#znationrewatch

[ajoblotofjunk]

Z Nation re-watch: 3x13 The One Where Lucy Goes Shopping

Lucy is, uh, playing with matches at a gas station. This is not great.

Lucy's full name is Lucy Serena Murphy. Aww.

Apparently when she has a body growth spurt, she has a maturity growth spurt, too, because she is very much a pre-teen right now. heh.

I love that it's a woman who gets to have this physically brutal episode and that, more importantly, it makes sense that it was her, because she's been grown into a rough and ready fighter throughout the history of the show.

Lucy has a Black Canary level screech ability.

Oh these seaweed zombies are gross.

Addy gets away from the burning boat just in time as it explodes in a good physical effect.

It's extremely notable how she doesn't talk at all for like 5 solid minutes of show.

Lucy: "We all hate you: Joe and Lisa and Daniel and Abram and Tye and Delondra." The Man: "i don't know them." lmao those are Z Nation crew names.

The Man gets Lucy to be quiet by hitting zombies with his truck over and over. She does the zip her lips and hand him the (imaginary) key and he takes it and pretends to put it in his pocket. It’s strangely cute.

Addy shoots him in the chest and then FAILS TO FOLLOW UP with a head shot and I know she's in a hurry but at least run him over a little bit before you drive away.

Doc finds the sign Addy left for him that says "DXD - Delta Xray Delta."

Shopping around the zombies is cute, and is a nice thematic callback to when Murphy did similar.

Lucy, picking up a bra: "What's this?" Addy: "That's called a medieval torture device." lol

Teenage angst gets a lot more complicated when the angst comes with controlling zombie powers.

Addy: "You're old enough. Old enough for the apocalypse. You need to understand this: people die. And the more you love them, the more likely they are to just bite it unexpectedly."

Lucy: "Why don't you just tell [the zombies] not to? They're not mean, they just don't know any better." Laying groundwork for season 5, even here in season 3!

The Man keeps telling Addy to just give up so he doesn't have to kill her, but she refuses.

Ugh the bit with her arm. *shudder* And she still doesn't give up.

He drowns her, but also doesn't follow-up with a final headshot and so Addy comes back, too.

Lucy has become a full-fledged teenager physically and emotionally now.

She tries to bite him again, which is smart.

Doc: "Sweet zombie Jesus, I need a miracle." And then a Delorean appears with him and 10k dressed up as Doc Brown & Marty McFly because...*shrug emoji*

Lucy has her first period. Your fave zombie show would never.

The zombie comes to help her learn how to drive a car. Aw.

And she runs him over with said truck, but he grabs on instead of getting hit-hit.

Addy hijacks a lady to take her car and then finds out she has a little girl back there. Addy leaves the girl, who looks like a young Pisay Pao honestly, with a gun on the side of the road. The girl already knows how to use a gun because it's the apocalypse now.

Addy and Doc reunite and his face is so sad, he loves her so much and he understands her sacrifice. <3

Song at the end of this ep is another good one, "Younger Man" by Jason Gallagher.

[thunderlovesbird]

Z NATION GROUP REWATCH

Spread the word and change your socks cause apparently this train is rolling!!

We have 25 weeks to watch 56 episodes before the season 5 premiere of Z Nation. Wanna participate? Each Saturday we will be watching two episodes, starting TODAY with the Pilot and 1.02 Fracking Zombies

We then have a whole week before the next two, which means if you can’t watch Saturday you have plenty of time to catch up. It means if your favorite character did something awesome you can squeal and post about it for a whole week.

According to The Interwebs we get brand new episodes starting Friday September 7, so the six days leading up to that we can bump our viewing up to one episode daily.

All related posts including observations, reviews, meta, breakdowns, gifs, etc, can be tagged

#znationrewatch

@tempestaurora @bighairmonkey @biestcallisto @ajoblotofjunk @ Other z nation folks idk anyone any more cause y’all change your names but whatever EVERYONES INVITED

[ajoblotofjunk]

Z Nation rewatch: 4x11 The One With Teller’s Son

I have a surprising amount of caps this episode, especially of Citizen Z & family.

They've been walking south for two weeks. That's a lot of walking.

Every JZ and Citizen Z scene in this episode is THE CUTEST.

And I also deeply feel Kaya's "gtfo of here so I can work" vibe.

CUTIES.

Citizen Z to JZ: "One day I'm going to find a place for you to play outside. And I'm gonna get you that bike." I hope we see that in season 5. <3

Citizen Z has gotten better at fighting, that's for sure. Be interesting to hear what his two year story was.

I love that they went back to Mercy Labs. It makes that season 3 opener even more relevant and it ties in perfectly with Teller's role in all this.

Aw, 10k finds 5k's old slingshot.

This conversation between Doc and 10k is so lovely.

Doc: "The zompocalypse is bad enough without having memorabilia."

10k: "Do you think this is ever all going to be over?" Doc: "I don't know, kid. My brain says no, humanity is screwed every way til Sunday and there's nothing we can do about it. But my heart says yes. It will be over someday. I have no reason to believe that, but if I didn't, I may as well just crawl in a hole and mercy myself."

Belief in the impossible is what has kept them going this whole time. Belief in making a better world (the mercy ritual in the pilot), belief in saving the world (Murphy's blood and then Lucy's), belief that they can stop whatever is coming (Black Rainbow). Every action they take is belief that there will be a better world, or at least a different one. I am so excited to see what they do with Newmerica next season.

Murphy: "You didn't come all this way for batteries."

Oh gosh I forgot 10k goes after Warren in this. I love their scenes together, too.

Authorization: President Reagan. Heh. Also BONUS POINTS for Clippy in the upper right there. My source is too crummy I can't make out the text in this one so much.

The text. Most notable (IMO) part: "This deadly combination creates a gas capable of melting the skin off all mammals above water."

The launch code DUN DUN DUNNNN!

Citizen Z pulled that zombie's heart right out. Dang.

Sarge: "You're sure this Dr. Teller's a good guy?"YOU TELL 'EM, SARGE.

Every JZ & family scene is my favorite.

10k: "Seems like whatever's locked in there...should stay in there?" Heeeee look at his little face.

Nat's face is frequently just so good.

Murphy: "Back in the day, in my blue period? I could feel what the zombies were feeling. Now I have to rely on more subtle clues like the giant *bullet wound in his head*."

Microfiche, hell yeah. Takes me back to school days.

10k's little slap of Warren's face, where she doesn't even move her head, is HILARIOUS.

Warren pulls multiple containers out of whatever that storage thing is, but she only keeps one of them.

Warren's empathy is probably my favorite thing about her, and it's devastating in this episode.

Sarge being unable to do it and Warren doing it for her with her quiet "it's okay" is HEARTBREAKING.

Doc: "I thought you said these folks were nice?" Murphy: "Yeah, for billionaires."

Murphy: "At least they'll be together now." Doc: "You think they care?" Murphy: "No. But I do."

And then this SONG. Oof. This season dealt extremely well musically with its heartbreak.

Sarge: "It's a beautiful sunset." Warren: "It's only beautiful if there's someone there to watch it." And then, instead of turning to Sarge, who SAID it, she turns and looks at Murphy and istg if they did not INTEND for us to ship these two then idk what they were thinking. My source is awfully dark so it’s hard to see, but. It’s a LOT.

Only two eps left!

[ajoblotofjunk]

Z Nation re-watch: 4x06 The One Where Lucy...well, you know

I've got tissues and water. I'm ready.

We pick up where we left off, with Warren driving like a bat out of hell, driven by her visions.

Bye, Eerie, Indiana.

Murphy throws up directly on the camera because - have I mentioned? - the show loves its throw up.

They kill a couple of zombies (10k is at 8,001 - he's counting!) and Lucy doesn't even seem to notice.

10k is more worried Murphy is gonna turn than die.

Lucy bites Murphy and brings him back from being essentially dead, and then Warren is like "bite him again!" even though she was a bit hesitant for Lucy to do it at all at first.

Murphy, to 10k who is holding a knife above his head: "I'm not dead yet." 10k's face: "too bad."

Heh.

Lucy biting Murphy has made her older now (could be the bite and/or the stress, but given what happens later I'm pretty sure it's the biting.)

The most teenager look I have seen. lol

Murphy: "I am your father, and that means your life is more important than me." EXTREME character growth here. Good job, Murph.

(Although I take offense at "why won't you let someone save you for once" from Lucy because...I mean. Have you seen the show?)

Warren is on a mission, not stopping, not thinking about anything but going where her vision tells her.

Lucy: "So you just hooked up?" Murphy: "Where did you hear that?" Lucy: "From Addy, where I hear everything." Ouch.

Murphy: "She was a good friend. We went through a lot together." Lucy: "Did you love her?" Murphy: "Addy? I suppose, in a way-" Lucy: "No, my mother!" lol Murphy pay attention to the conversation.

Warren unseals one of the cylinders and gets hit with the spray, but she has the antidote there. This spray is one of the things that gets sent out into the world later when the drone takes off (I think it’s the blue-topped one). She gets it here from "Bio-Mod" so I'm sure it's JUST FINE.

Murphy, to Lucy: "You're the only thing I ever cared about in the whole world besides me." Aw, Murph. You're becoming a real boy just as you're dying.

Doc: "Augh, I can't unsee that!" Doc, the most relatable.

This finger thing is SO GROSS and UPSETTING I can barely watch it.

All these Murphy and Lucy scenes are too sad to write about.

Lucy: "I can feel you again." I am okay until this moment. It's brutal, just brutal.

Dr. Caligari is stuck in Charlie's zombie body. They were grafting zombie tissue onto humans.

Dr. Caligari: "If you knew what I know, you'd be a very dangerous woman." Doc: "She's already a dangerous woman."

This dude chopped off his OWN HAND. He took Charlie's zombie hand, but it took over Caligari's body. The whole thing is f’d up.

Warren feels Lucy's situation all of a sudden.

Oh nooooo.

Noooooooooooooooooo

Noooooooooot okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay

I downloaded this "Goodbye July" song and it's lovely, I recommend it. I think of this scene every time I hear it.

I will talk more about Warren's guilt/Murphy's blame and whether I think it's fair or not later (spoiler: it's not) but for now just let your heart break for all of them.

[ajoblotofjunk]

Z Nation re-watch: 4x13 The One With the Black Rainbow

Season 4 finale time! I honestly can't believe I made it through all of these, heh.

Classic.

The AV Club reviews for this show always give it crap for its use of slo-mo but I love the slo-mo openings and this one is a gem.

I also love how Warren just stands there while her team takes care of all the zombies around her.

Murder babies.

Murphy: "You know this whole place is radiated, right?" Doc: "Whose fault is that?" looooool

Murphy: "We're all gonna get cancer in twenty years." Doc: "Let's hope."

Murphy u nerd.

That sign. lmao

I love every time they do this shot. And look at 10k and Warren. Cuties.

Warren and Murphy share a more worried glance.

Y'all I love President Zombie and how the crew treats him, it's all so good (especially Doc calling him "sir").

Doc: "You know what means, Murphy - they're tracking by sound. So no farting." Murphy: "Me? I'm a perfect gentleman compared to Generall Offgas here."

Doc: "Did you just throw the president of the United States down 30 flights of stairs?" Murphy: "EX-president and he fell. I swear."

10k is at 8453 zombie kills.

Team!

That seems bad.

Doc: "Why do we always have to go the way of the skull?!"

Sunshine is throwing zombies down on the group. Rude.

Ad Omnia Finem = To the End of Everything

Who put earrings on Warren when she was in an induced coma? Come on, now. Hee.

Teller to Warren: "There's still time to save what's left of humanity. And you're the only one who can do it."  The burden of heroism.

Sharing this cap just for those posters behind 10k.

They trained Warren for TWO YEARS. Imagine that.

Warren stopped the launch at 3 minutes. Or Sunshine did. He sets down two of his own cannisters in the drone and then puts them in.

Murphy manages to break through Warren's visions.

Warren thinks she has the aerosol vaccine. She believes she's doing what's right. And she crashes knowing she was being used the whole time. IT'S HEARTBREAKING.

Warren: "I've...gotta go alone." Doc: "We go where you go, boss." 10k: "You can't ditch us now." WAAAAAH

Warren: "Where I'm going, no one can follow."Murphy's face: Fuck that shit.

GOODBYE HUGS.

Murphy stepping in front of her to, like, block her from going is the most.

Nose touches. <3

Sunshine: "Your actions have been noble, heroic even, but ultimately misguided." Also he calls her Lieutenant Warren. He knew, too.

Murphy: "We have to help her!" Doc: "Chief said to stay here." Murphy: "He's shooting at her!!" *Warren and Sunshine fight* Murphy: "Never mind, Warren kicked his ass."

LISTEN. I have done some Zapruder level analysis of what cannisters she picked up and she doesn't have the ones she thinks she does. But I realized this time through that the ones Sunshine had when he comes out of the drone ALSO were not the cure, they were the first strike weapon he removed. There are six cannisters in play:

Set 1: In the drone, the fourth strike weapon Set 2: Sunshine, vaccines Set 3: Warren, Teller's...whatever

The set in the drone before Warren puts her set 3 in are the ones Sunshine put in, so the vaccines. Warren takes those out and puts in hers, which are Teller's concoction. Then she grabs the ones Sunshine had (which is empty of flesh-eating bacteria because that's what gets released on Murphy) and so all that's in there now is just the one vaccine. Which is why I guess there are Talkers in season 5, because they only got partially cured?

I love that Warren's shield plays a critical role here to keep the doors from closing permanently.

78% chance that the gas leaks which is why she has to do it alone. And Warren knows those odds and she does it anyway. My hero.

Murphy is pressing them to pay attention to Warren's signal and launch the drone. And for once everybody listens to him!

And then Murphy runs in to save Warren from Sunshine, when he's never been brave a day in his life. BLESS.

Sunshine knocks her out and that puts her back in her vision one more time and this time she learns the truth.

Warren in her past vision: "We've met before?" The Founder: "Many times."

And then he gases her and knocks her out - wtf was in that gas?!

Warren: "I'm the reset." Noooooooooo.

Murphy and Sunshine end up with the original drone cylinders and get wrecked by the flesh-eating bacteria.

Warren sees what happens to Murphy but she has to stop the launch.

The drone effects are extremely good.

God Warren is just panicking and desperate to fix what she's done and it's too much I can't deal with it.

Team. :(

Black Rainbow

Sarge: "We all gonna die?" 10k: "Looks like it."

Murphy: "Think we should make a run for it?" Doc: "Nah. End up gettin run over by some giant wheel of zombie cheese or some damn thing."

Doc looking cool as shit is a good way to end the season.

Except we still have Warren, crashing over what looks like mountains? Begging "have mercy."

HAVE I MENTIONED I'm really glad we got a season 5? TWO WEEKS, Y'ALL! October 5 on SyFy! I love my post-apocalyptic sci-fi dramedy with zombies.

[ajoblotofjunk]

Z Nation re-watch: 4x01 The One With The Flying Manta Ray

Season 4, here we go!

This is the season I have re-watched the most BY FAR so I remember a lot more than in previous seasons. It will be interesting to see how it feels as part of the whole, being watched so closely on the heels of the first three seasons.

2018: The Motto

We start off with Warren as we saw her in season 3 but having the now-familiar season 4 Black Rainbow vision.

Warren emerges from the pristine white hospital room like she's burst from a grave and it's an appropriately horrific scene done with no dirt or grime.

The hospital boot heels are HILARIOUS to me, I don't know. Like. Why did they put those on her? Look how tall they are! I would break my entire leg trying to walk in those.

She is extremely traumatized by what's happened and doesn't even know why yet, but she also grabs a coat and a big old mallet so her instincts are still on point. ZONA must have been THRILLED to grab her when they got Murphy; especially with The Man gone, Warren is pretty much the only person you could trust to survive the apocalypse long enough to fulfill their messed-up plans.

I wish we'd seen more of the children of ZONA! Also that girl had to have been a tiny baby when the apocalypse started, why is she screaming now? Zona must have been a very safe zone to live even in the middle of zombies.

Oh, Murphy.

I have watched this scene many times for fic purposes. Hee. It's a great intro to the season.

Both actors are SO GOOD here dealing with the tragedy of the loss of their friends. Kellita's "god damn apocalypse" is brutal.

Warren: The elevator knows your name? Murphy: Around here? Everyone knows my name.

There's gonna be a lot more of this in these recaps because the SHOW gives us a lot more of this. (Sorry not sorry)

It's been 8 years since Day 1. Must feel like decades.

Warren's hopeful face here when she asks "so the vaccine worked?" is just. Think of all she sacrificed and lost to get to that moment.

Murphy: "Of course it worked! With my blood and the best scientists bitcoin can buy, what could go wrong?" Oh, MURPHY. Warren knows.

He is just super enjoying showing her around.

These Zona guards are creepy as heck, needing to see her barcodes. And listen, I don't think you can (or should) watch these Zona scenes without the political overtones of today - Black Lives Matter (a black woman here surrounded by two white policemen), wealth inequality (all the poor people left to die in the mainland), and the racial components of wealth (the makeup of Zona is overwhelmingly white and the men are mostly older white males; the women presented visually as trophies). It's really smart film-making and it matters when we feel so uneasy about Zona without anything overtly being wrong.

lmao her face when the guy calls her 'General Warren.'

Things I appreciate in retrospect: why she could still walk around after having been in a coma for two years. There was no muscle atrophy because, well, you know if you've seen the season.

The silhouettes in this Reset poster are interesting; what is that fencing? And are they...dancing? It's odd.

Warren: "I like a man behind the wheel." Maybe the single piece of dialogue in the entire show that bothers me most. There was no reason for her talking about it and if she had to, why could she have said "I like to be behind the wheel" or even "I like a human (or person) behind the wheel"? She has done like 85% of the driving in the show! It's such a throwaway line and it annoys me disproportionately to it's purpose and YET. Every time I hear it it bugs me.

Warren is still worried about the rest of the planet, because she is THE BEST.

Gandalf Doc is hilarious. He's gotten more ferocious, too, with his double hammers.

Why were Doc and 10k (and Red) separated for two years? I want to know what happened there, why on earth they would have split up.

10k does not want to return to community, he's been enjoying his solitude with Red.

Addy's & Lucy's entrance is so good here, I love it. I would read All The Fic about their two year adventures.

Why is ZONA still after Lucy, when they already have Murphy?

My season 4 source is much lower quality but Murphy not wearing socks with his suit is a baller move.

Warren: "It wasn't easy, considering half the time I wanted to kill [Murphy] myself." Murphy:

UGH he is SO DELIGHTED to have her back I can't take it.

The Founder: "We'll want you in the gene pool." Me: *FULL BODY SHUDDER* Warren's face:

Murphy's face:

MURPHY.

This scene with the slow-building applause for Warren creeps me out so much. Also Mr. Sunshine's one hand backward clap is oddly TERRIFYING.

Sun Mei has been with the camp, leading it and making people feel comfortable.

And look, here's Henry Rollins! Giving people hugs. Hee.

10k not knowing about Gandalf ("history was never my best subject" lol) is so perfect and one of those small world-building things Z Nation does so well.

Murphy: "One time she chopped off the head of a mutual friend of ours!" Warren: "He was already dead. We hardly knew each other." I mean...he's talking about Vasquez right? I can't think of any other mutual friends whose heads she's chopped off. Murphy, still bad at reading the room eight years into the apocalypse.

Warren: "He exaggerates." Murphy: "A ton!" loooooooool

Heyyyy it's the zombie ball of Zs! Which I'm still convinced is the cheese wheel having turned into the zombies-eating-each-other-wheel.

Addy and Lucy Adventures is the Z Nation spinoff I really want.

Fuckin Murphy telling the 'Aristocrats' joke.

This woman sitting next to Murphy with her squash and her 'staying in shape for that special man' is awkward af.

Murphy is SO PROUD of his zombie cake for Warren.

Doc and 10k laughing together is good for my heart.

I really like Sun Mei & Red's interactions. They had a nice dynamic.

Murphy wants Warren to just be okay. And I don't blame him - he feels like he's had security and peace for two years, I wouldn't want to give that up either. But if something is wrong with her, if she knows something is off, his instinct is to believe her. And if Warren's right - of course she's right, he trusts her always - then he's got to leave the only safe place left.

This is still one of my all-time favorite shots on the show. If all else fails, call Warren.

Murphy's worried Warren could have killed the guards, he knows they couldn't take her down.

Murphy: "The mission is over Warren, there's no one left to save but ourselves. So don't go all PTSD on me and blow the first good thing that's happened since day one."

Every single time Warren cries this season it is TOO MUCH.

Red doesn't want kids, but it seems like 10k does.

Lucy does not give one shit about humans, which is an interesting character trait that doesn't get explored much beyond this first episode. It's too bad, I would have liked to have seen that play out a little more.  

Addy and Lucy can talk to each other telepathically, and Addy has a bite on her right hand.

It's Dr. Teller. Fuck him.

Knowing what we know now about what's really going on, watching Mr. Sunshine's face when he's testing the gas is very telling. He looks horrified, not happy. He steps away, appalled. He really is the good guy here, trying to stop what's about to go down. And he can't trust anyone because he knows the depth and reach of Zona's power. It's actually pretty cool foreshadowing.

[ajoblotofjunk]

Z Nation re-watch: 4x12 The One With President Zombie

I appreciate all the 'continuity of government' info they're dumping.

Murphy has some new shades and is looking fly.

They really went all in on Doc pulling that eyeball out. Gyack.

Doc: "Why's it always gotta be underground? Can't we once have a big showdown in a penthouse or aviary, something with a window?" TBH I would LOVE to see them have a showdown in an aviary. Hee.

Uh.

BIGFOOT IS REAL. I feel like if we don't get Bigfoot in season 5, we'll have been cheated a little.

Everyone is so loosey-goosey taking out these congressional zombies.

Warren: "I've got this." Murphy: "I'm with you."

Jane Carlson, 234th President of the US. Heh.

POTUS: "The last of Congress. Not much of a loss, it was a week before anybody noticed." HEE

President Bill Carney was POTUS during the outbreak (although I thought I remembered it was actually a woman right before at least. Idk).

"abdominal slap"

tubthumping lol

2018

THE CAST OF HAMILTON.

Also Murphy is much calmer in this elevator than he was back in season 1.

Murphy cheering and directing while Doc, 10k, and Sarge do all the actual work is EXTREMELY Murphy.

Murphy: "I'm doing this under protest!" Doc: "And how is that different from anything else you do?" PREACH, DOC.

I would suggest this was a lie.

I'd vote for her.

I had a whole long rant about how I felt Sarge turning on the group to obey POTUS’ orders was not built up enough in her character and then realized just now she was actually playing a long con to get them into a position where it would be safe to turn on the president and save everybody.

Doc: "Damn, Sarge, you just killed the president!" Sarge: "She turned. Besides, we'll get another one."

Murphy: "So, um, who's next in line of succession?" Murphy you do not get to be president, come on now.

Sarge is really turned on by full auto mayhem.

They're 50 miles from DC, apparently.

Doc to Warren: "With President Jane dead, seems like you could be next in line." Warren: "No, brother, I've got enough problems." Doc: "President Warren! I like the sound of that." Warren: "No." Sarge: "You've got my vote." Warren: "And knock it off." HEE

Warren: "If anybody asks-" All: "We were nowhere near Mt. Weather."

[ajoblotofjunk]

Z Nation re-watch: 4x08 The One With the Nun Zombies

The title of this episode makes explicit the theme of this season - "Crisis of Faith." I love it.

It's Kaya and baby JZ! And Zona has arrived, shooting at them.

HI NANA!

Moment of Kaya appreciation.

Sarge gets in an "OH, Canada" joke but I sincerely hope she's kidding about the 'cannabis country' thing because there is a GIANT SIGN that says "WELCOME TO CANADA" right in front of her. Or maybe she just never learned to read in the apocalypse. Reading isn't exactly a priority when zombies are trying to eat you.

10k: "Seems too good to be true." Doc: "I know what you mean kid. I remember when Newmerica was called California. It's just so hard to believe in anything anymore." This theme comes up a lot this season - especially from Doc, which is interesting because he's basically been their north star in terms of 'we can do this' - and it's explored a lot in this episode in particular. This is just the beginning.

It's a natural extension of seasons of show/years of in-show time to dealing with the apocalypse and one of the things I think Z Nation in particular is VERY good at: what happens when the apocalypse is just your regular life? You've fought and scraped and done terrible things and had terrible things done to you and now you're just living, what next? How do you hold onto your belief - your faith - that something better is going to come? (And if you don't think that's applicable to 2017/2018 US politics, well. Maybe consider it again.)

Murphy plans to keep on surviving but some day he has to ask himself why.

Warren will be especially interesting in season 5 with no mission at all - no saving Murphy, no being driven by Black Rainbow.

lmao the music using the Canadian anthem briefly as the Mountie zombies attack.

Sarge gets a little wild and inappropriate with the the crop and the Mountie zombie.

The scene fighting the nuns is funny mostly because I know several people who are ex-Catholic school raised and they would feel much the same way.

Warren saves Murphy and looks beautiful doing it. As a side note, though, this exchange between them is interesting. She's saved his life a lot of times, but it seems to mean a lot more here. I suspect it's because of the tension between them. It's actually a shame we didn't get one episode between last ep and this one with them just being awkward and mad at each other, because I think the payoff of this episode where he finally believes her would mean even more (though it's a pretty big deal anyway). I would've cut out the Mt Weather episode for that, but I'm not a showrunner, so. Hee.

Doc: "I'm going to hell even more than I was before." Murphy: "We're already in hell, Doc, it can only go up from here."

10k: "My dad said Lazarus was the original zombie." Murphy: "Don't count if you don't crave brains."

Warren to Murphy: "You were in Zona. You were awake. What did they do to me?" Murphy has no idea and I think he feels guilty about not knowing.

Just leaving this here. I'm going to do a lot of cap dropping for this next section because visually it's a LOT.

Could've called this ep "Warren's Wedding," ijs.

Murphy: *tries for 10 seconds* Murphy: This isn't working! lol u quitter.

Look at her little face when she tells him "come here" and holds out her hands.

Lordt.

I love this show and its sometimes hilariously bad CGI.

BUT on a more serious note - is this what it's always like for Murphy to get into people's minds? We've never seen it before, it's always seemed he more feels/hears them instead of any sort of visualization. I'm just curious. (I did appreciate that it was 10k who brought up this idea in the first place, and in an appropriately bitter voice.)

Doc: "What'd you see?" Murphy: "Nothing. I didn't see anything. I felt it. What she's feeling. It's excruciating." So maybe the visual was entirely for us as viewers. Hm.

He is horrified at what he felt, realizes that Warren has been feeling that the whole time that words alone couldn't do justice to how awful it is. Warren is the GOAT, and Murphy knows it:

<3

Warren's so thankful someone finally understands what she's been going through, he's validated her beliefs by feeling it, too.

Murphy: "What I felt...what you've been feeling. You been feeling that this whole time?" Warren: "Yeah." Murphy: "Whatever it is, are we going towards it, or away from it?" Warren: "I don't know." The crux of her problem.

I like the framing of this.

Sarge calls the zombies "a storm of skinnies" and "chicken and dumplings" and nothing makes sense.

Murphy, clean your sword before you sheathe it!

Sarge: "We get to interrogate him, right? I always wanted to interrogate somebody." She is way out in left field this episode, a bloodthirsty soldier spoiling for a fight. Her personality never really solidifies this season, IMO, and I hope she gets more grounded in herself next season.

But it does give Warren someone to react to to remember how to be herself. Warren is very sweet with Louis, and introduces herself as Lt. Warren of the National Guard again, something she is still holding onto.

Louis is a great one-off character and it's a damn shame what they do to him at the end of the episode.

Sharing a moment.

Warren: "Not many people still got religion in all this." Louis: *laughs* "I don't. I mean, old white man in the sky? But. If this relic can really cure people? People are gonna need healing, once all this is over." Gosh I want to have a long conversation about healing post-apocalypse, and how you know when it's time to focus on healing vs. surviving.

Warren: "You think this will be over? I call that faith." Louis: "That's just basic survival. You gotta believe this will end, right? If you don't, hug a zombie."

Warren needed someone to give her faith. She was running low.

Good lighting in this crypt.

Warren: "How do you know you're doing something good or you're just...delusional?" Louis: "I don't."

Oof, Murphy talking with Louis about his daughter is rough.

Murphy: "She wasn't a saint. She was a little girl." Louis: "Sacrificing yourself for someone you love, it doesn't get more holy than that does it?"

Mom and Dad looking at their little Lucy.

Warren heads back to the US again and the others follow. We're back on the trail of Black Rainbow. We’ll not speak of what happens to Louis.

[ajoblotofjunk]

Z Nation re-watch: 4x07 The One With the Zuggalos

It's the zuggalo episode. My least favorite ep of this season, but there's some redeeming stuff in it. I took a ton of caps, too.

Including how it starts, with Lucy's funeral.

Murphy still doesn't want anyone (or at least Warren) to touch him.

Oh, Doc. His tearful eulogy is so sad. Also sad, Warren:

And then there were five.

I thought this was interesting - the zombies coming to throw themselves on her pyre.

A biofuel truck is SMART in the apocalypse. And Warren gets to show off her mechanic skills again.

Warren wants to keep going past the woman screaming for help, but Murphy makes them stop.

Warren: "Don't do this in the head space you're in. Nothing good can come of it." Murphy: "Nothing good comes of anything."

Doc: "It's not the zombies that make the apocalypse suck, it's the damn humans."

Instead of having to destroy each of the mad z's, Doc locks them in the car. (Checkov's car, given the end of this ep.)

Murphy is incensed thinking they killed this lady's son and she does nothing to disabuse him of the notion that that's what's going on.

Murphy is mad at Warren. Shall we talk about the guilt thing? Let's talk about the guilt thing. Straight up: It wasn't Warren's fault. On a larger scale, I can see how she plays a role in it - leading them East when they all wanted to go north to Newmerica, Murphy got injured on the path the other way and Lucy then died because of it. But the "because of it" is such an important part. Lucy made the choice to sacrifice herself for Murphy. Murphy begged her not to do it, and she didn't listen to him. And now she's dead and he doesn't want to be mad at her (as Warren says, he can't kill what killed Lucy). He also sure as hell doesn't want to think about what it means to have to live up to Lucy's sacrifice even if he does forgive Lucy for doing it. He has a weirdly terrible self-confidence for someone who is so grandstanding and smug all the time and so instead of the pressure of living up to what Lucy loved in him, he decides it's easier to bear the pain if he can put it on someone else. It's Warren, in his mind, that brought all this on them. Not Lucy. Lucy is blameless to Murphy, and Warren is in the crossfire because she’s the one actively making decisions (it’s like the Trolley Problem in that way). I do not in any way condone Murphy's blaming Warren (holy shit dude, she is also grieving!), but I think it makes perfect sense for the character and also ultimately getting over that makes him a better person in the end. Warren doesn't deserve the weight of it, though.

I just really like the framing of this.

Doc: "We can't just do nothing." I mean...you could.

Murphy: "These bad guys don't just get a pass. The apocalypse is not an excuse." Warren: "You can't just kill 'bad guys.' Those aren't zombies, those are humans. There aren't many of us left, even if we are...bad." Lot to unpack in that brief exchange. Including Murphy's extreme inability to turn those judgments on his own behavior. Heh.

This zuggalo lady is so obnoxious. Sarge has the worst role in this part.

lmao their faces

Murphy: "Clowns?" Doc: "Could be worse. Could be mimes."

The zuggalos filter their own urine for drugs and snort it all over again and call it z whack. Ah, the apocalypse.

Lady: "Life ain't worth livin without the music!" We agree on that point, at least.

Warren: "More killing won't change anything." Murphy: "Like that ever stopped you."

This happens. It's brief, but I appreciate it.

Hee. They head-tilt at each other and it's cute.

I love how he's announcing directly to the camera because this episode gives so few fucks. Also this dude is oddly charming for also being very terrible.

Where are they getting the electricity to run the music and lights and electrifying Murphy thing?!

Warren being a secret ICP fan is probably my favorite part of this whole thing.

(I love her)

Warren's got this.

Never over it.

Zuggalo priest: "Should there be anyone who has cause why this union should not go forward, speak now or forever hold your piece." Everyone: *LOOKS AT MURPHY* lol

looooooooooooool

Murphy: "Stop trying to kill your mom! You know it's hard being a parent these days!" Heh.

The lighting is extremely good here.

Murphy: "This is bad, even for us."

Mirroring that shot of them from earlier.

Warren: "You were right." Murphy: "About what?" Warren: "Lucy. What happened was...my fault." Please picture the face I am making right now, because I am Very Disappointed.

But Murphy doesn't say anything and so they head to Newmerica. Boo.

[ajoblotofjunk]

Z Nation re-watch: 4x03 The One With All The Sounds

I’m going to need til Oct 5 just to get through this re-watch. Anyway - SO MANY CAPS this time. I’ll cut for length early.

SO. Mr. Sunshine must ALSO not have had the vaccine. Or these guards. Because none of these folks turn either. Did the Founder POISON most of the residents of ZONA?! Teller died, too, so it probably wasn't him. OR is it whoever Sunshine was working for??

Warren felt an urge to follow Sunshine - was she supposed to kill/watch over him?

Warren straight up killed that driver. She must have a good bead on Lucy, then.

This entire Warren & Murphy & Lucy relationship is one of my favorite parts about the first half of season 4.

Warren trying to not listen but also totally listening to this Murphy & Lucy convo is relatable.

Ugh, Murphy's heartbroken face when Lucy says "I don't feel anything with you."

Lucy can feel Warren, too. This whole bite thing is so interesting.

MAMA WARREN CARING FOR HER BABIES.

Doc hugs are the best hugs.

LOOK HOW HAPPY SHE IS. They need to stay together as a family forever, all of them. I DECREE IT. (I am SO NERVOUS about season 5.)

I know Murphy is often a complete jerk in the other seasons (and sometimes in this one), but the way Keith plays up his extremely human vulnerabilities, particularly when it comes to relationships, is SO COMPELLING. Murphy is so worried Doc won't be as happy to see him as he was to see Warren. It's all over his face. <3

<3_<3

Doc: "You reap what you spawn, brother." HEE

Mueller: "That's a mistake." Warren: "Wouldn't be my first."

Lucy startles awake having heard some sort of screaming, but it cuts to Warren right after who is in the midst of a vision, so she must be feeling Warren's terror.

Murphy (about Newmerica): "Yeah, yeah, yeah that sounds familiar." Mueller: "What do you mean by that?" Murphy: "I mean I have heard that a hundred times before. And every time we get there it's some utopian cult freakshow blah blah blah. And then by the time we leave, it's on fire."

Murphy (about Warren): "She's all there. But seems like there's more there there, then there used to be. You know what I'm saying?" Doc: "...not really."

The sounds/listening portions of this ep are hit and miss for me, but I appreciate some of the non-traditional focus at the macro level.

Also 10k thinks he can hear Red calling for him, and we see a figure in red running in the far distance, but there's no explanation given for what's really happening there.

Mueller is saying over this image "something is happening out there, something that can't be stopped" and even though he doesn't realize it, it applies to Warren (and the Reset), too.

Mueller: "I'd rather die on my feet than on my ass." Murphy: "Are you sure those are the only options?"

Doc is like "I AM NOT GOING ANYWHERE UNLESS WARREN TELLS ME TO." It's adorable.

Murphy says "never get out of the boat."

Warren just passes out it sounds like.

Look how much they care about each other. FAMILY.

Doc: "Chief, I hate to sound like a broken record, but...I still keep wondering if it's worth it?” Warren: "If what's worth it?" Doc: "I don't know. all the caring for each other, relying on each other, trying to stay positive and keep the faith amidst this apocalyptic shitstorm. You know what I mean?" Warren: "All too well." Doc: "Well, is it worth it?" Warren: "Of course it is. It's all we got." Doc: "Yeah I mean I know. I know. But, really. Is it really worth it?" Warren: "Yes."

If you wouldn't follow her into the gates of hell, I wonder about you.

Sarge and Mueller are out exploring the forest and Sarge just "disappears," but she comes back later. So where on earth did she disappear to?

Murphy: "Rarely am I wrong and yet rarely am I listened to." lmao MURPHY.

Warren, don't open a cabinet with a weird sound with no weapon!

Burgess is FREAKED OUT. What on earth was this??

Murphy happy as always to leave 10k behind. Hee.

This is Murphy's face when Warren first intimates that she's not going with them to Newmerica. He's...he's not ok.

(This black Zona soldier uniform is probably my favorite Murphy look. IDK. He's had some good ones season 3/4.)

Mueller looks at the photo and says "hang tight, I'll find you" because he thinks Sarge is gone now, too. I did not realize that til this watch - I thought it was because he didn't know where that girl was, and he was saying that in a general sense, but now that I see it's placed after Sarge disappears and we know she's got the other half, everything else makes sense. They (understandably) don't treat each other as father/daughter, except for in a few of these moments. It's too bad we don't get more of Sarge's response to having to kill her mad z dad after this ep.

Lucy is comfortable with that gun.

Murphy doesn't particularly want to say hi to 10k so he goes back into the tent and Burgess has DISAPPEARED. The heck.

Mueller is a mad z now, too.

Warren takes him on with a shovel, and Murphy saves her (briefly) by shooting him in the head. Then it's Murphy's turn to be at the z's mercy and Lucy saves him. Lots going on!

Murphy hiding behind Warren while she straight up goes in to punch that zombie is basically the show in season 1-3.

Poor woman, having to see and the destroy her own father like that. :( Her face is heartbreaking. And then when she looks up at the others after she's killed him and she looks like a wounded animal. Gracie Gilliam kills this scene.

Love her Captain America type shield.

Warren doesn't even say goodbye, just starts walking off. (Makes me think of Daenerys from the ASOIaF books with her 'If I look back, I am lost.')

Lucy is the first to follow her, then 10k. Doc follows ("you know me, I don't like it when we split up") and even Sarge goes before Murphy does. Heh.

[ajoblotofjunk]

Z Nation re-watch: 3x06 The One With Elvis

Oh I forgot the injectors were boosters to separate 10k from Murphy. My bad.

Doc is separated from the group somehow. No idea how.

This episode is so weird. Of course I remember this one.

Doc has a phD in Clinical Psychology. He says, at least. I choose to believe him.

This girl who looks exactly like Winona Ryder being called Winona is hilarious.

Doc is so good at connecting with people. I LOVE HIM.

Also Doc thinks fast on his feet here, too. Good job, Doc.

"Patients who turned during shock treatment" is a whole story in a single sentence.

Nurse: "You stay here in the unlikely event they return." Heh.

Doc also knows his meds. Although progesterone is a typically female hormone.

10k looks like the bride of Frankenstein here lol

Doc is giving people medication that will actually help. <3

10k: "He's starting a new world odor." Doc: "Hm?" 10k: "New world older. Nude whole under?" This conversation is art.

"He is not crazy," Doc says while 10k's looking like this.

And after all that, they leave without Doc and 10k.

Doc: still the best hugger.

[ajoblotofjunk]

Z Nation re-watch: 3x09 The One With Those Terrible Razorwire Zombies

I have a TON of things to say and caps to share for this one so settle in, this gets really long.

Citizen Z is trying to talk when Murphy breaks through with a modified Prince quote: "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called the apocalypse."

In his "daily 2:00pm broadcast" (who on earth still keeps time in the apocalypse?!) Murphy is not only promising them freedom from fear, he's accepting them "no matter what they've done." It would be a tempting and almost impossibly good offer. If you didn't know Murphy, if you didn't know about the mind control, you'd do it. I would in that situation. Murphytown has electricity! It has food and safety and freedom from fear. Six years into the apocalypse everyone who's left has to have seen some shit and be absolutely sick to their souls of dealing with it. What Murphy is offering - on the surface - is the vaccine they must secretly have been hoping for since the zombie virus broke out. And even if they DID know about the mind control, the people there all seem happy, I bet many would still do it anyway.

But not everyone - not people like the Red Hands, who are enjoying the chaos of the apocalypse and trying to bring their own world order. It's interesting to consider what might have happened had Murphy gotten Lucy and Warren and the others to his side, and tried to build Murphytown into MurphyCity. Likely some like the Red Hands would eventually have attacked, try to make it their own. In an alternate universe, you'd have actual General Roberta Warren leading Murphy's armies to defend the city.

Now I want to read that fic. 

The 10k in prison scenes are lit so beautifully.

Murphy has his own count to ten thousand, except his are (by his estimation) lives saved, not zombies killed.

Sun Mei thinks she can dilute Murphy's control but still vaccinate people.

Warren: "Only one reason Murphy ever reads" - because he's going to the bathroom lmao

Warren goes into Murphytown alone because he's less likely to attack if it's just her. TRUE.

Oh, Murphy.

The back of the outhouse has been broken and that's how Murphy knows it was Warren. Hah. (I LOVE this coat.)

I love this visual first of all but second, the Red Hand put this up, not Murphy, and we're still dealing with fear. Murphy is not actively preaching righteousness but it's implied that his cause is righteous, though the people do not have to be. The Red Hand are swept up in believing they're enforcing order (the focus on thievery is telling) by the virtue of their righteousness in the apocalypse. They lack fear because they also believe their cause is just, and because they are the righteous few who are doing it. It's interesting to compare the Red Hands vs. Murphy vs. Warren. They're all driven by an overriding belief in their own correctness and authority. The Red Hands punish people for breaking unwritten laws of the apocalypse (at least on the surface - they really are just trying to rule over everyone else and actually using fear to do it, but they believe they should rule). Murphy believes he's the benign dictator the zompocalypse needs. Warren believes her mission matters more than anything (though I don't think she wants control in the apocalypse she does think people should all agree to her way). 'Only the righteous have no fear' - are the Red Hands really not afraid? Is Murphy? Is Warren righteous even though she is?  

Sun Mei appreciation moment.

Warren: "I've come too far, I've spilled too much blood, and I've seen too many good people die for this mission to turn back now."

This whole scene is a real turning point for Warren - she is actively embracing and seeking killers now. She wants to bring an army down on Murphytown and will kill people to get her way. She thinks it's the only way to stop him, and I wonder if at this point in her forebrain she's hoping it's just a bluff and one that Murphy won't call. But she's making a lot of assumptions here I don't think her hindbrain agrees with. The apocalypse has twisted enough of her inside that she doesn't care if people die in order to stop Murphy from making more blends and to get the vaccine to which she's dedicated the last three years of her life. I think the almost religious devotion to the mission is what has kept her going but it complicates things because I also think there is a part of her that is tempted by Murphy's vaccine as much as horrified. If she stomps it out completely, then it won't be a choice she'll have to make. People don't want to question their fundamental values because it's scary and hard and things are scary and hard enough in the zompocalypse. So get the Red Hands because they're already too far gone in their own beliefs to have any real fear anymore and they won't be tempted at all.

MEANWHILE, Hector is trying to argue that Escorpion will change Warren and not the other way around and a)he's right but also b)she's already changed enough to even consider this and I don't think she wants to change him she wants to use him. She wants killers, she says so herself. 

This episode is so much.

Hello, Space Needle.

Enders - a group that has so much fear they've gone through it and out the other side to wild, reckless living.

This Red Hand guy, Hopper, is very gross but also funny.

Hopper: "[The Red Hand] are a force of good in these sad and desperate times."

Hopper says Escorpion took his "zombie come to Jesus moment" for a "better way." To take out the randomness of death and bring judgment and execute his sentences. What. happened. to. Javier? How did he get to this?

Sun Mei taking Hopper down is really gratifying.

Hah they're in underground Seattle. I forgot about that.

TEAM.

Murphy keeps 10k locked away to try to convince him to tell Murphy what Warren is planning. 10k resists. Also Murphy is wearing his jacket indoors in this initial conversation where he asks 10k this and I'm very curious about that choice. Is it like armor? A King's cape? He actually wears the jacket the entire episode.

Murphy: "Hey, look what I found! Humanity in a single injection. You tell me what Warren is planning, and I might just give you your soul back."

Listen, y'all know I love Murphy but he's an absolute abusive jackass in his dealings with 10k this season and they don't really come to terms with that as much as I'd like.

10k: "She's planning to spank your ass good." HAH.

The Red Hands have wrapped actual humans up in razor wire, which is horrific. Warren should take this as a warning to get the fuck out but it's too late.

ICONIC.

This is also a cool shot. This episode is filmed very well.

Nice detail on the makeup work (and his salt & pepper hair look <3)

Murphy: "I don't even know if Warren's alive or dead. And frankly, I don't care." Look at that, two giant lies right in a row.

JAVIER. WHAT ARE YOU DOING.

Warren's face is heartbreaking. You can see her soul dying when she sees Vasquez here.

Vasquez: "You're one of those men that think they're better than me. Better than the Red Hand. They want the peace and security that I bring, but they denounce my methods as cruel. The work of a madman. Right now what the world needs is a madman."

Literally JUST THIS SECOND realized that Vasquez is the Kurtz equivalent from HoD/Apocalypse Now. Huh. 

Warren and Vasquez had extremely good chemistry.

But Javier hurts too much - has too much fear of what being good did to him - to let Warren convince him to admit who he is and was.

Hector, knowing Warren would never agree to it, chokes her into unconsciousness in order to go kill Vasquez himself.

This looks like a painting.

For a moment it looks like MAYBE Warren would convince Vasquez of what came before, and then Hector attacks.

Vasquez: "Who are you?" Hector: "Yo soy Escorpion!"

UGH look at how SAD HE IS. This scene is BRUTAL and both actors are fantastic.

Nooooooooooo HECTOR.

Nooooooooooo VASQUEZ.

Warren: "I'm sorry." Vasquez: "It's ok, Roberta." Warren: "Javier." Vasquez: "Mercy." Warren: "Yeah. Go home to your family."

THIS IS SO SAD. I AM SO SAD.

(One thing though? She gives him mercy except she cuts off his head and doesn't take out the brain, which means technically he should turn into a zombie. But I'll handwave.)

Hector gets Sun Mei's experimental vaccine.

The Red Hand bow down to Warren, who has killed the last soft part of herself in order to take on Murphy.

And here are Addy and Doc, who found Lucy. Huh I forgot that part was in this ep.

BRING BACK HECTOR. WE NEED ZOMBIE HECTOR.

[ajoblotofjunk]

Z Nation re-watch: 2x07 The One Where Skeezy Bites Those Guys

"It is our buccal cavity that separates us from the plants." Uh. Okay.This is the benefit of watching with subtitles!

I honestly cannot remember what the deal is with these dentist guys. 

Javi: "You wanna help us out?" Murphy: "No I don't. By the way: I can't swim."

Honestly I like this guy driving the boat. He seems sweet.

Ughhh the zombie on the motor is gross.

Ahahaha I forgot they changed the theme song for this one to be banjo! I dig it. But then I love the banjo.

Oh Sketchy and Skeezy. Doc calls them his friends. And also "tweedle dee and tweedle dumbass."

Murphy: "Never get off the boat."

Sketchy & Skeezy looted Graceland. They also ran into Albanians! Which I do remember the show references again in the s4 ep. I love Sketchy & Skeezy and will hear no words against them.

Skeezy: "Nobody ever believes us!" Well, I mean. You bring some of that on yourself.

10k calls for Doc first and then Warren. But at least his bandana is safe.

Sketchy dealing with his grief by being mad at Skeezy. Although frankly I don't believe a single word.

There's just a lot happening in this scene between 10k and Sketchy. A lot. My favorite part is Sketchy saying "I AM the fire." Which is kinda hot, tbh.

Yeah Sketchy was lying. Did he abandon Skeezy? Not cool, man. Not. Cool.

Poor Doc is so worried about his boy 10k. <3

10k is terrible at being a con man, as anyone would expect.

Okay Skeezy's, like, high-brow "that's right, you've got me" Murphy impersonation is SO CUTE. LOOK AT HIS LITTLE FACE:

The energy that Sketchy, in particular, brings to the show whenever he's on is really special. It would be WAY TOO MUCH to have him on all the time or even half the time, but he's incredible in small doses.

POOR WORRIED DOC.

Warren: "We push on. We survive. That's all we can do." Doc: "Maybe I'm tired of pushing on.":((((((((((((

Warren's carrying this group on her back - she's the one keeping them going physically and emotionally.

Oh hey it's the dentist truck.

10k goes from being a stutterer to a mute. Probably for the best tbh. He's bad at being a con man.

omg Burrtown. (Somewhere Aaron Burr is like: yesssssss.)

Burr: "You only need one friend, as long as it's the right friend." Skeezy: "I've said so myself many times before!" he says enthusiastically patting Sketchy on the arm. Aw.

Skeezy: "We're on a tight schedule." Sketchy: "We're gonna stay the night. Road will be too dark." Skeezy: "It's noon." Sketchy: "Eventually it will be too dark." lol Sketchy wants to get it on with one of those ladies.

Skeezy deserves better, y'all.

They found a canoe and Doc's gonna use it to go after 10k. This whole scene is SO GOOD, the tension, the bitterness and anger and end-of-their-rope. Murphy's "I thought ANYTHING for the mission?" bit.

Murphy: "[10k]’s a child with a gun who kills anything he doesn't understand."

Murphy is super, super mad about Cass but I'm not honestly sure what's underlying it. Did she feel like a daughter to him? Is he mad that 10k took something that he felt belonged to him? Murphy treated zombie Cass pretty badly on the whole, although I suspect he doesn't see it that way.

Murphy: "Each and every one of you is expendable." (Also Murphy, every other episode ever: "I cannot go on without Warren." Hee.)

I have a surprising amount of feelings about this episode.

I like this girl, too, that threatens to kill 10k. He has good chemistry with her.

10k: "I know Doc wouldn't leave me." AWWW

Ahahah it's El Scorpion again! I forgot he was involved in this. They made such good use of this character as a villain this season.

Sketchy: "The path to truth is not a straight line." And then he just goes off into so much bullshit. lol He makes a perfect politician, tbh.

Keith Allan has the most interesting walk as Murphy. I'm fascinated by it.

Whoever wrote this episode is a genius. (Checked and it was Karl Schaefer apparently.)

Addy to Doc: "I need you." AUGH. This episode is so good!!

El Scorpion: "These men have been convicted of some pretty messed up crimes. But even though I like a couple of them, the law is the law." lmao which two does he like?? I'm guessing Sketchy and 10k.

El Scorpion: "You've been convicted of grand larceny, identity theft, and just generally telling a whole bunch of lies." I am dying.

Sketchy tries to keep Skeezy from dying. <3

10k's worried about Sketchy & Skeezy. Fortunately they ARE the two luckiest bastards they've ever met.

That ending. The Butch & Sundance homage is great. Love the song over the credits, too. A++ for this episode that I usually forget about for some reason.

[ajoblotofjunk]

Z Nation re-watch: 2x14 The One With Disneyland

This is one of my top 5 episodes, so I'm excited to watch it. I love a good 'fill in the background flashback' ep, and so much of the camera work and lighting is remarkable.

I wonder what Citizen Z was actually arrested for. Potential espionage? What's that about? I figure he was a hacker but what was he doing with it?

We reconfirm that pre-Z the US government, at least, knew about zombies, which. SKETCHY.

"How can I not look?" - the Hacker Motto.

Citizen Z is getting hacked! ZONA probably? Or is this Kaya? I can't remember.

The Caminos are dead. RIP El Caminos.

LITERALLY JUST REALIZED WARREN’T NATIONAL GUARD SOLDIERS ARE WATCHING MACK'S HOCKEY GAME. OMG.

They're directed to Trenton, NJ, so must have started somewhere near there.

I love how Warren is still a leader but so much less confident and self-assured. Her "no no no" and "let me go." She's panicking (understandably) and not sure what's happening and has not become the Warren we know now.

lmao Murphy yells "hey princess, keep it movin" to Warren like she did to him. So good. Such a toddler.

Love the overhead shots.

It's the Matterhorn!

z: "It's a world of laughter, a world of tears." lmao oh, show

I adore pre-Z Doc. I mean I adore post-Z Doc, too. He was sober 5 years pre-z.

Doc: "Let's hug it out." <33333333

Poor Dr. Sanders.

Ah yes the full-on vomit shot.

Doc takes an oxy and then out he goes into the world.

Citizen Z's servers are back online. First time since the blast. That's...unusual considering it was probably a power outage. Computers aren't magic.

Addy is a HUGE hockey fan, it's awesome. Also the lady next to Addy has a 'Non merci; shirt which I know means 'no thanks' in French but is such a good surface level pun on 'no mercy' I'll take it.

Addy: "Oh my god that's Trenton Beale! He was our best forward!" Mack: "He wasn't that good, obviously." *snerk*

Pause for 10k appreciation

10k is a BABY in his flashback. My goodness. He's so confused and awkward.

I love the murmuration of birds but it's both lovely and kind of creepy in the apocalypse.

Javi's turn on the flashback train. His is awful, really awful. That poor guy. God his screams of horror are just unbearable.

The lighting in this tunnel is my JAM.

Murphy voiceover: "How did I get here? Look at all of you. What do you want? What can you want? Do I give a damn? I do. But why? The vaccine? Why me? I don't want to be the savior of the human race. I don't want to be the zombie messiah. i don't want to be shit. This is all some terrible mistake, I just want to crawl up and die like everybody else. Why me? What did I do? Where is my mercy?"

Murphy is such a con man, it's great. Also I did not believe that was ACTUALLY HIM the first time I watched this episode, I was so startled to see him pale and beardless. Hee.

Oh gosh this conversation between Murphy and Warren is so much.

Warren: "Can't sleep?" Murphy: "Can't dream either." Warren: "When did that happen?" Murphy: "A long time ago. A long time."

Murphy: "if you were really my friend, you would help me." Warren: "But I'm not your friend." BULL. SHIT. And their goodbye in the VERY NEXT EPISODE proves the lie to that.

They've been using Citizen Z to track Murphy this whole time, so it must be ZONA.

Letting them actually reach their goal here was smart. Kept the show moving and then of course let them change up their world in seasons 3 & 4.

Warren: "We did not get you this far to lose you to neo-Nazi numbskulls." Murphy: *sigh* "Yes dear, anything you say dear."

[ajoblotofjunk]

Z Nation re-watch: 3x11 The One With the Bedazzled Zombies

Oh, this episode.

It starts with Kaya eating snacks while watching two enders rip a zombie apart. Everybody in the apocalypse finds ways to make their own fun and entertainment, even the “good guys” are no different. They just have different entertainment.

There's a guy in Kazakhstan data mining through old vaccine trials. HUH. I don't think we've followed that thread yet have we?

Cuties.

Doc is listening to one of the ladies reading Poe's "The Raven." And then as he wanders it's not The Raven anymore but Millay's "I will put Chaos into fourteen lines" (you can read it here: https://genius.com/3209206). Interesting choices. (There's a third one after that but I can't make out the words enough to tell what it is.)

The bedazzled zombies are AMAZING.

Doc has quite a season in season 3.

Kaya and Citizen Z hear something they can't make out. But Doc's radio has been cut so it can't have been him. I am way more interested in the Citizen Z plot than the Doc one in this episode. I don't really like this episode much though.

What I do like about this episode is another look at seeing how people have grappled with the apocalypse this many years in and how they're actually thriving and how everyone has gone a little crazy with how they're dealing, too.

Doc was a bass player in a Pink Floyd cover band. (*cough*MUSICALEPISODE*cough*)

One lady to the zombies: "Come on Sparkles, let Mr. Fluffy eat." lmao

It is totally reasonable (and I mean this seriously) that this many years into a zompocalypse that people would stop being scared of the zombies and just treat them like ridiculous pets. You survive that long with a threat, sometimes you just get enured to the fear.

The bald lady is phantom of the opera-ing on an organ.

Doc says 10k is up to 5000 by now.

Doc: "He's the closest thing I have to a son." Awwwwwww.

She milked the rabbit herself. looooool

I love this lady. She has such a beautifully shaped head, too.

The furniture is all made of skin. Ayugh.

Skinned guy: "You better run while you still have legs."

These masks they wear are fuuuuuuucked uuuuuuuuuup.

Doc: "Contact Warren, tell her about Lucy. She's the only one that can stop the Man." D'aww. (Addy does give him a good fight though.)

Doc: "You said that stew was vegan!" Lady: "The guy was wearing sandals. Close enough."

SO listen it is VERY INTERESTING that the zombies can actually be trained! I mean they use fear (fear! again! some more!) to teach the zombies to be afraid of the women, but still it's training, it's behavior modification. That's big news and it's tucked in here like a little throwaway comedy bit.

This is unfortunately blurry but Doc's "peace out" hand motion is hilarious.

Citizen Z is trying to get in touch with Warren but he's not having luck, which is what leads to his ill-fated plane trip.

Kaya cracks the sat phone to find The Man's whereabouts.

My favorite part about this is the way his robe streams in the wind behind him.

Scrapbook lady: "The one that got away."

I mean it's terrible what they did to those dudes but I'm glad these ladies are enjoying themselves in the apocalypse otherwise.

[ajoblotofjunk]

Z Nation re-watch: 3x08 The One With the Election

It's the season's Sketchy & Skeezy ep! Woo!

Starts with 3 random dudes in a motorhome ramming down some zombies.

10k & Addy trim each other's eyebrows and I LOVE IT.

Addy: "Do you hear that?" Doc: "Addy, I'm an old man, I've been shooting a lot of guns, I don't hear shit." omg i'm dying

Doc: "I thought you two were dead for sure. What kind of luck is that?" Addy: "Dumb luck."

Sketchy asks if Addy has patented the electro-whacker lmao

Skeezy: "Breakfast is the most important drink of the day."

Reminiscing about Bill Clinton's problems as 'those were the days.'

Sketchy: "Addy. Addidale, if I may use your full name." Addy: "That's not my name." And then he calls her Abigail! I am ROLLING.

Another victim of the apocalypse. Sad.

And now he calls her Addilicious.

Skeezy: "Straight from his battles with the zombies in Congress! The 357th President of the United States: Thurston Howell the Fourth!"

Thurston Howell IS the dude from Gilligan's Island but Sketchy claims it's his real name and I do not believe him even though he says it in a way that is believable. Heh.

Skeezy: "Making America, America again!" SNORT.

Addy is into the dancing girls and I love it.

Doc is also super into the Mayor right away. It's so cute. I ship them.

Sketchy gives Skeezy's name as 'Wendell Lincoln Jefferson' these nerds.

Sketchy: "Lost causes are worth dying for!"

He asks to kiss the baby and it's a baby pig. lol

The Mayor: "Even in the apocalypse, people love kitsch."

The list of the first names on Sketchy's "I was in this line" list are great. All the rest are mostly too blurry to see. (Delondra Williams, who wrote this ep, is listed at 16.)

Mayor: "What are your qualifications?" Sketchy: "I'm alive."

His 'boss' was Blake Nelson.

Sketchy is ALSO talking about not wanting people to be afraid and it's goofy coming from him, but the thread is there all through this season.

Sketchy: "I'm going to build a wall around America! And I'm going to make the zombies build it!"

Sketchy: "Dig if you will, this picture." Well now I have When Doves Cry stuck in my head, THANKS A LOT DELONDRA.

Sketchy: "Safety is freedom." Murphy should use that slogan.

Erin: "At least he's doing something. Somebody's finally giving us hope."

John Jay Lannister arrives (I have a lot of feelings about this name) and is definitely a Donald Trump-alike.

Skeezy: "I saw the z's take him down by the dumpster! Nobody could have gotten away from that! Nobody!" TWD SHADE IS MY FAVE.

Doc: "Why save the world if there's nobody left to enjoy it?"

The guys from the beginning are heading to Wall Drug and are loaded for...torture I think.

Lannister: "You stole my pom pom girls." Skeezy: "Ehhhh they're pom pom women. That attitude right there is the reason you lost them." LISTEN. I think Skeezy, separated from Sketchy, would be a good boyfriend.

Lannister to Sketchy: "I should never have pulled you out of that anthill in Boise." Wow.

Sketchy calls Lannister 'short-fingers' and then Lannister calls him 'little fascist.' lol

Lannister wants to dig a bunch of large holes to capture zombies and use criminals as bait.

Lannister to Addy: "you there, with the eyebrows." Addy: "All right you mansplaining political hacks, you want to play?"

Everything about this episode is perfect.

I ship it. 

She's so badass.

Why does this lady poison the entire town because of a weird disease she got?

Sketchy knows to trust Doc and he doesn't know what to do. Skeezy wants the loot. I take back that he would be a good boyfriend.

Doc is using what he saw on Naked and Afraid to help Maggie. Hee. (Also coal would not work that fast but it's zombies so I'll take it.)

The three guys show up to claim (RIGHTFULLY) Sketchy & Skeezy are con artists. They're part of the Z Party. Their shirts are something. ("Don't tax me, bro" being a real standout)

Sketchy: I want to be a good person. Also Sketchy:

lmao Doc and Addy steal the stolen limo.

Everyone wrote in Doc for President. <33333