Introduction
I recently saw that they picked the series up for another season. Hopefully, they learned from this season and give it more than 4 episodes. As it stands, Marvel Zombies episode 3 is the penultimate (what a great word) episode of the season. Things continue to look bleak for our heroes.
Zombie Thanos wears the gauntlet and 5 of the infiinty stones. Some of the remaining heroes fight to keep the mind stone from him. He first knows nothing of the power he wields. But, shortly, he begins to learn. All looks lost, then maybe not, then lost again, and finally ended by a valiant sacrifice. Or, is it.
The Audacity of Hope (and a fitting good-bye)
Spider-Man starts the episode with a wish to say that everything is all right. But, it’s not. They must fight against a Zombie Thanos that, as mentioned, finally figures it out. Just as it looks like the tide may turn, the Guardians of the Galaxy (with Thor) show up. Thanos fries them.
Black Panther joins the melee with the Mind Stone as a decoy. When Thanos looks like he may finish even the mighty Wakandan, Panther rises above and sacrifices himself to defeat Thanos. The battle unleashes the furies of the Infinity Stones, nearly killing them all. I loved this part of the episode and it offered a fitting good-bye to T’Challa and his life action actor, Chadwick Boseman. I smiled a sad, but satisfied, smile at their treatment of what was a sensitive subject for many MCU fans.
The Illusion of Hope
Cut to the survivors from the massacre on The Raft. They land and find their way to New Asgard. They are just in time for a “feast”. Thor sits in the middle of the revelry. But, he doesn’t talk to anyone. He is broken after his run in with Thanos and watching his allies fried by Thanos. However, Wanda Maximoff serves in his stead, feeding the Asgardians. And, she’s suspiciously not zombified. She welcomes them in, explaining that she “healed” herself.
Like most illusions, this one crumbles quickly under the pressure of reality. Witch reveals her zombie form, the feast dissolves into an orgy of dead bodies and parts, and the zombies attack. More heroes die in the attempted escape. The ones left make it to the ship, but Wanda uses her magic to pull them back. “There is no salvation in the stars…we can heal the world.”
Thor wakes up in a big way, facing off against Wanda. She makes quick work of him initially. But, he fights back and gets the edge on her. He implores them to go. When Kamala says he must come as the Avenger, he tells her, “No, you’re the Avenger now.”
The Death of Hope
They fly into the stars with the cure. Time to find the Nova Corps and save the planet. For real, this time. Not through the Witch’s manipulation. Nova Corps shows up in full force. Hope springs eternal.
Wait, that happened too fast. They were already here. The world has been quarantined and condemned. Any attempt to escape will be incinerated. Return to the surface or be destroyed.
Well, hell. What now?
The Verdict
Marvel Zombies Episode 3 represents a turning point in the series. Where they focused on the cure as the hope that the heroes chased after with some minor interference, it now becomes a new horror. We can no longer hold on to the idea that this thing will get fixed in some way. At this point, the only path forward is the destruction of the planet. Nobody is coming to help. They only wait the inevitable collapse.
Well, shit, that fucks me up. I always hoped that at the end of this real life shit show we might find a path forward. Perhaps we will, but this puts it into perspective. When talking to Chris once, I said something about building out of the ashes of it all burning down. Yeah, but we will be the ones burned he said. And, he’s not wrong. Goddamn. I was going to try to do both episode 3 and 4 tonight, but I just can’t. I might need another week, guys.