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Season 3
Cast banner ZNation S3
Premiere September 16, 2016
Finale December 23, 2016
Channel Syfy
Episodes "No Mercy"
"A New Mission"
"Murphy's Miracle"
"Escorpion and the Red Hand"
"Little Red and the Wolfz"
"Doc Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"
"Welcome to Murphytown"
"The Election"
"Heart of Darkness"
"They Grow Up So Quickly"
"Doc's Angels"
"The Siege of Murphytown"
"Duel"
"Everybody Dies in the End"
previous
Season 2
next
Season 4

Season 3 of Z Nation was confirmed on November 6, 2015 and returned to SyFy on 16 September 2016. The season concluded on December 23, 2016.

"No Mercy"[]

This episode is set between the episodes 2.05 "Zombaby" and 2.06 "Zombie Baby Daddy". We have a flashback to around the middle of season 2, where we first see attractive young people lounging around poolside, seemingly not giving a damn about the zombie apocalypse. A lovely lady delivers a phone to a table and an elderly-looking hand pic there's one name yet to be scratched off: Dr. Harold Teller.

Dr. Teller is holed up at Mercy Labs, which is now an isolated compound where a handful of survivors make their home. They won't give up Teller to The Man, so The Man takes a near-feral child he refers to as Nature Boy hostage and says he'll be back in 24 hours, when Dr. Teller better reveal himself.

Nature Boy comes to and escapes from The Man's vehicle when he sees there's a live zombie in the trunk with him. The kid runs through the wilderness and literally bumps right into 10K, who's taking care of a horde of zombies with Roberta, Addy, Doc and Cassandra, who's in her half-Z state. Murphy's there, too, cradling Lucy, his zombaby.

After a brief run-in with Nature Boy's sister, Red, the gang returns the siblings to the compound. Soon, they're recruited by Dr. Harold Teller to help defend the place against The Man and his armed minions. Rumor hath it that The Man is some sort of avenging angel, punishing the scientists that are somewhat connected to the outbreak of the zombie virus; as he was allegedly only working on fungus-based painkillers, Dr. Teller doesn't understand why he would be on The Man's list.

The true nature of Teller's work is revealed when Murphy starts hearing whispering voices. He follows them to Teller's lab, where he finds two grotesquely deformed people locked in a room, begging to be given mercy. The discovery becomes even more disturbing when it's revealed that one of them is Dr. Teller's wife, Sarah.

It turns out that Teller and his wife were working on a fungus-based cure for the Z virus. When zombies attacked the lab, the 'cure' became airborne, protecting those contaminated from becoming Z but turning them into horrible fungus monsters instead. Murphy is deeply shaken by this and wants to leave, but Roberta convinces the team to stay and help defend the place against The Man.

Meanwhile, 10K has been bonding with Red and Nature Boy, whom Doc refers to as '5K' after the kid starts dressing like his new hero (jet-black hair and all). 5K was raised by crows (seriously), so he's definitely got survival instincts; he's now also pretty good with a slingshot, thanks to 10K's lessons.

As the sun sets on this very strange day, Roberta does a recon around the perimeter and catches sight of The Man. It ends up being a zombie decoy and Roberta is knocked unconscious by The Man and his troops. She's now being held amongst the hooded prisoners, though the gang back at the lab decides to stick with what Doc refers to as 'Plan A.'

Plan A involves painting the walls of the compound and large metal sheets, turning the lab into a rather intimidating-looking fortress. Everyone's dressed for battle in their red hazmat suits, too, basking in a color scheme that brings to mind violence, blood and heat. Is it enough to rattle The Man? He's brought his own red item: Roberta's bandana, and he wants to swap her for Dr. Teller.

Doc needs proof of life, and gets more than that when Roberta gets on the walkie talkie, now free from the metal shed thanks to 5K knocking out the guard with his slingshot. The Man counters by unleashing a horde of zombies, which are all eventually gunned down by the group.

The Man then unleashes his ace in the hole; a squad of zombies that have been 'mercy-proofed' thanks to their makeshift metal helmets. These berserker Z's are too much for the gang and they fall back to the lab, where Sarah and her fellow fungus monsters show off their own battle skills as they take out The Man's goons. Unfortunately, Sarah is badly wounded, prompting Dr. Teller to finally give his wife mercy.

Just then the wall explodes, and The Man emerges from the rubble, dressed in a makeshift hazmat suit (saran wrap and duct tape) and helmet. He knocks out Dr. Teller and carries him out as Murphy looks on in awe.

The gang takes care of the remaining mercy-proofed zombies via some cleverly choreographed gunplay (and at least one ferocious Z-whacker performance by Addy) and make it out of the lab. They look up to see a helicopter transporting The Man's metal container of prisoners, en route to some unknown destination. Red is heartbroken when 10K reports that 5K is nowhere to be found and ends up rushing a horde of oncoming zombies in mad fury.

The metal container is delivered to the fancy house we saw at the beginning of the episode. The prisoners are escorted poolside, where their hoods are removed and they face their unknown host.

The episode ends with the slain 5K, being watched over and mourned by his murder of crows.

"A New Mission"[]

The episode starts where Season 2 left off, with Roberta, Addy, Doc and Hector surrounded by Pan Asian solders. The leader of this squad is Sun Mei, and she's come all the way from Beijing to track down The Murphy and cultivate a cure for the zombie virus.

After some initial tension, the Operation Bitemark gang gets on friendly-ish terms with Sun Mei's brigade and together they hike through the wilderness to get to a supply drop. They've got to deal with the usual pesky Z's, and there's a new threat in town, too: insane, starving, feral humans known as the Enders. Luckily, Sun Mei's team is well-equipped with tricked-out weaponry like the Anti-Zombie Grenade, which utilizes multiple green lasers as a targeting mechanism and fires nail-like projectiles that explode on impact and they present Addy with a new and improved Z-whacker, complete with shocking new features.

Murphy makes it to shore with the Captain of the submarine that went ka-boom and Dr. Merch, both under his mind control thanks to their Murphy bites. And 10K's with him, too, alive and none too thrilled to be teamed up with his least favorite person on the planet. Murphy's now completely disillusioned with humanity, and he's sure as hell not going to provide a cure for the rich jerks at Zona, so he formulates his own post-apocalyptic plan: populate the world with 'Blends,' which are essentially humans under Murphy's control.

Meanwhile, the road to the supply drop is treacherous, and Sun Mei loses all of her troops en routeand when they finally get to the supplies, they've been looted! Murphy got to the drop first, and he and Roberta have a heated face-off as he drives up in a fortified military vehicle. Murphy's even got a sniper in place should Roberta or anyone else try anything funny: 10K, who's now been bitten by Murphy.

After failing to convince Roberta and the gang to join his cause, Murphy drives off, leaving them to hike it back to Hector's truck and commence with their own new mission: stop Murphy from starting his new race of Blends.

Citizen Z and his doggie have been rescued from freezing to death by a cute Intuit girl named Kaya. When last we see him, Citizen Z seems to be settling into semi-retirement up there in the zombie-free hinterlands, along with Kaya's nana and Uncle Kaskae. We're sure trouble will come a'calling sooner rather than later, but for now it's nice to see our lonely hero catching a break.

The episode ends with a well-dressed bald gentleman lurking about the warehouse where the gang found the looted supply drop. Yep, it's The Man and he has a piece of paper with Murphy's name on it.

"Murphy's Miracle"[]

The gang is hot on Murphy's trail as Sun Mei tracks his hijacked military vehicle, which Hector affectionately calls the 'Murphy Mobile', though Murphy's since ditched the transponder in the belly of a Z. They have no idea where he is now, and here they are in McCloud, California, short on gas, food and supplies.

Luckily, they find an unlikely ally in the form of Wally Becker, a former postal worker who still drives around in a mail truck and hides out in the local post office. He seems lonely, he's been slowly going through everyone's undelivered and unopened Christmas cards, but harmless enough. They follow him wherever he goes, "because they remember me and love me," he says, but Roberta's more than a little suspicious.

Sun Mei tries to contact her lab via the two-way radio at the local motor pool, but all she's able to pick up is a piece of melancholy music. This is apparently a code to say that her mission has been aborted and her reinforcements are all dead. Addy then tries to use the radio to contact Citizen Z, who's still shacking up with Kaya and her family; he can hear her but she can't hear him. The radio goes dead, leaving both Sun Mei and Addy heartbroken and even Doc a bit disheartened.

Everyone meets up again at the post office, where Roberta takes Wally's gun and Sun Mei takes a blood sample. Wally hasn't been bitten and there's nothing unique about his blood. Wally is offended at being poked and prodded and tells them to leave town as soon as he gives them food and supplies, to which Roberta agrees.

Sun Mei stays in the main office to do more blood tests as Wally leads everyone else to the basement, where there's supposedly a fully stocked civil defense emergency shelter for the entire county. What's actually down there are the bodies of several postal workers … and a zombie horde waiting to take them out. The treacherous Barney flees as Roberta and the gang fight the Z's in the obscured darkness.

Wally takes Sun Mei at gunpoint to his personal workshop, an abattoir filled with the remains of the unfortunate passers-by he feeds to his zombie horde. Wally had grown tired of 17 long years as a mailman, never getting his own greeting cards or love letters but instead being hated as the guy who's late with delivering a paycheck or unwanted catalog. On Day 1 of the zombie apocalypse, Wally went completely postal and killed his co-workers … and every single person in town. Since he was the last thing they saw before turning Z, they've now got something of a fixation.

Sun Mei manages to get to the door and open it, letting a bunch of Z's into the room who quickly turn Wally into one of them. She reunites with the gang and they hightail it out of town, with Wally, now a Z, stumbling about the streets of McCloud.

Meanwhile, Team Murphy is stuck in traffic, as there's a vehicle blocking an already impossibly narrow roadway. It's a young couple whose little girl is dying, so Murphy, genuinely moved, offers to help and gives her a Murphy bite.

Murphy and company arrive in Spokane, Washington, where a mighty waterfall seems to be key to Murphy's plan to populate the world with Blends. They set up shop at the long-looted Museum of Progress, where Murphy finds a space for Dr. Merch's lab, his own fancy inner sanctum and, of course, his throne room.

Murphy's lounging about on his throne when Dr. Merch says he has visitors: the young couple whose little girl he bit. The parents thank Murphy for not only curing their daughter but for making her not afraid anymore. The little girl jumps into Murphy's lap and gives him a hug as the husband asks, "Would you bite my wife?". Murphy smiles.

Meanwhile, up north, Kaya is encouraging Citizen Z to exercise and get his strength back so he can get back on the air, though Citizen Z wonders if there's anyone left to listen to his broadcasts. Kaya becomes discouraged when she's unable to get any signal on her radio … until suddenly the voice of Addy comes through. Citizen Z responds to Addy, but she doesn't seem to hear him.

Later, Citizen Z is shocked to see that he's been given by far the largest portion at dinner. Kaya, her Nana and her Uncle Kaskae are actually starving, and their already meager food supply is quickly dwindling. Citizen Z says he knows where they can get food and he, his trusty dog, Kaya and Uncle Kaskae get on a sled and brave the elements on the icy road back to the Northern Light listening station.

"El Scorpion and the Red Hand"[]

Roberta, Hector, Sun Mei, Addy and Doc come across some gutted zombies hanging from a bridge, with the word THIEVES written in blood on the wall. After the Zs are cut free and dispatched, the gang meets a few of the gun-toting locals, who claim their town was overrun by the Red Hand, a crazed group of vigilantes who take their orders from a mythical figure known as 'Escorpion.'

Just then, the Red Hand attacks and the gang retreats to an abandoned novelty factory, where Hector figures this Escorpion is either someone impersonating him or just adopting his former villainous brand. Meanwhile, Doc and Sun Mei prepare to perform some impromptu dental surgery on Addy, who's got an infected tooth that's rendering her almost incapacitated.

Roberta asks the locals, Clive and Ryan, why their town has been targeted by the Red Hand. Apparently they kind of had it coming, as they robbed the Red Hand of their food supply, prompting the exclamation of THIEVES back at the bridge.

The Red Hand attacks again, storming the factory with molotov cocktails and Zs strapped with dynamite. Roberta almost buys it in the resulting explosion, after which Clive and Ryan notice the tattoo on Hector's arm that identifies him as Escorpion, if not the Escorpion they think he is. Hector has no choice but to kill them both, after which the Red Hand retreats and the gang hits the road once again.

Meanwhile, back at the Museum of Progress in Spokane, Murphy is pressuring Dr. Merch to prepare the vaccine that will turn his ever-increasing number of 'followers' into Blends and thus jumpstart the New Murphy Order. Murphy's been feeling weak due to all the blood he's been donating to the research, and Merch informs him that he needs periodic shots of the original Z-virus vaccine or else he'll end up like Patient Zero back in Colorado.

Dr. Merch injects 10K with the original vaccine, which she's been secretly taking herself. It frees them from Murphy's control. She and 10K plan to destroy the Blend Vaccine and get the hell out of there, though Murphy gets wind of their treachery and gives Dr. Merch a fresh mind-controlling bite. Before Murphy can test the Blend Vaccine on him, 10K makes a run for it with a satchel full of the original vaccine, jumping into the rampaging rapids of the waterfall lest he be recaptured by Murphy's goons.

Finally, Dr. Merch takes desperate measures to escape Murphy's control once and for all. She wanders into his Zombie Moat and injects herself with the original vaccine, causing the Z's to swarm and overtake her as Murphy screams in protest.

"Little Red and the Wolfz"[]

10K manages to survive his plunge into the Spokane rapids, but once he makes it back to shore, with the bag of the original vaccine, aka 'Murphy's medicine, it's just one crisis after another. Murphy's head goon Will is already in hot pursuit, and he picks up 10K's trail into the woods pretty quickly thanks to the convenient blood drops made by 10K's newly reopened stomach wound.

10K finds an unexpected guardian angel in this harsh wilderness: a vision of Red, his fallen would-be ladyfriend. Red helps 10K traverse these badlands, and it's a good thing, too: there's some sort of new menace that's tracking our hero, something that appears to be a pack of wolves but different.

10K's able to snag a motorbike and a gun from some poor dude just passing through, though he's soon the victim of a booby trap left by a couple of bandits and ends up chained to an abandoned automobile. Stripped of his usual weapons of choice, 10K has to resort to using car parts, windshield wipers, hubcaps, to fend off some attacking Z's. Will shoos off the remaining zombies, thanks to the powers given to him by Murphy's bite, and takes 10K prisoner as they follow the bike tracks to the bandits and, hopefully, the stolen bag of Murphy's medicine.

Will doesn't understand why 10K wants to be out of Murphy's graces; after all, it's Murphy who saved Will's family, and took away the fear. After a Z attacks and 10K is helpless to defend himself against it, our hero starts thinking that Will may have a point.

Just then, they come across the stolen motorbike and the remains of one of the bandits. So many tracks, leading in all directions. Will freaks out a little and insists they return to Murphy immediately, but 10K makes a run for it, making it look like he killed himself by jumping off a cliff.

Just then, 10K hears the cries of his fallen protege, 5K aka Nature Boy. He follows the sounds to a clearing, where what looks like several wolf-like creatures are huddled. 10K kills them all with a metal post and is shocked when he rolls over 5K to reveal the female bandit, now turned Z.

After finishing her off, 10K reclaims the bag of Murphy's medicine and enjoys one last hallucination with Red and 5K, who, in this dream world or afterlife, has the ability to speak and is now up to 1,139 zombie kills himself.

Meanwhile, Murphy's losing it a little, well, more than usual, anyway, as he interrogates the bloody remains of Dr. Merch, who sacrificed herself to the Z's in the zombie moat rather than serve Murphy a moment longer. Murphy doesn't understand why Dr. Merch would take her own life rather than live in the world he's trying to rebuild, nor does he understand any of the mumbo-jumbo in her notes.

Giving into his urges since he hasn't been taking his medicine, Murphy proceeds with eating Dr. Merch's brain and subsequently can now understand all of the science-speak in her journal. It looks like he'll be able to continue the work she started after all!

The episode ends with Will returning to Murphy, claiming that 10K is dead. Murphy doesn't believe it and figures 10K will return to Roberta and the gang.

"Doc Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"[]

Doc has managed to get himself separated from the group and unwillingly admitted into the Serenity Falls Institution for the Criminally Insane, a psychiatric hospital filled with a ragtag group of patients lorded over by Nurse Ratchet and surrounded by zombies.

After Doc is knocked unconscious by a patient who thinks he's Elvis, he comes to strapped in a strait jacket, being scrutinized by Nurse Ratchet and her brood. They overheard him saying he was a doctor, and Doc's quick psychological analysis of all the patients is impressive enough to get him out of his restraints and accepted as Nurse Ratchet's colleague. Ratchet then takes Doc to see the facility's latest and most troubling guest: 10K, who's near-catatonic from lack of the vaccine that keeps him from falling under Murphy's control.

Nurse Ratchet had scheduled a lobotomy for the new patient but Doc convinces her that he's only suffering from '10K Fever' and is in need of meds. There's a fully stocked pharmacy on the other end of the 'Z ward,' an area of the hospital overrun with zombies who turned during electroshock treatment. Doc and Elvis traverse the wing and make it to the drugs, returning just in time to stop Nurse Ratchet from going through with her lobotomy plans.

After Doc injects 10K with an impromptu cocktail, he starts providing the patients with medication that might actually help with their various conditions. Elvis then brings in 10K, who's feeling 'super-mellow' but is at least somewhat coherent. 10K fills in Doc on Murphy's plans to create a New World Order up in Spokane, after which they attempt to flee from the facility.

Unfortunately, Doc and 10K's escape attempt is thwarted by Nurse Ratchet and she has them put in strait jackets. After Doc tells her of their mission to take Murphy to the CDC to cultivate a cure for the Z virus, Ratchet is more than convinced that they're delusional. She prepares to lobotomize Doc, though a hulking patient named Bob comes to the rescue and kills her. The patients rise up.

Doc manages to rally the patients and make a run for a bus that's parked outside just as the zombies break through the building's feeble barricades. Once everyone's outdoors, 10K collapses, prompting the patients to leave him and Doc behind as they take off in the bus. Doc discovers 10K's Murphy bite and despairs for his friend and wonders whether the vials in his bag are the cure or what's making him sick. Doc swears to punch in Murphy's teeth as 10K makes him promise not to tell Roberta and the others about his condition.

The episode ends with the patients heading for an unknown destination on board their crazy bus, running over a Z along the way.

"Welcome to Murphytown"[]

Meanwhile, a Poor Bastard is being chased through the woods by a group of zombie kids, tethered together and led by Wesson, one of Murphy's officers. Poor Bastard climbs up a tree, and Wesson asks him if he's heard the Good Word of Murphy. When next we see Poor Bastard, he's grinning from ear to ear, now one of Murphy's Blends at his stronghold in Spokane.

Wesson's in charge of choosing which people receive the Blend vaccine based on what skills they may have. If Murphy's going to create a New World Order, he's going to need people with all types of vocations: farmers, electricians, bankers, etc. Those with applicable skills get the vaccine, which Murphy has been able to develop himself after eating Dr. Merch's brains.

Murphy notices The Man just outside the fence and Murphy's is the only name on The Man's current list. Whatever The Man has planned, it looks like it's going to be an inside job, as he appears to receive the Blend vaccine.

Meanwhile, Doc and 10K have reunited with Roberta, Addy, Sun Mei and Hector. Roberta's a little suspicious about 10K's condition, though he's not revealing his Blend status, despite Doc's assurances that he can trust their fearless leader. For now, 10K fills everyone in on Murphy's big plans in Spokane, the road to which is filled with more gruesome handiwork of the Red Hand.

Murphy's campaign is hitting the road, too, as the gang catches sight of a truck broadcasting his 'Fear No More - Guaranteed' message. When they catch up to the vehicle, it's been attacked by the Red Hand, with the Blend driver dead at the wheel, showing that Blends don't come back as Z's after they die). 10K then reveals Murphy's plan to retrieve his daughter Lucy from her adopted home in Springfield, IL, as Sun Mei theorizes that Lucy may have inherited her father's immunity to the Z virus, Roberta conjures a secondary mission: Get Lucy before Murphy does.

The team splits up, with Doc and Addy charged with tracking down Lucy while Roberta, Sun Mei, Hector and 10K head to Spokane to try to stop Murphy's New World Order. When the Spokane team arrives outside the city limits, 10K flees after Hector discovers his Murphy bite.

Meanwhile, at the Museum of Progress, Murphy is meeting with his colleagues to discuss plans for getting the power back on. As Murphy anticipates that not everyone is going to go along with his plans for civilization, he orders for a basic training program so his stronghold can be defended.

The Man insists he wants to help Murphy's cause and demonstrates his particular set of skills by exposing the inside of Poor Bastard's skull when Murphy claims he needs some brains for his 'research.' Murphy then tests The Man's loyalty by commanding him to eat the brains on display … which The Man does ravenously.

A flashback reveals that The Man used Some Dude's severed arm to simulate the Blend inoculation, and when he brings Murphy his own delicious plate of brains, he puts a gun to Murphy's head. The Man has been sent to deliver Murphy to an unknown client, and when Murphy protests, The Man shows him something that might make him more cooperative: his daughter Lucy in the back seat of the car. Ha, it's actually little Cassidy , whom The Man mistakenly took for Lucy and who manages to overpower her captor. The Man is now handcuffed to Murphy's throne, though his interrogation as to the identity of his employer is interrupted by some exiting news: the power is ready to be turned back on.

Murphy and his colleagues go to the top of the clock tower and watch as sweet, sweet electricity lights up the city of Spokane. It's a truly glorious sight. Murphy 1, Apocalypse zero. Well, sort of, as Murphy takes something of a hit when he returns to his throne room and finds that The Man has escaped and left a little message for his former captor: his own severed hand, the one that was handcuffed to the throne, the middle finger raised.

Citizen Z successfully led Kaya, her Uncle and her Nana to the Northern Light Listening Station, where they manage to restore power and send out a broadcast of hope … which Doc and Addy receive on the radio whilst en route to Springfield, IL.

"The Election"[]

On the road to find Lucy in Illinois, the truck breaks down so Doc and Addy are forced to hoof it. However, some sirens announce the arrival of a retro presidential limo occupied by some old friends! Turns out Sketchy is pretending to be "President of the Apocalypse" with Skeezy as his campaign manager.

Doc and Addy reluctantly follow them to Wall Drug, South Dakota while Addy ponders out loud about what Tweedledum and Tweedledee are up to.

When they reach Wall Drug, they enter a saloon and draw the locals out of hiding with some elaborate antics. Sketchy's impassionate speech gains the ears and hearts of the locals but his dealing with the locals lead to their elected mayor calling him out on his supposed role as the President.

Doc follows a local to the quarantine area, where patients are dying off like fleas, with their only symptom being a yellow iris. Although Addy is all for leaving Wall Drug when Skeezy's scam starts to fall apart, Doc convinces her to stay awhile to help the town figure out what is causing the illnesses.

Zombies from the neighbouring town of Rosebud start invading Wall Drug, their citizens having fallen victim to the same illness affecting the folks of Wall Drug. This inspires Doc to hotwire a motorcycle and drive over to Rosebud, where he identifies the source of the illness as a contaminated water source shared between both towns. However, when he shares it with the townpeople, he is shot down by Sketchy who just wants the election (and donations drive) to proceed. The mayor collapses and Doc proves his theory by treating her with charcoal that binds to the poison in her blood.

Cue zombies, some disgruntled victims of Sketchy and Skeezy's previous con and... havoc! In the chaos, Addy and Doc comandeer the limo and head out of South Dakota. In a funny turn of events, turned out the winner of the election was in fact... Doc!

"Heart of Darkness"[]

Citizen Z and Kaya are broadcasting from Northern Light, though their cute banter is soon interrupted by none other than Murphy muscling in on their channel, preaching his Fear No More campaign and pimping his Murphy Miracle Vaccine.

Meanwhile, Roberta, Sun Mei and Hector are preparing to infiltrate Murphy's compound. Sun Mei muses over an experimental vaccine she's been cooking up, one that will supposedly dilute Murphy's mind control whilst still retaining the Z-virus immunity, as Roberta cuts through the fence and scurries after Murphy, who's headed for one of two porta-potties on the premises, one is labeled 'Mr. Murphy,' the other 'Everyone Else'. Roberta takes cover in the one that applies to her when a horde of zombies come a'callin', which interrupts Murphy's quality reading time. "Warren!" he seethes after his goons open the stall and find it empty, the back wall torn out to allow a narrow escape.

10K, who has since been found and recaptured, is summoned by Murphy to answer some questions about Roberta. "What exactly does she have planned?", 10K's not talking, so he's on Zombie Moat cleaning duty until further notice.

After the incident in the porta-potty, she knows she can't take on Murphy alone. She needs an army, and there just so happens to already be one roaming around out there, rabble-rousing and dispensing street justice: the Red Hand! Roberta, Hector and Sun Mei come across Hopper, a somewhat excitable fellow who claims to be the Red Hand's drug dealer; he agrees to take them to the man who calls himself Escorpion.

After telling the tale of Escorpion, which sounds a lot like Hector's life story, right down to his current redemption arc, Hopper leads Roberta and friends into 'Underground Seattle,' a series of catacombs that now serve as the headquarters of the Red Hand. It's a nightmarish place of lamps, torches, crawling severed hands and neon GUILTY signs, one of which illuminates three humans wrapped in barbed wire. Roberta is appalled by the gruesome, bizarre sight, though she's forced to spring to action after the men turn Z upon being executed by Hopper. After showing off their formidable Z-fighting skills, Roberta, Hector and Sun Mei are finally brought before Escorpion, who is revealed to be Javier Vasquez.

Yes, the long-lost member of Operation Bitemark, has apparently lost his mind and reinvented himself as the very man who destroyed his life: Escorpion, the head enforcer of the Zeros gang who killed his wife and daughter in cold blood, and whom he now has as his prisoner. Vasquez is so far gone that he doesn't even recognize either Roberta or Hector, even after they use different tactics to try to jog his memory, Roberta makes out with him; Hector recounts the murder of his wife and daughter through tears of regret.

Hector gets the biggest rise out of Vasquez, who tells his goons to let him go so he can fight. Vasquez stabs Hector multiple times, claiming he's the one and only Escorpion. Roberta retires him from this position and from life itself via her machete, though Vasquez seems to finally remember her right before she beheads him.

As Hector bleeds out on the floor, Sun Mei injects him with her experimental vaccine; it seems to work somewhat as he doesn't turn Z when he succumbs to his wounds.

The members of the Red Hand have been watching all of this in stoic silence, though they now seem bound to Roberta as they're seen accompanying her back to Spokane to go deal with Murphy.

The episode ends with a quick check-in on Doc and Addy, who have arrived at Lucy's home in Springfield, IL. They see her playing with a bunch of zombies right before her adoptive father emerges from the house with a shotgun and takes a blast at the intruders.

Oh, and it would appear that we haven't seen the last of Hector. He suddenly regains consciousness, opening his eyes to reveal cat-like peepers. Is this now some kind of new zombie-human blend? .

"They Grow Up So Quickly"[]

Things continue to get more sinister at the Museum of Progress as Murphy tries to crack the mystery wrapped in an enigma that is 10K. He makes him do The Knife Game, made famous by Bishop the Android in Aliens, which 10K does without question, even when he starts cutting his own fingers. Murphy also hands 10K a dose of the original vaccine, which will give him back his humanity, though 10K refuses to take it.

Okay, Murphy seems to be calling the shots. Everyone else seems to love being a Blend while 10K is near-catatonic. Hmm,maybe it's the name: '10K.' It's not only his name, it's his mission, his purpose. Does he need a new mission, a new purpose? Murphy whispers one to him and starts calling him 'Thomas.'

Meanwhile, Doc and Addy are being held at gunpoint by Ma Kettle and Pa Kettle, the caretakers of Murphy's zombie-human hybrid daughter, Lucy. Lucy appears to be five years old, which is a bit older than she should, you know, actually be, but apparently being Murphy's daughter involves growing up fast.

Doc and Addy try to convince Lucy's foster parents that they know Lucy's real daddy and want to take her to him, though they're almost killed when they fail to provide the proper password that Murphy apparently designated for anyone who might some day come for his daughter, Doc thinks it's 'Smurf,' due to the blue skin that Lucy shares with her dad, but no cigar. Luckily, Lucy herself has taken a shine to these strangers during the interrogation and wants to play with them.

Unfortunately, playtime with Lucy involves a bunch of zombies dressed up like pirates, princesses, clowns, cowboys and knights in the backyard; she's safe thanks to her Z-controlling abilities, but such fun and games could prove to be fatal for Doc and Addy. An awkward game of hide-and-seek takes a gruesome turn when Doc is forced to give mercy to a particularly feisty Raggedy Ann, which results in Lucy throwing a temper tantrum and running off into the surrounding woods. There she encounters a nasty Ender, though luckily her Aunt Addy comes to the rescue.

Back at the house, Lucy asks Doc about her mommy, which prompts an epic re-telling of the story of Murphy and Serena, with a few fairy tale flourishes. In Doc's story, Murphy and Serena are the King and Queen of the Apocalypse, and Lucy was conceived via the baking of a blueberry pie, which, of course, explains why her skin is blue. But why did Lucy's mommy go away and leave her? Well, after Mommy fought off some zombies that wanted to hurt Lucy, she had to go rest in a far-away land.

Okay, this seems to be going well! In fact, Ma and Pa Kettle have agreed to let Lucy accompany Doc and Addy on a road trip to see her daddy. Unfortunately, The Man shows up and spoils the fun as he stabs and binds Lucy's foster parents, which makes them think Doc and Addy have been lying to them all along. The Man knocks out Addy and drives off with Lucy, after which Doc is forced to give mercy to the enraged Pa Kettle. A heartbroken Ma almost kills Doc until Addy comes to and finishes her off with a garden gnome to the chest.

Okay, how best to track down The Man and get Lucy back? Doc and Addy decide to split up, with Doc running off to a nearby antenna to try to contact either Citizen Z or Roberta and Addy hopping on a motorbike and giving chase.

Meanwhile, Lucy isn't letting her kidnapping be a smooth one. She's in the car talking The Man's ear off, and when he tries to shut her up by tasering her , she only squeals with delight, "Do it again!" The Man takes extreme measures, covering Lucy's head with a hood and tying a rope around her neck an experience Lucy seems to share psychically with her father Murphy, who suddenly feels hot and has difficulty breathing all the way out in Spokane.

And that's not all. When The Man takes off the hood, he gets quite the surprise Lucy has aged another five years!

The episode ends with 10K leaving the Museum of Progress, looking at a piece of paper on which his new mission from Murphy is written. We can just make out "Find Warren and bring her to me …," though the rest is ominously obscured.

"Doc's Angels"[]

Doc's in a field with a handheld radio, listening to a rather sultry female voice recite Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven." He tracks the signal to its source, a radio antenna smack dab in the middle of a castle-like structure. He enters the surrounding garden, which has been decorated with flamboyant DIY love and care and is infested with zombies. Some of them are impervious to gunfire, as they're covered head to toe in beads and bling, making them bulletproof.

The zombies are also somewhat domesticated, as they don't so much try to eat Doc as kind of rough him up a bit. As Doc loses consciousness, he gets a look at the ladies of the house: Sarah, Linda and Camilla, who look like all sorts of delicious crazy trouble.

Doc gets the special treatment as their guest of honor. He wakes up in a lush bedroom atop a quilted blanket, wearing what looks like hand-knitted clothes. The three women attend to his every comfort, even grooming him and putting his shaggy locks into a manbun. There's plenty of succulent stew to eat and sweet dandelion wine to sip.

This is all well and good, but Doc needs to use their radio to try to contact Citizen Z. The ladies claim the thing is solar-powered and doesn't always work too well, but a sly camera pan to underneath the table reveals the wires are completely severed.

Unaware of any possible danger for now, Doc enjoys the company of his hosts as they wait for morning to see if the radio works with the rising sun. Sarah delights in showing off her beautifully decorated if somewhat macabre scrapbook. Camilla seduces with a passionate recitation of Edna St. Vincent Millay's "I Will Put Chaos into 14 Lines," accompanied by Linda's skilled organ playing.And the four of them wake up in bed together the next morning.

Suddenly, Doc hears a transmission from Kaya on his portable radio. He runs to the transmitter, hoping that it's now holding a solar charge. Doc gets on the horn and tries to contact Kaya, but soon discovers the broken wires under the table. Suddenly, Linda bursts in and attacks, prompting Doc to retreat back to the house.

Camilla, Linda and Sarah have decorated their abode with human skin, hair and bones. The sweet hashish they smoked last night is being grown out of the skull of some poor dude they keep in the basement. There are other prisoners, too, with their flesh and bodies being used to provide the ladies with their raw artistic materials.

After Doc manages to free one of the prisoners, he returns to the living room, where he finds the three women wearing masks made of human skin and wielding some pretty scary-looking weapons. It looks like they want Doc to be their latest, uh, muse, but luckily the prisoners from the basement show up and attack, allowing Doc to retreat back to the radio tower and lock himself in.

Doc manages to fix the radio and gets in contact with Citizen Z, who's surprised and delighted to be hearing from his old pal. Doc asks CZ to get an emergency message to Roberta: Lucy has been kidnapped by The Man, and he and Addy are in hot pursuit.

Just then, Camilla, Linda and Sarah break down the door to the radio tower, but Doc has managed to scurry up the ladder to the top of the antenna. The ladies figure they'll just sit and wait; he'll have to come down eventually, right? Doc takes drastic measures as he kicks the support cable loose and begins rocking the antenna back and forth, eventually causing it to topple and land on the other side of the fence. "Peace out, bitches!" Doc exclaims as he runs through the field in his pink robe.

Back at the Northern Light Listening Station, Kaya has managed to track The Man's latest cell phone transmission. Now they have his coordinates and Lucy's! All they have to do is get them to Roberta, though so far she's not responding to Citizen Z's calls.

The episode ends with Doc stealing a bike from a zombie and taking off to reunite with Addy, whilst Sarah, Camilla and Linda put some hair from Doc's beard in Sarah's scrapbook to commemorate "the one that got away."

"The Siege of Murphytown"[]

Murphytown is under siege! Roberta and Sun Mei have joined forces with the Red Hand and are preparing to make some history at the Museum of Progress. Little do they know they're getting an assist from Kaya at the Northern Light, who's got full surveillance of Spokane, with Citizen Z and Uncle Kaskae in a small biplane headed straight for Washington.

Roberta manages to capture poor 10K, who seems to be following Murphy without question. She roughs him up a bit and finds his orders from Murphy written on a yellow piece of paper: Find Warren and Bring Her to Me. If She Won't Come, Kill Her. Roberta injects 10K with the original vaccine to see if that gets rid of his Blend status. Just then, who graces them with his presence but Murphy himself, looking like quite the dictator with his black coat, black gloves, newly peroxided hair and the last of his blue skin making a striking scar-like shape around his left eye. He and Roberta exchange their usual opposing world views before he takes 10K back to his lair, seemingly confident that this ragtag group won't be able to penetrate his fortress, though he's visibly shaken when the power is shut off by the Red Hand and a banner is raised, encouraging Murphy's followers to BE AFRAID.

10K is sent with one of Murphy's blends named Auerbach to the Washington Water Power Company to get the electricity back on. After Auerbach is shot by some Red Hand hoods when he tries to reason with them, 10K is attacked by zombies (it looks like the vaccine Roberta gave him is starting to work!). Luckily, he's rescued, by none other than Red and 5K. They don't get very far, though, before 10K is summoned back to the Museum by Murphy.

Elsewhere, Roberta and Sun Mei manage to infiltrate the Museum of Progress as the siege of Murphytown is in full swing, with Murphy watching the carnage from the safety of his throne room and occasionally working his mind-controlling powers to give his soldiers a little confidence boost. Sun Mei heads for the lab whilst Roberta goes in search of Murphy, though she's soon discovered by Hope . Hope fires her weapon at the intruder but misses, allowing Roberta to slice her through the chest with her machete. “Murphy loved you!” Hope exclaims rather poignantly as she collapses to the floor.

Meanwhile, Sun Mei is setting up shop in the lab when she's discovered by 10K, who admits he's feeling a bit confused. Red and 5K appear and encourage him to help Sun Mei, though he believes they're still just hallucinations. Red proves she's real by giving 10K a passionate kiss, which seems to do the trick in getting rid of whatever Blend gunk was still in his system. He assists Sun Mei with her preparations, though they're soon discovered and held at gunpoint by Wesson and his goons.

Finally, it all comes to what we've been waiting for: Roberta vs. Murphy! Roberta appeals to Murphy's Z impulses by offering him the brains she cut out of Hope's skull, further illustrating her argument that this sociopath has lost his humanity. They engage in fisticuffs, with Roberta trying to evade Murphy's teeth as he tries to give her a Blend bite. Roberta eventually pulls a gun on him, though she's forced to stand down once little Cassidy comes in and embraces Murphy.

The hullabaloo is interrupted by the sound of an approaching biplane: Citizen Z! Uncle Kaskae manages a so-so landing in a nearby field, where his passenger finally gets to meet Roberta, 10K and Murphy in person. Citizen Z delivers Doc's message that Lucy has been kidnapped by The Man, which prompts Murphy and Roberta to call a truce and plan a rescue mission.

Citizen Z would join them, but he's suddenly inspired to return to Northern Light as soon as possible when he receives some exciting news: Kaya is pregnant with their child!

The episode ends with Addy in hot pursuit of The Man, noting the little directional clues left by Lucy in their wake.

"Duel"[]

Addy's tracked down Lucy to an old boat yard, where the zombie princess, who now looks to be about ten years old, is playing with her new zombie pals. It looks like Addy and Lucy are gonna get away scot free until The Man shows up and slams a gas can into Addy's face. Addy and The Man proceed to engage in mortal kombat, disengaging every now and then to fight the zombies that are all riled up by Lucy's screams.

The Man wins this first round as he traps Addy on a burning boat, from which she escapes just before it explodes. Luckily, Lucy has left behind a severed zombie arm that points Addy in the right direction and the chase is on once again.

Lucy continues to be a pest on the road, taunting The Man with her new favorite song: "You're Gonna Die, They're Gonna Eat You." The Man counters with running over several zombies until Lucy promises to be quiet. It's all rather adorable.

Addy wins the second round as she manages to set up an ambush at a roadblock, shooting The Man and commandeering his truck and hostage. Addy and Lucy drive off as The Man pauses to appreciate the bullet-resistant properties of his Kevlar vest.

Meanwhile, Doc's still on his bike, hot on Addy's trail. At the boat yard, he finds a message left for him by Addy and the severed zombie arm that points him in the right direction.

Thinking that The Man is dead or at least considerably wounded, Addy and Lucy treat themselves to a shopping spree. Addy's looking even more like an action figure in her sexy new outfit while Lucy learns that 'protection and practical' is the best way to plan your apocalyptic wardrobe. Lucy throws a bit of a temper tantrum when the subject of her mother comes up, insisting that there's no way she could be dead. Addy gives her the harsh truth of the zombie apocalypse: people die, and the more you love them, the more likely they're going to die. Lucy's growing pains are interrupted by the sudden appearance of The Man. Lucy makes a run for the river, with both The Man and Addy in pursuit. The Man and Addy once again fight like crazy, with Addy taking a particularly nasty beating as The Man dislocates her shoulder. The Man wins the third round as he drives off with Lucy, leaving a broken and battered Addy on the rocky shore.

Speaking of growing pains, Lucy experiences another sudden spurt in the truck as she now looks to be about 15 years old. And she craves chocolate! The Man despairs at the fact that he now has a teenager on his hands and reluctantly agrees to go looking for her sugary treat.

Meanwhile, Doc comes across a DeLorean from which emerges himself and 10K dressed like Doc Brown and Marty McFly, but its just a hallucination. Lay off that Z-weed, Doc! Elsewhere, Addy somehow gets back on her feet, even managing to pike a few Z's before she slams her shoulder back into place against a tree.

The Man and Lucy have stopped at a General Store, looking for chocolate. Lucy continues to bond with the zombie population, insisting that they're communicating their names to her and expressing their human-like desires. Lucy becomes fed up with The Man's bullying and impatience and exits out the back door, leaving him to deal with her Z pals.

Outside the store, Lucy bites the hand of a zombie wearing a Grandpa sweater, seemingly setting it on some sort of mission. She manages to get the truck started and careens around the block, eventually slamming into and running over The Man, who escaped from the General Store. Revenge for all the Z's he hit on the road!

Down the road, Lucy meets up with Addy, though their reunion is short-lived when The Man emerges from underneath the truck. The Man drives off with Lucy once again, leaving Addy behind with a broken motorbike. Addy flags down an approaching car and throws the female driver onto the road, though she doesn't get too far before she realizes the woman's young daughter is in the backseat. She gives the little girl the gun that was on the dashboard and the young lady proves to be quite capable of handling it as she dispatches with an approaching Z. She's reunited with her mother as Addy drives off.

Further down the road, Addy is reunited with Doc, who is speechless at the sight of his battered friend. Without a word, he gets into the car and the two of them drive off in pursuit of The Man. Elsewhere, the Z with the Grandpa sweater continues his lonely trek, stumbling toward some unknown destination.

"Everybody Dies in the End"[]

Lucy has since experienced another sudden growth spurt and looks to be about 18 years old. She's traded taunting The Man for a quiet, zen calm … which is actually her psychically communicating with Grandpa Zombie, who's providing a GPS assist to Doc and Addy, who are in hot pursuit. "Lucy!" the old geezer growls repeatedly, his bony finger pointing the way. It's both creepy and adorable.

Not too far behind is the rescue team consisting of Roberta, Murphy, Sun Mei, 10K, Red and 5K. They're on the road to Mount Casey thanks to the brilliant surveillance work of Kaya, who's a bit worried that she hasn't heard from Citizen Z in 12 hours. Meanwhile, 10K's looking even worse than usual, though Sun Mei is reluctant to give him any more meds as he's been shot up with all sorts of gunk all season. Hang in there, 10K!

The Man and Lucy arrive at their rendezvous point at Mount Casey, where they're greeted by a bunch of zombies. A Zona SWAT team arrives and blows them away, though the soldiers are looking the worse for wear as their glowing eyes reveal that they're losing their immunity. The Man tells them to arrange for air transportation to Zona for him and Lucy STAT.

Doc and Addy are the first to arrive at Mount Casey, where they don't have access to the entrance taken by The Man. Grandpa points to the peak of the mountain, which inspires Addy to begin climbing, leaving Doc to wait outside the massive door. The ascent is treacherous, forcing her to abandon her beloved Z-whacker. Doc opts to smoke a little Z weed, though his high is soon ruined by the appearance of more Zona troops. They tie up Doc and Grandpa and enter the mountain's entrance, though they soon re-emerge after encountering some zombies … and are now Z's themselves!

Things don't look good for Doc until Roberta and the gang arrive, making short work of the Zona Z's. Roberta blows away Grandpa before Doc can explain his significance, but oh well. They all enter the mountain, ready to do battle with The Man.

The rescue team traverses the catacomb-like structure but they don't get very far before 10K collapses. Sun Mei reveals that in order to save 10K, they have to kill him … much in the same way that Murphy technically flatlined after he was attacked and bitten by zombies all those years ago. 'Choke, Die, Bite, Inject' is the plan - Roberta will strangle 10K to death, after which Murphy will bite him and Sun Mei will inject him with the original vaccine. It's so crazy that it works!

Sun Mei, Red and 5K stay with 10K while Roberta, Murphy and Doc confront The Man and Lucy at the top of the mountain. Murphy and Lucy have a brief tender reunion before everyone starts shooting at each other. The Man fires a bullet that goes through Murphy's stomach, out the other side and into Roberta's stomach. They collapse to the ground as The Man knocks out Doc and grabs Lucy, carrying her kicking and screaming to the awaiting Zona aircraft.

Just then, Addy arrives, having scaled the entire mountain. She tackles The Man and they both go over the edge, seemingly plummeting to their doom. Lucy soon follows, screaming after her Aunt Addy. 5K then appears and follows Lucy over the edge.

Then the ominous Zona ship opens fire, seemingly blowing away Murphy, Roberta, Doc and anyone else at the top of the mountain.

Cast & Crew[]

Main Cast[]

Supporting Cast[]

Episodes[]

No. Title Writer(s) Air Dates U.S. Viewers
01 "No Mercy" Karl Schaefer, Daniel Schaefer, Abram Cox September 16, 2016 1.06 million
02 "A New Mission" Karl Schaefer, Craig Engler, Dan Merchant September 23, 2016 1.03 million
03 "Murphy's Miracle" Michael Cassutt, Alexander Yellen September 30, 2016 0.86 million
04 "Escorpion and the Red Hand" Karl Schaefer, Steven Graham, Craig Engler October 7, 2016 0.85 million
05 "Little Red and the Wolfz" Karl Schaefer, Craig Engler, Jennifer Derwingson October 14, 2016 0.80 million
06 "Doc Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" Karl Schaefer, Craig Engler, Tye Lombardi October 21, 2016 0.77 million
07 "Welcome to Murphytown" Karl Schaefer, Craig Engler, Jodi Binstock October 28, 2016 0.72 million
08 "The Election" Karl Schaefer, Craig Engler, Delondra Williams November 4, 2016 0.87 million
09 "Heart of Darkness" Karl Schaefer, Craig Engler, Michael Cassutt November 11, 2016 0.92 million
10 "They Grow Up So Quickly" Karl Schaefer, Craig Engler, November 18, 2016 0.77 million
11 "Doc's Angels" Karl Schaefer, Craig Engler, Natalia Fernandez November 25, 2016 1.01 million
12 "The Siege of Murphytown" Karl Schaefer, Craig Engler, Dan Merchant December 2, 2016 0.74 million
13 "Duel" Karl Schaefer, Craig Engler, Jennifer Derwingson December 9, 2016 0.76 million
14 "Everybody Dies in the End" Karl Schaefer, Craig Engler, Abram Cox December 16, 2016 0.87 million
Episodes of Z Nation
Season 1 "Puppies and Kittens" • "Fracking Zombies" • "Philly Feast" • "Full Metal Zombie" • "Home Sweet Zombie" • "Resurrection Z" • "Welcome to FU-Bar" • "Zunami" • "Die Zombie Die ... Again" • "Going Nuclear" • "Sisters of Mercy" • "Murphy's Law" • "Doctor of the Dead"
Season 2 "The Murphy" • "White Light" • "Zombie Road" • "Batch 47" • "Zombaby!" • "Zombie Baby Daddy" • "Down the Mississippi" • "The Collector" • "RoZwell" • "We Were Nowhere Near the Grand Canyon" • "Corporate Retreat" • "Party With the Zeros" • "Adiós, Muchachos" • "Day One" • "All Good Things Must Come to an End"
Season 3 "No Mercy" • "A New Mission" • "Murphy's Miracle" • "Escorpion and the Red Hand" • "Little Red and the WolfZ" • "Doc Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" • "Welcome to Murphytown" • "Election Day" • "Heart of Darkness" • "They Grow Up So Quickly" • "Doc's Angels" • "The Siege of Murphytown" • "Duel" • "Everybody Dies in the End"
Season 4 "Warren's Dream" • "Escape from Zona" • "The Vanishing" • "Keep Moving" • "Fear of the Unknown" • "Back from the Undead" • "A Nice Day for a Warren's Wedding" • "Crisis of Faith" • "We Interrupt This Program" • "Frenemies" • "Return to Mercy Labs"• "Mt. Weather"• "The Black Rainbow"
Season 5 "Welcome to the Newpocalypse" • "A New Life" • "Escape from Altura" • "Pacifica" • "Killing All The Books" • "Limbo" • "Doc's Stoned History" • "Heartland" • "Water Keepers" • "State of Mine" • "Hackerville" • "At All Cost" • "The End of Everything"
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