Aftermath shifts gears somewhat in “Now That We Talk of Dying.” The storyline boils down to “RV Man” meets Bob Black with some other peripheral strangeness taking place. As moon rocks strike the earth, with more on the way, the Copelands struggle to pinpoint the radio transmissions from Moondog.
Matt and Sarah, the girl he saved in the previous episode, continue to get closer, although she initially resists his efforts to turn them into a couple. Later she will save Josh yet again, it was Sarah’s Tetra that saved Copeland earlier when he had the fever, but the mantle of hero does not rest easily on the girl’s shoulders.
Karen, Josh and their girls meet a young man named Bennett who believes he is in 1972; Vietnam. After the A1C shoots an RPG at the family, they convince him that they are not dangerous. Brianna takes a picture of the 20 year old soldier on her smartphone. Later, this photograph will stop the older Bennett from shooting them again.
Time, explains Dana, is shifting around. She noticed it earlier when she and Martin were together. She mentioned then that time was different, it was slower. Shortly after, it sped up and now time has changed again.
Two government men are looking for Moondog. The DJ seems to know what is happening and they want to stop him and take over his communications tower.
They speak to the woman whose husband disappeared in Seattle but returned. She talks about Josh, RV Man, and Dr. Simmons. She also repeats the mantra:
“The one is many, but the many are one.”
The two men recognise this from Moondog’s transmissions and they head off to find the doctor, RV Man and the DJ. Dana and Josh actually have an idea of what is happening with the time/space issues. Later when the Copelands meet the two government men, Jones and his colleague have killed everyone they have questioned except the woman with the dead canary.
In this episode time is very fluid. Bennett appears three times, and is a different age in each one. He shows up in an electrical store as security and the Copelands explain that they saw him when he was 20.
After this interaction, the two government men meet Bennett as an older man and they shoot him.
The leader of the two; Jones, has lost his family and believes that Moondog is causing all the problems. He also believes that the man is not from a different time at all. Later it will appear that Black can seemingly move between times at will.
Moondog broadcasts from a Tesla tower and Josh follows the signal when he hears that Black wants to meet up with an “Adept.” This is what Josh’s dead father called him when he was suffering from the plague.
It appears that Josh may well be able to influence the events of “the end of days” with a little help from Moondog.
Aftermath this week separates the Copelands when Josh is taken by Jones and his colleague to find Moondog. At the Tesla tower the family meet a man who claims to be Black. He is taken with Josh to find the real DJ and he dies when Jones shoots him.
Oddly, Moondog is in an RV just like Josh’s. The vehicle is empty when one of the government men search it. Later Black exits the RV and saves Josh’s life when Jones goes to shoot Copeland.
After Brianna, Matt and Dana are disarmed by the agents, Sarah proves to be adept at the bow and arrow. She takes the bow left by the faux Bob Black and joins Karen and Matt as they chase after the two government men.
Apart from one close call with a skinwalker, Dana is possessed by one until Brianna saves her, this episode leaves the myths of Revelations behind and focuses on the space/time aspect of the world’s end.
The family wind up together for a moment but are separated once more when Sarah runs off. Matt goes after her and Brianna joins her brother. Karen, Josh and Dana stay with Bob Black after he saves Josh’s life.
By the end of the episode, the family are separated again and Josh joins Moondog in the RV.
Director Leslie Hope (she also played Dr. Gloria Douglas in the series) keeps the action zipping along while focusing on the things that make this episode important. There are still many questions that need to be answered but it seems that at long last we will learn what an “Adept” is and what it can do.
Ferreira makes a great entrance and this “Wolfman Jack” soundalike, sans the “heavy dudes and chickies” patter is spot on as the “cool” time-savvy DJ.
This penultimate episode seems set to turn everything on its head and it will be interesting to see if the family get back together before the earth is bombarded by more moon rocks.
Aftermath airs Tuesdays on SyFy. Tune in and see what the Copelands do next.
Cast:
- James Tupper – Joshua Copeland
- Anne Heche – Karen Copeland
- Levi Meaden – Matt Copeland
- Taylor Hickson – Brianna Copeland
- Julia Sarah Stone – Dana Copeland
- Sarah Dugdale as Sarah
- Louis Ferreira as Bob “Moondog” Black.
Guest starring Victor Zinck Jr. as Larry Bennett and Aaron Craven as Jones.
