S04.E06: Back from the Undead

[ottoDbusdriver]

Outside of Eerie, Indiana, the team reroutes to a mysterious place called Bio-Mod. Lucy fights to save Murphy's life while Warren and the others battle a biologically modified Franken-Zombie guarding a clue to Warren's dream.

 

[Ohwell]

I have to say, even though I'm sorry for Murphy's pain, I never really liked Lucy that much and I will not miss her at all.  It was time for her to go.

I still don't completely know WTF Warren's visions are all about and I hope they wrap this up soon with some resolution.  All this season she's been walking around with either a zoned out or quizzical look on her face--and I'm tired of it.  Get on to something else.

I miss Citizen Z, Maya and her family, Addie and Sun Mei.   And bring back the damn cheese wheel! 

At least next week it looks like we're back to the "fun" zombies again.

[Nashville]

Was that Molly Shannon playing middle-aged Lucy?

 

ETA:  Went back to watch the rebroadcast (DVR cut off right as the end credits started running), and no it wasn’t Molly Shannon.  

It was, in fact, Sara Coates - better known in ZNationLand as Serena, Lucy’s mother.  :D

Edited November 4, 2017 by Nashville
Pie was involved. Blueberry.

[rmontro]

3 hours ago, Nashville said:

It was, in fact, Sara Coates - better known in ZNationLand as Serena, Lucy’s mother.  :D

I wondered if that was her, given how Murphy was going on about how much she looked like her mother.

I liked the Lucy character, she was actually one of my favorites, I didn't see her death coming at all.  I, for one, will miss her.  This show is mostly ridiculous, but this was a heartbreaking turn.  Keith Allen, the guy who plays Murphy, is a good actor.  Any chance that Lucy's zombie powers allow her to regenerate somehow?

I thought this was a pretty good episode.  Next week looks like another dumb one.

[wayne67]

I'm really not feeling this season. Even 10 K isn't making this enjoyable any more. 

I'm slightly worried that once 10 k hits his magic number a zombie will kill him... 

[Machiabelly]

Or at 9999

[Joimiaroxeu]

Holy crap, this episode. That which has been seen cannot be unseen.

How do you top a zombie that can aim and fire weapons?

[51Muses]

It was much improved on the 2nd watch. So it's The Cabinet of Caligari's (1920 version) turn for a homage treatment. In the movie, a man tells a story about a mental asylum director named Caligari and his faithful assistant Cesare. There's a twist at the end where the truth is revealed. I am more convinced that Warren was mentally programmed during her coma.

In a way being in a coma, she was protected - from getting the faulty vaccine, ZONA internal politics, dying prematurely.  I think they kept her in a coma until they were ready. The Zona scientists seemed to be running their own plan for the future. They had an escape plan and a cadre of non-vaccinated soldiers, too. The old rich guy referred to misinformation and so forth so ZONA was not entirely free of dissent or different opinions. Even among the scientists there seems to be schisms. Mad Zona doc with one plan. Tellar and whoever had another.

What if the Tellar scientists decided to make Warren their tool/weapon of choice? Or that the situation was explained to her and she agreed to be part of the plan. I think she agreed to it. A person with a strong will as Warren would resist doing something she really did not want to do. She said that she had the same feeling about the vision as she had with getting Murphy to the lab. The ZONA Reset is bad so the Tellarites made Warren & Murphy into a weapon against it?

The physical differences in Warren is a sign that she isn't the Warren of old. She's way too focused on the vision. And Tellar was so insistent that Warren would understand, listen to her subconscious. In the end, it would make sense. That may apply to the audience as well.

Warren's programmed to have a last destination. She gets waylaid i.e. the Maze/box people but still gets back on the path. Episode 7 looks like another detour off the path. 

From Dr. Kurian to Dr. Merch to Dr. Tellar to Dr. Caligari  to the mad Zona Doctor, they all had to know each other directly or indirectly. There was a picture of Tellar with Caligari. We know Kurian and Merch knew each other. They were in their own way trying to create a Murphy and all failed. Which makes Murphy even more unique, esp with no Lucy anymore. It resets Murphy back to being the cure/savior/exception. And Murphy can now feel the zombies again after the Lucy infusion. 

It's both good and bad when the audience has to guess at what the show/writers are actually going for. I persevered through Babylon 5 Season 1 and was rewarded with Seasons 2, 3 and 4. So, I'm sticking with Z Nation.  As outlandish, campy and out there as this show can be, it's still entertaining to me.

Had to turn away from the finger in Doc moment. I hate squiggly wormlike things. Ugh! One last thing, Addie will not be happy to hear about Lucy. Her death will turn the characters down a path of no return. 

[Ohwell]

Well, I'm glad you know what the hell is going on, because I sure don't. ; )

I love Warren as a character, but I do think it's been a mistake for the season thus far to have been so centered on her and her visions. 

This used to be a "fun" zombie show, and I wish it would get back to that.  The only fun stuff so far are Doc's one-liners.  

[51Muses]

I think it was a mistake to make the reasons for the vision be so vague. I think a little scene to show the reason for the visions that the audience knows and not the characters could have worked. The audience would be in the know and that's part of the fun. Watching the characters get into trouble while we scream/chuckle/hide behind the sofa. The cast is selling the storyline but the audience isn't buying. I'm hoping the vision reveal will be satisfying whenever it happens. 

The too early disappearance of characters we have invested in like Addie, Citizen Z and Sun Mei hasn't helped. It makes it feel like a different show with missing cast and new faces. I do like Sarge and hope she sticks around. There may have been scheduling reasons for the AWOL cast. 

I know nothing. I'm just trying to make sense of things. Doc gets the best lines. Russell delivers them on target.

Edited November 4, 2017 by 51Muses
Added last sentences.

[Ohwell]

1 hour ago, 51Muses said:

I think it was a mistake to make the reasons for the vision be so vague. I think a little scene to show the reason for the visions that the audience knows and not the characters could have worked.

Exactly.

1 hour ago, 51Muses said:

The too early disappearance of characters we have invested in like Addie, Citizen Z and Sun Mei hasn't helped. It makes it feel like a different show with missing cast and new faces. I do like Sarge and hope she sticks around. There may have been scheduling reasons for the AWOL cast. 

Yeah, maybe there are scheduling issues with the rest of the cast.  I do like Sarge though and I think she's a good addition to the cast. 

[raven]

I've liked these last episodes, they have more of a horror movie feel,  Finally everyone (well, almost) is together and I like the various comments about sticking together.  I hope Addy has been up to something interesting and they're reunited soon, though I do like Sarge. 

It is a little odd to hear 10K talk so much.   His attitude towards Murphy is understandable and kind of funny, though I wonder if he will let that go now with Lucy's death.

I was surprised that Lucy died and that it was affecting.  I was liking her relationships with Murphy and Roberta.   It gave Murphy a different dimension to his character, don't know if that will stick. 

It seems the season's theme/mystery is what is going on with Roberta.  I'm OK with where it is right now, the last few adventures have kept me interested.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Hey, at least we finally know where the gang is -- somewhere north of Eerie, Indiana.  If NewMerica is in the Yukon, they still have a long ways to go.

Dr. Caligari had some notable accomplishments on his wall of fame:
-- Bio-Mod Doctor of the Year
-- Skin Graft of the Year
-- Compassion Award -- In gratitude for your faithful service, you have been recognized by your patients as one of America's Most Compassionate Doctors.
-- American Proctologists Association Two Thumbs Up Award

And he was a member of the American Prosthetics Association and graduated from the Abolofia University of Medicine (which sounds like some sort of sketchy Caribbean med school).

The one thing Dr. Caligari forgot to mention was HOW he ended up with his head grafted onto Charlie Bleeker's back -- who performed that surgery ?  Could Zombie Charlie still do surgery ?  Or who was that head grafted to the front of Charlie ?

Doc: "What in the zombie hell were these people up to ?  Why's it always gotta be some crazy evil shit ?  Can't we just for once find a bakery.  Maybe a working donut shop.  Fully stocked dispensary. I mean is that too much to ask."

Doc: "Not fingers.  Anything but fingers."

10K: "Doc. Hold still."
Doc: "I can't . I'm getting fingered."

Sgt. Lily: "Die motherfinger die !"

The dates below those photos in Dr. Caligari's notebook said 2010 and 2009 -- so he had been experimenting on stuff for a while before the ZA happened.
And how could Caligari not know what was in that cylinder ?  Or in the injections that Warren took when she was exposed to whatever it was ?

I liked how they brought back the actress who played Serena to play rapidly-aging Lucy.

Edited November 4, 2017 by ottoDbusdriver

[Machiabelly]

Abolofia is a character in Black Rain. A nod to the visons? 

[Bongo Fury]

17 hours ago, wayne67 said:

I'm really not feeling this season. 

Gotta agree. I've been a big fan since the first episode, but I'm just not feeling it this season. Too much mumbo jumbo, and the gang going along with Warren's idiotic behavior. Hopefully they get back to the fun that made the show.

[51Muses]

Quote

Abolofia is a character in Black Rain. A nod to the visons? 

@machiabelly, good catch. You're probably right. Wasn't the black rain referring to the black rain that came from the atomic bombs on Hiroshima/Nagasaki? First it was the nuclear fire then the black rain. Very similar to Warren's visions. 

Quote

And how could Caligari not know what was in that cylinder ?

@ottodbusdriver, it looked to me like Caligari knew but didn't tell Warren. He said to ask whoever sent her to the lab. I think Caligari grafted the extra limbs to his body himself. This is a guy who cut off his own hand and is an expert grafter. I don't think he'd flinch on self experimentation. He underestimated how strong the zombie DNA was. 

And the setup of the brains in the enclosure kinda looked like the setup that Mad Zona doc was staring at, the one with the burning hand. So was the gas in the canister some agent and the syringe a counteragent or vaccine? Is Warren now a carrier of a different vaccine or immune to something in the future? Was Caligari reporting findings to Zona/Tellar all this time and that's how they knew he had something of value (canister, syringe)?  Ack, too many questions and precious few answers. 

[ottoDbusdriver]

3 hours ago, Machiabelly said:

Abolofia is a character in Black Rain. A nod to the visons? 

Nice catch @Machiabelly. 

 

[Nashville]

12 hours ago, rmontro said:

I liked the Lucy character, she was actually one of my favorites, I didn't see her death coming at all. 

Not to be contrary - but given Lucy’s massive aging jumps whenever she is under stress, her death was one of the easiest to see coming in the short term.

 

2 hours ago, 51Muses said:

The ZONA Reset is bad so the Tellarites made Warren & Murphy into a weapon against it?

Or...   Warren is the Reset.  Even if she doesn’t realize it.  Yet.

[51Muses]

17 hours ago, Nashville said:

Or...   Warren is the Reset.  Even if she doesn’t realize it.  Yet.

That's a definite possibility. It does seem strange that the Reset timing was after she woke up. Hmmm .... 

[rmontro]

18 hours ago, Nashville said:

Not to be contrary - but given Lucy’s massive aging jumps whenever she is under stress, her death was one of the easiest to see coming in the short term.

I may well be dense but I just figured her fast aging was a way to turn her into an adult character that could join the cast.  Anyway, I liked her, I'm sorry to see her go.

[51Muses]

1 hour ago, rmontro said:

I may well be dense but I just figured her fast aging was a way to turn her into an adult character that could join the cast.  Anyway, I liked her, I'm sorry to see her go.

Not dense at all. It was what was shown. In the beginning, stress was the aging factor.  Who knows the aging could have stopped at some point. The biting as age accelerant was out of the blue.

It was a well-thought out death. It will likely lead to more plot and character developments in future because of the actors' good work. We did see the father/daughter relationship evolve on screen over a handful of episodes. 

[Nashville]

3 hours ago, rmontro said:

I may well be dense but I just figured her fast aging was a way to turn her into an adult character that could join the cast.  Anyway, I liked her, I'm sorry to see her go.

Not a density thing at all.  I just figured - considering Lucy had already physically aged ~30 years over the course of 2-3 chronological years - barring a physiological event to change the aging, she had already covered half her arc with the series.  The fact that her last 30+ physiological years were covered in a single episode, though, surprised me as well. I figured her to go quick, relatively speaking - but not THAT quick.

One thing to take note of, though; in the series to date, isn't Lucy the first person we've seen die of old age since the zombie breakout?  :)

[10kfever]

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.

[Nashville]

2 hours ago, 10kfever said:

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?

What basis is there to assume the act of biting caused Lucy’s aging spurts?  

Yes Lucy bit, and yes Lucy aged - but that doesn’t necessarily establish a cause/effect relationship.  Given that the Lucy-stresses=Lucy-ages cause/effect relationship was already documented in the series, *MY* assumption was that the stress of watching her father die in front of her might have a little something to do with it.  If anything, the bites lessened the severity of Lucy’s aging spurts by immersing her in the only proactive step she could take to save her father - and it was only immediately after the bites Lucy could pause long enough to register the effects of the stress-induced age boosts.

[51Muses]

No, not a direct effect but certainly a related effect. We know that a loss of blood either via biting, transfusions, blending, extraction, whatever does drain/affect Murphy/Lucy. The results vary. They lose color, get weaker, what have you. Murphy was so insistent that Lucy not bite him anymore. The biting was doing something. It's fair to speculate. It would be nice to have some definitive answers but I don't think we will ever get that. But it's fun to come up with theories. 

Yes, Lucy is the first we have seen dying from old age. Murphy hasn't aged other than changing skin and hair color. The only other one that comes close is the Founder. He looked blue but was that from taking the first vaccine? 

@10kfever, I don't know how much comedy there will be next episode. Mixed bag maybe. The trailer is comedic but the episode description isn't. Spoiler tagged below.

Spoiler

S4E7 Warren's Wedding - Shaken by the death of one of the team, something snaps in Murphy, and Warren is unable to stop him and the others from committing an atrocity as misplaced revenge.

[10kfever]

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

[piequinn35]

Murphy had the vaccine from Zona that had effect on Lucy. Sad that Lucy is gone but there's no way the show would kill Murphy, he is #2 after Roberta.