Z Nation: Murphy’s Law (1×12)
Synopsis: A new threat emerges alongside some new side effects for Murphy. Citizen Z begins looking into the whereabouts of the doctor that injected Murphy originally.
This episode opens with a little reminder that Mack and Addy are probably dead and in a literal skin-peeling way, we’re reminded that Murphy is also slowly running out of time to get to California as the vaccine continues to affect him in strange ways. As they come upon too many cars blocking their path, the group detours through a country club in order to keep their vehicle.
They get in touch with Citizen Z, who hasn’t heard from Mack and Addy either, and Murphy makes sure to make his opinions known on the current situation. Citizen Z does take it upon himself to start searching for what happened to the doctor who administered the cure to Murphy after listening to his concerns.
As a group of zombies approaches, they’re separated from Murphy when they run into the club house – giving mercy with, you know it, golf clubs. Just when they’re cornered in a bathroom and planning for the end, they hear gun fire and meet Brett Zimmerman, Henry, and Janice. Murphy makes a great first impression by golfing through the entire life-threatening ordeal.
The new group takes an interest in that particular skill of Murphy’s and offers everyone a drink. They needle Murphy into showing off his zombie bites and discussing the vaccine with them, as well as the mission to California. Warren reluctantly accepts their help and then promptly passes out – along with the rest of the group, except for Murphy. He finds himself at the end of Brett’s gun.
Waking up handcuffed together with a new zombie friend, Warren and the rest of the group have to work together to kill it and get free. After getting free, they worry that Murphy might have been working with the other group to escape and find their car’s battery has died. Luckily, they head back to the mess of cars that blocked their way originally and get back in touch with Citizen Z. After updating him on recent happenings, he spots the car on surveillance cameras and is able to steer Warren and the group in that direction once they get their battery.
Meanwhile, Murphy and his new group of ‘friends’ are in the car and on the way to not California. They make a pit stop for Murphy’s tiny bladder and he does his best to hope that Citizen Z picks up on his location through one of those electronic road signs. Soon after, Warren and the group stumble across the same spot and are able to get the message from Citizen Z on which way Murphy and the other group headed. The chase is on.
Murphy’s kidnappers make another stop six miles from a pharmaceutical company and the plan finally comes to light. They need Murphy to walk through the place, which is infested with zombies, and get everything in order so that they can go in and get all the drugs their hearts desire. While they continue to set up their trek, Murphy spits in Janice’s water bottle, which she proceeds to drink. Gross. At least he maybe feels bad about it? Kind of? He pretends to be interested in her life at the very least? She shares with him that she lost her husband a month ago in their first failed attempt to get the drugs they’re going for again.
Zimmerman goes to scout ahead while Murphy tells Janice that it’s convenient for Zimmerman about what happened last time. After upsetting her, she goes quiet and Murphy discovers – strangely – that if he moves his arm, she moves her arm the same way. He’s controlling her, when before we’ve only seen hints of the zombies mimicking Murphy. She doesn’t seem to be able to control her actions while Murphy stares at her and she ultimately shoots her gun, alerting the others. He scuffles with Henry, scratching him, over Janice’s gun and Brett comes back to scold all of them.
Warren and the group catch up the truck that Brett left behind, accidentally setting off the alarm and alerting them the their presence. At least they find Murphy’s jacket from the country club and continue on their way to rescue him.
At Camp Northern Light, Citizen Z is still searching for any information on the woman who injected Murphy with the vaccine in the first place. He finds out that she was in Colorado three months ago. Weirdly, she disappeared two years before the apocalypse began and then pops back up in time to inject prisoners like Murphy with experimental vaccines. Citizen Z comes up on some information that he’s unauthorized to view and relishes the opportunity to hack into it.
Henry and Murphy exchange some charged words before Murphy gives the scratched Henry a look and he finds himself offering out his water bottle to Murphy inexplicably. After that fight, Murphy tries to back out and, in a scuffle, he ends up biting Zimmerman. Unfortunately for Murphy, there’s no real escaping and he’s sent into Mesa Pharmaceuticals to set off an alarm and draw of the zombies so that the rest of them can get into the building and get the drugs.
Surprisingly, the plan goes off without a hitch. Murphy sets off the alarm, gets the van keys, and even manages to get in contact with Citizen Z himself. He gives Murphy the updates on the doctor that he’s searching for, the last time she was seen was in Colorado, but she was still headed to California. As Zimmerman’s group heads into the warehouse for the drugs, Murphy is forced to go help them load up a van and walks right into the middle of Warren’s arrival.
When they show up, so do the zombies, who promptly take out Henry. Janice allows herself to be attacked by her zombie husband and is killed. But with the bigger threat of zombies looming, everyone else is distracted fighting for their lives. Zimmerman manages to hold Murphy hostage at gunpoint and everything stops. But before Warren can act to save Murphy, Zimmerman lets him go and shoots himself in the head – everyone else seems to think something weird is going on, but Murphy shrugs it off. After giving two more zombies mercy, he comments that it might not have been necessary. In a last shot, we see Murphy’s eyes and they’re… something else.
Next week is the season finale of Z Nation and, be honest, who saw things going this way? What exactly is this vaccine that Murphy got injected with? Does he get to control the living and the dead? He really might be the messiah…
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