually get in touch with them, but by this point their facility is being overrun by zombies. He manages to access their mainframe and shut off power to their fences so they can get out. If this is the CDC where Murphy is meant to be going, what is the point if when they get there it will likely be overrun; it just seems like a waste of gas. I am willing to bet when they get to California that the CDC will be abandoned.

We spend nearly the entire episode with our main band of survivors who are in need of some gas, as we know in a Zombie Apocalypse things run out very quickly. They head to a refinery after a perfect stranger tells them there is a refinery nearby that has been overrun with zombies. I feel each week we spend the majority of the episode in one area, like last week in that outpost. I think the slow pace can be very enjoyable at times, as long as there is some reasonable character development going on. The one piece of character development we did get though came from Cassandra, who we don't really know much about anyway. It turns out that the biker who told them about the refinery actually knew her which you could kind of tell when he was looking at her strangely. We now know she was part of a group of some kind, and that she use to get stun, by a stun gun, but we are not informed of what this group is / what her role in it was. I am sure we will find out shortly, as the men at the end of the episode will almost certainly be looking for her.

When they do get to the refinery they split off in teams to try and get the gas pumping. Mack and Addy head off to turn of the loud noise being broadcast which was attracting the zombies. Cassandra and the biker, who she later kills, went to create a distraction using a pendant type thing. Doc and Murphy waited at a distance from the refinery as obviously they can't risk Murphy for some gas.

Garret and Warren went to get the tanker ready to move, and as for 10k he literally vanished. Nothing really happened in the refinery for me to actually talk about; we just kept switching between our different teams as they progressed to complete their certain objective. So long story short, they turned off the loud noise, created a distraction and then fled with some gas, they ended up taking a few cans of petrol instead of the whole tanker. Oh and the Zombies all burned, courtesy of Murphy who drove into a pole which caused the engine to fail and it to catch on fire after driving off when Doc got out the car to kill the zombies surrounding it. Murphy, by the way, has a phobia of Zombies, but I mean who could blame him after what he has been through. The zombies burning did look great though, and also when they came out of the gas pipe. I have to give it to the creators that they do try different things to what we have seen before.

There were some individual scenes I liked from the episode such as the scene with Murphy and Doc in the car before he drove off that is. They were playing go fish and we got to see a flashback to when Murphy got bit.

He had been bitten 8 times; he did create story up, which he told Doc. It was him volunteering for the vaccine to make him out to be a hero of sorts, which we know isn't true. I do like Murphy; he is probably my favorite character out of the bunch, followed by Doc. They both add a bit of comedic value to the show which is needed for me continue watching. I also liked the scene when 10k saves Doc's life again; he uses his slingshot to help Doc take out the zombies surrounding the car. We do find out that his name he has given himself is a goal he has set for how many zombies he wants to kill. His kill count currently sits at 1062; I reckon he will make it to 10k as he seems to be a very strong survivor. The last we see of the team is when they receive a phone call from Citizen Z. I get how electronics work where Citizen Z is, but can someone please explain how a telephone works in the middle of nowhere?

We do see some more of Citizen Z also, by this point he is losing the plot after failing in an attempt to contact anyone after he helped the people at Mount Wilson. He sees someone on a sledge with dogs. He is over the moon that someone is there, as he is craving some human interaction. When he goes outside the man on the sledge is a zombie. There is also a dog which he rescues and brings inside. We soon see a ZOMBIE DOG, which I am sorry I just don't get.

It looked just as bad as the Zombie baby we saw in the previous episode. The dog by the way also didn't get bit, it just turned. So in Z Nation anything and everything can turn. I am waiting for next week to see a zombie cat or perhaps a zombie horse. Citizen Z is trying to kill the zombie dog. This sequence played out nearly the same like with Hammond and the baby. Citizen Z walked around searching for the dog, and then it suddenly showed up. Only this time the character didn't die. The whole thing felt a bit like deja vu and felt unnecessary and just a way to pass the time.

Summary
Episode 2 was an improvement from the last one, we see more creative ways to kill zombies and get a bit of character development as well. However, I wonder if they will be spending the whole episode in one place as the slow pacing of things can sometimes be a little boring to watch, especially if there is no real interesting conversation between our characters or a lot of character development happening. I can see what the show is trying to create, and I think given time it could prove to be a decent show.

As always , thank you for reading! Let me know in the comments what you thought of the episode!

About the Author - Robert Fruin

Robert is a sixth form student from the United Kingdom, who is currently studying IT, Media and Business Studies. Robert is a huge fan of the ended ABC series LOST, he has seen it many times over and has even visited some of the filming locations for it. Robert mainly watches drama series such as Game Of Thrones and Person of Interest, but has a soft spot for the comedy The Middle. Some other shows he watches are The Walking Dead, Arrow and The 100. Some other interests include cycling, photography and kayaking. Robert will be reviewing Z Nation,The Librarians, Sons Of Anarchy, Intruders, The Fosters and Aquarius. Feel free to connect with him on any of these social media sites.

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