Z Nation this year has seen an evolution in its narrative structure. Season's 1 and 2 were largely composed of lighthearted fare that saw Team Bite Mark on a road trip as they came across new towns, new crazy Z's, and excessively absurd situations. While we have seen glimpses of that same old narrative in this current season, there have also been a lot more weightier episodes that has truly risen the emotional stakes.
'Heart of Darkness' will most likely go down as the epitome of that shift to seriousness this season - a complete contrast from last week's absurd Trump parody, election episode. At the heart of this episode was Hector, as well as a returning guest star.
Hector's journey with Team Bite Mark this season has been a trip down redemption road as he tries to move on from his ever haunting past. The events of 'Hearts of Darkness' saw it all climax to shocking results. The return of Vasquez, and moreso, the reveal of him as the new Escorpion, was completely unexpected.
It is great they didn't wait too long to give some closure to Vasquez' character. The fact he had suffered a psychological breakdown, after what Hector did to his family and then not being able to get his revenge, was a natural path for his character to take. Hector trying to shock Vasquez into remembering his past provided a very emotional moment resulting in an exciting hand-to-hand combat sequence and culminating in the shocking death of both Hector and Vasquez.
However, Hector doesn't seem to stay dead for long in this show as now he is some kind of zombie hybrid? Up until this episode, I enjoyed what with they had been doing with his character, but this? It is all very unnecessary.
On top of that, bringing Vasquez back only to kill him may draw some ire among fans. However, he was one of the weaker characters on Team Bite Mark and writing him off seemed inevitable. At least our last shot of Vasquez wasn't him running into the forest - the character got closure and that's the positive to take out of his fate.
With Warren putting a blade through her former friend, she now leads the Red Hand as they drive towards Murphy's compound. In this, we see a slight change in Warren's character. There is some attachment to Vasquez, but after giving him mercy and decapitating him, it is quickly back to business and assuming the power of Red Hand. It has always been about the mission, and the mission this time is to retrieve Murphy by any means necessary. It'll be interesting to see how they further explore this side of her character in episodes to come.
Warren's turn to ruthlessness is another example of this shift of tone to seriousness and it is very much welcome as it keeps Z Nation from getting stale; however, it is the absurd silliness that sets Z Nation apart from that other zombie series and, hopefully for its own sake, this show does not stray too far away from their original identity.
Overall, 'Heart of Darkness' thrust the main narrative forward with some very interesting developments both story wise and character wise. A weightier, more serious episode is welcome here and there, so long as its serves a purpose, which this weeks episode very much did.
7.5/10
Notes
* I loved the Walking Dead reference with the, "I've seen bats with barbed wire, but not zombies," line.
* The barbed wire zombies were pretty cool, and the awesome lighting and visuals to go with it really helped make this sequence stand out.
* The episode set up next week nicely with the stinger that showed a now grown up Lucy. Poor Doc and Addy got their work cut out for them.
What did you guys think of 'Heart of Darkness?' Will you be missing Vasquez? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
