Aahana Swrup
The post-apocalypse survival show ‘Earth Abides’ follows its protagonist, Isherwood “Ish” Williams, as he finds a new start and community for himself, turning the end of the times into a new beginning. In episode 3, the narrative undergoes many time jumps and builds upon the geologist and newly turned father’s journey into expanding his quickly enlarging social circle. Consequently, Ish and Emma welcome many new additions into their life, including new siblings for Heather, as well as a new neighborhood family or two. Yet, the peace they have found for themselves only lasts so long before a tragedy brings this chapter of their lives to an end. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Evie Finds a New Home and Learns to Trust Again
This episode opens with Ish in his sixth year of the apocalypse. He and Emma have continued to build their family and have a son named Alex and another on the way. Furthermore, a new couple—Jorge and Maurice—have also joined them in the past few years. As such, Ish has inadvertently become the leader of a small clan. One day, while he’s driving through the forest after picking some fresh apples, his car ends up hitting a mountain lion. As he gets out of his car to put the animal out of its misery, he notices a movement in the forest. Thus, his paths cross with a pre-teen non-verbal girl who seems inherently cautious of any new company.
Even though the girl is scared, Ish manages to convince her that he means her no harm and takes her back to his home in his pickup truck. Still, once outside his house, surrounded by his family and new neighbors, the girl refuses to leave the back of the pickup truck. Eventually, Maurice notices the scars on the kid’s body and manages to coax her into trusting her by sharing her own experience with violence as a kid. Meanwhile, Ish and his new best friend, Jorge, go out into the woods to find where the kid came from. As the duo comes across a ransacked cabin in the woods, they realize something adverse must have taken place here.
Back in the neighborhood, Maurice convinces the girl to take a bath at her house, where she will be given her own room. While the pre-teen is in the bathroom, the woman goes through her backpack and finds a journal filled with nightmarish drawings. Finally, the girl’s origins become clear as Maurice finds a letter from her mother in the bag. After the end of the world arrived, the girl—Evie’s father turned violent and began taking his anger out on his young daughter. Despite her best efforts, Evie’s mother couldn’t save her daughter from her husband’s abuse.
Consequently, Evie had to endure years and years of abuse and trauma. Along with scars, she also developed non-verbalness as a coping mechanism. Shortly before Ish found the kid in the woods, her mother passed away, leaving Evie to fend for herself. For the same reason, she remains skittish and jumpy around strangers and only lets some of her guard down around Maurice’s motherly understanding. In the letter, Evie’s mother asks whoever finds Evie to look out for her—which is just what Ish and the others do for years to come. Thus, Evie becomes a part of Ish’s clan.
Year 7 Brings a New Family in The Neighborhood
The two families continue living in peace for another year after Evie’s inclusion into Ish and the other’s life. In those years, Joey, Ish, and Emma’s youngest son was born. However, on Joey’s first birthday, a new change enters their life. Initially, Ish perceives the newcomers to be a threat. Nevertheless, as it turns out, Molly—the gun-swinging woman—is also just a family woman—and a doctor— looking for a new start. The two other adults with her, Jean and Ezra, are the parents of the young Raif, with Molly as his stepmother. Together, the throuple and their kid have traveled from Oregon and found Ish’s house through Emma’s graffiti.
At first, Ish remains reluctant to welcome Molly’s family into their lives. Nevertheless, Emma’s optimism pushes him to accept the new development. Things start off a bit rough, especially on the first day of foraging. After leaving the kids at home with Emma, Ish and the others embark on a trip around town to salvage any canned foods and other supplies they can get their hands on. However, Molly ignores Ish’s rules and ventures out to the hospital on her own. Even though she faces some trouble with a wild dog, she manages to come back with a sackful of medicines Ish had previously overlooked. While she’s open to admitting her disobedience, even Ish can’t disagree that her venture has been a success.
That night, the three families gather around a bonfire, and Jean, previously a professional singer, puts on an acoustic performance. It marks a particularly joyous night in a long time, showcasing the real worth of an expanding community. However, Molly and the others don’t come without their complications. On the wrong side of midnight, Jean rummages through her kitchen for alcohol and drowns her sorrows in the bottom of the bottle. The next morning, as Molly finds her hungover and sick, the truth about the former musician emerges. Apparently, Jean is pregnant but isn’t ready for another child. Therefore, she has been trying to drink herself into a miscarriage the previous night.
Fortunately, Molly is able to provide her with some comfort. She ensures the other woman that she and Ezra will always be there to soften her fall and provide support. When Jean asks for privacy about the matter from Ezra, Molly complies, willing to lend her a lone shoulder for comfort. While the following years are tough for Molly’s family—and everyone else—it also brings a world of joy, consistent in its ups and downs. Maurice and Jorge also start a family together, bringing a kid into the world alongside Jean, who adopts a more positive outlook about the new addition to her family.
Misfortune Strike’s Ish’s Family
Seven years into Molly and her family’s arrival, Ish’s neighborhood continues to flourish. The kids, most of them teenagers now, become close friends while their parents foster their inter-community bonds. Joey grows up to follow in Ish’s footsteps and develops a fondness for the library, intent to learn about the world as it once was. One day, the father-son duo returns from the library as a storm brews over the horizon. Having survived fourteen years in the apocalypse, Ish has developed a routine for weathering such storms. However, this time, as Emma takes a head count around the house, one member comes up short: Lucky.
At first, it’s easy to assume Lucky might simply be hiding under a bed or elsewhere, prepared for the storm himself. Nonetheless, it soon becomes evident that Lucky isn’t at the house. This compels Ish to go out looking for his four-legged pal. Unfortunately, a gruesome sight awaits Ish outside his house. Lucky had been outside as the storm was gearing up. Therefore, as the winds broke down a tree, the dog ended up getting caught under its weighted trunk. Consequently, Ish loses the first family he had found at the world’s end. In the end, the family buries Lucky in their backyard, always keeping him alive in their memories.
Yet, tragedy hasn’t left Ish’s family just yet. A little while later, while Jorge and Ish are doing woodwork in the yard, the latter goes out to check on Evie and Joey, who are out in a park. However, as he arrives, he spots a mountain lion preying on them from the bushes. Ish only has enough time to warn Evie to get Joey before the lion pounces. While Evie attempts to save Joey, Ish jumps in front of the two kids and directly in the mountain lion’s path. As such, the predator mauls him while the kids watch on in horror. Thus, the episode comes to an end just as Evie is able to break her silence and call out for help.
As of now, Ish’s fate remains up in the air. It is possible that this may be the end for his character—whom we can only expect to see in flashbacks in the future. Alternatively, it’s also possible that the geologist will survive the accident, with only near-fatal injuries sustained. After all, Molly is a surgeon, so perhaps she can use her skills to keep the leader alive.
You must be logged in to post a comment.