Y: The Last Man review, Episode 6, “Weird Al is Dead”

It doesn’t seem like much time has passed in Y: The Last Man, but apparently it’s been long enough that cults are rising up everywhere and they’re changing the way the game is played. In “Weird Al Is Dead,” Nora (Marin Ireland) and Hero (Olivia Thirlby) realize that Roxanne (Missi Pyle) has a bigger agenda than they imagined, while Yorick (Ben Schnezer) and Dr. Mann (Diana Bang) make a big decision.

Look, I get it: all the men are gone and the world is falling apart fast. It’s not that women aren’t capable of handling things on their own, rather that shock and trauma have caused society to collapse a lot faster than I would have imagined. Somehow, though, while everything was falling apart, the zealots and people with axes to grind found ways to develop cults, because why not?

Things take an interesting turn for Yorick when he discovers that Agent 355 (Ashley Romans) didn’t report back to his mother about their whereabouts or their plan to go to San Francisco, leading him to think it’s time to part ways with her.

“Weird Al is Dead” is another turning point for Y: The Last Man

It turns out that the warehouse resort Roxanne is protecting is more than just a safe haven. The women who live there are casting off the people they were back when they lived under the rules of men and becoming new women free from the burdens of misogyny.

Nora sees the writing on the wall and tries to play along, knowing that if she doesn’t it could mean trouble for her and her daughter. For Hero, though, it could be a place where she can be free of the burden of her past.

Yorick and Dr. Mann question Agent 355’s motives after a military group shows up looking for her. They decide that they might be better off trying to go to San Francisco on their own, but when the group shows up at the church where they’re hiding, their plans are disrupted.

Back home in DC, Jennifer Brown (Diane Lane) finds her motives being questioned by an increasingly suspicious cabinet secretary who is needling for power. Kimberly (Amber Tamblyn) continued to push her own agenda, making it a dangerous place to be.

Roxanne is the only one who seems to be striking out on her own and building a new way of life. She’s not interested in business as usual. She’s not upset that the men are gone, and honestly she would rather keep it that way. In a classic cult leader move, she reminds her followers of why they hated men and then gives them a chance to be reborn.

One thing I appreciate about Roxanne’s big box store haven is that she’s very aware of the need to protect it. When a group of travelers show up she’s quick to send them on their way. She won’t allow them to leave the child in their care because she knows the child’s mother will come back for her. This reinforces Nora’s need to play by the rules, and it makes Hero think about whether she can afford to leave.

“Weird Al is Dead” is another good episode of Y: The Last Man

“Weird Al is Dead” was another solid episode that moves the story along. We’re clearly at a point in the season when big decisions need to be made, and in all cases they revolve around the concept of “should I stay or should I go?” Is there safety in numbers, or is it better to be on your own? Can anyone be trusted?

Now that we’re six episodes in, one thing is abundantly clear: you really can’t trust anyone. It might be a tad worse because everyone in the story has ties to Washington and politics, so they know how the game is played and they’re playing it.

Thus far the show has been building a foundation, and now it’s time to start getting into the thick of what’s going on. Jennifer, Nora, Hero, Yorick and Agent 355 have decisions to make because things aren’t getting any better; in fact, they’re about to go from bad to worse.

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