Episode Recap: Going Nuclear

And now, an episode where nobody wakes up from a dream within a dream. Addy and Mack are once again MIA on the road somewhere, Citizen Z is paddling some balls and seems almost as bored as the dog, and in the Black Hills of South Dakota, the team comes across Zombie Mount Rushmore and an industrial pipe factory featuring glow-in-the-dark zombies attracted to fart noises.

The team meets Wilbur Grady and his daughter Amelia and agrees to help them shut down the nearby unstable nuclear reactor. They run through and kill a ton o' zombies, get Wilbur into a (somehow working) elevator, and flee the scene. Shortly thereafter, Wilbur returns from the plant, unsuccessful in his attempt to shut down the reactor. He dies, becomes a zombie and is given mercy by Roberta.

With the nuclear reactor still in danger of going off, Amelia reveals that the only person who can possibly help them is some dude named Homer, who's holed up in the woods being weird.

Upon arriving at Homer's strange survivalist house, they learn that Wilbur's attempt at shutting down the reactor involved trying to cut a rope so the attached nuclear rods would fall into the cooling pond. Homer says he'll help and bonds with 10K, as it seems everyone wants to be a father figure to that kid.

Homer takes 10K into the reactor and discovers that something is blocking the rods from falling, so they send in a remote-controlled wheeled robot named Robbie to do the trick ... which fails pretty abysmally once the zombies get a hold of it.

Outside the nuclear reactor, Roberta keeps order as Homer says he'll need help to get into the reactor himself and fix things. They also need fuel for the airplane to fly Murphy out of the blast zone in case everything ends up going ka-boom ... and luckily Homer has a plethora of vodka at his house. Hey, that stuff could make a plane fly, no?

Murphy and Amelia (who's a pilot, 'cause her name is 'Amelia') plan to fly to Wyoming, where other human survivors are rumored to be. Roberta puts Murphy on the plane, fills it with booze and sends them on their way ... though not for very long, as the aircraft quickly crash-lands, resulting in Amelia being killed and becoming a zombie.

When they reach the reactor, the team splits up: 10K and Homer go in while Doc and Cassandra go out to join Roberta. During a zombie attack, Homer's suit is breached and he becomes radioactive. No longer concerned for his own safety, he decides to get even closer to the radioactive pool with 10K's help, Mission: Impossible style as he's lowered toward the liquid on a rope.

Murphy has since crawled from the wreckage of the plane and is now staggering through the woods ... followed by the undead Amelia. As always, Murphy seems to be able to communicate somewhat with the zombies, though with Amelia he shows a pity and tenderness he hasn't expressed before. Is the Zombie Messiah getting soft?

Homer and 10K manage to shut down the reactor, after which Homer tells his young friend to finish off his radioactive ass. 10K can't bring himself to shoot Homer, so the old man makes it easier on him by dropping himself into the pool and becoming a zombie. A heartbroken 10K finally shows him mercy.

When 10K comes out of the reactor, he's understandably upset and is comforted by Doc as Roberta rolls up in a golf cart filled with vodka. Soon thereafter, Murphy comes out of the woods, followed by Amelia. Murphy keeps them from giving Amelia mercy, as he claims maybe it's time for "a different kind of mercy." They drive off into the sunset, leaving Amelia to wander the woods alone.

Who knows ... maybe Amelia will be cured if the team manages to get Murphy to California?