Last season Warren
was stuck on a drone full of nasty stuff about to cause the apocalypse or
possibly doing something else since they did meddle with things
Warren’s drone
crashes and she staggers out, a little injured in that televisions
generic-wound-in-side-that-lets-you-walk-a-few-days-before-fainting which is
just so common. She staggers on, her hair turning from blonde to black (is this
supposed to show a large passing of time, her finding a wig, the hair dye
wearing off? If it’s time this makes it a damn weird injury that it neither
heals nor worsens in the time it takes to grow a foot or so of hair) until she
finally collapses
She’s found by Cooper
on his farm full of organic greens and he spends a few weeks nursing her back
to health. He’s been all alone since the Black Rain when the world seems
deserted now. Slowly over the weeks Warren goes from being ultra suspicious,
barricading her room at night, distractedly eating food to getting closer and
closer. She cooks for him, starts farming with him, dancing with him - and
kissing and having sex. By the way they talk about fate I think it’s way more
than just attraction.
They also fight
together killing zombies to get a tractor to grow enough food. And she finds
his family in the barn where they’ve been as zombies since the Black rain… he
couldn’t bring himself to Mercy them. She offers to help him but her mercys
them himself. There’s definitely a whole relationship growing here - I wonder
how long he will last
Or what will happen
when Murphy finds her. He leaves Doc and the others as they approach Newmerica
because he absolutely insists he has to find Warren, that they have a bond and
she absolutely would look for him. I think he’s right, over the seasons he has
definitely developed a bond between him and Warren. He tracks Warren by
interviewing zombies - by eating their brains and being able to read their
memories.
Yes, it’s disgusting
Doc and the rest
(10k, Sgt Lilly) - after a truly cruel fake out that made us think Doc
was dead and a zombie (bad Z Nation!) are leading a small band of survivors
to where Newmerica is. But things aren’t going so well - everyone is kind of
sick and worse for wear after the black rain. And there’s an unfortunate moment
when three of them try to eat each other’s brain which is worrisome - they are
still not zombies and even to talk though
One of the zombies
that did attack them seemed to say “no” before it was shot… And with Warren and
Cooper a zombie covered when they pointed a gun at it. It still kept trying to
attack - but it cowered and showed fear.
This blurring of
lines continues as they find Newmerica - and the three brain eaters all lose it
and become violent, needing to be restrained until George arrives to give them
biscuits. She seems to be a leader of Newmerica and explains that there’s a new
kind of zombie - Talkers. They are dead, including the three with Doc’s group,
but they still have souls, they can still talk and communicate so long as they
get their zombie buscuits
And no, they don’t
know what’s in them but assume some kind of brain extract. Without them they
become zombies - but otherwise can communicate as normal. Ish. Lt. Dante who
seems to be her second is a zombie talker but seems a little slow and
Braaaainnnssyy around the edges.
She also explains
Newmerica… it’s not a place. It’s project in process. It’s a series of outposts
working together and they’re about to hold elections to draft and sign a new
constitution for a new nation. And, yes, the Talking Dead can also vote and be
part of the new nation. She’s willing to take them to an outpost so they can
sign up
This episode brings
in a really difficult and fraught concept. Zombies are the disposable monsters
you kill randomly but occasionally angst over. Trying to keep people around to
heal them - like Cooper did - is impossible and killing them is termed as
“mercy”. Because there is no hope for them. And now we have zombies who talk
and think and, in many ways, are indistinguishable for living humans. Z
Nation has always played a little with this line before with Murphy and his
daughter straddling the line and being able to communicate with zombies. But
this makes it far broader and raises far more questions and puts a whole lot
more grey about killing zombies, looking to cure zombies and seeing zombies as
disposable. They’ve opened the possible door for levels and nuance as well -
Lt. Dante is significantly “deader” than the the ones with Doc. it’s possible
this age - but if there is a spectrum of zombieness it also makes it even
harder to say where you draw the line between a “Talker” and a zombie they
kill?
Things could get
delightfully complicated here.
