Zoo: The Great Big Hill of Hope Recap

Synopsis for 1×13: The team went down in the plane crash fighting, and came back up no longer sure of themselves or their purpose. With Jamie missing and the cure out of reach, the situation between humans and animals grows dire.

Rating: ?????

After the plane crash, Jamie’s fate is the only one initially revealed. Left to float in the water, beaten and bruised, it was only a Samaritan’s kindness that managed to save her. A man in a boat pulled her out of the water, took her back to his home, and proceeded to yank out the piece of metal that had made its home in her thigh. That made her pass out for an indeterminate amount of time and when she woke up she was still under this stranger’s care. She tried to make a run for it, worried by the fence outside of the property.

With a few slick moves, she managed to break out of the house and made a run for it. Yet when she got out of the fence she realized the fence was not there to keep her in, but to keep the animals out. Last minute, her rescuer saved her once more and tucked them safely behind the fence.

Quite a bit of time had passed, months even, as evident by videos Jackson had been making to catch the audience up on the time jump. Apparently after the crash they’d lost the only thing they could use to create the cure, and the issue had just become worse. Animals became more violent, and the streets were ruled by them. The team had failed, according to Jackson, and now the world had to fight to figure out the best case scenario.

Mitch survived the crash and took up residence in a local dive bar, drinking away his problems. He’d loved Jamie, and after losing her and their only hope for a remedy along with her, he’d given up. Another reporter, reminiscent of Jamie, tried to get whatever information she could out of him about his time on the team. He had none of it, though, and eventually managed to chase her off with the idea that there really was no hope.

Abraham joined a group of men who drive armored cars and shuttle people around the now-dangerous streets for a price. Chloe continued to work with the government body that had begun to back the team in their quest, though things were not looking good. They’d sent a team to try and retrieve another leopard, but after a bird attack and a successful capture of the leopard, it was revealed the animal had been contaminated. Jamie’s little leopard cub was really the only hope left.

In the midst of it all, Jackson made a friend next door who had lost his leg. It wasn’t really explained how their paths had crossed, but Jackson offered to go refill the guy’s prescription for him even though the streets were brimming with dangerous animals. On his way, he was attacked by a number of animals and bitten on the arm by a dog in an apartment he’d broken into. It took him a while to finally get to the place for the prescription, and while he was there he had a sudden realization that they could spread the cure through mosquitoes if they could create it.

He managed to get to where Chloe was without any animal attacks, even though he’d had no such luck on his way to the pharmacy. He told her his proposition, but she revealed to him that the leopard had been contaminated and they were back at square one.

Abraham picked up a man who was on his way to the hospital for chemo treatments. They stopped at one of the few restaurants left in the city that would still sell meat. The guy got a steak. Someone played a half-Spanish version of What’s Up, everyone joined in singing the chorus, and I wondered if I had finally lost my mind. This lovely moment reminded Abraham about the importance of family and he was ready to go make amends with the team.

In response to the inability to come up with a cure, Reiden of course came up with their own strategy to save the planet. With the implication that all animals would be destroyed, they promised to use the genetics to recreate clean versions of the animals that were disease free. At the end of it all, the world order would be restored. Yeah right, Reiden.

Jamie, out with her rescuer looking for a phone he just happened to have stashed outside instead of inside his home, saw the cage they’d been keeping the leopard cub in. She became excited and asked, frantically, if he still had the cub or knew where it had ended up. Her friendly foreign friend, through a language barrier, still understood what she wanted and showed her to the cage where he’d been keeping it. Somehow, he’d had the forethought to keep the thing that was no longer a cub. It was a full grown leopard, and their only choice.

When Jamie made a call, it was to Mitch, and they had a moment. He didn’t believe her, she convinced him it was her, and she gave him the good news after they had their touchy feely minute. She told him she still had the leopard, and could tell him where she was, if they could come find her. Hope was not lost after all.

Mitch, of course, tracked down the team. He told them the news, and while they didn’t quite believe it, they soon warmed to the idea that there was still a chance for them to make the cure. With the leopard, and Reiden freely giving up the Mother Cell, they’d have all they needed. The only trick would be getting to Jamie, but they decided they’d drive and get on a boat to head out to her. I, of course, asked myself whether or not that was a good idea given whales may also be affected but that’s neither here nor there I guess.

With the team back together they piled in the car and got ready to head out, only to find their pathway blocked by a bunch of animals that were not keen on letting them through. The season ended with the animals charging, and the team staring in disbelief because there were a bunch of frickin’ animals in front of them. Keep it weird, Zoo.