As has been the case for most of the season, the Hulu series, the focus of the episode was split unevenly among three parallel stories. Some installments have spent more time with Yorick and then a couple of minutes here or there with Hero and/ or Jennifer Brown. Episode 6 of Y: The Last Man spent the majority of its focus following Hero and her ragtag band of survivors as they run into a group of women who would definitely fit the “cult” descriptor. This particular stop was certainly important for the advancement of Hero’s character, though the show did put its own spin on the event. As has been the case with other aspects of the graphic novel adaptation, the series takes a deeper dive and a longer look at just how some familiar characters come to be, who they eventually turn into.
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When Yorick, 355, and Dr. Mann were in the episode, it became rather obvious that while a very big plot point is getting the last person on earth with a Y chromosome to the west coast, it’s not anywhere near the most important part. Yes, there was the scene where 355 had to take out a trio of soldiers, and that certainly did a couple of different things. It showed that this woman is indeed, the best person alive to protect Yorick. It also laid the groundwork for making her and by association, the group she’s traveling with, the enemy of the government. All of this going down while Yorick’s mom, President Jennifer Brown knows the trained guard/assassin is in fact, not the enemy. One major complaint from Episode 5 of Y: The Last Man is that there were a couple of different storylines that seemed to be building up tension, only to let the air out of the balloon. 355 being the enemy of the army is a plot point that hasn’t been resolved. It’s one the showrunners can now go back to a couple of different times and that’s a good thing. It also allows an opening for the introduction of more characters well known to the fans of the graphic novel, who haven’t made an appearance yet in the show.
On the other hand, there were also some additions to this week’s episode that seemed entirely pointless. Perhaps the fact the 355 sleepwalks will play a part in one or more of the final four episodes this season. It feels like it was more of a weird tangent to show just how damaged the character is because of the violence she’s had to inflict on others. Showing that the woman is not “all right” is just fine. In fact, it’s the larger theme of episode 6. However, the Hulu series has introduced background info that seems entirely pointless before and so far this appears to be another example of that.
While the check-in with Yorick and his group seemed obligatory, beyond the one chilling scene, more useful time was spent examining what was going on with Hero, Sam, Nora and their new “friends.” In short, once the episode turns its attention to this particular storyline, it becomes perhaps the second-best episode of the season, outside of the premiere. When Y: The Last Man really shows what the world is like in the direct aftermath of the plague that wiped out billions, it shines.
The real masterstroke of the sixth episode of Y: The Last Man is that neither recruitment feels all that contrived. In fact, it’s quite fascinating to see Nora and Hero start to embrace the group, while Sam is still clearly uncomfortable. It will certainly be interesting to see where this part of the FX on Hulu original series goes next. Wanting to keep people coming back is just about all a show can ask for.
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