Z Nation - No Mercy - Review - An Unfulfilling Premiere + POLL

In 'No Mercy' we are taken to an untold event in the midst of season 2 where Team Bite Mark defend a town against a cool and calculated villain known as, "The Man," who will stop at nothing to retrieve the town's doctor.

More or less, this was an unfulfilling premiere. It felt like a 2-hour filler type of episode, as nothing much happened. We are introduced to the villains of the season and questions were raised pertaining to the plot of season 3. However, it all could have been done in a more progressive manner rather than taking us back to season 2, only to raise more questions on top of last year's cliffhanger.

Some of the bright spots of this episode was that stupid crow kid. He was quite amusing in this episode, but then again, he is the type of character that will grow quite intolerable as weeks go on so, hopefully he stays dead.

The "nature boy's" sister, Red, was an interesting character. Aside from a couple of cringeworthy lines, she had great dynamic with 10K and there is definitely room for her rebellious, wild card personality on Team Bite Mark. They did not show her dying, but then again, she is not credited on the Syfy website as being part of the cast for season 3. Her role, along with the crow kid, will probably be reoccurring.

Another reoccurring character for this season is The Man. He is a slick and cool antagonist, though there was nothing too memorable about him. He's just a guy that is doing his job. The actor himself, Joseph Gatt, is quite charismatic, and it would have been nice if they had focused more on who he is and what his motivations are in this episode.

These zombies The Man unleashed on the town with protection around their heads was pretty pointless. They can't kill being that their mouths are covered, and once you take their legs out, which no one in the town did, they're useless. Yet, they were what led to the demise of the whole town! Team Bite Mark is better than that.

Speaking of Team Bite Mark, the chemistry among them was great as always. I hope none of the original members get killed off this season as they all individually have such dynamic personalities, and they each bring something different to the team. Cassandra, who made an unwelcome return to this flashback episode, and Mack, were the only two bland characters on the original team and they are already deader than dead. There is no one left that is expendable.

With regards to the plot of this season, there were some interesting questions raised, such as who is this rotting flesh guy? What is his need of this doctor and the other captives? How much will this infection that took hold of the doctor's wife play into this season's narrative? The premiere definitely achieved its job of building some intrigue, but it's not one of those episodes I'll be watching again any time soon.

Slow starts is beginning to become a pattern for Z Nation. In season 1, it took a few episodes for the series to find its groove. Last year's premiere 'The Murphy' was, for the most part, forgettable. However, episode 2, White Light, which featured bounty hunters, Murphy, and Team Bite Mark running around a small town shooting each other up, was one of the best episodes of the series and things really began to roll from then on. I'm confident Season 3 will be as much stupid fun as the last two seasons, but come on already, let's get the cheese rolling.

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 Supernatural,The Blacklist, Preacher, Game of Thrones, Blindspot, The Expanse and dozens of other shows are currently occupying Kollin’s nightly hours.

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