Zoo – The Barrier

By: Patience Kapfer

Here we go, time for the highly anticipated season finale of TV’s favorite scary animal thriller! We pick up right where we left off with Jamie (Kristen Connolly) and Mitch (Billy Burke) giving Garrison (Michael Hogan) the deadman’s switch that will hopefully give the IADG a way to turn off the beacons. At this point in time North America is still safe as the closest beacon has not been turned on, but the IADG fears for the safety of the rest of the world. No one has seen Jackson (James Wolk) since we left him in the forest to fight Abigail (Athena Karkanis) so Tessa (Hilary Jardine) waits anxiously for his return to the barrier. Even with the use of the deadman’s switch, Mitch is unable to find a way to turn off the power to the currently operating beacons. He determines that the only way to save the rest of the world is to reroute the power to the beacons somehow. Unfortunately, Garrison has little faith in the team’s ability to reroute the power and keep the hybrids from overtaking every major city so he continues to plan for the worst with a contingency plan that will involve bombing every city with a beacon. Mitch, never being one to consult with others before acting and always being known for making semi-rash decisions, chooses to reroute the power to the currently active beacons to the one nearest the barrier.

As you can assume this doesn’t look good for the team and the IADG as hundreds of hybrids rush toward the barrier-many of those right on the heels of Jackson and Sam (Delon de Metz) as they speed back to get Sam medical attention. Jackson and Sam make it inside the barrier with all of the hybrids crashing into the wall and still more on the way. And since we can’t go an episode without someone being angry with another member of the team, Jackson is furious that Mitch redirected the power of the beacons to the one in St. Louis as it puts them all in danger. More importantly, it puts the new born baby in great danger and now that Jackson has his son back he is also in danger. Despite Mitch’s protests and pleas Clementine (Gracie Dzienny) refuses to take the baby and evacuate until Mitch convinces Garrison to leave only able bodied combatants and take Clem and the baby far away from the barrier. This allows Mitch to have time to focus on how to shut down this beacon and avoid an impending military strike that will kill millions of innocent civilians. Since Mr. Duncan created the beacons, Mitch hopes that by reviewing the footage from the attempt to shut down the beacon in Tokyo he will remember some useful information.

Abe (Nonso Anozie) successfully creates a serum that needs to be given to the baby in 12-hour intervals within the next day that should restore human reproduction. It is imperative that the baby receive this serum at the appropriate times or they risk failing to solve the sterility problem. Abe then pays a visit to Jackson while he sits with Sam/Connor in the infirmary and is told the shocking news that Sam is in fact Jackson’s son. Abe meets this news with obvious skepticism, but after seeing Jackson’s complete conviction he too believes this is Jackson’s son. The hybrids continue to wreak havoc on the barrier and they begin to worry that they will infiltrate the compound and destroy the generator; without the generator it will be impossible to turn off the beacon. Meanwhile, Abe goes in search of Clem and the baby only to find that Mitch had them taken away when the barrier was evacuated, thus causing Abe to reiterate how extremely necessary it is for the baby to receive its next dose of the serum if they wish to save humanity.

Mitch is able to notice that there are two frequencies being emitted from the beacon and Jackson tells him that one is Abigail’s frequency that she uses to control the hybrids while the other is the one she took from him that he uses to control the animals. Lucky for Jackson and the rest of humanity this means that even though the beacons are designed to keep humans away, Jackson will be able to get closer to it because he is in sync with the beacon. This allows Mitch to develop a device that will enable him to shut down the beacon remotely as long as Jackson can manage to attach it to the beacon. Jackson and Tessa then head out to St. Louis to attach the device to the beacon. Getting to the beacon is definitely no picnic and Jackson struggles to push against the forces being emitted that are designed to keep anyone from getting close to it.

While Jackson is at the beacon, the IADG begins to lose power as the hybrids start to infiltrate the barrier. Dariela (Alyssa Diaz) takes all able bodied individuals to protect the generators so they have some hope of turning off the beacon and protecting the barrier. The hybrids emerge from every possible shadow and attack the soldiers. Abe is able to save the life of one soldier, but this leaves him under attack by yet another hybrid. Never fear though as Dariela is there just in time to save her husband with a pretty terrific sliding move underneath the hybrid! While the barrier is under attack, Logan (Josh Salatin) has managed to take Clem and the baby far enough away that he believes they will be safe. The terrifying bird hybrids come out of nowhere and grab Logan right out of the SUV and in Jurassic Park style drop him back down on the hood of the vehicle. Sadly, this is the end of Zoo’s most useful criminal. As Clementine jumps into the driver’s seat to start the SUV, she is knocked out by Abigail.

Jackson is able to attach the device to the beacon even though it took all of his strength to do so. From there, Mitch powers down the beacon and the hybrid siege on the barrier comes to an end. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look too good for Jackson as he collapses from the immense effort that it took to get to the beacon. Tessa rushes to his side fearing for his life and when she thinks this might be the end, in proper Jackson fashion he tells her “let’s get this penguin back to the igloo.” After finally succeeding in a few of the team’s goals you might think it’s time to celebrate and relax just a little. Well, you would be wrong. As one of the soldiers tearfully says goodbye to his K9 companion, we get the terrible feeling that something bad is going to happen. When the soldier turns to walk away the dog suddenly opens his eyes and leaps off the table to attack the owner, but he is no longer a dog. Man’s best friend has turned into a hybrid. If being attacked by hundreds of hybrids wasn’t enough, now the team realizes that any animal that is bitten will come back as a hybrid.

Clementine comes screeching back in with the SUV, but her baby is gone! Abigail stole him. Abigail calls Jackson to tell him what she wants in exchange for the baby. She wants her hybrids to run free everywhere, specifically on the other side of the barrier which has since been hybrid free. If Jackson allows the hybrids across the barrier, Abigail promises to return the baby. While the team argues about what the best plan of action is, Jackson remotely starts the plane with the intention of sending it through the barrier thus allowing the hybrids through. Once Jamie notices what his plan is the entire team begs him not to let the hybrids across. Not only will there be hybrids roaming throughout the entire country, but they’ll infect all the other animals which will then become part of Abigail’s hybrid army. Jackson says it’s the only way to get the baby back and save humanity. Without a second thought, Jackson sends the plane straight through the barrier.