Z Nation - S3E9 - Heart of Darkness

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Previously on Z Nation, “Election Day”

Z Nation - S3E9 - Heart of Darkness |  Kellita Smith, Keith Allan, Anastasia Baranova, Nat Zang, Russell Hodgkinson, DJ Qualls, Emilio Rivera, Sydney Viengluang | Writer: Michael Cassutt | Director: Abram Cox

BITES AND MORSELS

Fresh out of options, Warren seeks an audience with “Escorpion” and form a tenuous alliance before taking on Murphy and his blends. In their journey through the Red Hand’s territory, Hector faces his demons and Sun Mei experiments with her own version of the zombie vaccine. Sadly what should have been a happy reunion turns into a sad occasion before Warren gains the firepower needed to storm Murphytown.

ZOMBIE ROLL CALL

Just when we thought we’ve seen nearly everything one could do to a reanimated corpse… “Heart of Darkness” sent everyone down a dark path yet Warren’s party experienced the brunt of it in witnessing the sadistic form of “justice” the Red Hand inflicted on others. Aside from killing an entire family for stealing a car (including a little girl!), the journey through Seattle’s underground featured all manner of grotesquerie.

If the idea of dozens of chopped off zombie hands crawling from floor to ceiling wasn’t creepy enough (By the way, what?! How were they doing that???), the Red Hand made sure those they judged experienced a life worse than death in their final hours. No matter what those three sad saps did, they didn’t deserve to be wrapped in razor wire and bleed out slowly only to be electrocuted for good measure. If anything, the entire sequence provided a damn scary sight once the victims turned into deceptively nimble razor zombies.

Oh, and did anyone see the Z Warren fought in the passageway avoid her strikes? First they started eating one another, then they showed signs of intelligence… now avoidance from pain? Curiouser and curiouser.

THE HORROR… THE HORROR…

It was only a matter of time before someone bit the dust this season, but never did we ever suspect it would be a two-fer!

First off, it was nice to see Matt Cedeño back in action as Javier uh, Escorpion. As you may recall he wasn’t exactly all there before he split from the group. Between his bloody encounter with Hector in Zero territory, the shoot-out that left him mortally wounded and his last conversation with Alvarez before he ran off for parts unknown, Vasquez had reconstituted his memories of Escorpion into an alternate personality better suited in ensuring his survival. Incidentally his brutal tactics and uncompromising leadership earned him cult-like status.

What was an especially nice touch was Vasquez went so far as to emulate Alvarez’s mannerisms and inflection. It’s not like Javier wasn’t a badass before his transformation but these nuances were icing on the cake for his re-introduction in Z Nation.

The most disheartening moments in “Darkness” was Hector’s admission of guilt (again) in Vasquez’s presence, knowing he could possibly break him down to built him back up to help Warren and Sun Mei. From the minute the three of them stepped foot in the tunnels and plunged deeper underground, one could tell Hector was on borrowed time. He’d been fighting against his base nature all season long; Alvarez had been surrounded by death for nearly all his life and here he is, in the thick of an apocalypse choking with undead. It didn’t help that Roberta had been goading him to bring out his inner killer for some time, and now after months of great resistance, Hector let loose at the best possible moment to ensure Roberta’s victory.

Regrettably, Warren’s scheme didn’t work out as planned. Sure, she got her army - at the expense of a former friend and beau, and her number one gun. The blood hadn’t even pooled around Vasquez and Alvarez’s bodies and the Red Queen was already burning rubber with her troops to Spokane. Let’s hope her desperate maneuvers were worth it because as imposing a threat the Red Hand are along the Northwest, they have never faced well-organized opposition like Murphytown.

Things could get messy awfully fast.

NOTES OF THE DEAD

• Ah yes, Hopper. I see what you did there, Mr. Cassutt. How this despicable louse was going to develop the film in his camera is beyond me. However it was a nice touch and a fitting tribute for an eccentric character.
• Lookee there, it’s Lucy! Man she’s grown… and so has her group of sitters. As much as Murphy may want his little girl back in his arms, who’s to say if she’s willing to see him again. Not to mention LuLu seems to be doing more than all right on her own. #Lucyville
• If you didn’t chuckle when Hector mentioned a baseball bat wrapped in barb wire, then you my friend don’t watch enough zombie shows.
• How exactly can Citizen Z and Kaya (in da skyahhhh) take back the airwaves if Murphy has taken over every frequency? It may not be the best idea, but the family may have to trek further south to reestablish their radio dominance.
• Don’t forget about the two X factors - 10K and The Man. Even without shoes or a left hand, both of them are fighters no one should underestimate!
• So Hector may not be dead after all. Well, not dead dead. He sure isn’t alive though. And were those cat eyes? What else was inside Sun Mei’s vaccine? So many questions! Curse you, Z Nation!