10kfever

Finally, an episode that can stand toe to toe with the first three seasons. Being a 10K fanatic, I love that he actually had scenes and dialogue. The flashbacks to his first trip to Mesa Labs, back to the current time and finding his old slingshot, were just wonderful. CZ and JZ, what terrific scenes. The poignant scenes with Andrew. This episode might actually make my top 10, despite my earlier skepticism of the season as a whole. Of course, this season has changed my list of favorite characters. 10K is still my fave, even though his presence (other than as just a part of the cast) has been sorely missed by me. In order, these are my opinions of the still-living characters: CZ, Doc, Kaya, Murphy (always fine as the jerk with a soft side), JZ (where did they find such a great kid?), Sarge (as a poor substitute for Addy), Warren (sorry, as a great character, she's dropped a long way for me), and Nana. What does everyone else think? Since my laptop has crashed and I have to resort to a tablet, my fanfic writing has dropped to zero, but I still remember paper and pan , so I'm feeling eager to get back to my stories. Wahoo!

Semicolon separates two closely related FULL sentences; punctuation is annoying. A colon is followed by a list: red, blue, and green. Really, it's that easy; I don't know why so many people get it wrong, especially with the semi-colon.<g> I agree the show hasn't been afraid to take risks, but I don't think it's happened this season. Their risks seem to consist of lame vulgarities and silly setups that never seem to pay off. I'm desperately hoping the final three episodes are as good -- dare I hope better? -- as We Interrupt This Program.

Sketchy and Skeezy gone? I don't think so, although the show will have to survive to a 5th season, since these characters only appear once each season in a major guest role. They did Butch and Sundance in season three, and at the end of seasons 1 and 2 they always seemed to be running away (although my memory is vague about "Election Day", my least favorite of their appearances). They were first seen in a short scene in the pilot, and they had to bug out there again. Doc seems to be destined to run into them all the time. As for current episode, I really wish Warren had shown up to save everyone and been badass Warren, if only for awhile; what was the point of showing that the guy from "Down the Mississippi" had survived? Hang in there, we only have to suffer through a few more episodes of the Season That Should Never Have Been, and I really want to see the show have a chance to improve by being renewed for a fifth season. Yeah, I'm an optimist.

Aww, the vomit episode. When writers have to resort to bathroom humor, they're definitely hitting the bottom of the barrel. Enjoyed Sketchy and Skeezy trying to warn Doc and Murphy. Not much Sarge or 10K, although they got to make a lot of expressions. Warren running around in the fog got dull quickly, but the end was a surprise; now she gets to hallucinate Teller. Nice to see him again, if only for a few seconds. I rate this below average for Season 4, and I firmly believe this season's average is a very low bar to reach. I think there were only three episodes that managed to rate above average, but as I said, I don't think the bar is very high. At the moment, I can't think of a single episode from this season that would rate anywhere in my top 20.

You must have a sunny disposition; you see nuances to create a bright side. I'm just an old curmudgeon, so thanks for helping me see some of the positive bits to make me feel better about the episode. I'm still confused about the green gas...perhaps it will be featured next season (more positive thoughts!) but if it's associated with the disappearances, why wasn't the group affected? I need to ponder on this a bit more. Good excuse to watch episode again. And soooo glad to see Sketchy and Skeezy making a comeback; I was starting to wonder if they were going to have an episode this season. And a Doc/10K episode? Be still my heart!

Might be interesting. I hope it's not just gimmick of the week.

Really enjoyed the first six minutes of this episode. We had Kaya, baby CZ, and Nana. Don't know what happened to Dude, but I guess they couldn't afford to rent him for a day. We heard the full lexicon of Canada jokes, and there are some fun bits. Then it sort of fell apart for me. In these past two episodes, Doc has pretty much become a caricature of himself, and I don't like it. 10K is the invisible companion, seldom seen and even more seldom heard. I did like the look he gave Murphy when Murphy thought 10K had saved him, kind of "Really, you thought I'd waste the bullets?" There was a new quest for a sacred finger, which turned out to be a hand, which pretty much ended with a thud, so what was the darn point? All we got was the group going to Canada so they could make a bunch of jokes. Then they headed south again. Really? Murphy and Warren shared a moment, which was nice, but I miss the seasons where there was actually a plot to the episodes, not just a bunch of filler material accompanied by a few minutes of actual storyline. Going to stick with it, of course, in hopes Doc and 10K can salvage my waning interest.

Maybe I'm just a conspiracy nut. Not really. But in searching for Z Nations ratings, I found a lot of news about SYFY, as in "can it be saved"? If the entire ship is sinking, maybe the powers that be are looking for some kind of huge deficit that will look good in bankruptcy proceedings. And ON TOPIC <g> the show could have been much better, even if we were stuck with so many bad scripts. The season thus far has focused on Warren and her visions. Now, I adore Warren, but I love her warrior goddess persona, not this uncertain, confused woman trying to interpret her visions. For this reason alone, things would have been much better if the other characters had been at the forefront of the plots, rather than Warren. Well, okay, there's no saving this last episode, but with more of the others featured, I think all the other episodes would have been more palatable.

Just checked the ratings...Z Nation viewership is down 33%. The show's producers couldn't do a better job of killing it if they tried. Wonder what went fubar with the writing. <sigh> I really liked this show. Tragic to see it wheeze to such an end. But it hasn't been cancelled yet, although my optimism is pretty low at the moment.

High point: Warren being her old sexy, sassy badass self. Low point: pretty much everything else. Worse: (and I can't believe I'm saying this) the tenuous thread that has formed the shaky arc of this season has apparently been broken. Now they're going to Numerica. What's happened to the creative force that drove this sometimes zany series for three years? This episode could have been darkly hilarious; instead, it was mostly boring. Maybe there were some bits (how many zombies can you fit into a clown car?) but for the most part there was no payoff to even the most basic gag setup. For me, this episode is the lowest point in a season that's been filled with disappointments.

Read the episode description, and it definitely doesn't resemble anything we saw in the previews. Thanks for sharing that.

This was the first episode of the season that I sort of enjoyed. The wealth of one-liners was priceless, although I could do without another rendition of Doc's, "I hate it when we split up." Still the quotes already mentioned in previous posts were great! I wish to add the look of disgust/disappointment on 10K's face when Murphy said, "I'm not dead yet." 10K has to wait awhile longer to kill Murphy, poor kid. Best line, if we're picking favorites: "Die, mother finger, die!" As for Lucy, I knew she was going to bite Murphy and make him okay again, plus regain the contact she'd had with him back in the beginning. However, her death came as a surprise: In the past, we've seen Lucy age as a result of her out-of-control outbursts (the banchee screams). I *might* buy that stress is the cause of her aging, because it was foreshadowed by her experience with The Man when he put a bag over her head, but she did not age as a result of biting either Addy or Grandpa, so why should multiple bites to Murphy cause such a rapid deterioration? I guess that's picking nits, because that's exactly what happened, but it just didn't make complete sense to me. Still, not having it made clear was a good plot device to make Lucy's death from old age come as a sort of surprise, if not a shock. There I go, waffling again.<g> In another "late to the party" insight, I've been wondering about that zombie eye that appears at the end of this season's opening credits. Finally decided it was an homage of sorts to the opening credits of TWD, which has a similar effect. Maybe not, maybe so. Nice to see others caught the "Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" reference; I was compelled to watch it back in film school, and must confess all its symbolism was totally lost on me. I'm an action/adventure junkie, so symbolism is pretty much lost on me unless I'm heavily invested in the movie/series. Like others, I'm not really feeling this season. I like Warren the warrior, not the one abandoning everything (and everyone) to follow her vision. I know she can't help it as a character, but I'm finding it tiresome. I agree with 51muses that things were "done" to Warren by Teller and others to turn her into some super-force for good. Now I'm wondering if the "thing" she keeps doing with her hand is twisting a knob on the console she hallucinated or if it has something to do with the cylinder she now carries. Worse, I'm not sure I really care. Yes, even my fave 10K has turned into an ordinary guy, without the edginess he had in previous seasons. He's still happiest killing Zs, and his reaction to the multi-body creature was typical of him, and he's had a couple of good lines in the 6 episodes thus far, but there's something missing. Doc and Murphy are still wonderfully in character, but everything and everyone else just feels "off" to me. Maybe too much change isn't a good thing? Next week looks like a comedy intermission, and frankly, I'm ready for it, however far out or absurd. This current story arc is dreary and unfulfilling.

Sorry, just had to add that I'm not totally opposed to these episodic snippets. There was some great dialogue, already mentioned by others, and some really funny moments, also mentioned. I just wish something coherent would start to take shape. The storyline needs to get cracking, or I fear this will be the last season of my newest fave show.

Much to think about. I think the weird noises in the woods might be hallucinogenic (dang, I wish this thing had spellcheck). Notice how they stop as soon as someone's attention is diverted: Lucy emerging from the tent startled everyone into looking at her instead of the woods, and the noise stops. And I still don't agree that the map the prisoners in the underground network created is feasible. Someone gets beamed into a tunnel, they have no idea what's at either end or behind the walls; they fix the problem, and are immediately knocked out again. Someone in a hall walks through a doorway and sees a flight of stairs with sunshine above; they have no idea where the hall leads, but steps apparently lead outside, then they're knocked out again. Where are these two points in reference to each other? Where is the elevator in reference to the other points, or the ladder 10K was crossing? Even if he could draw the ladder and what was on either side of it, how does it fit into the schematic unless someone from some other point also saw the ladder? I know, I know, just deal with it. Sadly, we seem to have to "deal with it" too many times this season without any sort of payoff. I'll stop beating this dead horse. Looking forward to tonight's episode. Maybe we'll finally get directed to some sort of plot beyond "Go east and find the black rainbow".

Oh, help me. Ep 4-5, another episodic mis-adventure. We learned it's not Zona, the group, especially 10K, likes dog chow, and Murphy is still snacking on himself. A little action, a lot of confusion, some scary bits, a touch of humor...what the hell are these writers up to? Haven't they found a storyline yet for a season that's almost half over? How can they create a map without a single point of reference as to where they were or where they are? Is Murphy going to get some mojo back now that he's been bitten? Worst episode yet! Argh!!!

Okay, you guys sound like the intellectual bunch! I'm loving these threads...so much to think about. Yes, I love the characters, and I love the psychology of the characters. Your observations are outstanding. I am now your #1 fan. I'll be watching each episode from a number of new perspectives. So...I think 51muses mentioned fanfic as the source for exploration. Anything good out there? I'm hungry for more! Thanks...

Yep, I'm diehard ZN, too. Watching some of the TWD marathon, I realized I like it, too. Only character I don't like is Rick, so that kind of spoils the whole thing for me. But nothing is going to keep me away from ZN, although I'm getting a bit tired Warren's visions.

Hmm, I've already confessed I'm not a big fan of the genre, but I fell in love with Z Nation for the characters. Today, I've been watching some Walking Dead, which I'd given up on because I found a bit too much plot and character manipulation by the writers trying to make them fit the story they wanted to tell. Now that Z Nation is falling into the same problem, I thought I'd give TWD a second look. Look at AMC...they're promoting the new season with long marathons, numerous specials and behind the scenes goodies. SyFy? We're lucky to get the previews run a couple of times. I'm not going to compare the two shows, but I'm really disgusted that SyFy doesn't do a decent job of promoting the ZN with the same fervor as AMC does TWD. Just delivering a mini rant.

I really liked this episode, despite its episodic nature - travel, MAD-Z, travel, Z, travel, Enders, travel, Zona troops, all taking place in one gigantic junkyard, which gave it a nice feel. There was enough character interaction throughout these scenes to keep the episode moving along. I love 10K, so I thought his bits were great, especially with Doc. Finally, he solidified his opinion of Murphy, which has been clear in past episodes but was not visible in Season 4. Yes, loved 10K's scenes as a prairie dog, and the quote, "Warren? I don't have a problem with her", and thus dismissing the whole subject of the intervention. We learned a little more about Warren's vision(s). As for Murphy tasting his blood and nibbling on his zombie wounds: I think he's trying to regain contact with Lucy, and this is the only way he can think to accomplish this. Otherwise, I think he'd be perfectly happy staying "cured". I agree it was great to hear from Northern Light, although CZ's fate is still unknown; I still hope he's the founder/head of Newmerica, and he's trying to find a way home to Alaska; then again, by now Newmerica has "troops" (according to rumor) and might therefore have both communication and transpo. Or maybe he's at Newmerica "under cover" because the whole thing is a Zona front. Sure hope he survived Season 3. I'm still waiting for Season 4 to become a cohesive arc, but for now I think it's greatly improved over the first few episodes. I hope the writers keep up the good work! Go, Operation Bitemark!

Going way out on a limb here: Murphy was blue for awhile (3+ years), but by end of season 3, he was losing the blue, his hair was white, and he was "becoming." In season 4, Warren has been in a coma for two years, and now she has white hair and visions. When Murphy and Warren rescue Lucy, she "feels" something before the crash. It wasn't Murphy she was feeling...turns out it was Warren. So, maybe Warren was part of an experiment for those two years in a coma. Is she, too, now "becoming" whatever the heck Murphy was supposed to be? Whether Teller or the spooky dude, was someone toying with Warren's DNA in an effort to complete whatever Merch had started with Murphy? After all, it was Merch who developed the "booster" that kept Murphy from turning more Z. And she was working for Zona. Not a stretch to think someone else was doing the same sort of work. Just musing while waiting for tonight's episode... P.S. Nashville, the end of the season 4 opening credits is a weird, twitchy eyeball, just after the ballbearing or lead ball... I'm thinking the eyeball must be there for a reason, and my thoughts automatically go to Addy and the "eye" on her eyepatch. Just more for me to muse about. <sigh>

Thanks for the voice of reason, 51. You make some excellent points. I, too, want to know what's happening with CZ and his "group"...baby will be over a year old now. Pity we missed so much during those two years, with both groups. Lucy and Addy growing relationship, how Addy lost her eye and where that weird eyepatch came from, 10K's first time with Red (wah-hoo!), and how Doc lost his optimism (or maybe he just can't find any more happy pills), etc. etc. There are so many little thing I want to know about the characters, but so much seems to be getting lost as the writers set the "big" picture. I'll just have to be patient. I'm still irked that so much sloppiness by the writers has led to some really stupid moves by the characters.

Hmm, I'm probably reading too much into the "clues" but could Warren be the reset? The Founder: "We've met before." The weird dude was the only one who seemed to react to her, his eyes roving up and down Lucy notes there's "something different" about her? There are other little hints, especially from Warren's comments about herself. Or maybe she's the anti-reset. <things are very confusing>

By next episode the season will be approximately 25% through its run. I think the pace has been entirely too slow. There are still too many questions, too much idleness, and so many plot holes by the writers that I can't help but wonder if they're actually paying attention. I'm asking too often, "Why didn't 'x' do this, it would have been so much smarter?" I've explained a bit of this under the topic of Season 4. As a huge fan, I'm actually feeling bored with the season thus far. I can't imagine what the casual or new viewer might think. Yes, there are moments, but the momentum, story arc impetus, and character interaction are sorely lacking. I'm really bummed by the incredibly slow start to the season. It's as if someone else has taken over the show.

On to episode 4-3 or 4, I just can't keep track. To me, and it's just an opinion, these episodes have pretty much run together in sort of a tiring blandness. Weird sounds in the woods. Ooooooh! 10K running around, when experience and training says he should have been cutting sign. Unkillable zombie 1 attacks the Lt. and is shot in the head...again, and...what?...the Lt now thinks it's finally dead? Really? Now Lt is unkillable Z. I guess humans are at a distinct disadvantage because they no longer have any long knives, just plenty of bullets. Chopping the MAD-Zs to pieces would be so much more economical, but shooting the Lt to pieces was rather dramatic. Finally, the group seems to be heading east per Warren's vision. Maybe something will actually happen next week. I'm starting to wonder if the show creators were flummoxed at the renewal, and they're stretching out the beginning of the season in their attempt to find a storyline. Yes, I'm unimpressed. Aargh!! My favorite new(ish) show just fell off the rails! But hey, 10K does bird calls, something we didn't know before. I'm off to bury my head under a pillow. Sigh...

When Northern Light was hacked, CZ traced the hack to Hawaii. Don't think that's where Zona is, although judging by the scenes we've see...bathing suits, tennis outfits, etc, it appears to be tropical. Off coast of Mexico perhaps. The fact that Warren and Murphy escape on a chopper means they can't be in Hawaii..the whole fuel consumption concept wouldn't permit such a long distance. Then again, maybe Zona has some sort of high-mileage helicopter. ? I still think CZ will show up again. Maybe he's the one who established Newmerica and then brought the rest of the family from Alaska.