No one is going quietly into the light.
Warning: Full spoilers follow.
With the word out about Murphy everyone with a gun seems to be trying to collect on that not-so-genuine bounty on his living corpse. “The White Light” starts off running, literally, as the group attempts to chase Murphy down on foot only to run into several bounty hunters looking to take Murphy for themselves. The energy from that foot chase is carried throughout the episode as the hunt for Murphy never lets up and an impressive amount of intensity is maintained right till the very end.
Murphy’s hyjinx are somewhat subdued this week as he has little time to stand still and act as silly as he was last week. He’s resourceful though, swapping clothes with a zombie in order to keep the chase away from him. Sandra is still by his side and seems to be more feral than she was last week. The only moment when she seems to be thinking clearly is when she looks down on a barely conscious 10k. It’s fleeting though as she scurries after Murphy.
Actually, a lot of this episode steers clear from the silly natured hyjinx we saw last week. There are several emotionally charged moments that give all of these characters new dimension. Even Murphy has a moment that’s rather frightening when he finally gives up and decides that he would rather jump off a building than be taken in. It pays off for him in the end since he lands in a swimming pool full of zombies, maintaining that lighthearted side from last week.
While the episode was filled from beginning to end with action there are a few moments that definitely stick out. Probably my favorite action piece of the series so far includes 10k, Doc and a sniper who is gunning for them from a hotel window. Doc making his way into the hotel to flank the sniper was tense on its own but the fight between the two was downright dirty, gritty and bloody. It was incredibly well-choreographed and absolutely believable as a fight to the death. It may have gotten a little silly when Doc left his body and saw that weapon he could use but the subsequent stab wound to the neck that left the sniper bleeding out on the floor was nasty. I absolutely loved the sequence from beginning to end. It required very little dialogue but achieved so much.
Then there was Warren in the hotel hallway facing a lone gunmen who had her outgunned. A lot of the setup they did last year that really did cement that anyone could die on this show was important here. It really did seem like Warren could bite the bullet here. It was also really great to see how she timed her actions effectively in order to take out her opponent. Another well put together scene that really should have ended with Warren making the kill. I was a little disappointed that Vasquez saved her in the end as she earned that one.
Finally, we have Mack’s death, which was absolutely intense and well-handled. They had him fighting off those zombies for a decent amount of time, which had me believe that he might pull through. However, with the near deaths of Warren, 10k, Addy and Doc it seemed more and more likely that someone had to die this week and unfortunately for Mack, he was the one. When Addy finally got that door open everything played out perfectly as she didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger and show Mack some mercy.
After Mack’s death, Addy found Murphy and put an end to the chase by beating the ever loving crap out of him. That just seemed like an appropriate end to everything that happened this week. Murphy had put the entire team through hell and each of them almost died trying to save him. He deserved it.
Meanwhile, Citizen Z was fighting off a few zombies. This was the least interesting part of the episode as the writers continue to find things to do with the character while he doesn’t have much to do with the main story.
One important note was the man with the rocket launcher. The Z tattoo on his hand is interesting and the impression is given that he may be playing an important part this season. There isn’t much more to go on beyond that yet however. I do wonder if there are parties interested in actually killing Murphy instead of capturing him. Or capturing him for their own nefarious plans.
“The White Light” was an action packed and emotionally charged episode that saw the story close on Mack. This is one of the more memorable episodes of this young show, which continues to establish itself as legitimate must watch TV.
