Written by Luis Prieto
Directed by Jennifer Derwingson
Airs Fridays at 10pm ET on Syfy
Although the prior four episodes of Z Nation are characteristically fast paced, they each capably handled their plot and character growth without presenting anything that felt especially uneven or hurried. Unfortunately in this past episode, “Home Sweet Zombie,” there is a distinct feeling that some dramatic developments came into play far too quickly, which weakens the overall tone of the show that had before remained fun and mentally un-demanding. If the culminating episodes can balance the drama in the characters’ stories with the light-hearted guts and gore that Z Nation does so well, there is a substantial amount of promise for the season, but after this episode, it appears as though the creators have not quite mastered how to pair genuinely compelling writing with exploitation-level violence. Although an exploitative full length feature can certainly exist with minimal back story or depth in the plot, an entire series requires a little more than just zombie skull smashing.
The group of survivors takes a pit stop in their mission to gain respite at an abandoned home with a surrounding electrical fence. After bad weather causes a power outage, they are once again forced to press forward, but when a daunting tornado spawns out of the storm, they must find shelter because it is picking up zombies and hurling them towards the ground. In the tensions of the situation, Addy begins to be haunted by frightening flashbacks (or perhaps flash-forwards), Murphy begins to feel a connection with the zombies, and Warren longs to be reunited with her husband.
There’s a lot going on, and what is presented among the three main characters in “Home Sweet Zombie” would not have felt rushed if it was broken up and spread out over a few episodes. It’s as if the writers felt the pressure of having no substantial conflicts in the series thus far and opted to dump drama into one forty minute installment. The prior episodes of Z Nation placed importance on fast action and this episode is a change of pace. Individually, each development is fine and reasonable. Murphy’s arc has shown viewers that he is experiencing something deeper than just a fear of zombies from when he was attacked, thus the strange connection with the “Z’s” that he feels is reasonable. Addy going through a hardship in an earlier episode with the creepy cult shows her capacity to feel fear, so these peculiar visions that she experiences can understandably arise considering the stress of her situation. Warren being in her hometown should prompt her to want to find out if her husband is alive. These are three interesting and compelling developments that could have successfully and subtly been woven into the story had they not all been crammed into one episode, but as it is, “Home Sweet Zombie” is too much drama in a show that has before promised a lack of complexity.