Peppers
Episode 9 of Y: The Last Man begins with Agent 355 training. Yorick and Mann are still at the compound, and as 355 returns, Yorick is convinced that this is a good place. As things settle down for a bit, Yorick convinces 355 to stand up and dance with him. Hey, aren’t they on a mission to try and find a cure? Anyway, there’s some pent-up frustrations here and eventually this culminates in Agent 355 making a bold decision and destroying her tracker, deciding to believe Yorick that this is a safe place after all. Back at the Pentagon, Regina and Kimberly prepare for their coup. Kim is still a mess after her mother’s death though, and before she prepares for the big meeting with Jennifer Brown, she slides a shard of glass across the floor with her toe. Everyone gathers together and calls out Jennifer’s “staggering abuse of power”. As she enters the room, they immediately mention Yorick, hounding her over the truth. Jennifer does eventually speak up and admit the truth, which sees the women turn on her. She’s going to be placed in protective custody and in her place, Regina will step up. Brown’s secrecy and plan has endangered them all (at least according to Kimberly) but there’s still doubts in the war room. Now, what they weren’t preparing for were Beth and her activist buddies heading underground at the Pentagon and causing a massive explosion. As the Pentagon is plunged into chaos, Beth and the gang hold everyone at hostage. The women surround the authorities but a power struggle ensues between Jennifer and Regina as they squabble over who’s actually the president. As Regina starts running her mouth, she’s shot in the head. We’ll circle back to why this is a terrible move in the review potion of this. As the episode comes to a close, all our stories converge toward a common cause – finding Yorick.
The Episode Review
Here’s the problem with killing Regina. If the whole Pentagon plot wasn’t a shuffling bore from the very beginning, killing off the one character stirring things up with drama and tension over the weeks renders this entire plot point a waste of time. A good example is when Beth was killed in The Walking Dead after our ensemble spent half a season trying to find her. It completely checks you out of your involvement and makes you question the story and just why it was there in the first place. There’s absolutely no consequences for Jennifer’s actions at all and the whole political thing seems to be a dig at American politics with the whole democrats/republican shindig rather than a genuinely good bit of plotting. Then again, that’s been Y: The Last Man’s problem from the very beginning. The show has felt way more interested in its message rather than telling a decent story and that’s probably why this one’s been cancelled. It’s a sobering reality check that ultimately we, as fans and viewers, just want a good story. Sure you can chuck in politics and a message but if your world is inhabited by stupid characters no one likes, then it’s only going to end badly. Either way, the ending hints that we’ve got plenty more drama to come as the finale mercifully hangs on the horizon, ready to close out this disappointing series – will it be with a bang or a whimper?
