Z Nation - S2E11 - Corporate Retreat

Previously on Z Nation, ‘We Were Nowhere Near the Grand Canyon’

Starring: Kellita Smith, DJ Qualls, Keith Allan, Anastasia Baranova, Russell Hodgkinson, Nat Zang, Matt Cedeno, Anthony Michael Hall, Justin Shenkarow, Jana Lee Hamblin | Director: Jodi Binstock

BITES AND MORSELS

Our band of survivors acquaint themselves with another party who have kept to themselves since the ZA began. Although they appear to have preserved order and some semblance of normalcy, all is not as it seems. Murphy discovers something shady and is shot in the process. While he recovers, Warren and Vasquez investigate the identity of the shooter. To make matters worse, Murph’s nightmares rouse the zombies outside to a heightened level of hostility.

ZOMBIE ROLL CALL

After last week, the remaining episode of Z Nation this season will have a difficult time topping the insanity that was thousands of zombies filling in the useless gap that is the Grand Canyon. There were a number of ugly mugs stumbling about inside the hotel in “Corporate Retreat”. At the same time, a handful of crispy critters outdoors were getting aggro thanks to Murphy’s traumatic dreams. Hey, I’d be super mad too if I was constantly hungry for flesh, only to be flame broiled in a forest fire. Isn’t it ironic… don’t cha think?

IT’S ALL ABOUT SYNERGY

As the lands burns around them, Warren and the others discover they aren’t alone and are granted shelter in a hotel by a group led by Dr. Gideon Gould (Anthony Michael Hall), a supposedly renown expert in conflict resolution and maximizing one’s potential. Gould channels his inner Teddy Roosevelt and literally speaks softly while carrying a big stick. Gideon’s workshop attendees rely on his nonsensical instruction and business jargon like warm milk and kitten cuddles, anything to remove their trauma and the dangers of the ongoing cataclysm outside their comfort zone.

Gould’s followers come off as a pack that aren’t exactly the most reliable of folk. The world is literally burning around them yet all share an air of desperation, intentionally denying how much everyone outside the hotel has changed. The addition of this hardened band of travelers only intensify their collective unease; for few the gang’s visit is their best chance to escape from a situation that has devolved into nothing more but a slow death.

Unfortunately for Murphy, he found something that wasn’t meant to be seen and it nearly cost him and one of Gould’s people their lives. Their attempted murder finally gives Cedeno’s Vasquez the chance to flex some of his old investigative muscles, deducing who had the motive and opportunity to take out his payday. He along with Warren assume control of the situation Gould knows his position resides on his hold on Naturally, things get out of control pretty dang fast.

LOVE IS IN THE AIR

While everyone is running around like chickens with their heads cut off, Addy gets to spend a bit more time with Dana (Jana Lee Hamblin), who definitely has a ginormous crush on our resident misfit. It’s understandable that when in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, surrounded by swarms of undead in an enclosed environment and death an almost certainty… you try to make to most out of the moment. Why not attempt to make out in a closet while seconds from death? Dana is a difficult one to trust due to the unsavory, opportunistic qualities she shares with her team. One does what they must to survive.

IGGY GOES DOWN

Poor, misunderstood Iggy. It seems the guy was always given the short end of the stick before Delta X-Ray Delta rolled in. For the longest time, Iggy did all the jobs even the janitor didn’t want and still he got shit on by Dr. Gould because of previous transgressions (and Iggy’s continued defiance against Gideon’s authority). Arming him with only a mallet, Gould and his cronies cast Iggy out into the wilderness as Warren and Vasquez watched.

Thankfully, Ignatius pulled a Glenn Rhee and survived his banishment to dole out some righteous vengeance, and asserting himself as the new leader of the hotel-tribe. Justin Shenkarow was a fantastic oddball that guided the Warren and Doc on the ins and outs of Gould’s peculiar arrangement. Unlike his compatriots who acquiesced to such a marginalized, indolent lifestyle, Iggy knew more had to be done. While everyone sat on their hands, he challenged Gould when he clearly had no plan outside of his own survival.

DAMMIT JIM, I’M A POTHEAD NOT A DOCTOR!

Doc is given the responsibility of keeping both Murphy and Greg alive - unwitting victims of a paranoid member of Dr. Gould’s group. The man may be called Doc but he’s anything but, as evidenced by his hilariously terrible ideas (that actually do a bit of good). Poor Greg got shot in the chest with the same bullet that struck Murphy, resulting in him displaying similar characteristics as Big Blue: wacky eyes, a rather unhealthy tint… best of all, his serious wound appears to be healing nicely!

Naturally, Doc gets it in his drug-addled mind that Greg needs more blood from Murph so like any normal person, he cuts Murphy’s thumb and duct tapes it to Greg’s mouth. huh. I’m certain in some circles, a handful of people would pay for that kind of action. I don’t judge! Just saying!

NOTES OF THE DEAD

• We know 10K doesn’t like Murphy but wow… he should have sat in a trust circle way earlier.
• The makeup was on point yet again, thanks to SynapseFX!
• Ignatius was too damn cool to be a one-off character. It’d be cool to see him again one day, possibly even more badass than he is now.

Just when it appeared things couldn’t get any more life-threatening, a new threat and an old nemesis pop in to say hi in “Party With the Zeros”, this Friday at 10/9c on Syfy!