Yahoo Finance Y: The Last Man recap: Things fall apart
Making a choice — whatever the consequences — is central to Y: The Last Man's penultimate season 1 chapter, "Peppers." Unfortunately for many of the show's characters, however, those consequences turn out to be quite dire.
Y: The Last Man's ninth installment begins with Agent 355 running sprints to shake off her lingering post-concussion cobwebs. That doesn't last long as she collapses and is beset by fragmented visions of her childhood involving an older woman, comments about secrets, and images of her tracking device. Once this episode passes, Agent 355 resumes running.
Yorick is delighted to hear that the former prison inmates stage a weekly Saturday party, and though Mann thinks it's somewhat crazy, they both enjoy the festivities. Along with Sonia, they're joined by Agent 355, and Yorick talks about how this place is probably safer than most others. He then goes on a clumsy stream-of-consciousness rant about how the inmates were likely incarcerated for non-violent and/or justifiable offenses (since women usually get time for killing their abusers), and are thus victims of over-prosecution and "systemic racism." Mann mocks him for this, and Sonia confesses that she and her comrades earned their sentences.
Yorick convinces Agent 355 to dance, which rubs Sonia the wrong way. Another resident, Dominique (Mercedes Morris), makes a snide remark to Sonia about Agent 355 being horny for Yorick. After this exchange, Mann privately confronts Dominique, who acts unconcerned about — and somewhat flirty with — Mann.
While making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Agent 355 is questioned by Sonia about her tracking device, which Sonia found in their van. Agent 355 brushes off those questions, and tries to intimidate Sonia by reaching for, and then using, a big knife. Sonia scoffs at this gesture, stating, "I've done terrible things too." She warns Agent 355 to be honest about the device with Yorick. She also says that at least she has the courage to admit that she likes Yorick, who then arrives, all excited about a joint he's received. Agent 355 is left alone to fume, which triggers further flashback memories in which, as a kid, she was given a kit by her mentor, who wore a "Visitor" sticker on her shirt.
The episode segues to Hero walking through a shadowy warehouse where men's voicemails are being broadcast over loudspeakers. She emerges out of this "Hall of Voices" into a makeshift hamlet where women are honoring their fallen men, as well as disseminating information about their search for possible male survivors. Hero isn't just visiting, though; she's surveying the place. Hero has her partner inform Roxanne and the rest of their group — who are hiding nearby — that these stragglers are vulnerable. Nora advises Roxanne that they should prioritize stealing this clan's food, but Roxanne is on her high horse (literally) about punishing survivors for mourning a male world that hurt them. "Let's go have some fun," smiles Roxanne as she leads her acolytes into battle. Despite Nora trying to keep them in check (including by swinging a baseball bat at Laura/Athena to protect a few boxes of Corn Pops) Roxanne, Hero, and the rest take gleeful pleasure in destroying everything in sight.
Afterward, Nora finds Roxanne (who's smashing the broadcast equipment with a golf club) and chides her for decimating all these valuable goods. Roxanne doesn't care so long as her charges are happy. Nora slams them for acting like children, at which point her own daughter, Mackenzie, shows up and informs Roxanne that her tent is ready. Clearly, Nora is losing the most important hearts and minds.
At the Pentagon, a dazed-and-grieving Kimberley files her nails while Regina and the general plot Jennifer's ouster. Regina screams at Kimberley to get her head on straight. Once Regina leaves, Kimberley finds a piece of broken glass on the floor and considers it with a troubled look on her face.
Christine tells Jennifer about her pregnancy. Before they can discuss it further, they're ushered into the war room by military personnel. There, the captain who previously encountered Yorick in the woods (and, for that incident, was reassigned by Jennifer) definitively identifies Yorick as the man she saw. Regina thinks this sounds rehearsed, but a riled-up Kimberley says it's proof of Jennifer's "staggering abuse of power." When Jennifer comes in, they accuse her of concealing Yorick's existence, smuggling him out of the Pentagon, and ordering the deaths of the two pilots who were tracking him. Kimberley also, predictably, blames Jennifer for the death of her mother. Jennifer denies this all. Nonetheless, when Kimberley threatens Christine, Jennifer gives in and admits it, thereby angering and alienating her own cabinet supporters.
After much arguing, Regina decides she's going to be the new president. Before anyone can conclusively agree on this, however, the general interrupts them with urgent news: there's been an explosion in the tunnels beneath the Pentagon. We already know this has taken place, because just before this war room argument commenced, Beth and her revolutionary compatriots snuck into that tunnel and set off a bomb that killed two investigating guards. As Jennifer, Regina, Kimberley, and the rest of the war room folks are rushed to a secure location, Beth and her squadron begin storming the Pentagon.
These two groups meet in the dark subterranean tunnels, and Jennifer, Regina, Kimberley, Christine, and the others are zip-tied and taken hostage. Jennifer recognizes Beth as one of her captors. They all head to the war room, where Christine also notices Beth (and, on Jennifer's advice, keeps that quiet). Jennifer advises her fellow politicians to keep their mouths shut about Yorick. Confusion spreads once the military radios the rebels, demanding to speak to Regina, whom they consider the President of the United States. Kimberley gets on the radio and reveals their location to the military, which earns her a slap from the rebel leader. With the army coming to rescue Jennifer and company, Beth convinces her collaborators to evacuate the war room.
In the aftermath of their raid, Hero is praised by her new friends for killing her boyfriend — thus proving to Hero that Roxanne told everyone her secret. Nora overhears this and recounts to Hero a story about how she used to get angry over the littlest things, like her husband calling to ask which kind of pepper he should buy ("Make a choice!"). Nora says that post-apocalypse, her anger is what kept her alive. She warns Hero, "Next time, don't tell Roxanne your secrets. She's not worthy of them."
The rebels lead their hostages past the Hall of Heroes shrine. Regina begins claiming that Jennifer and her liberal cohorts knew ahead of time that the apocalypse was coming, that Yorick is alive, and that Jennifer murdered soldiers to cover up her conspiracy. For this, she gets a bullet in the head courtesy of the rebel leader. Everyone is rightfully stunned, and Beth is also worried, since they'd originally agreed to not hurt anyone, and that idea has now gone completely out the window.
Back at the inmate commune, Yorick gets his hands rubbed with coconut lotion by Sonia, who tells him that the inmates seized their current homes — and freedom — after breaking out of prison and eliminating the female guards who were waiting for them. Meanwhile, Agent 355 helps Mann locate some fresh clothes (including a ridiculous female-bikini-body t-shirt). Mann intends to check on Dominique, hoping to get laid. She chastises Agent 355 for what she deems a judgmental look.
Agent 355 has more visions from her past — in particular, one in which she cries on the floor of a white-tiled room while her superior praises her one-in-a-million brilliance and fitness for her secret-agent post. The mentor says that Agent 355's training is giving her a leg up in a world that's not built for her ("You earned your place here"). In the present, Agent 355 walks to a nearby river and crushes the tracking device with a rock.
Nora learns that Roxanne wants to hunt down any surviving men, and thinks this is dumb since all that matters is their survival. Roxanne censures Nora for having no vision, and for wanting to hide. Shortly thereafter, Nora hears from the woman who's been looking for survivors that a man is living in a nearby town that has electricity. Thanks to a cell phone in this woman's possession (whose screensaver is a photo of Beth, meaning it's Yorick's phone), Nora realizes that Yorick may be alive and close by. She returns to Roxanne and pretends to be repentant. She shows Roxanne a sketch of Yorick and convinces her to go after him.
In a Pentagon hallway, Beth and the rebels are attacked by the military. Chaos and gunfire reign, with Beth and Jennifer going one way, and Kimberley and Christine going another. Kimberley saves Christine by murdering an attacker ("I got you"). In the tunnels beneath the Pentagon, Beth gives Jennifer a jacket and then demands, "Yorick. Tell me."
Jennifer's reply: "Yes."
Post-Men Dispatches:
Given that her enemies had no concrete evidence to back up their accusations, Jennifer's admission that Yorick is alive is an unbelievably (and absurdly) bad strategic move on her part.
Naturally, the female inmates' favorite song is TLC's "No Scrubs."
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