Truth or Dare begins with Huck, played by Actress Annet Mahendru who happens to speak six languages, waking with a start.
Tony, Percy’s Uncle knows where there are fuel stores, thanks to some tricks of light, but now the team needs to know where they actually want to go.
Who goes to comfort her? Of course it’s Elton, which just makes her guilt worse.
Using the same trick they used to find the fuel dumps, they find a likely target in New York where Hope and Iris’s dad is.
The kids and the adults both enjoy some alcohol while the younger group plays a game of Truth or Dare. This goes south when Percy asks Hope what the worst thing she’s ever done. She knows she’s killed Elton’s mom at this point, but she’s not willing to say that, so she leaves the group when Percy pushes her.
Flashbacks
While Hope is suffering we see Huck’s flashback to when the apocalypse started. She’s with her team, and they are facing their first zombies. It only takes one exchange for Huck to realize that headshots are critical. She must have watched a few zombie movies in her time.
As Huck is remembering, Hope wanders up to the roof where she bumps into Huck and admits that she killed Elton’s mom. Huck gives some good advice and tells Hope that no one else needs to know the truth. It won’t change anything but make life harder. Better to carry the truth and let the others go on in peaceful ignorance.
The next morning the team heads out to a CRM fuel dump, aiming to get enough fuel to get to New York.
Once inside Huck finds herself facing a hostage situation. Hope has a gun pressed against her head, and her survival depends on what Huck does next.
Huck talks down the hostage taker, and he releases Hope, but continue to holds Huck at gunpoint. We then see what Huck did when she was a Marine. She killed her own troops instead of killing innocent civilians. Then, after taking her hostages gun, and telling her she could save him, she puts a bullet in him, because the reality was he was too far gone.
Momma Drama
Once the team is safe, Tony and Percy tell the team they want to continue on the journey with them. Hope then gets the dagger twisted in her heart when Elton tells her that maybe his Mom is alive, because hey, anything is possible, and Hope has to agree.
As Hope and Huck talk about the pain of carrying the truth without sharing it, we see how Huck got her facial wounds. She did it to herself.
Truth or Dare ends with Iris waking up, wondering why Percy didn’t come to meet her. When she goes looking for Percy, she finds Tony with most of his face missing. Percy is missing, and Silas is nearby, passed out in a bathroom stall.
Did Silas due the horrible deed? We are going to have to wait until next week to find out.
Truth or Dare Scoring
Truth or Dare scored a 60/100, putting it in Rainy Day territory. The Huck storyline was intriguing, but there just isn’t a lot to the storyline that is generating anxiety at this point. I’m hoping things will get better in the coming weeks.
Tyler Posey, the star of Teen Wolf, plays Aidan, the main character in Alone. The movie starts fast. Aidan wakes up and the news immediately declarers an emergency. Bites, scratches, the virus easily infects anyone it comes into contact with, turning them into hungry animals.
Aidan watches from his balcony as fighters fly overhead, and then watches the walkway below as a little girl turns. As he goes back into his apartment he finds his neighbor in his living room. His neighbors been bitten, but stays himself just long enough to leave, mostly of his own accord. We do get a brief glimpse of what being infected means though…
Aiden barricades himself in his apartment, but it’s not long before he comes face to face with his first Zombie. Lucky for Aiden, it’s a female. So body mass and muscle is less than what he might have faced if it were a male. He takes her out with a single swing of his bat he takes care of the problem. He then uses a surf board to close up the access panel in the ceiling the female zombie came from.
We then get a short montage of Aiden losing his shit before his mom calls him. He then gets to hear a voicemail that ends with his mom and dad being attacked and killed.
Face To Face With A Horde
This drives Aiden to leave his apartment. Why? I have no idea, but it does. He quickly comes face to face with a small hoard, and only escapes because he’s nimble enough to avoid them. There is a brief chase before Aiden makes it back into his apartment. Once inside a Zombie keeps saying, “Here” and then banging against the door. Very creepy.
The scene cuts to some point in the future when Aiden looks out his window and watches the power fail. The city has gone dark.
The Girl Across The Way
Cut to further in the future. Aiden now sports a beard and looks much rougher around the edges. A message on his laptop says its day 42. He apologizes to the air before climbing on a chair to put a noose around his neck. He looks out his window, about to kill himself when he sees another survivor across the way. Seeing another person gives him hope.
Seeing another person gives Aiden everything he needs. A reason to survive, a reason to try and help someone. Summer Spiro plays Eva, the girl across the way, and Aiden is overjoyed when she finally sees him. The two communicate with notes pressed against the windows. This leads to a cute moment where she asks if he pre wrote all his messages. He asks in return if that is awkward?
Aiden has a ton of bottled water. Eva lets him know that’s bad for the environment, but in a sweet way.
Bad for the Environment
She then very suspiciously closes the blinds, but agrees with a thumbs up to talk to him tomorrow.
Eva, Thumbs Up
What is Eva hiding? Why is she looking into her apartment as she agrees to talk to Aiden again?
The next day Aiden doesn’t see Eva.
The Rain
That night the rain comes. Aiden gets to fill some pots and pans on his balcony while he bathes. Eva gets a free show as he showers naked on his balcony.
Naked Rain Showering
The next morning they greet each other on their balconies and Aiden asks her what happened. Why didn’t she show up? She explains in paper messages that she has someone clawing at her wall from the next door apartment.
Due to the Zombies, the two of them are being very careful about making any noise. Aiden uses a baseball to get a line to her. He then uses the line to send her some supplies. Unfortunately in the process the business Zombie realizes she’s there and begins to climb the balconies. Aiden throws supplies at the Zombie to keep him from attacking Eva. The intervention came at a cost. Aiden is now faced with threats on two fronts. The Zombies in the hallway attack his front door, and the Businessman zombie attacks from his balcony.
Zombie Attack
Aiden kills the Zombie on his balcony with his trusty bat. We then cut to the next act. Aiden has a plan, and goes out into the hall to recover his neighbors keys. He just barely makes it into his neighbors apartment. The walls are covered in blood smears. Then he finds a dead girl. I loved how he was smart enough to confirm she’s dead by throwing something at her where she lies. He also finds some much needed supplies like peanut butter. As he searches the apartment he also finds a ton of climbing gear, including a climbing pick.
There is a brief moment of violence and then Aiden escapes with his loot. This includes a set of walkie talkies, which brings Aiden to tears. Now he has a way to talk to Eva.
For some reason Aiden thinks the best way to get the walkie talkies to her is to climb down to the ground, then throw it up to her, putting him in danger from the roving horde of biters the whole time.
With the package delivered, Aiden climbs back to his own apartment, confirming to himself that he is indeed a ninja. With the mission accomplished he rewards himself with some peanut butter.
The next morning Eva finds her walkie talkie and reaches out, surprising Aiden who is still sleeping.
Aiden and his walkie talkie
Aiden and Eva share a spiritual moment, each of them overjoyed to talk to another human being. They pretend for a little while that the world isn’t full of Zombies, and just chat, each of them overjoyed to talk to another, live human being.
We then cut to Aiden deciding to explore the ductwork which introduced him to the undead. He’s crawling along, and can smell the decay, and is surprised to find a dead body? Aiden then escapes into another apartment, appearing in the bathroom only to find a tub with blood stains in it.
Lucky for Aiden the apartment appears empty, and the pantry is full of supplies. Aiden calls Eva, and tells her its safe. Because the fridge is pushed up against the door, and doesn’t’ think about who pushed it there? At least Eva has a brain, and asks him who moved the fridge, but its too late, Aiden already left his bat in the kitchen.
Donald Sutherland!
Holy sh*t, Donald Sutherland is in this!!!
Aiden meets Edward, played by Donald Sutherland. Edward has a homemade spear, and offers to give Aiden another bag to carry food. Edward seems off though, bringing a plate of suspicious food to Aiden before asking him if there are any other survivors.
Edwards pretends to be a helpless old man before clocking Aiden in the back of the head, briefly knocking him out. Edward has brought Aiden back to his elderly wife who’s already turned. Lucy, Edward’s wife wouldn’t eat Aiden because he was unconscious, but now that he’s awake she’s hungry and just wants to eat.
Hungry Lucy
Aiden just barely escapes when Eva calls him on the walkie talkie and tells him the biters are in her apartment. What else can Aiden do? he has to save her.
Shotgun
Aiden makes it to the ground, and is lucky enough to find a loaded shotgun just in time to defend himself from a biter. The bad news is that the sound draws every biter around, and it becomes a race for Aiden to climb to Eva’s balcony before the biters can follow him.
Thanks to Aiden’s quick thinking he’s able to cut the sheet rope and they are finally together for the first time.
There is a mad run to Aiden’s apartment, and they make it, but Aiden is bitten. He tell s her to go to his neighbors apartment where there is food before pulling off his last shirt, and there is no bite!!!
The movie ends with Aiden and Eva hugging on the floor, their back to the fridge to hold the door shut.
First, I’m a huge fan of Tyler Pose’s work in Teen Wolf and was saddened to hear about his struggles with addiction. He’s said he’s working on his sobriety, and i hope that Alone gives him the funds he needs to stay on that journey. I’m sorry for whatever demons your fighting Tyler, and was glad to see you in a feature film.
Alone Scoring
I would describe Alone as a popcorn movie. It was fun, fast paced, and Worth Your Time. It wasn’t anything new or innovative, but it was fun and had some great moments, which is why it scored a 73/100.
Zombaby finds Team Murphy moving through a small town in Wisconsin. The Zombie apocalypse must have hit during their cheese festival, because the town is decked out with everything from a massive cheese wheel, to people in cheesy costumes. This reminds Warren about how they turned the Liberty bell in Philadelphia into a weapon back in Season 1, Philly Feast. Thus we get an epic rolling cheese wheel of death:
Cheese Wheel – Of Death
After escaping the horde in Cheesy Town, Murphy’s baby Momma, Serena, continues to suffer with horrible nausea.
Serena Spewing
Baby On Board
Team Murphy is trying to help with Serena when they are ambushed. This leads to Serena’s awesome rage killing spree as she opens up with an M4, screaming that there is a baby on board. Good times.
Serena is about to pop, so Team Murphy heads for a local Mennonite community, hoping to find friendlies and supplies. This introduces us to another great moment in Zombie Television history, the Zombie Sheep!!!
Zombie Sheep
As if Zombie Sheep wasn’t bad enough, the local zombies spew white powder when they are killed. That white powder just happens to be Anthrax spores, which takes 10K down for the count. The Mennonites have some cipro, but not enough for everyone.
The Search For Antiobiotics
This leads to the next two acts of Zombaby. Addy leads a small group to a local town to find more antibiotics as Doc and Murphy stay back to help Serena give birth.
Unfortunately for 10K, Addy isn’t able to find any antibiotics, and when she makes it back to the farm, 10K looks bad, and Addy collapses. Warren, Doc, and the bounty hunter are all ex military, so they have been vaccinated against Anthrax, but 10K and Addy didn’t serve, so they are suffering.
Warren comes to a difficult decision. The Mennonites have enough antibiotics to save 10K and Addy, but only if they take what they need, which will leave the Mennonites to die. The Mennonites don’t resist because its against their beliefs, they just let Warren take all the meds.
Back in the barn, Serena gives birth to a very Murphy-esque baby. I died laughing when the zombie wise men showed up.
Zombie Wise Men
While everyone was focused on the new baby, a horde of zombies showed up to great the baby, leading to Serena making the ultimate sacrifice so Murphy and their baby can escape.
After escaping the farm, we also get to see Addy giving 10K a box of condoms, and giving him the “don’t be stupid” talk. FYI, I did look for Billy Brand condoms for fun, but they appear to be made up for the show. It was very touching that Addy cares enough about 10K to give him the talk. We also learn that apparently 10K is a virgin, but Addy assures him there are girls out there for him.
10K Getting the Talk
Zombaby ends with Murphy naming his little girl Lucy. The episode ends with the giant wheel of cheese rolling along, taking out a cow before the credits roll.
Zombaby Scoring
Zombaby scored an 85/100 and earned every one of those points.
Batch 47 finds the Team at a Zombie pot farm. Literally. Zombies have merged with the pot plants, and thus we have Z Weed. The only problem is that the Zombies have fused with the pot, and harvesting Z weed makes them angry.
I love Z Nation’s mix of frenetic violence, fun characters, and the way it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Usually, this is great. Batch 47 takes it just a little bit too out there. Obviously you have to watch it because who just skips an episode in the middle of a series. But, my suggestion is that you have a few drinks to help you through it.
Or, better yet, if you live in a state where its legal. Light up a little bit bit of the green and pren
After the last few powerhouse episodes Batch 47 just doesn’t cut it. It was fun at times, but also silly, and I’m giving it a 60/100, putting it in Rainy Day Territory.
Batch 47 Scoring
The big news doesn’t happen until almost at the very end of the episode when Murphy’s Baby Momma shows up, and she is about to pop!
Zombie Road feels like Z Nation’s tribute to the Mad Max franchise., and they did a great job. Zombie Road opens with two marauders who have run a vehicle off the road and assassinate the passengers. This leads to one of the best one liners of the episode. Marauder 1 gets mad at Marauder 2 for using his firearm.
Marauder 1:Every Blaster within 5 miles heard that!!!
Marauder 2: Don’t be so negative, worry is poison. That’s why you don’t crap right.
It was silly and dumb, but it made me laugh. Then both Marauders got violently eaten by radiation mutated zombies. We just got introduced to Blasters, the new, very fast, and very deadly zombies that the fallout has created.
Marauder Eaten Alive
On The Road
Team Murphy is on the road. They are trying to get further away from the nuclear fall out when they encounter another group of survivors. The other group is being ambushed. Team Murphy watches from afar before deciding to act. Warren and the team tell their new member that they are going to help, because they are still good people.
Ambush
Warren and team help defend the small convoy from the bandits, but its not long before more bandits lead to a series of action packed gun battles.
We also get introduced to Z Weed, which on top of being relaxing and giving you the munchies, seems to make Cassandra remember a little bit of who she was before Murphy bit her.
Life post zombie apocalypse has been made significantly worse by the zombies being exposed to fallout. These “Blasters” are fast, can take a ton of damage and keep going, and worst of fall, they are immune to whatever power Murphy has over the normal undead.
For me, the Best Zombie Kill was when one of the Blasters fell off the semi and got sucked under the tires.
Zombie Road ends with Murphy, Cassandra, and Wrecking Ball have slipped away in one of the convoys cars, and thanks to Wrecking Ball and his tales of Z Weed and a potential strain of Z Weed as a cure, Murphy is all in on making his way to the source of the Z Weed in Minneapolis.
This sets us up for the next episode for Warren and team to chase after Murphy, and for us to find out more about Z Weed.
Zombie Road Scoring
Zombie Road had lots of action, gore, and violence, and scored a 90/100. What cost it a few points? The first is the same thing that cost last episode some points. People are shooting at other people in the open, who are not far off, and keep missing. The second was the “sick bus”. Everyone knows that when you die you turn, so it seems silly to keep a bunch of nearly dead, sick people, where they can get to you. Still, there was a ton of action in Zombie Road, and that is worth every other point this episode got.
White Light picks up where The Murphy left off. Citizen Z’s attempt to make sure that Murphy gets to the CDC backfires. Everyone wants the bounty. The bounty hungers are willing to kill anyone who gets in their way. This leads to a crazy free for all.
Free For All
Everyone is trying to get to Murphy at the same time they are trying to kill each other. Bullets are flying. Unfortunately Doc and 10K are pinned down by sniper fire. This leads to one of the most intense scenes in White Light. Doc is strangled, and only just survives. You can’t kill Doc!
He is one my favorite characters. Nothing better happen to Doc! Sadly, not everyone is as lucky as Doc. We lose another member of the crew in the human vs human vs zombie free for all.
While all hell is breaking loose in Cheyenne Wyoming, Citizen Z is fighting for both his life. Camp Northern Light is under attack. Citizen Z fights, and kills several fast, ex military zombies. Lucky for us, he’s up to the task.
After lots of shooting and violence, they catch Murphy. Addy nearly beats him to death. She clearly blames Murphy for making them chase him, which cost Mack his life.
White Light Scoring
I’m giving White Light an 81/100. There was a lot of action, but it bugs me when there is just tons of shooting as people cross open ground. Everyone who films a shooting scene should go play a few rounds of airsoft. Why? Because it is not like the movies. Being in the open means you will be hit.
The nukes are coming down, and the team is about to face some fall out.
Nukes In Rear View
Murphy has run, and Team Warren barely escapes the initial blast, and Cassandra appears to crawl out of the crater of the lab, or at least what was Cassandra.
Citizen Z isn’t faring too much better at Camp Northern Light. The nuke aimed at him appears to have hit a plane, bringing down a horde of zombies. Citizen Z survives, but the base is in bad shape. He barricades himself off from the undead long enough to send out an urgent call to whoever can hear him. He knows Murphy is on the loose, and tells anyone listening that there is a huge reward for getting Murphy to the west coast.
Sisters Of Mercy
Mack and Addy are still at the Sisters of Mercy, but the nukes and one of their exiled children have torched the place, killing almost everyone. Mack and Addy drive away on a four wheeler as the woman that Murphy slept with back in Season 1, Episode 11, creeps out of the tree line, and guess what? Murphy is going to be a daddy!!!
Baby Momma
Murphy on the other hand is buck naked after shedding his skin, and decides to go clothes shopping, with a few zombies in tow. It’s not long before a scavenger finds Murphy, and tries to take him prisoner so he can collect the bounty.
The plan doesn’t go so well after Cassandra shows up. She’s not quite herself, but she does seem to recognize Murphy. This kicks off an interesting bit of Murphy’s quirks as he uses his “Zombie Whispering” to try and get two of the female zombies to kiss.
Team Warren
Warren, Doc, and 10K are somewhere out on the plains with no vehicle and no supplies, and Doc is hurt. Warren leaves them to go find supplies, help, or both. She doesn’t get far before fatigue and depression make her question whether she wants to survive any longer.
Warren At The End Of Her Rope
Warren is about to pull the trigger when she hears a girl’s scream, and it renews Warren’s purpose. All she needed was someone to save, and she goes into b*dass mode.
Warren really was at the end of her rope though. Once the girl is safe Warren passes out, hitting the ground hard.
Warren’s Fancy Machete Work
Lucky for Warren, the kid is kind enough to take her home to safety after she passes out.
While Warren is enjoying the hospitality of the girl’s family Mack and Addy are reunited with Doc and 10K.
10K For The Rescue Kill Shot
Lucky for Warren, she meets back up with Doc, 10K, Mack, and Addy and the team is able to make up some ground using Mack’s 4 wheeler to pull them along.
Team Warren finds Murphy a little ways down the road in Cheyenne Wyoming. Murphy has taken over the local strip club.
Murphy in his Pimp Suit
Practical Clothing?
I think Addy has the best one liner of the episode when she looks at Cassandra’s gold hot pants, and says, “I’m sorry, what is she wearing? Is that mildly impractical for the apocalypse?” Unfortunately for 10K, Cassandra doesn’t seem to really recognize him, and she’s clearly keeping herself between Murphy and the humans.
The episode ends with a zombie strip show that ends in a centrifugal force amputation that leaves the team distracted and vulnerable, giving another band of bounty hunters just the opening the newcomers need to get the drop on Team Murphy.
The confrontation ends with Murphy hitting the Zombie Panic button, leaving all the humans to fight for survival as Cassandra and Murphy flee out the back of the bar. This leads to the third awesome zombie kill of the episode with 10K using a fire extinguisher.
Zombie Fire Extinguisher Kill
The episode ends with Team Warren going to follow Murphy before cutting away to Murphy’s Baby Momma. She’s standing on the road, looking left and right, before she asks her belly, “Which way is daddy?”
We then see the outline of a little hand move across the inside of her belly, pointing the way.
The Murphy Scoring
Wow, the Season 2 opening episode was packed with awesome scenes and storyline. I’m giving The Murphy a 90/100.
Now on to important questions. Let me know in the comments bellow which kill you think was the Best Zombie Kill. We have Warren’s machete work, 10K’s headshot, or 10K’s fire extinguisher kill. For me the fire extinguisher takes it.
Safe Shooting means knowing what is in front of your weapon. It also means having a good understanding of how the weapon works. Safe Shooting means stopping and thinking about what you are doing so accidents don’t happen.
Stop, take a breath, think about what your about to do when you squeeze that trigger.
Don’t point your weapon as anything you don’t intend to destroy, in this case using your truck as a gun rest probably wasn’t such a good idea…
Proper Grip and Stance
Guns are not toys. Guns are not props for photo shoots. They are dangerous tools. Mishandle them and people will end up hurt.
Why do I show these videos and pictures? Because I like to go to the range and every one of these videos gives the non shooting public a bad impression of the total shooting community.
Always follow the four basic rules of Gun Safety:
Always keep firearms pointed in a safe direction.
Treat all guns as loaded at all times.
Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
Always be sure of your target and what’s beyond it.
The team is out on the streets, and find themselves surrounded by other survivors, all heading towards the Stadium and its promised evacuation to safety.
Within a minute the first biter rushes the growing crowd of survivors, and the shooting starts.
Black Summer
The problem with shooting is that the sound brings more of the undead in an ever increasing cycle. One of the survivors is tackled. As she goes down she sprays her weapon wildly about, taking the first member of our team with a stray round.
Black Summer Friendly Fire
This is one of those details a lot of shows and movies get wrong. People panic. Stray rounds can’t tell the good guys from the bad guys.
War Zone
In the chaos, Spears and Sun get separated from William and Rose. The streets of downtown are a war zone. People are moving in every which way, and the biters are among them. People are being bitten. The Zombie horde is growing. All the while bombs are falling not too far off.
Poor Lance is on his own. He is being chased by a massive horde. At least until a bomb takes out the group behind him and knocks him from his feet.
They are almost there though, the stadium is within sight.
Rose, Sun, Spears, and William meet back up on the air bridge into the stadium, but things don’t look good. There are biters in front of them, and a massive horde coming up from behind.
The Horde
Sadly, William’s leg has gives out. The horde is close behind them. Rose does the only things she can and puts a bullet in his head. Being eaten alive would suck.
Life is harsh when the biters are close on your heels.
The Stadium
Spears, Sun, and Rose make it into the stadium, but there doesn’t appear to be any military there. The place looks deserted, until Rose sees her daughter come down the steps on the far side of the stadium.
Has Rose found her daughter? Or is this a hallucination? I think its real, my brother thinks she’s dreaming. I guess we have to wait for Season 2 to find out.
The Stadium Scoring
The Stadium scored a 91/100, making it Worth Your Time. Why? Firstly, it was full of for intense zombie violence. I’m talking top notch action scenes. Secondly those scene had tons of hordes, and realism. Why did it lose 9 points? Because it was too short and I want more!!!
Shadow Puppets begin with our survivors finding a young man lurking in the woods not far from their camp. There is a brief stand off before Percy is forced to drop his weapon. He has no food and no gear on him because he’s been robbed.
Percy
Iris takes pity on the kid and gives him some food.
I actually felt mad, then sad, that one of the most intense moments of the season so far is when Percy is telling his story of walking down a highway in the snow when he hears a herd coming. He can’t find an unlocked car, and he’s basically ready to give up. He climbs up on the roof of a vehicle, and shuts his eyes, preparing for the end.
Only when he does open his eyes, its a herd of buffalo.
This scene really made me question the casting choices for our main group. They are okay actors, but they don’t bring any intensity to these characters.
At a minimum Silas and Iris need to get eaten, then we can decide how the others hold up. Sorry, just being brutally honest.
Percy’s Story
As Percy is telling his story he says a few things that don’t seem plausible, not if he had to walk. But if he had a car…
With the promise of wheels to get Iris and Hope to their father the team decides to help Percy get his vehicle back. The team follows Percy into an abandoned town and get led on a bit of a wild goose hunt.
Not everything is exactly what it seems, and it turns out Percy and his Uncle have just been pulling an elaborate con to try and steal supplies. In the end, they all make nice, but there were a lot of things about this episode that I found really annoying.
There are so many times when Percy’s con could have gone horribly wrong. Some groups would probably of just killed him outright when he showed up. Then there is the fact that he had to rely on them picking up on how fast he travelled? Was he just going to keep dropping hints until they realized he had a car? Even if the group did let Percy live originally, once they know there is a vehicle involved, and he told them roughly where the vehicle was, they could have killed him then, and then gone after the wheels. Lastly, when they find the vehicle and Percy’s Uncle is playing possum, someone could have decided to stick him anyway, just to make sure.
Shadow Puppets Scoring
The whole set up seems overly contrived and complicated, which is the main reason that Shadow Puppets scores a 60/100.
At least there were garbage zombies to make the episode a little better.
