Now that Murphy’s child is in better hands, the group is able to continue their journey to California. After deciding to take a boat down the Mississippi river, they run into Sketchy and Skeezy. This episode finally gives Sketchy and Skeezy their time to shine, with the help of 10k. The huge differences between Sketchy and 10k added a nice balance to the show. It is always interesting to see how 10k handles himself when he is alone. In addition, the trouble Sketchy manages to find adds plenty of humor to “Down the Mississippi”. Sketchy has always been a fun character in Z Nation but this is the first time he has been the main character of an episode. His ability to tell crazy stories and put on outrageous but somehow believable cons makes him a fun character to have in the show every now and then.
In the seventh episode of this season, we were able to hear more about what people think about Murphy as well. As it turns out, Murphy has become a legend that sounds cooler than the real thing. For example, people still think that Murphy has levitation abilities. I would not be surprised if he actually gained that ability in future episodes of Z Nation. After all, this show is known for its ability not to take itself too seriously. Nearly everyone has heard of Murphy at this point and others are constantly claiming to have seen him. The legend of Murphy is starting to sound like the legend of Bigfoot. According to these legends, Murphy is an extremely powerful and extremely dangerous being.
After things went bad on the boat (a river full of zombies makes it hard to travel by boat), 10k finds himself separated from his group. However, he does find Sketchy and Skeezy. During their travels, they happen across a dentistry truck. This truck has been used by two other men to lure people to their deaths. In fact, this truck actually carries a cargo of zombies but our three musketeers are not aware of this. As luck would have it, they end up driving to the town that was supposed to receive this truckload of zombies. This puts 10k, Sketchy, and Skeezy in a difficult situation. Sketchy does all of the talking here. While 10k pretends to be mute, Sketchy manages to convince the people there that they really are the people in charge of bringing zombies to the town. The zombies are slaves in this town – they are used for a number of things in order to make things easier on the townsfolk. Unfortunately, it does not take long for them to be caught.
Image credit: www.syfy.com/znation
After their cover was blown, they were forced to undergo a court trial. This is something new in Z Nation: a town with laws and a real court. It is during this trial that we learn that Scorpion and the Zeroes are involved in this town as well. How far does their influence reach? Our three friends are sentenced to death by hanging. The court trial was extremely interesting. Sketchy almost had the town rooting for them with a very long-winded and hilarious speech.
While all this is going on, Doc spends the episode trying to convince the group to help him find 10k. Doc really cares about 10k and absolutely refuses to leave without him. Naturally, there is an argument about this decision. Vasquez and Murphy are focused on the mission – get to California, no matter the cost. Sometimes that cost is leaving friends behind. The debate between Doc and the rest of the group once again highlights the sacrifices that have to be made for the good of the mission. Doc was able to convince the group to hold off on leaving just in time for them to find out where 10k is.
Image credit: www.syfy.com/znation
Once they learn about the situation, the entire group works together to save 10k. In fact, even Murphy is involved in this rescue mission. This is a surprising change for Murphy, as he is normally more comfortable standing back and letting everyone else do the hard work. Murphy continues to surprise us. I am disappointed that this episode did not touch more on the death of Cassandra or the abandonment of Murphy’s child. Then again, in the zombie apocalypse the group does not really have much time to think. I hope to see more of Murphy’s child in future episodes.
