Zoo - Diaspora & Ten Years Gone - Double Review

Diaspora

Diaspora opens in the aftermath of the dual bombings that occurred at the end of the premiere. Jackson and Tessa are fine but shaken knowing they had an encounter with the bomber just moments before. We later find out that Tessa doesn’t actually know who Jackson is and he goes by the name Dylan Green. This situation becomes more complicated when Logan shows up to investigate and track the bomber. Obviously, he knows who Jackson really is and could blow his cover at any time. Logan, surprisingly, keeps Jackson’s secret but encourages him to tell the truth because he knows from experience how hard it is to hide the truth from the person you love, a clear reference to Jamie. A part of me wonders what happened between them after Mitch died but another part of me doesn't care. Anyways, Logan is able to find out the identity of the Shepard bomber and it’s shocking - the bomber is related to Jackson and it turns out she’s his sister.

Meanwhile, Jamie and Clementine are still on their way to save Mitch. Out of all the characters who have changed over the course of ten years, Jamie has, by far, changed the most. She’s pretty savage these days, holding people hostage and torturing them for information. She gets what she needs from the Shepard hostage and then uses him as bait to lure away the rest of the Shepard forces once they land on the ground. While this is going on, the other Clementine told Mitch that the people she was with are Shepards and not the IADG so they’re trying to escape. Of course, they run into Jamie’s Clementine and it’s time to find out which one is lying and which one is really Mitch’s daughter. I actually had a hunch that the Clementine with the “IADG” was fake, there was just something about her - especially after seeing her reaction to his $79.60 comment. The situation is very tense and confusing but before Clementine can pull out the parking ticket and prove she’s his real daughter, Mitch shoots her! This show is always surprising me. I did not expect Mitch to actually shoot anyone let alone for him to shoot the person that was actually his daughter. That’s pretty messed up. At first, she kind of looked dead but then later we see her getting patched up and she’s totally fine.

Dariela and Abe are in a pretty terrifying situation. They’ve discovered that the blood sample Jackson’s sent is growing into a fetus/egg and it’s sending some kind of signal out to the Razorback hybrids. Now Abe, Dariela, and Isaac are being attacked and surrounded in their home but they can’t give up the egg because Abe thinks it could be the breakthrough they need to solve the sterility problem. They find a way to conceal the signal in a special box and try to make a run for it but the house is surrounded and there’s already a Razorback inside! Dariela is holding the egg case and accidentally drops it on the ground, freeing the egg and sending the Razorback into a frenzy. When Abe grabs the egg it attacks until Abe is forced to let it go to save his own life. As if their horrible night wasn't bad enough, in the morning soldiers arrive on their doorstep with a message that their son is being taken into Reidon custody to be a part of the study to cure human sterility. Reidon isn't even pretending to take these children in a legit way, they’re literally just packed into trucks and carted away and it’s traumatizing for Dariela and Abe.

The episode leaves us with multiple cliffhangers and unanswered questions, including the bomber being related to Jackson, Isaac being taken away and lastly, in the closing moments of the episode, we see that Clementine is pregnant!

Ten Years Gone

We don't miss a beat as this episode picks up right where the last left off, with Abe chasing down the truck that took Isaac away. Dariela is frantically calling the police and getting no assistance and when Abe confronts the soldiers he gets a gun in his face. This is serious and it seems like there’s no way they can get their son back. Just when they start to lose hope, a man named Jonah goes to Dariela and tells her that he feels terrible about their son being taken away. He feels responsible but Dariela should too. The information that she called and gave to Jonah about Abe’s research is what he told Reidon and what inspired them to take the children. When Abe comes home and sees her with Jonah he freaks out and it soon becomes clear why. Jonah and Dariela had an affair at some point and Abe obviously never wanted to see them together again. I really feel for Abe, he’s always been my favorite character and I’ve honestly never liked him with Dariela. Anyways, Jonah says he has a way to get Isaac out and bring him home but when they get to the meeting point, the child is not Isaac. They’re devastated but take the kid back to his family anyway. It’s all for nothing though because as soon as the family gets away their intercepted by Reidon and taken back into custody. Interestingly, the woman who runs Reidon also wants to meet with Abe and offers him a deal - he’ll get his son back if he can bring her Clementine. So we got zero answers on how Clem is pregnant, only that she supposedly stole intellectual property from Reidon and now they’re after her. It should be interesting to see how Abe responds.

Mitch is still very much getting used to living in a new world and some of what he’s finding out he’s not happy about, like how Clem was raised by his father and not Jamie. This upsetting news causes him to have some sort of stroke and he needs immediate brain surgery. But don’t worry because Jamie is there with a drill. Honestly, I could handle her becoming some super-spy but brain surgeon…I don't think so. Anyways, she’s able to drill into his skull perfectly and discover that there’s some kind of chip that’s been planted in his brain and it looks like Shepard technology. Jamie asks her hostage to help them figure out what it is and he tells them it’s a chip that they gave up on years ago because it didn’t work. All the subjects who had it in died and anyone that took it out had complete memory loss. Neither option works for Mitch, but he opts to keep it in until he finds out who placed it there and gets them to remove it safely.

Earlier in the episode, Jackson received a call from Abe asking for another hybrid sample. Jackson and Abe’s relationship has always been my favorite so I was very happy to see them interacting. I’m looking forward to when they see each other again because their chemistry as best friends was always perfect. Anyways, because the rhino hybrid is gone, Jackson asks Logan and Tessa to help him track another one but what they find is definitely not a rhino. They come across a burrowing bird hybrid and it almost kills them. When they get back to Jackson’s lab they look up where it came from and find satellite images of the bomber, Abigail, in the same place as the hybrids. It can't be a coincidence so they decide to travel there and find answers. Before they go, Jackson tells Tessa about his true identity and as expected she’s really hurt. She basically leaves him and doesn't go on the trip, but I have a feeling it’s not the last we’ll be seeing of her.

The final scene of the episode is interesting because when Logan and Jackson arrive at their destination, Mitch, Clementine, and Jamie are already there. The cabin is not only related to Abigail but also whoever put the chip in Mitch’s brain. However, this location is clearly a trap because Abigail calls Jackson and sets off some kind of device that is calling the hybrids to the cabin. In the closing moments, we see the birds soaring overhead and then diving under the earth's surface about to attack everyone.

Overall, although this season of Zoo feels almost like a whole new show, it still has those basic traits that made it so fun to watch the past two seasons. It’s still an exciting, action-packed show with great characters. It’s also still the perfect summer show - it works best when you don’t think about it too much and just enjoy the ride.