Z Nation - Sisters of Mercy - Review: "I Love You Mack" + 1.12 Murphy's Law - Promo

Review Guide:
Episode 1.01 Pilot - Review & Advanced Preview
Episode 1.02 Fracking Zombies - Review
Episode 1.03 Philly Feast - Review
Episode 1.04 Full Metal Zombie - Review
Episode 1.05 Home Sweet Zombie - Review
Episode 1.06 Resurrection Z - Review
Episode 1.07 Welcome to the FU-Bar - Review
Episode 1.08 Zunami - Review
Episode 1.09 Die Zombie Die...Again - Review
Episode 1.10 Going Nuclear Review
Episode 1.11 Sisters of Mercy Review
Episode 1.12 Murphy's Law - Review
Episode 1.13 Doctor of the Dead (Season Finale) - Review

Z Nation - Sisters of Mercy - Review

This episode we see the group travel to Utah after finding a boy wandering along the road toward Salt Lake City. Before they got there we saw Mack, and Addy get reunited with the rest of the group. Once they were all together they headed out onto the road after getting some supplies from a Blacksite, which Citizen Z recommended. They see zombie children all along the road in the direction of Salt Lake City, at first I didn't know what to make of it, but later in the episode we learn that once the boys turn 13 they have to leave the camp, it made sense. I still think it is heartless of the sisters to make boys leave all alone, and what makes it even worse is for them to lie to them by saying that their dads are in Salt Lake City.

Once they arrived at this camp, Sam (the boy) goes over to their leader Helen and tells them that these are nice people. Helen would only allow the woman in the group into the camp, as men are not welcome. Straight away, I knew that there was something wrong with these sisters, as each episode we have had so far there has always been some sort of disaster or problem the group has encountered. It reminded me of the cannibal cult Cassandra was with, apart from they wasn't as crazy as them. Once inside Addy instantly bonds with this little girl, I am thinking that maybe the little girl reminded Addy of one of her siblings she had. Something else that was going through my mind was; could the little girl just act really friendly to try, and help manipulate Addy into staying, making out the utopia is a perfect sanctuary and that their ways are normal. Right at the end of the episode we see this girl with Addy's necklace she has had since she was a young child. Why on earth would she hand it over to her?

We then get a brief scene with the men from the group outside who get given some pie by one of the female guards. She wasn't really there to give them the pie, but really to hook up with Murphy. It was a very sleazy scene, but I actually found it pretty funny, especially as she didn't seem to care much about him being bitten. In fact, I would say that it made her more into him. Her licking his wounds though was a bit much. Much later, in the episode it is revealed that the woman is pregnant with Murphy's baby, I am no expert on pregnancies, but she started feeling a bump ever so quickly. Elsewhere, back at the camp Addy is sitting down with Helen (the leader of the sisters) and she is telling her of her traumatizing experience with the cannibals. Little did we know that Helen would then use this to manipulate her into killing later on in the episode. Addy does break down in tears and lets her emotions run free. I think she did need to let all of it out, as you could see she was starting to lose it a bit, especially in the very first scene when she was singing when killing the zombies.

I don't think Helen's intentions are necessarily bad, she wants to protect the woman from men, she just uses manipulation as a way of getting them to trust her. A woman gets taken to the camp, she had been beaten. The man who did it is also with them. Helen says they need justice so they eventually toss him in a barn with a zombie bear. Just when I thought the show couldn't get any stranger, they introduce us to a zombified bear. I thought it was hilarious; it just goes to show even the strongest of animals can turn. The sisters get informed two more women are out there, so they send a group out to get them (Addy and Warren included). Once they meet with the biker men, they surround them and tie them together with chains. This was the turning point for Addy, she has now turned into a cold-blooded killer. You could see though that Helen was manipulating her using her bad experience as a way of getting her to pull the trigger on one of the men. It did work though, and Addy didn't look like she had any regrets. She is slowly being brainwashed.

Later at the sanctuary Helen continues her brainwashing of Addy using her love for Mack against her. It seemed to work, as she later goes to tell Mack she is staying. This was a highlight of the episode, as it was such an emotional scene between the pairing. Anastasia Baranova again was outstanding in this scene; you could really feel for the character. She didn't want to leave Mack, but couldn't bare the thought of him dying. Her reason felt heartfelt and genuine. It did seem also that it wasn't Helens manipulation speaking, but it was coming from Addy's heart. Addy has made her choice, not even Warren could persuade her to leave.

The last 5 minutes of the episode was breath-taking, first one of the bikers returns with the blonde woman Murphy hooked up with at gunpoint. He counts down from 5 before Mack comes, and shoots him in the head. Mack was a bit stupid there he could have used the blonde woman as a bargaining chip for Addy. Addy would feel forced to go with the group, as I doubt she would let Mack kill the woman. Sadly though he had hoped he could try and have one last shot at attempting her to come with him. It didn't work, and he ended up getting shot. The group then make a quick escape in the truck. Mack then jumps out of the truck whilst its moving, and then heads back as he says he can't leave her. It was a noble idea, but he was bleeding out, and could barely walk. Warren and Doc or anybody should have grabbed him, and tied him up or something to stop him from leaving. Mack then runs, and all we hear is gunfire.

The question remains now, is he dead? It sounds like it, but would the show really get rid of two series regulars in one instalment? In the closing minute of the episode, we hear the little girl Addy befriends singing as well as holding Addy's necklace. I should also add she is singing a really creepy song, it made me wonder if something has happened to Addy. I don't think the show would kill both of them off, but it looks that way. That though is probably what the writers want you to think, so when they show up again it will be a shock. I can't say if we will see them for the rest of the season given that there are only two episodes left, but I hope it's not the last of them two we see. I know Citizen Z would be devastated.

Summary
It was an exciting episode. It really showed us how affected Addy was by past events, and how easily manipulated she can be. There were some fun moments in it like seeing a zombie bear, but ultimately the episode focused on Addy. The use of flashbacks was excellent; they came at the appropriate time. The episode was a little light on Zombie kills, and we didn't get much comedic dialogue from Doc or Murphy, which was a shame as their jokes always put a smile on my face. We get left wondering if Addy or Mack have survived, and I am really eager to watch the next two to see if they show up again. Also, I should add Kelly McGillis who played Helen was excellent and was one of the highlights of the entire season.





Here is the Promo for next weeks episode.



As always, thank you for reading! Let me know in the comments what you thought of the episode!

About the Author - Robert Fruin

Robert is a sixth form student from the United Kingdom, who is currently studying IT, Media and Business Studies. Robert is a huge fan of the ended ABC series LOST, he has seen it many times over and has even visited some of the filming locations for it. Robert mainly watches drama series such as Game Of Thrones and Person of Interest, but has a soft spot for the comedy The Middle. Some other shows he watches are The Walking Dead, Arrow and The 100. Some other interests include cycling, photography and kayaking. Robert will be reviewing Z Nation,The Librarians, Sons Of Anarchy, Intruders, The Fosters and Aquarius. Feel free to connect with him on any of these social media sites.

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