I really enjoyed this episode! The first few episodes of Zoo had me a bit worried because they were quite laggy, but the past couple have found a good pace. Every week we’re getting more and more answers and the story feels like it’s steadily moving forward each week. This week was no different, with information on Reiden, the bats, and Mitch! This show keeps building week to week, and I think it keeps getting better and better, which I’m quite impressed with!
This episode saw our team split up once again in order to investigate two different leads. Chloe, Mitch, and Abe went to Rio which was having a bat infestation. Bats have been a very big theme in this show. Almost every episode has featured them, they're everywhere - Japan, Rio, and Antarctica, whereas other animals have been featured much less with just one central story. If the team doesn't find a way to get rid of the bats quickly than the government is going to dump an insecticide so dangerous it’s banned in the US, which will kill all the bats but in turn harm everyone. The bats have been gathering towards off the electricity grid and poverty stricken areas for some reason, and the team is on a mission to find out why. It’s a pretty dangerous area, even without the bats, and when they get there a group of locals pulls guns on them. Mitch’s reaction to this is eye rolling. He’s way too chill and it’s going to get him into trouble one of these days! Another thing that will get him into trouble is how he treats Chloe! He’s so mean to her and I really want to know why. His attitude towards her and everyone else is not an attractive look and I want to see the real Mitch soon. I also think it’s hilarious how he keeps trying to explain things in a logical way. When the bats were all swarming that electrical pole he was trying to say that they were feeding on insects that were nesting there but really they were trying to blow it up or destroy it. They need to start realizing that nothing they're dealing with is natural anymore. This episode also reinforced that Abe is the best and my favorite character! He’s so street smart and just handles himself so well in every situation. I also loved the theory they came up with for the animal invasions/attacks this week. The ability to reason and our technology are the only things that allow us, humans, to behave like apex predators even though we are not. The thought that the animals are going after our technology because without it we become easy targets, is so smart and creepy. I can’t wait to see where they go with this. The other discovery that maybe the animals are attracted to technology will be interesting to explore as well, so we’ll see what direction this story goes in.
Last week all I wanted was for the side-story to have a connection to the main plot and this week my wish was granted. This episode’s side-story was less exciting but much more relevant, while also providing some background on Mitch’s history. At the beginning I was assuming that the dog was going to be evil just like the ones in Slovenia but I was pleasantly surprised when instead it was a super friendly dog who was just trying to help his owner, a little girl with some kind of seizure disorder. We later find out that this little girl is Mitch’s daughter, so this is his old family. Could this be what turned him so cold, cynical, and distant? The dog, Henry, ends up getting hit by a car and has to get surgery and take medication. We see that the meds are manufactured by Reiden which is never a good sign, especially after everything we learn about them during this episode.
So…I officially take back what I said last week about Jamie’s obsession with Reiden and also her being useless. She really proved me wrong this week. Without her constant hunt for answers about Reiden they would not have all the answers they have now. This week the remaining members of the team, Jackson and Jamie went to Mobile to investigate Leo Butler, a lead they got from Evan’s bible, which had Leo’s name written all over it. Agent Shaffer also joined them on their hunt for answers after confronting them at the hotel about a hacking attack on Reiden, curtesy of Jamie (like I said, she really proved her worth!). Also, on an unrelated note, Shaffer and Jamie have a really good chemistry, way better than him and Chloe. I hope they take his character in this direction instead and I hope he becomes a permanent member of the team, because so far I really like him! When they reach Mobile, they find out that Leo was a chemist for Reiden and he explains to them that Reiden spent millions of dollars and years investing in the production of the “mother cell”. By the time Reiden realized that the mother cell was dangerous they had already invested too much to abandon the project. Leo reveals that the mother cell is in all of their products, despite the “side effects”, and it can’t be stopped. This is the best lead they’ve gotten so far as an explanation of this violent animal behavior so they ask Leo to get them the mother cell which he has hidden away somewhere nearby. My question is, if this mother cell has been in every product for years why are the animals only becoming a problem now? Anyways, as Jamie and Leo are on their way back to Jackson and Shaffer, they get hit by a car. I knew something like that was going to happen, the shot as they were driving made me vastly uncomfortable! What I wasn’t expecting was that Evan was the one who crashed into them! After the crash, Evan grabbed the mother cell and I’m really curious what he plans to do with it. If he’s on the animal’s side what could the animals want with it?
Overall, I was really feeling this episode. We learned a lot about the animals motivations for wanting humans dead, learned more about Mitch’s background, and learned about Reiden’s involvement in all of this. Plus, it was exciting as well! That’s basically all you can ask for in a show at this point. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens to Jamie and Leo and I’m still waiting for the whole team to work together in one place. Hopefully the next episode won’t disappoint and will keep building off the great episodes of the past couple of weeks! Let me know what you thought of this episode in the comments and thanks for reading!
About the Author - Kate Sidwell
Kate is a 24 year old, USA based, Psychology/Public Health Researcher - but that’s just her day job! In her spare time she is an avid TV watcher (some may even say addict!!). Some of her favorite shows are Jane the Virgin, Bates Motel, The Flash, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Rookie Blue, Silicon Valley, Beauty and the Beast, Sleepy Hollow, The 100, The Mindy Project, Pretty Little Liars, Once Upon a Time, The Royals, Orphan Black…so pretty much too many to count and a huge variety! She’ll give pretty much any show a chance! She also devotes a lot of time to her tumblr (
eat-sleep-breathe-tv.tumblr.com) where you can find her reviewing and commenting on most of these shows and just generally fangirling! She’s excited to be writing for SpoilerTV on Complications, Baby Daddy, Proof, Switched at Birth, Secrets and Lies, and Minority Report!
