Just finished season 2 and remembered why it’s not a good thing to watch series that have only 2 seasons. But besides the cliffhanger, I have a few other things to rant about.
First of all, there’s Greg and how he doesn’t get the point of survival. He was introduced as the guy who was prepared best out of the group, and now he’s the one who tells Tom to fuck off/go away because he killed a man? Did Greg, by any chance, forget that this guy harrassed the group several times and was very unlikely to stop? After all, that guy belonged to the militia that also shot Greg, and whose political leader – Samantha Willis – shot a girl for stealing some food earlier. Dude, be glad he’s dead and won’t be a problem anymore!
Interesting enough, after Greg sends Tom away (specifically right after Tom saved Anya and Al, so Anya could save Greg, who was shot by a member of said militia…), the others don’t seem bothered at all by the revelation that Tom killed that guy. The only reason they stay is because Greg just came back from a near-lethal injury, but Anya asks Tom to stay and later, Najid does his job as outspoken kid and tells Greg that Tom makes a better leader and has the interest of the others in mind. Note that Greg wants to leave the city and abandon the search for Abby, while Tom wants to stay and encourages the others to keep searching for her because Abby would do the same for them. And this show is based on barely anything than “group must go after person x”.
Once Abby is back, she goes through a major annoyance downgrade. Even after learning the truth about Tom, she decides the group needs to stick together, regardless of their past crimes. She’s the first adult to realize that Tom does watch out for them and Anya buys into this, too. Al, Sarah and Najid never seemed really bothered by Tom’s criminal past to begin with. Just Greg keeps up his Grumpy Bear act, even after Tom does come back for him after Greg voted “guilty” against him earlier and cast him out of the group. Here, I need to wonder how forgiving Tom is supposed to be or if he really really just gives a shit what Greg thinks. At first, it could be justified by saying he swallows it for the sake of staying near Anya. But his later actions go far beyond watching out for her. He saves not only her, but also Al when he has a chance to easily abandon him and let him die. He comes back for Greg and the other slave workers in the mine. He frees the kids from the truck. He goes looking for Abby’s son. In other words, he acts like a picture book hero, if you ignore the fact that’s a convicted killer.
That’s by far not as bipolar as Anya gets. On one side, she does hook up with Tom. On the other side, she also despises nearly everything he does, if it involves him carrying a gun. Including carrying a gun without bullets. She has seen the militia, she has seen the slave camp. But she still thinks it’s wrong to carry any guns. That takes a special level of delusional thinking – and it is obvious to the others that they need to defend themselves. Abby goes as far as saying she would have killed that guy, too. That’s okay in Anya’s book, by the way.
By the end of season, most mysteries have been solved. Abby has her son back, a vaxine was developed, and the characters had all recieved a fair share of screen time and development. However, there are still open ends. Why Greg got a mystery post card and was likely on a list of people that were supposed to be saved before the virus hit. If his family is alive. What happened to Samantha Willis and her commune after Dexter was eliminated and she was in full control. What Tom planned when he sneaked into the Big Bad’s plane, heading for their secret base. If he survived the flight, being wounded. Where the rest of group went after not finding Tom on the airfield.
All in all, it was a very nice show to watch while it lasted and I think without the last scene – Tom hiding in the plane – it could even be accepted as a closed end. Too bad there wasn’t a third season to finish the chapter more satisfactory.
circusofscars 