Y: The Last Man’s first - only? - season is officially hitting the home stretch. The series has had some up and down moments so far, and it still feels like if this is the only season it will get, it’s officially covered too many stories. However, there is good news for fans in the latest episode for the FX onHuluoriginal series. The show is never better than whenY: The Last Manembraces and injects some horroraspects into the show. Certainly, there’s enough in the plot that could bring the kind of suspense viewers would find in a horror movie. Then there are direct scenes where the characters and the audience are meant to hold their breath. Episode 6 of the series did that especially well in one particular scene, that also did double duty as a sequence that once again showed just how dangerous 355 really is to those she views as her enemy.
As has been the case for most of the season, theHuluseries, 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 ofY: The Last Manspent 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 fromEpisode 5 ofY: The Last Manis 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 introducedbackground 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. WhenY: The Last Manreally shows what the worldis like in the direct aftermath of the plague that wiped out billions, it shines.
There is a couple of different ways thatY: The Last Manmanages to illustratethat a world without men, is not actually the utopian society some claimed it would be in their fantasies. This is best demonstrated at the massive Walmart-like store where the woman who call themselves Amazon have holed up. They begrudgingly gave Hero, Sam, Nora and Mackenzie a place to stay after Hero was able to render medical aid to one of the group’s members. The quartet then get a first-hand look at at what the world is like for others as another group of four are chased away by the Amazons' leader, Roxanne. Before they leave, one of the women begs Roxanne to take her daughter, but in the end they’re turned away. The entire exchange does a fantastic job of showing the cruelties of this new world and the absolute panic that many of the inhabitants left alive are feeling.
The scenes focusing on the Amazons illustrate nicely why they might be a place for women to take refuge inthe world ofY: The Last Man. It also does an impressive job of showing that cults can lure people in for a whole bunch of different reasons. Nora appears to be tempted by the Amazons because of their brutality. First attempting to win herself into the good graces of Roxanne by being a whimpering sycophant, when she’s told that the days of being that kind of person are over, she seems to take a shine to what unfolds later. Meanwhile, Hero’s recruitment is far more touchy-feely. Four women in the store’s makeshift bathhouse tell her that she’s clearly not ok with what’s going on. After initially telling them she’s fine, the show does a very good job of showing her defenses slowly lowering and by the end of the episode, it appears she’s been reeled in.
The real masterstroke of thesixth episode ofY: The Last Manis 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 onHuluoriginal series goes next. Wanting to keep people coming back is just about all a show can ask for.
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