The Last Of Us Season 1, Episode 7

Left Behind picks up right where Kin left off. Joel is hurt and Ellie is desperately trying to save him.

The Last of Us: Left Behind
The Last of Us: Left Behind

Spoilers Below

I give detailed, blow by blow details as I review. If you want to skip the spoilers jump down to the Scoring!

If you have watched Left Behind let me know if you agree with my Scoring Below.

Wounded

Joel is wounded and bleeding. Not to mention in a ton of pain. He urges Ellie to go to Tom. Ellie covers up Joe’s shivering body before walking upstairs and going through the door. Is she leaving? We won’t know for a little bit because when Ellie leaves she steps into an epic Flashback.

Fedra Camp (Flashback)

Ellie is running lap before a bully decides to pick on her. Ellie says she doesn’t want to fight but her bully just says “her” friend is gone and her friend was the fighter. After the brawl Ellie’s camp commander tells her she is smart and she could be leader – but not if she keeps acting like a grunt.

Later, after Ellie goes to bed we see someone sneak into her room. It turns out it is her best friend, Riley Abel, who has been on the run for three weeks. Ellie demands to know where her friend went. Her friend went to join the Fireflies. The two of them head out into the night as they chat about when to fight, and when not to.

The two young ladies climb the stairs of an abandoned building only to find a corpse. It looks like the dead guy overdosed and drank himself to death. The Last of Us is a tough world.

Pills & Booze

The Mall (Flashback)

Riley has taken Ellie to the old mall. Which takes us back to Episode 1, When You’re Lost in the Darkness. The mall was referenced when Ellie was talking about how she got bit.

After Riley leads Ellie into the mall, Riley turns on the lights. Riley is going to shoe Ellie “The Four Wonders of the Mall”. Ellie is amazed at how the escalator works, and ends up almost taking Riley down. I thought it was going to lead to them coming face to face. Maybe for a kiss or something. But it didn’t happen. Yet. There have been hints that Ellie might be gay. You be you Ellie. Love who you want to love.

Riley makes Ellie close her eyes before taking her hand. Riley walks her to the Ferris Wheel. The two share a touching moment as Ellie looks at her friend, clearly in love.

This is when the Ferris Wheel stops.

Photo Booth (Flashback)

Ellie and Riley go into the photobooth after the Ferris Wheel freezes. The girls pull the drape closed and proceed to make funny faces as the booth takes pictures. The two exit the photo booth to head to the Fourth Wonder of the Mall, the Arcade.

They head into the Arcade as the beeps and sound effects of the games fill the air. The two find a Mortal Kombat II game and can’t contain their excitement.

The camera slowly pans away from the girls and into the darkness. They aren’t alone. One of the infected is in the mall and all the noise is wakening it up.

Macho Nacho (Flashback)

Riley’s next stop takes the girls to where Riley has been sleeping. It is also where she’s been making explosives for the Fireflies. After Ellie confront her, Riley admits she came back to see Ellie because it is her last night in Boston. The two share a touching moment as Riley tells Ellie she wanted to say goodbye.

Ellie stomps off as Riley watches. Ellie gets as far as the main entrance before guilt or anger makes her go back. The lights are off and we can hear screaming – but it was just Riley in the Halloween store.

This leads Riley & Ellie to having a very cute dance scene that culminates in a kiss. Of course everything is ruined by the infected.

That Post Kiss Smile

The way they both smiled afterwards says it all. Love is love.

Enter the Infected (Flashback)

Riley tells Ellie to run just before the lone infected attacks. Riley is knocked out almost immediately, leaving Ellie to go toe to toe with the Zombie with her blade. Just when it looks like Ellie might be in trouble Riley get up and distracts the infected with her baseball bad. Giving Ellie the moment she needs to stab the creature in the head with her knife.

Ellie’s First Kill

Ellie momentarily celebrates her victory in combat before lifting her arm to show her bite mark. Riley lifts her hand as Ellie cries out in denial and frustration. Riley has been bit too.

Ellie rages before she asks Riley what they are going to do. Riley lays out two options. She has the gun in her hand or they can just keep going.

We aren’t shown how Riley dies before jumping back to the current timeline.

Joel & Ellie (Current Timeline)

Ellie searches frantically for something. We don’t know what it is until she finds it. She was looking for a needle and thread.

Ellie uses a needle and string to sew up Joel. He’s in pain but the job has to be done. The episode ends with her sewing up Joe’s injury.

Am I the only one panicking because there are only two episodes of Season 1 left?

Left Behind Scoring

Left Behind scores 90/100 and is and is Worth Your Time. It is an amazing episode. Bella Ramsey and Storm Reid have electricity jumping between them! My only wish is that there were more Zombies!

Things I loved about this episode:

  • The way that the episode portrays Ellie’s affection for Riley. So much was said with so few words.
  • The Halloween Store dance and emotional movement when Ellie kisses Riley. There is just a moment where we aren’t sure how Riley will react to being kissed, but clearly she was just as much in love with Ellie as Ellie was with her.

Things I hated about this episode:

  • Have the young survivors not seen an infected? Is the mall in the Quarantine Zone? It seems like the survivors in the Quarantine Zone would maybe be more careful?
  • Sewing up the external wound on Joel isn’t going to do much if he’s bleeding internally.
SeasonEpisodeEpisode NameScore
11When You’re Lost in the Darkness100
12Infected100
13Long Long Time95
14Please Hold on to My Hand94
15Endure and Survive100
16Kin90
17Left Behind90
18When We Are In Need100
19Look for the Light100

See all Zombie Series.

Get the Last Of Us Game here.

The Last Of Us Season 1, Episode 6

Kin is Episode 6 of The Last Of Us.

The Last of Us: Kin

Spoilers Below

I give detailed, blow by blow details as I review. If you want to skip the spoilers jump down to the Scoring!

If you have watched Kin let me know if you agree with my Scoring Below.

The Cabin (3 Months Later)

Joel and Ellie have taken Marlon, played by Graham Greene and his wife captive. They are lost in the woods and were hoping to get some help. Marlon and his wife tell Joel that anyone who goes west of the river doesn’t come back. As Joel leads Ellie outside he has some type of attack. He was about to pass out before he regains his composure.

Joel and Ellie find a secluded place along the river and rest for the night. Ellie sees Joel sipping from his Hip Flask and begs a sip. She still doesn’t like the taste of whiskey. I was so excited to see Joel’s Hip Flask because I have the same one. Its made by Valtcan and is totally awesome.

Whiskey

The River Of Death

For the second time Joel falls asleep and leaves Ellie at Risk. Thankfully this time she stood guard for him and they weren’t ambushed.

Joel and Ellie then watch the river from the high ground. Joel fires off a single shot but they don’t see anything moving. The two of them cross an old bridge as the background music grows ominous. As they walk they come upon an old power generation station. As the two are walking they are quickly surrounded by a group on horseback.

The newcomers have a dog that can smell the infected. Ellie backs away in fear as the dog approaches, at least until it tackles her gently to the ground and licks her face.

River of Death Base Camp

Joel and Ellie are taken to a large settlement. The survivors have a town. They are only a few hundred feet into the town when Joel sees Tommy and screams hi name. The brothers hug in relief as they are re-united.

As Joel and Ellie eat breakfast Tommy breaks some news. Maria MIller is now family. If she looks familiar, she is played by Rutina Wesley of True Blood fame.

Joel asks Tommy to help him get Ellie to the Firefly base but Tommy isn’t having it. Tommy doesn’t want to leave his new community or put it at risk. Maria is pregnant and Tommy doesn’t want to take any risks. Joel angrily tells Tommy that they will collect some supplies and be gone in the morning. As Joel walks outside two things happen. He leans against a post as if he’s lost his strength and then he sees a girl who looks like his dad daughter Sarah in front of him.

We then see Ellie reading about how a Menstrual Cup works. This is the second time we’ve seen Ellie with feminine hygiene products. Is the show just very female friendly or is there something coming up that deals with how her body works?

Afterwards Maria cuts Ellie’s hair as the two chat. Maria tells Ellie about Sarah before warning Ellie that Joel has done some very bad things in the past. Ellie tells her she knows that Joel is a killer – but Maria still warns her to be careful.

New Boots

While Ellie spends time with Maria, Joel tries to fix his boot. At least until Tommy comes in and gives him a new pair of boots. Tommy asks Joel why he’s with Ellie and Joel tells his brother the truth. Ellie is immune. The fear on Tommy’s face is real. He looks outside in the direction where Ellie is with Maria before demanding that Joel gives him the whole story.

Immune

Joel pours out his heart. He feels weak and afraid. He relives losing Sarah over and over in his sleep. Joel is afraid that he is going to let Ellie down as well. Joel begs Tommy to take Ellie. Tommy is the only one that Joel trusts.

Tommy promises to take Ellie out at dawn before parting ways with his brother.

Ellie’s Room

As soon as Joel enters Ellie’s room she confronts him. She heard Joel tell Tommy that he has to take her. Ellie tries to tell Joel she’s sorry about Sarah but Joel can barely stand to hear his daughters name. Ellie tells Joel that she’s lost people too. Everyone she’s ever known or trusted has died or let her down. Joel’s face is hard and cold as he tells Ellie that at dawn they are going their separate ways.

Departures

In the morning Tommy comes to collect Ellie. They had to the stables only to find Joel already saddling a horse. He tries to give Ellie a choice and tells her she would be better off with Tommy. Ellie disagrees and immediately picks Joel.

Joel and Ellie ride away into the frozen landscape as Tommy locks the town gate behind them.

We then get a bonding moment between Joel and Ellie as he tries to teach her how to shoot. She kept flinching but Joel puts a round exactly where he wanted to.

As they ride Joel and Ellie discuss what life was like before the outbreak. They are talking about football on day five when we can see the city of Colorado in the distance.

Colorado

Joel and Ellie are riding their horse into the university when they see monkeys playing in the open. It is not long before they see a Firefly logo and follow it into what appears to be an empty building. Inside they find assorted medical gear and a packing list. When they hear noises coming from upstairs they go to investigate. Because that is what people do when there are infected about right?

It’s not long before Joel and Ellie find themselves interrupted by raiders. They run to the horse but a raider sticks Joel with the end of a baseball bat before they can flee.

Man Down

The two escape the college but Joel is bleeding out. He falls off the horse before Ellie can grab him. Ellie cries and tells Joel she can’t do it without him as the camera zooms out.

Kin ends on a cliffhanger. Joel is on the snowy ground, bleeding.

The Cliffhanger!

Kin Scoring

Kin has Joel and Tommy re-uniting. What should have been nothing but a happy event get’s clouded by the fact that Tommy really didn’t want Joel to find him.

There is a lot of emotional growth and storytelling going on in Kin but sadly the episode does not have much action. That is going to cost Kin  some points.

Overall it was a good episode that propelled the story along. It had lots of emotional drama but only a little bit of action and scores a 90/100, making it Worth Your Time.

SeasonEpisodeEpisode NameScore
11When You’re Lost in the Darkness100
12Infected100
13Long Long Time95
14Please Hold on to My Hand94
15Endure and Survive100
16Kin90
17Left Behind90
18When We Are In Need100
19Look for the Light100

See all Zombie Series.

Get the Last Of Us Game here.

iZombie , Season 2, Episode 8

The Hurt Stalker opens with Liv sneaking back into her apartment after spending the night with Major. She doesn’t get far before Gilda spots her. Of course Gidla has also been with Major! Gilda doesn’t play nice either. She puts the thought in the back of Liv’s head that getting back together with an ex never works.

Shamble Of Shame

Shamble Of Shame

We then get an introduction to our victim. A woman is under attack and fights back. Just when she has the upper hand someone shoots her in the back. When Clive arrives things get complicated. He knows the deceased. The gun found at the scene is also his. It looks like Clive might be in trouble.

Back in Vaughn Du Clark’s office his daughter Gilda is not happy that Major and Liv are getting back together. Gilda tries to get her father angry but fails. He doesn’t seem to care that their Zombie Hunter is in a relationship with Liv, a known Zombie. We then get taken down into the basement where the Max Rager evil scientists have created a super serum. Because super fast and strong Zombies sounds like a good plan right?

On the murder front, things are getting worse. The victim has an angry message from Clive on her phone. The detective who took over is already convinced that Clive is guilty.

We then get to see Liv make Brains on a Log, complete with peanut butter.

Brain, Peanut Butter, Celery Log

Right after Liv chows down we find out that the deceased was a stalker. The deceased was crazy over our hot detective. Now Liv has crazy stalker brains on board, poor Major.

Clive isn’t having such a good day either. He has been suspended, and then has to deal with Ravi as he explains what a Badge Bunny is.

Liv and Ravi track down a woman owns a dry cleaning company who’s wedding was ruined by the dead victim. While talking to the dry cleaner’s husband Liv get’s a vision. The dry cleaner’s husband has been a bad boy.

Back at home Liv shares that she found “Rita’s” desperate texts with Gilda. Gilda is not happy to hear that Major said Rita threw herself at him. Gilda encourages Liv to get even with Major, maybe hoping she will eat him? Or at least his brains.

Out on the trail, Liv ends up in Chief Walt Price’s car. Apparently our victim also had a relationship with the Chief. The Chief will do just about anything to try and keep the news from getting out. Unfortunately for Liv, she is caught, and end up in jail.

Dead Woman Walking

Dead Woman Walking

Back at Max Rager, Vaughn Du Clark is taking his own strength serum, and while it does make him strong, it also makes him angry. Just the thing to give to your Zombie Hunter.

The Hurt Stalker ends with Liv and Ravi busting the dry cleaner and her brother, putting Clive in the clear. The episode ends with Liv fighting the stalker brain, even as Major’s phone rings with a message from Rita. Liv tries to fight it, but she can’t, and Rita sends a scantily clad picture to Major, bringing tears to Liv’s eyes.

The Hurt Stalker Scoring

The Hurt Stalker scores a 90/100. It got extra points for the hilarious innuendo and the jealous Gilda and Liv interactions. Liv was on crazy stalker brains, but Gilda might as well have been as well.

SeasonEpisodeEpisode NameScore
Season 11Pilot90
Season 12Brother, Can You Spare a Brain?70
Season 13The Exterminator71
Season 14Liv and Let Clive75
Season 15Flight of the Living Dead71
Season 16Virtual Reality Bites76
Season 17Maternity Liv75
Season 18Dead Air66
Season 19Patriot Brains74
Season 110Mr. Berserk77
Season 111 Astroburger72
Season 112Dead Rat, Live Rat, Brown Rat, White Rat73
Season 113Blaine's World80
Season 21Grumpy Old Liv80
Season 22Zombie Bro80
Season 23Real Dead Housewife of Seattle85
Season 24Even Cowgirls Get the Black and Blues70
Season 25Love & Backetball81
Season 26Max Wager75
Season 27Abra Cadaver85
Season 28The Hurt Stalker90
Season 29Cape Town88
Season 210Method Head75
Season 211Fifty Shades of Grey Matter85
Season 212Physician, Heal Thy Selfie70
Season 213The Whopper85
Season 214Eternal Sunshine of the Caffeinated Mind69
Season 215He Blinded Me With Science81
Season 216Pour Some Sugar, Zombie82
Season 217Reflections of the Way Liv Used to Be83

The Walking Dead, Season 2, Episode 10

Miles Out starts with a rush. Rick and Shane are being chased by Zombies. This distracts them from the wounded kid they rescued off the fence in Triggerfinger. The kid squirms his way across the ground to a machete. Can he reach the blade and free himself from his bonds? And who is he? How did he end up with Rick & Shane? I guess we are about to find out.

Spoilers Below

The next scene has Rick and Shane driving out of town with their prisoner. They are on a mission to drop him off far away from the farm. That is when Rick stops the car so he can talk to Shane.

Time to Talk

Rick calls Shane out on what happened at the school to Otis. More importantly, he calls Shane out on what happened with Lori and how Shane has been undermining him. Shane keeps telling the other survivors that Rick is going to get them killed.

Shane Telling Rick Good Guys Don’t Survive

Rick tells Shane that he needs to make a decision. Rick tells Shane that if he wants to stay he needs to understand a few things. The first is that there is nothing, and will never be anything again, between him and Lori. Shane tells Rick he’s got it all wrong. He didn’t fall in love because he protected Lori and Carl. Shane fell in love because Lori and Carl saved him. For me, that should have been a red flag for Rick. Better to have put a bullet in Shane there. I never heard Shane actually say he was swearing off of Lori either. That should have been a huge issue for Rick.

Back at the farm Lori is telling Maggie that Glen came back, and that he’ll get over his anger/anxiety. Then Maggie’s sister, Beth, questions Lori about why she would get pregnant in their world. Lori’s answer is fairly blunt, but inaccurate. Lori says she didn’t have a choice. That seems super wrong. Couldn’t she have refrained from f*cking her husbands partner for a few more weeks?

Down the Road

With Rick apparently appeased that Shane knows his place, the car ride continues. A little way down the road they find an old school like building to drop off their prisoner. Rick uses the two lone walkers in sight to reinforce his point about using knives if they can. There is only so much ammunition left. Once inside, Rick finds a small burn pit with several bodies in it.

The Crispy Dead

Meanwhile, Shane finds a bus that was clearly a camp site for someone. Shane also looks over the two cop walkers but doesn’t see any bites. What turned them? Rick settles on scratching his head.

Back at the farm Lori is starting to worry about Beth. The moment of concern turns into Lori feeling sad as well. Lori is struggling to see the point of surviving.

Back at the prisoner drop Rick and Shane come up against an obstacle. They thought they were dropping their prisoner off and their anonymity would protect them. At least until their prisoner admits that he knows Maggie. That means he knows where she lived – or could at least figure it out. Shane goes to off the kid, and Rick does something stupid by trying to stop him. Rick and Shane then duke it out. This reinforced my point that if Rick had just killed Shane, it would have cut down on so much drama. As Rick and Shane fight, the kid goes for a knife dropped on the ground. It is his second chance to cut himself free of his bonds.

The Horde

Unfortunately for everyone, Shane throws a bit of metal through a window and unleashes a small horde from inside the nearby building.

Bodyflauge From The Horde

Rick, having just killed the first one out the window, uses it body as cover. He hides as the small horde streams out of the building to focus on Shane. Shane runs, leading the horde away from Rick.

Back at the farm Maggie and Beth are fighting over Beth’s suicidal thoughts . Lori and Andrea disagree about whether suicide is a valid path forward when the world is full of Zombies. Lori and Andrea go at it, and Andrea cuts Lori deep. It is easier to have a reason to survive when you have a son, husband, and boyfriend. With her bombs dropped, Andrea goes upstairs to give Beth a pep talk. By the time Maggie and Lori come back upstairs, Beth has cut one of her wrists open in the bathroom.

Meanwhile. Rick is run down, and after Shane dropped a motorcycle on his leg, seems worse for wear. This leads to Rick being the bottom of the pile, but also doing an awesome triple kill.

Rick’s Triple Kill

Shane’s not so lucky. He get’s chased back to the bus where he gets trapped inside with apparently nothing but a knife. Rick then does something surprising, and decides to leave Shane to his fate. At least until he sees the two cop bodies. I guess his memories of time spent on the force changes his mind. He goes back to save Shane. Rick and the prisoner drive up to the bus guns blazing. Shane runs to the busses emergency exit so he can jump into the vehicle.

The Original Problem

Having survived the small Zombie horde, Rick and Shane are back to where they started. Do they kill the prisoner to keep the farm’s location hidden? As the two talk about what to do Rick once again tells Shane that Lori, Carl, and baby are his. Shane listens but doesn’t agree verbally. Come on Rick, just put a bullet in Shane and be done with it.

As the two are driving back to the farm, we are left to wonder. Did they kill the prisoner? I think they did based on Rick saying he wouldn’t be able to not think about it that night.

Miles Out Scoring

Miles Out scored a 90/100, mostly because of the decent amount of Zombie action, as well as Rick’s triple kill. That makes Miles Out Worth Your Time.

SeasonEpisodeEpisode NameScore
11Days Gone Bye100
12Guts100
13Tell It To The Frogs95
14Vatos94
15Wildfire95
16TS-1999
21What Lies Ahead95
22Bloodletting91
23Save The Last One83
24Cherokee Rose94
25Chupacabra97
26Secrets85
27Pretty Much Dead Already100
28Nebraska88
29Triggerfinger76
210Miles Out90
211Judge, Jury, Executioner70
212Better Angels75
213Beside the Dying Fire100

Z Nation Season 3, Episode 13

Duel is such an ominous name isn’t it? I can’t wait to see who the duelists are? Warren vs The Man? Warren vs Murphy? The Man vs Murphy? There are so many options!

The episode starts with Addy finding Lucy down by the docks.

Addy tries to get Lucy to flee before The Man returns, but the kid isn’t as old as she looks. Unfortunately for Addy, Lucy still acts like a spoiled brat. Unfortunately, this gives The Man time to return and put Addy through the ringer. Lucy flees, forcing The Man and Addy to both chase after her instead of fight each other.

Addy Getting A Beat Down

Addy tries to reach Lucy, but gets trapped on a burning boat. The Man flees with the kid as Addy struggles to survive. Addy escapes just before the boat goes up in a ball of flames.

Boom Goes The Boat

Addy thinks she’s lost the trail. Lucky for her Lucy is a bright kid. Lucy uses her Zombie control to have a dismembered arm point in her direction, telling Addy which way to go.

Even beat up and hurt, Addy still can’t help but smile as she leaves Doc a note, and some Z weed before heading back after The Man.

Addy Took A Beating

With a little bit of corner cutting Addy is able to get in front of The Man and doesn’t screw around with the Z Whacker this time. Instead opting to just put a few bullets in him.

The Man Goes Down

Addy rescues Lucy, but for some reason doesn’t put a bullet in The Man’s head before driving away.

Safe for the moment, Addy stops to get Lucy some new clothing, and is forced to tell Lucy that her mother is dead. As expected, this doesn’t go over well with the kid. This leads to Lucy telling Addy that the Zombies still have thoughts, and remember things like their names. Addy thinks the kid is making it up, but isn’t quite sure.

The really bad news? All this lollygagging gives The Man the time he needs to catch back up and take Lucy from Addy. This leads to another face off between Addy and The Man, and quite honestly, Addy is outmatched.

Addy Gets Another Beatdown

Addy ends up with what looks like a broken or dislocated arm and The Man gets away again with Lucy.

Once in the car the stress makes Lucy age again. The Man now has to deal with a moody teenager.

Back at the river, Addy is up, but she’s in a lot of pain. She is forced to put her shoulder back in the socket with a brutal smack into a tree.

While Addy is suffering, Doc is having a much better time, hallucinating about Back to the Future due to the high quality Z Weed Addy left for him.

While Addy is suffering, The Man is on a search for chocolate for Lucy, not quite realizing why its such a priority until she freaks out. She thinks she’s dying when she starts to, well, menstruate.

Lucy Is Growing Up

Emboldened by her realization that The Man is afraid of Zombies, Lucy steals The Man’s truck and makes her way out to the forest road to pick up Addy. Lucy thinks she killed the man when she ran him over, but he’s one tough b*stard and is just holding onto the bottom.

Once again The Man has Lucy and Addy is not looking too good.

Addy Takes A Beating But Refuses To Give Up

Duel ends with Addy stealing another truck and picking up Doc who is bicycling after her. He looks like he wants to cry when he sees how hurt she is but instead he gets in the truck so they can chase after Lucy together.

Duel Scoring

In the end, I totally guessed wrong. The Duel was between Addy and The Man, and she put up one hell of a fight. Duel scored a 90/100 and is Worth Your Time. It was non stop on the action front and had a ton of really good fight scenes. Even if Addy was getting her butt kicked in most of them.

SeasonEpisodeEpisode NameScore
11Puppies and Kittens95
12Fracking Zombies80
13Philly Feast80
14Full Metal Zombie81
15Home Sweet Zombie75
16Resurrection Z81
17Welcome to the Fu-Bar83
18Zunami64
19Die Zombie Die… Again29
110Going Nuclear79
111Sisters Of Mercy82
112Murphy's Law80
113Doctor of the Dead91
21The Murphy90
22White Light81
23Zombie Road90
24Batch 4760
25Zombaby85
26Zombie Baby Daddy86
27Down The Mississippi87
28The Collector63
29Rozwell69
210We Were Nowhere Near the Grand Canyon72
211Corporate Retreat85
212Party with the Zeros64
213Adiós, Muchachos69
214Day 190
215All Good Things Must Come to an End 94
31No Mercy90
32A New Mission77
33Murphy's Miracle80
34Escorpion and the Red Hand70
35Little Red and the Wolfz79
36Doc Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest73
37Welcome to Murphytown 67
38Election Day80
39Heart of Darkness70
310They Grow Up So Quickly85
311Doc’s Angels70
312The Siege of Murphytown70
313Duel90
314Everybody Dies in the End70

Z Nation Season 3, Episode 1

No Mercy kicks off Season 3 of Z Nation with the introduction of a new character. “The Man” has come to town. He works for some very serious people, and he’ll do whatever it takes to find his target, Dr. Teller.

The Man

The Man is pretty certain he knows Dr. Teller is in the survivor’s compound. Worse, he is willing to take a kid hostage to get what he wants. The kid manages to escape The Man and meets up with Team Murphy in the process.

This leads an an awesome opening montage with lots of Zombies receiving Mercy. My two favorites were 10K’s double kill:

One Shot, Two Kills

Followed up by Doc’s hammers of mercy:

Red

After Team Murphy kicks some Zombie *ss the kid asks them for help. They balk, leading the kid to grab 10K’s gun. This leads to another new character being introduced, Red. She’s the The Crow Kid’s adopted older sister and has an awesome war club.

Red

The team is still hesitant to help, but they are low on supplies and that drives their decision. They have to get involved to get supplies, even if they don’t really want to. Red leads them to her survivor’s compound and we see 10K crushing on Red. She tells him she’s wearing red to scare away men, and not the undead. It doesn’t bother 10K at all.

Later that day The Man shows up again, and he wants Dr. Teller. This leads to the classic “I am Spartacus” response as all the survivors claim to be Dr. Teller

After The Man leaves once more, 10K and Red head out to scout around, and bump into Doc and Addy. Doc gives 10K some advice to “be careful”.

As 10K is trying to get close to Red, Warren, Doc, and Addy are planning their defenses.

We then see what Dr. Teller might have been working on. Murphy is hearing the Zombie whispers again, which leads him into the research building where he finds strange zombies coated in blue who beg him for mercy.

Begging For Mercy

Dr. Teller catches Murphy which leads to a bit of the truth coming out. Dr. Teller has been keeping his wife and other infected inside the building. He’s unable to give them mercy. He’s also unable to let them free for fear the fungus they were working on could escape into the world.

Slingshot

Out on the plains, 10K is teaching Crow Kid how to use a sling shot. This earns 10K points with Red, who is very maternal towards the kid.

Team Murphy thinks they have a plan, but Warren is the first to go down, tricked into attacking a Zombie wearing The Man’s coat. This leads to her capture.

When The Man and his team arrive at the research center, Team Murphy is there to meet them, but The Man isn’t just rolling in guns, he’s got a truck load of badness to unleash if Dr. Teller isn’t handed over.

There is a brief moment of negotiation as The Man tries to put Warren on the phone to prove she’s alive but Kid Crow has found her and helped her escape before she can be used as a bargaining chip.

Siege

With nothing left to bargain with, The Man unleashes his Zombie Horde. This kicks off a very cool siege battle.

Siege Wall

The team takes care of the first wave, but The Man has armored Zombies, and his “Kraken” horde doesn’t go down quite so easily, event after taking a direct hit from an improvised mortar.

The research facility survivors fall back into the building with the fungus infected staffers. The fungi Zombies can talk to Murphy, and with his ability to communicate with them, the fungi Zombies form the last line of defense.

It almost works. Dr. Teller is forced to give his gravely wounded fungi wife mercy just before The Man blows a hole in the wall and takes Dr. Teller by force. He is after all The Man.

The Man In His Homemade Decontamination Suit

With the Dr. taken, Team Murphy flees the building. None of the townspeople survived.

We then see a helicopter flying away with The Man’s already captured targets. The Man is puts on his glasses and starts his car, preparing for his next hunt. We can’t see whos name and picture were in the envelope, but I’m sure its not going to turn out to be good for Team Murphy.

We then see the heartbreaking ending of Crow Kid’s story as 10K comes back, covered in blood, forced to tell Red that her adopted little brother didn’t make it. Red goes into a rage and attacks a massive horde before 10K can stop her. It appears she threw her life away in a moment of blind rage.

We then cut to Zona and the people relaxing by the pool. They have the scientists, but we don’t know why…yet.

The episode ends with the crows surrounding Crow Kid, attending him one last time.

Crow Kid Funeral

No Mercy Score

No Mercy was full of action and excitement, and had some excellently done zombie hordes, complete with a siege fight, which is why No Mercy scored a 90/100, setting a high bar for the rest of the season.

SeasonEpisodeEpisode NameScore
11Puppies and Kittens95
12Fracking Zombies80
13Philly Feast80
14Full Metal Zombie81
15Home Sweet Zombie75
16Resurrection Z81
17Welcome to the Fu-Bar83
18Zunami64
19Die Zombie Die… Again29
110Going Nuclear79
111Sisters Of Mercy82
112Murphy's Law80
113Doctor of the Dead91
21The Murphy90
22White Light81
23Zombie Road90
24Batch 4760
25Zombaby85
26Zombie Baby Daddy86
27Down The Mississippi87
28The Collector63
29Rozwell69
210We Were Nowhere Near the Grand Canyon72
211Corporate Retreat85
212Party with the Zeros64
213Adiós, Muchachos69
214Day 190
215All Good Things Must Come to an End 94
31No Mercy90
32A New Mission77
33Murphy's Miracle80
34Escorpion and the Red Hand70
35Little Red and the Wolfz79
36Doc Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest73
37Welcome to Murphytown 67
38Election Day80
39Heart of Darkness70
310They Grow Up So Quickly85
311Doc’s Angels70
312The Siege of Murphytown70
313Duel90
314Everybody Dies in the End70

iZombie, Season 1, Episode 1

iZombie is a fun, lighted series that tells the story of Olivia Moore. She’s a medical resident turned Zombie, who uses her hunger to solve mysteries and fight crime. Pilot is the premiere, and it will absolutely hook you!

Enjoy the first few minutes where Liv (Oliva) is still human and has some skin color. It’s not going to last. As Liv leaves the hospital, she meets up with Major, her boyfriend. He encourages her to go to a party she was invited to. As he is convincing here, he curses her with the comment, “What’s the worst that could happen?”.

Well, the Zombie outbreak could happen buddy.

What’s The Worst That Could Happen

Waking Up In A Body Bag

When Liv wakes up she’s in a body bag, and she’s got a deep wound on her forearm.

Liv Waking Up In A Body Bag

We then jump forward five months, and Liv is trying to adjust to being a Zombie. That means a lot of bronzer, and dealing with her mother’s concern.

Liv’s mom is petrified that Liv is destroying her life. Liv has broken up with Major, quit her medical residency to work at the morgue, and has generally withdrawn. It is a completely different Liv.

The next scene opens with Liv showing up to work, and we are introduced to Ravi. He is the medical examiner who runs the morgue that Liv works at. Ravi is one of my favorite characters, and is a constant source of enjoyment. This is also about when we find out Liv’s reason for quitting her residency. She went to work at the morgue so she could get easy access to brains!!!

Zombie, Hot Sauce, Noodles, The Perfect Lunch

Caught

As Liv digs in Ravi comes back, catching her mid bite of brains, hot sauce, and noodles. Strangely, Ravi’s not scared, he’s intrigued. He was the medical examiner (ME) on duty the night of the boat accident, and he’s had suspicions ever since.

Ravi confirmed his suspicions after re opening an autopsy that Liv had closed on. He noted missing brain material, and then started to follow up on her until he finally caught her. Anyone else would have been horrified, but Ravi was just curious as to what, and how it happened.

As Ravi is examining Liv we introduced to another critical character, Detective Clive Babineaux. Clive is there to see what the ME has on his victim. As Clive is talking to Ravi, Liv chimes in with details that she shouldn’t know. The brains she just ate are giving her flashes of the victims life.

Psychic? Say What

Clive’s face when Ravi explains Liv’s unexplainable knowledge as psychic powers is just epic. Clive thinks they are screwing with him, but Ravi immediately realizes that Liv is seeing what happened to her meals.

While Liv is struggling with her love life, not wanting to infect Major, while still loving him, Ravi is encouraging her to tell Detective Babineaux what she saw.

Struggling

Clive is struggling. He’s been in homicide for two months with no wins. His boss is breathing down his neck for results. When Liv tries to tell Clive what happened he isn’t too receptive, and makes her go with him to interview the newsman who she saw in her vision.

The interaction makes Clive a believer. He doesn’t know what he believes, but he knows something’s going on. He takes Liv with him to interview the other girl that the victim knew. This leads them to the victims apartment, where Liv sees the murder.

As Liv is helping Clive, Ravi has been using samples from Liv to test potential cures. This gives Liv a taste of hope, something she hasn’t had since she turned.

The best line of the episode goes to Clive when Liv tells him she can’t go with him on his next interview:

Clive: “Thought I had a psychic sidekick. I was working on the bit…Cagney and Pasty.”

Sadly, the hope that Ravi inspired in Liv leads her to visit Major. It doesn’t go well. He’s playing a Zombie video game with a new girl.

Major’s Other Girl

As Liv is dealing with the realization that Major might be moving on her Roommate, Peyton calls Liv out on her depression and basically tells her to step up.

The speech leads Liv to re-engage, and results in her being in the station at the perfect time to inadvertently learn who killed their victim. The reason none of the girls had records is because the man running the girls is a cop. Not only a cop, but the cop who works one desk away from Clive.

When Clive goes to confront the dirty cop Liv ends up in the line of fire. In the process of stopping the dirty cop from escaping, we find out that you really don’t want to piss Liv off.

Angry, Hungry, Liv

Liv is just barely able to contain herself, and almost get’s caught tearing into the dirty cop’s brain when Clive shows up. She was shot, rode on the top of a car, and is no worse for wear.

Clive is happy that he has his first win as a homicide detective, and Liv has a new found purpose. With a new purpose in life, she goes to the community Halloween party and finally has some peace.

Pilot ends with Liv finally getting some sleep before she wakes up with a start, seeing the man who is going to become her nemesis.

Pilot Scoring

The season premier, Pilot scored a 90/100. It is a fun, fast paced Zombie Murder Mystery crime drama. This isn’t a show for hard core traditionalists when it comes to Zombies, but this is a great show that you can enjoy with a non zombiephile.

SeasonEpisodeEpisode NameScore
Season 11Pilot90
Season 12Brother, Can You Spare a Brain?70
Season 13The Exterminator71
Season 14Liv and Let Clive75
Season 15Flight of the Living Dead71
Season 16Virtual Reality Bites76
Season 17Maternity Liv75
Season 18Dead Air66
Season 19Patriot Brains74
Season 110Mr. Berserk77
Season 111 Astroburger72
Season 112Dead Rat, Live Rat, Brown Rat, White Rat73
Season 113Blaine's World80
Season 21Grumpy Old Liv80
Season 22Zombie Bro80
Season 23Real Dead Housewife of Seattle85
Season 24Even Cowgirls Get the Black and Blues70
Season 25Love & Backetball81
Season 26Max Wager75
Season 27Abra Cadaver85
Season 28The Hurt Stalker90
Season 29Cape Town88
Season 210Method Head75
Season 211Fifty Shades of Grey Matter85
Season 212Physician, Heal Thy Selfie70
Season 213The Whopper85
Season 214Eternal Sunshine of the Caffeinated Mind69
Season 215He Blinded Me With Science81
Season 216Pour Some Sugar, Zombie82
Season 217Reflections of the Way Liv Used to Be83

See how all Zombie’s Series Rank!

Z Nation, Season 2, Episode 14

Day 1 tells the origin stories of our main characters, and does a kick *ss job of doing it.

The story starts with Citizen Z, in federal custody, about to go on trial for hacking when a man from the NSA comes with one last offer. We drop the charges if you work for us, while passing Citizen Z a very odd note…

Citizen Z Learns The Worlds Fate Before It Started

While Citizen is facing a hacker at Camp Northern Light, the Rest of Team Murphy has made it to the California border, and there isn’t much there. With all our survivors walking across a barren, destroyed landscape, there is plenty of time for each of them to remember where they were when the biting started.

Warren was in Trenton NJ when she encounters her first Z.

Warren’s First Z

It doesn’t take long for Warren to encounter Z’s two, three, and so on. Lucky for her she had a .45 on her hip and instinctively went for headshots as her army buddies come stumbling in.

Warren Takes Headshots

Doc

Next we get to see what Doc was going when the Zombie Apocalypse started, and I have to say, his story was one of my favorites. Doc was a drug and alcohol counselor, and I love his story.

The Drug & Alcohol Counselor

Doc is who I aspire to be. Fun, upbeat, and yet when push comes to shove, just fine with doing the shoving, and then hugging it out afterwards. After Doc helps the therapist next to him, he comes back and encounters his first Z, eating his patient.

Doc’s First Z

One of the things I love about Doc walking in on Zombie Lunchtime is how quickly he assesses the situation. He says he didn’t mean to intrude, but his eyebrows are already furrowed, going through the options before he settles on “It’s a damn Zombie.”

Sadly for Doc, his five years of sobriety prior to the Z are about to end, because when people starting eating people, a few drugs are in order.

Citizen Z

We cut back to Citizen Z next as he figures out what his hacker has been after. Someone hacked Camp Northern Light so they could keep track on the world’s most valuable asset…Murphy.

We then cut to Addy watching ice hockey and get a blast from the past as we learn how she and Mack ended up as survival partners. She’s watching the game when Mack and another skater get into a fist fight that is rapidly interrupted by an angry hobo zombie. If you look carefully in the shot below you can see just over the skaters right shoulder.

Addy’s First Z

Addy ends up saving Mack before they flee the stadium together. This was a fun segment, but it was tough seeing Mack again. I did enjoy the Addy and Mack segment though.

As 10K is watching the birds overhead its his turn to remember where he was when it started. Of all the backstories, 10K’s makes him look the youngest. He’s out fishing when he stumbles upon a game warden with a few arrows stuck in her.

10K’s First Z

Lucky for 10K his father is there to pick off a few of the horde.

The next flashback is just as heartbreaking as Addy’s. Vasquez is at the funeral parlor for his wife and daughter when the outbreak hits.

Vasquez’s First Z

Sadly for Vasquez, after he takes care of the mortuary attendant, he has to face his turned wife as she breaks out of her casket.

Vasquez Facing His Family

The final flashback belongs to Murphy. He’s in prison, playing cards in the yard when the outbreak hits. It feels so wrong to see Murphy without blue skin!!!

Murphy In Prison

The card game doesn’t last long. Two inmates get into a fight and after one stabs the other a few times, Murphy gets introduced to what is about to become his life as the stabbee quickly turns…

Murphy’s First Z

Murphy survives, but as he flees the yard, he is true to his “Murphy First” policy, locking the door behind him.

The writer’s have done an amazing job making Murphy a complete d*ck, but yet he’s likable. It’s one of those things about Z Nation that is just so well done. Murphy is a horrible person in many ways, but he also has moments of good that shine through. I guess that appeals to all of us for obvious reasons.

Murphy’s scene ends with him telling Warren he doesn’t want to keep going. He’s scared and is afraid it will hurt. Warren tells him she’s not going to lie, It might hurt, but it’s what has to happen.

We then cut to Citizen Z coming to the realization that someone has been using him to track Murphy the whole time, and he shuts down the servers that are left, trying to protect people he’s never met, but has a deep connection to.

Day 1  ends with Team Murphy reaching the west coast. They’ve reached the ocean, and are just a few steps away from the meeting place where the CDC is supposed to pick them up and help make a vaccine from Murphy’s blood.

Instead of finding a CDC lab Team Murphy finds themselves at a diner, or a Greasy Spoon as Murphy says. Warren and Vasquez go in to check it out only to find an older woman behind the counter, ready to offer tea while she keeps a MAC-10 just out of sight.

Day 1 Scoring

Day 1 was just a masterpiece in flashbacks and scored a 90/100, making it Worth Your Time.

SeasonEpisodeEpisode NameScore
11Puppies and Kittens95
12Fracking Zombies80
13Philly Feast80
14Full Metal Zombie81
15Home Sweet Zombie75
16Resurrection Z81
17Welcome to the Fu-Bar83
18Zunami64
19Die Zombie Die… Again29
110Going Nuclear79
111Sisters Of Mercy82
112Murphy's Law80
113Doctor of the Dead91
21The Murphy90
22White Light81
23Zombie Road90
24Batch 4760
25Zombaby85
26Zombie Baby Daddy86
27Down The Mississippi87
28The Collector63
29Rozwell69
210We Were Nowhere Near the Grand Canyon72
211Corporate Retreat85
212Party with the Zeros64
213Adiós, Muchachos69
214Day 190
215All Good Things Must Come to an End 94
31No Mercy90
32A New Mission77
33Murphy's Miracle80
34Escorpion and the Red Hand70
35Little Red and the Wolfz79
36Doc Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest73
37Welcome to Murphytown 67
38Election Day80
39Heart of Darkness70
310They Grow Up So Quickly85
311Doc’s Angels70
312The Siege of Murphytown70
313Duel90
314Everybody Dies in the End70

Z Nation, Season 2, Episode 1

The Murphy kicks off Season 2 of Z Nation.

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.

Fight me if you disagree.

SeasonEpisodeEpisode NameScore
11Puppies and Kittens95
12Fracking Zombies80
13Philly Feast80
14Full Metal Zombie81
15Home Sweet Zombie75
16Resurrection Z81
17Welcome to the Fu-Bar83
18Zunami64
19Die Zombie Die… Again29
110Going Nuclear79
111Sisters Of Mercy82
112Murphy's Law80
113Doctor of the Dead91
21The Murphy90
22White Light81
23Zombie Road90
24Batch 4760
25Zombaby85
26Zombie Baby Daddy86
27Down The Mississippi87
28The Collector63
29Rozwell69
210We Were Nowhere Near the Grand Canyon72
211Corporate Retreat85
212Party with the Zeros64
213Adiós, Muchachos69
214Day 190
215All Good Things Must Come to an End 94
31No Mercy90
32A New Mission77
33Murphy's Miracle80
34Escorpion and the Red Hand70
35Little Red and the Wolfz79
36Doc Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest73
37Welcome to Murphytown 67
38Election Day80
39Heart of Darkness70
310They Grow Up So Quickly85
311Doc’s Angels70
312The Siege of Murphytown70
313Duel90
314Everybody Dies in the End70

Black Summer, Season 1, Episode 6

Heist opens on two soldiers, passing the time on a roof with a game of chess. Oddly, there are hand drawn maps strewn about, and the soldiers appear to be watching a specific building.

Playing Chess

The soldiers watch as Rose and William’s small band of survivors approach. They are then admitted into what looks like some kind of survivors stronghold. Or maybe a gang’s stronghold? It looks like they are making drugs, and the more we get to see, the worse it looks.

Black Summer

Rose is separated from the main group and put into a dingy community room with a lot of other survivors. This includes Lance, who is in rough shape. He sees Rose, but can barely get a few words out. Whatever Rose is in for, it does not sound good.

Guns

The other survivors are taken to an empty hall. The survivors from the truck have apparently brought William, Rose, and Spears back to their base of operations in order to steal weapons and supplies.

Weapons Stockpile

The group is able to get to the weapons stockpile and load up, thanks to the help from their new member with working knowledge of the site. Our team of survivors regroups, save for Rose, and begins to make their way out of the gang stronghold.

In order to make their escape William turns off the main power. This immediately results in a bit of gunplay, which releases biters into the mix. The plan just want to sh*t.

While all this is going on Rose is in trouble. The bald guy who let the group in goes back to Rose and tries to force himself on her. He only stops because Lance screams at him, distracting him until the lights go out. The big bald guy leaves to find out what is happening.

Let’s just say the big guy is quickly swarmed.

Swarmed

This was one of my favorite scenes from Heist. One man, a bunch of zombies, and some snacking.

Rose and Lance use the chaos to flee, but there are biters everywhere, and Lance appears to be drugged, wounded, or a bit of both. They make it out a side door, but William, Spears, and the others are still inside.

The Vent Crawl

Sun has it the worst. She’s crawling through the vents with their inside man when he catches a burst of gunfire from below. Now Sun has to crawl for her life. Lucky for her, Spears is there to put a few bullets into the biters head to save her.

We then get to see exactly what started the biting. The young woman from the truck who joined the team at the Diner goes into one of the dance halls and puts her knife through someone’s neck, and it definitely looked like she knew him, and it was personal.

Heist Scoring

Heist was another rock solid episode and scores an 90/100 for intensity, first rate acting, and atmosphere. It lost just a couple of points for not quite explaining what was going on. They mention it in the last episode, but a single sentence of dialogue at the begging of this one to reinforce the plan would have been nice.

SeasonEpisodeEpisode NameScore
11Human Flow85
12Drive80
13Summer School70
14Alone82
15Diner86
16Heist90
17The Tunnel83
18The Stadium91
21The Cold95
22Prelude80
23Card Game91
24Cold War83
25White Horse88
26Currency69
27The Lodge75
28The Plane99

See how all Zombie Series rank here!