Z Nation - The Collector - Review

'The Collector' had a very intriguing premise about a man who collects unique zombie specimens and it delivered with some stellar writing. This was a much talked about episode due to the appearance of A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin, one of the many humorous spots this week amidst some poignant character moments involving Murphy.

In my interview with Keith Allan the actor behind Murphy expressed his enjoyment filming an upcoming episode with a close friend and fellow stage actor. He also mentioned how well written the episode was. I would assume the actor he was referring to was Tom Beyer, who has garnered quite the reputation on stage, and who wonderfully portrayed the titular Collector this week. Most of 'The Collector' revolved around Murphy who finds himself in captivity by the obsessed Collector who is creating the first ever national zombie museum. The two actors worked well together and Beyer's acting chops really shined through in bringing to life this great antagonist.

Through his captivity we see a different side of Murphy. Although he has fully embraced his zombie half and empathizes with them, he still has not forgotten that first and foremost he is human. The Collector does not treat Murphy as a human being, but rather as a new species of zombie for him to experiment on. The frustration that Murphy feels at being this guy who will be placed in a lab and poked and prodded for a cure, a means to an end if you will, is magnified in this episode through how the Collector treats him. There is a certain loneliness and fear that Murphy feels and it is especially felt at the end of the episode when the camera zooms in to Murphy eye's after he tells Warren not to leave him when the mission is over. That scene alone made for one of the more poignant moments of this series.

The episode really drove home who Murphy really is as it also featured clips to the very beginning of his journey when he was first bit into in the lab right up to the events of Cassandra. Again, much regret is felt when he thinks about her and what he turned her into leading eventually to her death.

Of course, Z Nation is not without its humor. There was the aforementioned George R.R. Martin cameo as a captured Z in The Collector's celebrity zombie exhibit. Apparently Martin retained his autographing skills and The Collector hilariously had him sign one of the copies of 'A Promise of Spring,' a play on his announced final book, 'A Dream of Spring.'

Moreover, this is one of the few zombie shows where the characters recognize zombie fiction. How can they not? As funny as it may be to see a character commenting on other medias, it also adds some realism as this world we live in is permeated with all things zombie. So, it was a nice touch to see Murphy comparing some of the dozens of films that preceded the events of Z Nation, such as White Zombie and the 2004 Dawn of the Dead, to his experiences.

The conclusion saw 10K finding the museum and being tranquilized by The Collector. It was great to see the confrontation between 10K and Murphy forced upon by The Colllector as they both, especialy 10K, had a lot of steam to express.

Keith Allan mentioned in his interview with SpoilerTV how he would love to see Murphy get angry after the way he has been treated by the human race. The words the thespian used to describe the direction he wants to see his character go in was to someone in a "very strong power position," both "brutal and unforgiving." We got a hint of that in this episode when he let the escaped zombies chow down on the collector. His "look at me!...there's no mercy in my world" especially showed what he can be like when in power.

My only qualm of this episode was that it would have been nice to see a build up, with scenes in previous episodes showing the Collector in full armor capturing the various zombies we had seen earlier. The character was so strong and so brilliantly portrayed by Beyer that he would have also made for the perfect villain down the road. Watching him trailing Team Bite Mark, driven by his obsession with Murphy, would've been quite entertaining. This one episode alone made him a stronger antagonist than this Escorpion guy we have seen thus far. But alas, this will be the first and last time we will see the Collector. Him, and the deeper exploration of Murphy, made this one of the stronger episodes this season.

What did you guys think? Leave your comments below!?

About the Author - Kollin Lore

Kollin is an entertainment writer and a film and television, in particular genre TV, freak having grown up during the 90s and early 2000s a dedicated fan of Buffy and Angel. Current shows like Person of Interest, Supernatural, Ripper Street, Penny Dreadful, Grimm, The Blacklist, Game of Thrones, and dozens of other shows are currently occupying Kollin’s nightly hours. His reviews for Into the Badlands and The Expanse will be coming this fall!

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