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Z Nation Ep. 1.10, “Going Nuclear”: Fun episode with a ‘back to basics’ feel

Z Nation Ep. 1.10, “Going Nuclear”: Fun episode with a ‘back to basics’ feel

Z Nation


Z Nation, Season 1, Episode 10, “Going Nuclear”
Written by Michael Cassutt
Directed by Nick Lyon
Airs Fridays at 10pm EST on Syfy

There have been some problems with the last few episodes in Z Nation’s first season. Due to an overwhelming feeling that the writers wanted to take the show into too many different directions, there is a lack of cohesiveness that can be jarring for the viewer. Fortunately, after several meager installments, “Going Nuclear” is entertaining and chock full of everything exploitative and ridiculous, elements that made the first few episodes so good. This episode is a great example of exactly where the show should aim, as far as a balance between drama and action is concerned. It manages to present compelling moments for its characters, but avoids any feeling of being too dramatic. In a universe where sensational violence is key, the scale is levelled with plenty of zombie guts and gore.

The survivors happen upon a power plant in South Dakota, and decide to investigate and see if it is a safe temporary sanctuary. To their surprise, they find that the building is overrun with zombies, but this time they are glowing, due to radiation poisoning. They meet a man named Homer who forms a fatherly bond with 10k, and decide that they are going to help fix the leak that is causing a wave of deadly radioactive zombies. Murphy is taken to safety by a pilot named Amelia, and subsequently finds himself in another situation where he shares a peculiar relationship with the “Z’s.”

The special effects for the show have been consistently low budget and dependent on computer graphics over practical effects, but due to the nature of the show and how it does not claim to be a serious drama, this works perfectly. The radioactive zombies in this episode did not look particularly flawless or convincing, but it adds to the funny and light-hearted atmosphere of the show. One scene that flows especially well with the nature of Z Nation is when Homer and 10k use a drone device to kill zombies with a laser, which provides multiple moments of the undead being split directly in half, or having their heads blow up and shoot radioactive brain tissue everywhere.

Z Nation

When it comes to Z Nation, what is most admirable about it is that it is not attempting to regurgitate the zombie story too drastically. Although it is guilty of some cliché moments that are seen time and time again in the genre, in its stronger episodes, the show presents itself as a great exercise in exploitation. It can be exceptionally cheesy and over-the-top, as well as mindlessly violent, but this is exactly how it should be. In its weaker episodes, there is too much dependence on shallow drama that can be likened to The Walking Dead or other dense zombie story lines, which does not fit snugly in the Z Nation world. “Going Nuclear” is easily one of the strongest episodes in the series thus far, because of how much it manages to have drama that matters, while also feeling like it belongs in the hyper-violent universe that the characters are within, all while remaining fun and palatable.

By far the most interesting piece of dramatic tension in the plot thus far is that of Murphy’s relationship with the zombies, due to his antidotal blood. Because he has been continually cowardly and snarky throughout the duration of the show, this storyline is slowly building up to what will hopefully be a satisfying conclusion. Although there have been several moments in Z Nation thus far that have been too predictable and lazily written, it is very difficult to foresee how the remainder of Murphy’s character arc will play out. Will he rise to the task and become a hero to save the human race? Or will he be overcome with the responsibilities and ostrich away?

[wpchatai]