51Muses

Good guesses! Wonder if Roberta stays a Talker Blend or takes the vaccine to become human again when she looks up Cooper. I was worried Warren would do something silly like sacrifice herself. Warren had to be changed though as it gives her character the chance to appear in the next season with lots of new possibilities. That and Murphy's smirk hints at the future. Great way to end the show on an exciting episode and a note of hope. No one else died. OBM each has a sort of ending. Plus, it keeps the ZNation-verse fanfic friendly forever. ZNation was a guilty pleasure at first then a favorite and now a permanent rewatch show. I will really miss Warren, Doc, Addie, CZ, Kaya, 10K, Murphy and the varied discussions we've had on this board. Gotta find a new show to chat about.

A campaign has started to try to convince Netflix to take on Season 6 or a feature movie to end the show properly. I think it is #netflixZNation on twitter. Best thing to do is to show continued interest in the show either by watching the last episode live/DVR, blogging and social media posts.

This season has felt like the show preparing for end of series, possible Season 6 and intro of Black Rain. A lot to do but I think it's gone pretty well especially with a lower budget and a cast busy with other projects. There will be some closure instead of some shows ending with too many loose ends and unresolved plots. I do appreciate the work of all the cast, crew, writers and producers. Z Nation has had a great run. It's going on my rewatch list.

Yay Cooper! But why is Warren looking at him like he's a plague-carrier or something. Does he have a big secret about HER? Hmm, the mind reels. Not expecting a massive battle scene ala Game of Thrones. OBM are always outnumbered so they win through guile, guts, planning and a bit of luck. Let's go OBM!

SunMei is well and truly dead. Went out like a Boss though! She was infected by Estes then brought back by the vaccine by Red. But she was mortally wounded and with the vaccine no chance of coming back. She had one of the better character arcs in the series IMO from enemy to wary ally to trusted friend and then selfless hero. Loved her smile when she realized the vaccine had worked. My heart fell when the gut wound was revealed. Sydney was superb this episode. Pandora vs George, um, where are the tickets? Pandora should be making a brain donation post fight. BOTH Doc and 10K better make it through the battle. Hated all the possible foreshadowing. Ditto for CZ, Kaya, Little CZ and Grandma. I think Murphy is evolving again. SunMei mentioned that his blood was constantly mutating. In the beginning of the season, Murphy could not control the Talkers. Now, he seem to have gained the ability to control them. Evolution by necessity? Where are Murphy's Blends? Did they die? I get the sense they are setting up something for Addy and Warren. Though Addie wasn't around last season, I liked what they've done with her character. It fits how she's changed from Season 1 to now. Hurray for the cure! It was the mission from the start and it looks like it has been finished. Didn't Murphy eat Doc Merch's brains and that was how he came up with the early Blend mix? Will he repeat it with SunMei's brains? They'll have to leave some of the lab intact to use it later on. Estes was side eyeing Pandora while he was talking to the Colonel. I think Estes is going to blindside Pandora and have her killed along with all Talkers and Zs. I need Estes to be the last Undead locked up for eternity like a zoo specimen. Or better yet made into an eternal, aware Talker and exhibited.

The satellites may still be going but wouldn't cell towers need electricity? Is there some still-functioning nuclear power plant somewhere? Or did Estes strap solar panels on some key cell towers? Maybe Hackerville has an underground cable connection to the Dam. Yes, their building was likely a hardened facility with multiple power options but how can you sustain generators for this long. SunMei just confirmed that Murphy's blood holds the answer. Without the right equipment and lots of time, it's useless to her. At least we know Murphy's blood is still potent. Citizen Z and Kaya were the bright spots. What happened to all the patrons of Limbo? Since cookies disappeared, so did the clientele? Where are the bakers? Final Mercy: Makes this season seem like set up for the Black Summer spin off to come. The documents says Newmerica was planned to be a Z-free Utopia. Also seemed like they knew about ZN1 and it's variant Black Summer pre-Apocalypse. Next episode: 10K's hand is on the move! In the sneak peek, Estes says that he is detaining Talkers so they can't vote. Voting is only for the living.

Princess, I thought the mining monster WAS the energizer bunny. He had the rig on the back like the bunny. AngelKitty, Doc has to be Yoda. Finn is Murphy (he who just wants to get out of the Apocalypse and do my thing.) If Estes isn't the Emperor/Palpatine, then how about General Hux or Orson Krennic. The Man is Jango Fett. Warren did her version of a left turn with Cooper. Still hoping Cooper comes to Newmerica at season's end. Will let you know about fanfic. I'm obsessing right now to get my 2nd book done. Warren: I see a bit of mystery with her. Other characters are driving the plot a bit like George and doing the settlements quest. We don't know what happened to her from the time she collapsed outside Cooper's place and she woke up. She was the only one in the epicenter when Black Rain was "mixed and released." Murphy was exposed to a different set of chemicals mixing, remember. Since, Warren was so close, could she have gotten the full effect of Black Rain somehow? So, is she now Human, Blend, not-quite-Talker or something else altogether? An immortal Undead? An immune next evolution Human? If SunMei knew about Warren and the rocket ship, she would have gotten her blood/tissue to analyze as well. Everyone is still fixated on Murphy when they should be looking at Warren. The way the Talkers were created made me think of Richard Matheson's book I Am Legend. In the book, the vampires were created from a biological agent that changed human DNA. Inevitably, humans died out or changed leaving one man still human who had some immunity to the bio agent. The book has been made several times. The first and closest to the book version was with Vincent Price in Last Man on Earth. That was followed by Charleton Heston's Omega Man with the different Christ-like ending where his blood led to a serum that by implication saved the remaining human survivors by making them immune, too. The last version is Will Smith's I Am Legend. As George has repeated a few times, they will all die and become Talkers. Is Murphy (or Warren or 10K) being set up to be the savior? if the Talkers continue, it's a species dead end and not to mention depressing. If the effects of Black Rain are countered in some way, then there's hope. Hope for more future stories. Hope for more seasons. Assuming SunMei finds a cure to Black Rain, will Warren be launching aboard another rocket to spread the cure far and wide as before?

That would have been fantastic! I've loved this season. One pet peeve is the dribbling of info episode by episode - too much like Season 4. After several rewatches and looking through past episode notes, here's what I got as far plot. Estes: He did build up Altura after his Zona exile. Altura was the most successful settlement until the other settlements began to work together via George's efforts. Perhaps, Estes knew about the Reset and Altura was his means of surviving it. Black Rain messed up his plans, poor man. Settlements: Each one was a piece of the puzzle. In the beginning, the Dam provided water and power to the Heartland mill. The mill made grain for food. Pacifica provided the Library. Limbo was "Las Vegas." Altura provided medical, science and communications. Then Black Rain happened. Black Rain: Enter the Talkers. The Baker family start up the bakery. At first they used raw brains. Then they got biscuit flour from Heartland. Then they made mass quantities of cookies which stabilized the Talkers in all the settlements. Not something in Estes plans I think. I think Estes figured out early that lithium had an effect on Talkers. Who knows maybe it was part of his work in Zona? Anyway, he started mining junkyards secretly. The lithium dust was packaged as biscuit mix and given to Heartland then the bakery for distribution. The Talkers were used as farm laborers and for other manual tasks. Then the Talkers got "rights" which was not something Estes wanted but could not stop without looking bad. Never a good thing for a power hungry politician. Biscuit Power: Between George, Black Rain and the rational Talkers, the balance of influence and power changed. I think Estes does not want any Talkers at all. They are too much trouble. He wants to return things to the way they were pre-Black Rain. No more Talkers. So, he plots with Pandora to kill 2 birds with 1 plot. Discredit the Numerica movement, eliminate George as a future leader/rival to Estes and put the Talkers in their place. Also, he manipulates SunMei to keep working in the lab. He tells her it is to find a brain substitute. In Ep 4, Estes says that SunMei must find the protein that controls zombie behavior then figure out how Black Rain affected the protein restoring zombie consciousness. So, if SunMei finds the solution, she can also figure out how to turn it off so the dead do turn and not become a Talker. SunMei may already have the answer via Murphy's blood/tissue but is keeping it from Estes. Pandora: Her plan is well thought out and executed. Since Z turn into Talkers, she had no choice but to import old Zs hence the Z tourists. To keep suspicion off Estes/Altura, she systematically targets the settlements in a certain order with tourist Z. The Dam is attacked forcing the Waterkeepers to stop providing water/power. Then Heartland and the Bakery. Pacifica was destroyed because it was Rebel HQ aka Alderan. Pandora is Vader. Estes is Senator Palpatine. Is 10K Luke then? They both have lost a hand. And Pandora has that mask. The Big Biscuit Brick: This ep confirmed what the secret ingredient was - Lithium. It's more accessible than brains but still finite in supply. The foreman made it seem that this mine was not the first one he had been involved with. Is the Brick ground up for powder and baking is done at Altura? I think it was Dante who said that biscuits had a metallic taste to them. Are the bricks meant for some other purpose? To keep the Talkers under control? I did not like the whole Talker as slave labor theme in this ep though I had suspected that slave labor was the idea early on. "He who controls the biscuits, controls the World." Humans are dying out and I'm sure Estes wants to reverse that. Conveniently, there has been no mention of where the biscuit additive originated from. How come Finn didn't know? Did the bags just appear out of nowhere? Given how toxic the brick is (it is encased in a solution and people are in hazmat suits), what is done with it after it gets to Altura? Limbo (aka the new Rebel hangout): Murphy's building up quite a power base. He has the bakers and the associates who know how to run a town and keep it secure. He has the numbers to defend the place against future attacks. Why hasn't it been attacked yet? Hmm, maybe Estes/Pandora is herding them into one spot for one last assault. All the humans can be killed then all the Talkers taken "captive." Murphy: He's still red. There has to be a reason for that. Wonder what he's been up to while the others have been away. I expect Addie to fill him in once she and Finn arrive at Limbo with the Heartland Talkers. Limbo is not the Mos Eisley of the apocalypse but the rendezvous point for all the rebel factions. OBM Allies: I expect the Hackers to become firm allies joining Limbo and the Watertalkers. What would Hackers be supplying in the Apocalypse? Weapons? Bullets? Info that Estes needs to rebuild the world? The Killing Drones in the preview were cool. Does this mean that OBM may have drone air support later on? Would there be more ex-Zona at Hackerville? Or are they the gamesmasters from the Maze. Yeah that one keeps hanging around in my head. Maybe, I need to write fanfic to get it out of my system. I hate loose ends! I'm glad that the show is getting closer to the showdown. Next ep with Citizen Z looks like another fun episode. Wish Addie was there, too, darn it. With three episodes to go, where is the Z-Wheel?

This is Z Nation. What could be off limits or too over the top? 10K has simply mislaid his hand. He's forgotten it's in the preservation tank back in Altura. Stitch it back on and see if it merges back together.

I can see the setup for a final season and a possible Season 6. Some loose ends and endgames are obvious. In my head, Cooper is trekking to Newmerica even now. Per Syfy, ratings for this ep and the next 2 eps will determine if there will be a Season 6. So, tweet #RenewZNation if you can. 10K: The producer (Karl Shaefer I think) in an interview said that 10K was unique given all the things that has happened to him. He's not exactly a Blend or a Z. Didn't he technically die at the end of Season 3? The hand not healing has to mean something.

I like the creativity this season. The show certainly finds new ways to be entertaining despite a lower budget. Yes, there is a central storyline (Newmerica) but the quest goes on visiting other places and settlements. I think it's a break from the episodic one place at a time road trip. The lighthearted moments, unusual characters and out-there scenarios set this show apart in the genre. Pandora must have a rolodex of temp talent for suicide missions. Did anyone notice the pattern of stitches on the saboteur talker in the beginning and the one getting the George beat down? Are the stitches an identifying mark, symbol? Does Pandora and her henchman have the same stitches hence the mask and face coverings? Combine the dam and the Heartland fields and it could mean survival for everyone in Newmerica. The bakers are likely in Limbo now. The last piece of the puzzle is the Unknown Additive for the biscuits. "The knowledge that you seek is buried under the past but beware. It is guarded by demons with sharp claws." I think this points to the DNA memorial at Altura. Or it could mean a place in the past seasons that OBM must find/revisit. I vote for the underground gamesmaster setup. But the sneak peak video on Syfy for the next episode shows the group at an old recycling center. Altura thugs are using Talkers to mine something among the piles of stuff. I fanwave a lot more with this show. The original antler was trimmed down to two prongs forming a fork and made to fit the hand. The pace is like an advent calendar. Revealing one/two tidbits per episode to move the plot along. Compared to the meandering pace of Season 4 though, this season is like a mine cart careening down a rickety track in a deep, dark cavern. I agree - more Murphy is overdue. Onward! All roads lead to Altura.

When SunMei explained what happened at the camp, her expression was a bit evasive I thought. Or at the least it seemed to me that she was watching what she said. Red was not shown saying anything specific about how she happened to be at the camp. My understanding of SunMei's explanation was she walked out of camp and then encountered the Marines. Based on online interviews with the show runners, they chose to be vague about details. Whether that is due to a desire to get themselves out of a plot corner in the easiest manner possible (let's ignore it and it will go away. Let's do this shiny new plot arc instead) or they are saving it up for a future plot line. With this show, it could go either way. I hope they do explain some part of it later. There was some kind of presence in the smoke/fog and there was a certain noise. It couldn't have been figments of the imagination. Aha! I'm not the only one thinking about the loose thread of the gamemasters in the maze. Who knows if the maze was not a forerunner to the Altura setup or even Pandora's yet unknown motives. What a twist if Newmerica had an alternative end purpose.

You're right. A tiny flashback could have helped. As it was, it needed extra explanation as to why Roberta acted the way she did. We could always discuss here. I'm going to have to do a full rewatch from Season 1 onward.

We can't assume that George's Newmerica becomes a reality. Heartland could opt to not join the combined settlements and remain independent. Your option is also possible. And, we've only seen a bit of George's vision (shared rules, Bill of Rights, Talker equality). There may be aspects to it that we won't like hence the hostility or apathy of some settlers. Black Rain changed a lot of things. Real humans are the endangered species. The Talkers are absolutely necessary as a labor and security force. Whoever ends up with the Secret Biscuit Ingredient can influence every settlement going forward. Studying Addie's map there are many other factions that could enter the story. Here's what's shown: Old Frontera The Tree Dwellers Inlanders Pacifica Altura Mountaineers The Cave Dwellers Hackerville (not sure of spelling) Tundrania (not sure of spelling) Waterkeepers Rangers Heartland Brewers New Yuma The Bakers Islanders Portsmouth Then there are the mountains, the mines, the Unknown Forest, the High Plains and the Lake. Plenty of story possibilities for future episodes and seasons.

I read that actors who have to wear an eyepatch have issues with depth perception and balance. Sometime a pin-sized hole in the patch takes care of the problem or no eyepatch at all. Pandora 1, OBM 0 : This will change I'm sure. Pandora's henchman was shown with the taser and we heard Pandora planning the stampede. So, this is as good as admitting she has been responsible for the z attacks on the various settlements. It's been planned well too. First, stop the supply of additive (whatever it is), then stop the water that provides water and power to Heartland ( no harvest and no working mill). The First Nation water keepers were spooked by attacks on their dam and become isolationists. Has the dam been overrun like Pacifica and Heartland? For now, it has been put out of the equation by Pandora's machinations. Limbo is safe but for how long? I think Limbo is next on the wipe out target list once more talkers are massed there. I think Pandora's endgame is the elimination of all humans (or turn all humans to talkers). I still think she is working with Estes with Altura becoming the dominant place once all the other settlements have been turned and put into Pandora's control fully. As Warren said "People and talkers are easier to manipulate when they are hungry." Whoever controls the biscuits, controls everything. Dreading and anticipating seeing Pandora sans mask. Addie vs George: This reminds of the Old West issues between independent settlements against those who wanted to establish an independent state that would become part of the Union. Pre-George's Dream there existed the settlements and some kind of working peace and trade model. Each settlement has their own rules and way of life. The referendum would change some of that as it emphasizes a central government and shared rules/rights. Addie's point is that the settlements survived and grew strong before the referendum. The aftermath has made the settlements weaker and under threat of extinction. Pandora's mind games are deadlier than her physical tactics. George has always been with a large group and sees the long-term vision. Addie has had to be a lone wolf to survive and her horizon is surviving the immediate future. There is going to be a conflict between them no matter what. Warren is both a leader with vision and a badass survivor. She's the perfect balance to Addie and George. Brains / Additive: What I took from the episode is that pure brains keep the dead from immediately turning. The secret additive sustains the talkers acting as both food and giving them conscious control. Brains just keep them from turning. The biscuits allow them to be "human." Heartland raises the wheat and mills the flour. They then mix the additive into it. The Water Keepers provide water and power generation but I don't think they make the additive. Where does the additive come from originally? 10K or Doc in mortal peril or imminent zombie peril always gives me heartburn. The two of them together is dramatic and comedy gold! I think 10K's hand can be merged back with his hand. It's a bit out there but anything is possible. Where's that fanfic reuniting 10K with his hand? There has to be a reason it's been preserved in Altura. "We know all about that native American medicine. But we were nowhere near the Grand Canyon!" I wonder if someone from the Grand Canyon episode will be at the dam. I think the preview scenes with Doc and 10K was a spirit walk type hallucination. Yes! The sneak peek says Doc must spirit walk to save the Water Keeper's Chief. I think Addie and Finn are more of the "love the one you're with" couple. I like the idea that the writers gave Addie a backstory as to what she was up to while away from OBM. She had adventures. She met people. It makes her a much more fascinating character. I hope Anastasia is in the Black Summer Netflix show at some point. Charle's song: It sounded like part so of Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two). The computer Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey sang it as it was turned off after killing off the crew. Here Charlie saves the talkers instead. Where is Murphy?: So far this season, the show has downplayed his Zombie abilities. He can't control the Talkers for example. It seems that he, Warren and Addie can still sense Zombie thoughts or emotions. I think Murphy will become a bigger part as the season goes. OBM has a different vibe when the original crew is together. As much as we want to see the original crew, it could get repetitive. They encounter situation, cause mayhem and destruction before leaving town again. With how widespread the plot is this season, it's a good thing to have an original in each angle of the ongoing plots. I've loved Season 5. It's definitely on the rewatch list.