The Day Before
The monkey is a key character in this episode and its importance is clear from the very beginning. The monkey is the only one left in the city and it’s been struggling to find food. It’s been scavenging for anything that can help it survive. But when it finds a gear box, it decides to take it home with it. This decision has a big impact on the rest of the city as they start to worry about what will happen if there are no more men.
As a helicopter plunges to the ground, Yorick – our central character – bursts out and saves the animal before it’s too late. This is the last male left on the planet, and his presence is about to change everything.
Yorick practices magic with his friend Fred, although him leaving for magic camp throws a big spanner in the works. Yorick and Fred had been practicing magic together for months before this big incident.
Yorick heads to Brooklyn to see his sister Hero, who is living with her boyfriend. She reluctantly hands him some cash, but warns him not to propose to Beth, his girlfriend. Given that he’s struggling to afford rent, this doesn’t seem like a very sound plan! ..
Jennifer Yorick is a congresswoman in Washington, D.C. She is well-respected by her constituents and colleagues, but her life will change forever when she learns about her son’s extraordinary abilities. ..
In Oklahoma, the first signs of this plague start to manifest themselves. With a dead deer lying on the ground ominously next to the road, a young woman known simply as Agent 355 works as an assassin. She blows up her target inside their own house, before being given an urgent new assignment. She’s going to Washington D.C.
Meanwhile, we get our first look at Yorick’s girlfriend, Beth. She berates her students and swears relentlessly, along with talking with her mouth full. Anyway, Yorick sits with her and proposes. ..
As he drops to his knees, retorting “f*cking marry me” (very romantic) the pair end up fighting as Beth refuses to let him come to Australia with her.
After all, with Yorick determined to pursue his magic career, jet-setting halfway across the globe isn’t exactly a great step forward for him. Yorick ends up whining and berating how much effort he put into this proposal, with Beth taking the opportunity to make a quick escape. ..
Hero and Mike are in a fight, and the rats are getting rowdy. Suddenly, a loud noise echoes through the streets, and it seems like something is coming. It’s a big rat! The fight between Hero and Mike quickly turns into a battle for control of the rat.
As the argument between the two emergency medical technicians escalates, she throws a fire extinguisher at his head, fatally wounding him. ..
As the agents prepare to take down their target, they are met with a barrage of gunfire. It seems that someone has been following them all night. As the gunfire subsides, Agent 355 can be seen lying on the ground, blood streaming from her wounds. The President and Jennifer rush over to her, and as they do so, they see that she has been shot in the head. They realize that this is not going to be an easy mission - but it is one that they are both eager to complete.
As we follow the events of the mass casualty event in Israel, we are treated to the same scenario play out in New York. Every male drops to the ground, bleeding from their orifices and causing mass hysteria. As we jump across to our various different female characters, the only male left happens to be Yorick. With screams outside, Yorick looks out with wide-eyed shock at what’s befallen the world.
The Episode Review
The show does a good job of adding a sense of dread and a ticking clock countdown to this disaster. Quite how and why this has struck remains to be seen but already we’ve got a political slant in this.
There seems to be a trend in Hollywood to portray many male characters in an unflattering light and it’s something that’s evident here too. Hopefully with all of them dead now, it should go some way to alleviate this in the upcoming episodes.
Despite the heavy-handed themes and unlikable protagonist, “The Walking Dead” does have some interesting ideas and a lot of potential for sequels. With three episodes available to watch, let’s jump straight into the next!
