Contains mild
spoilers.
Season 1 Season 2
It was a comment on
reddit I think, that had me return to a Syfy original zombie series I'd already
written off as tedious, derivative and totally unnecessary. 'The best series
you're not watching' it read and then went into detail why. A cursory glance at
social media and reviews seemed to back this up so maybe I had been all too
quick to pass judgement? Well, I will maintain it really
does struggle to get going; episode one especially has more to criticise than to praise, but as episode six came to its dramatic conclusion I realised not only was I
seriously emotionally affected with what I'd watched, but I was genuinely
invested in the characters, world and the story Karl Schaefer and Craig Engler
had fashioned.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtoI8JqT82z-jTuvvD4vGmj4CcpnyXkvRT83skw3PdXWMZ5-giBTCWKeL3K-hOYF3LQ4FLUkOD2EMGzatB7H1WjVuRMBh4QwiqXDZP_dl6V9MmgcmQ24s7d5pgHDPYb7dE18boXvATmup5/s200/z-nation_citizen_z.jpg)
Don't mistake this for a light flippant comedy though. Z Nation can still be dark and the post-apocalyptic world presented, is real and well-formed, and really not a nice place to be. Cannibals, mutated and nuclear zombie hybrids, zombie-bears,
crazed resurrection cults and the aforementioned Zom-nado. Death is still the only
true and singular fate all the survivors can expect and Schaefer and Engler aren't
afraid to both wield the axe but to have the characters emotionally resonate to the carnage and misery. They're also happy to throw good bit of blood and gore
into the mix, with some truly top-tier cringe inducing moments of excess. The zombies themselves are also excellently presented, as they probably should be by now, I mean it's an industry in itself, and it's refreshing, when compared to TWD as it heads
into Season 7, to have the main guys and gals back as the primary post-apocalyptic
danger.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifihBGxUhlIxQjsfqvpJpEWLxkt7UaTRk9uGEybS6P8p8AgXmSG2FDh6C29w6Lqmb3dyNyyUVCoGxZPu_x4X5b8MCpI7TnM_0LCAxA9qmJeSFc7EgtGdvNP2Pd_V7_7bvXRVlfR5q_jOVm/s200/z-nation_zombie_tsunami.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXA48ytQpwc3iJMxOdeYnc65YBdZzARik_1WMSHVcjF2SI9TZvOBr5IqCNYK8JO4nSNxVpRF7phPsB13hzfdYPxRHfbjNoGSkOfHThQmOZnu0_LaAPt0tufrcAd4Nx4-EuA_iOYz_0aij8/s200/z-nation_gang.jpg)
As episode thirteen
concluded and the season wrapped I realised not only was I extremely excited to
get to see Season 2 and the outcome of the rather large and painful cliff-hanger, but I
wanted to continue my journey with this odd rag-tag motley crew. You'd have
been hard pressed, an episode or two in, to make the case that any of Murphy (Keith
Allan), Roberta Warren (Kellita Smith), 10K (Nat Zang), Doc (Russell
Hodgkinson), Citizen Z (DJ Qualls), Addy (Anastasia Baranova) or Mack (Michael
Welch) particularly stood out as anything other than second tier actors
struggling with a second tier-script. Yet by the end, each and every one stood
tall, emboldened and clearly at ease with their roles; the actors clearly growing alongside their characters. Z Nation surpassed my expectations and I truly feel I need to apologise not just for passing
judgement so quickly, biased by past The Asylum / Syfy, zombie, if we're honest,
dross, but by my less than favourable throwaway remarks ever since. Z Nation isn't dross; isn't second rate or unnecessary. It's fun, engaging, lively and brilliantly written and
constructed post-apocalyptic storytelling, and I'll honestly reiterate, it could well be the best horror TV you're not watching - 7/10.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRpFfRgAaHbZ8Jn9ejFcJVqA8rzwSzbLrjtVCPHnId95TjayHAiANUmtvGgnNV57uafCQrvwJnHJfgC_rObIYcPEfgP26eHHWfmPlIIEnl3TZRUuzKg9M7jkgA2KDNGDnDiOHB-M0w2CZC/s200/z-nation_season_2_cover.jpg)
2016 Spirit Entertainment Limited Blu-Ray R(B/2)
Season 2
The first thing that strikes an episode or two into season 2 is that here is a team who truly know they're on to a winning thing. Gone are any doubts or hesitation; in is unbridled passion and enough reckless abandon to really push their zombie comedy / horror / action formula to an all-time high. At a time the genre, and especially The Walking Dead, could perhaps be accused of becoming a tad stale, it's refreshing that there's a zombie program that has but one goal, to entertain, and is happy to throw out all the stops to make this a reality. Perhaps Z Nation works precisely because it timed it's two finger salute to all that was dark, serious and emotionally draining at the right time, but whatever the reason, it feeds the frivolous and openly silly approach to the apocalypse hunger perfectly, and with season 2 happily turning the dial up to 11 I couldn't be more happy.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEM-4a2pZuRvM-FUKkfYBQoWtK_m69iRA7heO6ye1zp-ydh0JDGljhhPa64WV-n7rVgqHFn4olLMUsRda1Stc_jq8PF2cesLclleahgH-svTszfxCJ6Ro8S2t9esBeYLLhZWIG5LJSGpGT/s200/z-nation_season_2_murphy_plant_zombie.jpg)
It's not without its moments of sadness and poignancy however scattered; it is the apocalyptic wasteland after all. And though characters leave us; Cassandra (Pisay Pao), which I personally felt became an inevitability with what happened at the end of Season 1, and Mack Thompson (Michael Welch), which though sad opens Addy up for better development; new and recurring characters more than make up the slack. With the group and their dynamic established it's good to see there's no let up to their character development, with even the confidence to add some backstory though satisfying flash-backs. A series like this lives and dies with the detailing of its characters and their relationships and Z nation series 2 carries no dead weight. It also lives and dies with its action, gore and witty stories, and here again it never disappoints.
Bigger, louder, brasher, Z Nation Season 2 is triumphant beer induced slap in the face fun and a much needed post-apocalyptic no holds party. Zombie gun-toting silliness with a swagger it's easily worth - 8/10.
Steven@WTD.