Sorry if this review is a little rushed, I have been extremely busy lately
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 - Murphy's Law - Review
This episode was focused on Murphy and his weird transformation. We have witnessed his strange transformation all season long, with his hair falling out, his teeth and his strange colour of skin. This episode we saw his skin start to decay, well enough for him to peel it off. When he put the skin in his pocket it actually gave me the shivers, why did he want to keep his own skin, I wouldn't. While it was mildly disgusting it was amusing to see Murphy's reaction to his decay, he seemed disgusted by it, but at the same time curious.
The group make it to this country club, where they get surrounded by zombies, and make a dash for it inside. They are eventually saved my three strangers. Murphy was still outside at the time playing golf. This is something I have come to expect from Murphy, him enjoying himself whilst everyone else fends for their lives. Also, when the group were shooting at the zombies in the country club, I thought they ran out of ammo? Did they have more in the truck or something as they seemed to be fully loaded later on in the episode when the car alarm went off, and zombies came.
When Zimmerman and his group come to a stand still, things got interesting. Murphy somehow managed to utilize his spit, blood and body fluids to somehow control the others minds. When you thought the kidnappers were in charge, they weren't. Murphy had all the control. Over the past few episodes Murphy has slowly built his confidence, he understands that he is important and that he is humanity's last hope, but he is also discovering some abilities he has gotten from the vaccine that give him control over the living, and the dead.
One of his captors, Janice gets his spit in her drink, and then starts to act like the zombie from "going nuclear" did, by following his every move. Henry gets a scratch mark, whilst Zimmerman gets bitten. What would have been interesting would be to see Henry turn into a zombie after get scratched by Murphy, sadly that didn't happen. The bite mark and the scratch mark didn't lead to anything which is a shame as it would have been interesting to see what were to happen. The only real thing that it did though was give Murphy control over them, after his blood, fluid or spit got into the captors systems. I still would have liked the idea of them becoming zombies, as it would mean that Murphy is a zombie hybrid with the ability to turn people. I think that would have been neat. The three captors later die, after two of them get bitten, and Murphy has Zimmerman shoot himself. This is when the rest of the group finally caught up with him. They were in shock by what was happening, more importantly how. I wonder if he would ever use this mind control on any of his friends. I think the next episode is going to be very interesting. I doubt they will cure the outbreak, but I think they will duplicate Murphy's vaccine and give it to more people, making them like Murphy. That would definitely be an interesting concept.
Our main group this episode were side-lined with them just spending the whole episode tracking Murphy down, with the help from Citizen Z. He is also trying to track down someone. Dr. Merch. I am now really enjoying seeing Citizen Z, he only shows up when he is needed, which I think is a great idea. It means that we get more time focused on other characters that are doing something relevant to the episode rather than seeing him talk to himself. Addy and Mack also get a brief mention this episode, which makes me hope that they or one of them is still alive. I hope we do eventually get some confirmation to whether they both died or not, but its more than likely we won’t know their fates until season 2. Lastly, Cassandra seems to be worse for wear, her leg seems very troubling and looks to be a real problem for her. We all know an infection in an apocalypse is probably the worst thing to happen, and going by the promo it doesn't look great for her.
Summary
It was a really enjoyable episode; I loved seeing Murphy's transformation taken to a whole new level. The new ideas that were brought in like the zombies on drugs, and Viagra were very amusing to see. The show really loves to surprise us with these new crazy ideas they have. The finale looks set to be a real interesting one. I really can’t wait to see which direction the show will be going in, I have started to really enjoy the show now after a bumpy start to the series.
As always, thank you for reading! Let me know in the comments what you thought of the episode!
What did you think of the episode?
ReplyDeleteI really liked this ep. I thought it was so kewl to give Murphy new powers. I thought he was going to turn those people, it was really surprising to see that he knew he could have control over them. I thought it was a really well done ep. And it just sailed along. I would still like to see what happens to Mack and Addy, but the writing was very good this ep.
ReplyDeleteI thought for sure he would turn them, as I wasn't expecting him to know that he could control people, and use it to his advantage. It was indeed got writing, the writers can produce some good stuff when they want too! Next week looks set to be focused on the core group at the lab (going by promo/summary for the ep) so I think he will have to wait until next September when it starts airing to find out what happened to them. It would be nice though to see something of them in the closing minutes.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this episode. A solid example of what this show can be when it stays inside its own "safe" zone -- not taking itself too seriously, wry/quirky setups, Citizen Z used sparingly, avoiding heavy reliance on drama. As usual, Murphy got in some amusing zingers and the way the "zombies on Viagra" scene was played actually had me laughing out loud.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Robert, that it would have been way cool to see Murphy turn his living captors. But I was kind of intrigued by the mind-control idea, since it touches on that same hive mentality used by books/movies like World War Z. I'm just happy that the writers seem to have a concrete plan for his abilities, which suggests they have a specific direction in mind for Season 2.
One minor detail I really appreciated about this ep is that they weren't afraid to scar up the female captor. A nice touch of realism, reflecting how pretty much any survivor would probably look in a true ZA. It truly bothers me that a big-budget series like TWD will show its characters grimy and bloody, but rarely with any permanent **facial** damage (Beth being an exception this season, and it's about time somebody sports realistic-looking battle scars). This is yet another way Z Nation might distinguish itself -- if it doesn't decide to kill off most of its Season 1 cast next week, that is! :)
I agree -- they're definitely teasing some serious group peril in the finale promo, and I'm also wondering about the fate of Doc (scene with the gunshot), Cassandra (leg wound), plus Mack and Addy (based upon last week's ep).
ReplyDeleteI can't seem to get away from the thought that they truly might end up paring down a chunk of the central cast. First, it would really set this show apart from others to keep proving that truly, NOBODY is ever safe. But secondly, was it me or did you feel like this episode seemed to work better with a smaller core group? Nothing against Mack/Addy or any specific character. It just seems to me (for all kinds of reasons we've mentioned previously) that ZN does best when its episodes focus on the full ensemble -- and that individual story lines flow better when that ensemble is a bit more streamlined, as with this latest episode.
This approach allows them to focus on all kinds of bizarre new situations and guest actors, without having to worry about face time and character development for 6+ core group members. I don't know ... just something I keep wondering about.
It would be hard to get invested into a character if they start killing of a lot of cast. They have already had possibly 4 major deaths in one season. Which I do feel is a bit too much. I like the idea that nobody is safe which the show has proven by killing of two group leaders, but they shouldn't over do it on deaths.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you. This episode along with "Going Nuclear and Welcome to the FU-Bar" for me have been really strong episodes, and the episode only consisted of around 5 of the core cast. Like I have said previously the show is at its best when were with the core group, but really when I think about it when I said that it was after watching an episode without Addy or Mack in it. I do like the characters, I just feel that when the whole group is together there isn't enough dialogue to go around, and we don't normally get any good guest actors. The writers also seem to pull out their best work when there isn't much cast to focus on.
It is something the show does need to work on. They need to try and find a way of making it work with a full ensemble, without making the storyline for the episode less appealing, and degrading the whole episode entirely.
It is the same with The Walking Dead actually that is at its best when it only focuses on a couple of characters.
Maybe they will show something in the last few minutes for Mack and Addy. I hope. Sept is so long to wait for new eps. At least we have alot of shows coming for the winter. Murphy seems really focused on the scientist who did this to him. I wonder how that will play out.
ReplyDeleteI am hoping they tease something related to them. Like you said there is a lot of shows coming back whilst this show is off air so they will keep me occupied. I am hoping also this show doesn't end on a cliffhanger, as I really hate them.
ReplyDeleteIt wouldn't surprise me if Murphy ends up killing the doctor, using his new formed abilities.
I do agree with you -- I'm still pretty iffy on the loss of TES, but given my total infatuation with the poor guy I'm probably kinda biased there. :) It just seems like the episodes that fully focus on a core group of around 4+ Murphy -- with very occasional sprinkles of Citizen Z providing GPS guidance -- seem to flow best. I think TWD can get away with its "check-in" approach because that show (for the most part) has the established tone, writing talent, and acting chops ... plus, we've invested 5 seasons with its characters. ZN has an utterly different dynamic. I really hope we're starting to see glimpses of what this show could look like once it figures out its "A" game and hits its stride.
ReplyDeletePerhaps if it is revealed Addy and Mack are dead it will be a good thing for the show. That way we will have 5 group members including Murphy, which hopefully would mean next season all the episodes might flow as nicely as the ones with fewer characters have.
ReplyDeleteDidn't Murphy discovered in FU Bar that the guy he bit didn't turn when he died off of a gunshot wound?
ReplyDeleteOh good point, I believe he did. Still he has learnt a few more things since then about what he can do.
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one that noticed the zombified Cassandra in the finale promo?
ReplyDeleteI did see something at 0.14 which looked like she had some scaring to her face, and her eyes were more bright.
ReplyDelete