#Y: The Last Man Season 1 Episode 5 Review: Mann Hunt

Everyone has their part to play in the apocalypse. Some will be leaders. Some will be thinkers. Some will be helpers.

Y: The Last Man Season 1 Episode 5 brings some new players into the narrative — some that will help the cause and some that may hinder it.

There is so much at stake. 

When Agent 355 and Yorick arrive in Boston, they witness a military occupation keeping a tenuous grasp on the city. Graffiti and revolutionary posters are everywhere — branding Jennifer Brown a liar, the perpetrator of a vast conspiracy in a bid for power. 

Yorick is disturbed by what’s he sees, scared of the protestors and the web of theories they have produced.

When he meets them, however, he finds them kind and helpful. He is beginning to come to the realization that the government — and his mother — may not have the best interest of the people at heart. 

Later, Dr. Mann sets him straight, telling him the government lies all the time — conspiracy theorists may be wrong, but their instincts are justifiable. They may be crazy, but it’s the world and its lack of answers that made them that way.

It’s a hard message to hear right now — everyone wants to blame conspiracy theorists for everything that’s wrong with the world — the “fringe lunatics” — but there’s so much more at play. Nothing is black and white. 

It’s not always heavy, though. Yorick is constantly making self-effacing quips, trying to lighten the mood with humor in the face of his increasingly bleak fate.

Yorick and Agent 355 continue to engage in witty banter on their journey together. It’s fun to watch a gender reversal of the “damsel-in-distress” trope, with 355 as the stone-cold, no-nonsense rescuer and Yorick as the vulnerable person in need of protection.

No one can hide forever when the whole world’s looking.
Steph

For the first time in his life, Yorick has some understanding of how ordinary women have lived every day — constantly in danger and ever on the alert, simply by existing as his gender. 

Yorick and 355’s dynamic is enhanced now with the addition of Dr. Mann (Diana Bang). She is a snarky, man-hating, fiercely intelligent, passionate scientist who will stop at nothing to get the work done (except engage in a bit of totally defensible graffiti). 

Yorick: Did you draw all these dicks?

Dr. Mann: People grieve in their own way.

Dr. Mann refuses to submit to any authority unless it can get her what she needs to continue her research. 

At first, it seems like Dr. Mann doesn’t care about anything, and she doesn’t care about Yorick having a Y chromosome. It’s only when she sees Ampersand that she gets excited. 

She makes several impassioned speeches, full of examples that directly counter anyone who dares say gender is binary. SEX isn’t even binary, as human biology proves.

Her diatribe on the loss to the earth’s biodiversity thanks to the obliteration of (almost all) Y chromosomes really hammers home the point that humanity has done some irreparable damage to the natural world. 

With the introduction of Dr. Mann, the protestors, and Agent 525, (who we’ll get to in a second) we are faced with some questions that have only been touched on up until now — namely, why and how did the Event occur in the first place?

We’ve been so caught up in the ramifications of the Event, I hadn’t given too much thought as to how or why it occurred.

Now I’m curious! Man-made biological weapon? An experiment gone wrong? Aliens? (It can’t be aliens, right?)

When Agent 355 meets Agent 525 (Lou Jurgens), they are both still looking for answers. They are both looking for the woman who recruited them.

Did their organization know that the Event was going to occur, or simply that AN Event of global proportions was going to occur? Did they know who was behind it? Did they place their two best female agents at prime government locations in order to mitigate some of the damage? 

There’s definitely a mythology to uncover in this world, so much so that it’s difficult not to just grab the comics and figure out what’s up.

But the storytelling here is so skillfully done I will do my best to hold off — for now. 

Kimberly (Amber Tamblyn) and Christine (Jess Salgueiro) share the most affecting scene in the episode.

The instant Kimberly realizes what is happening, she goes from passive-aggressive manipulation to genuine and absolute support. It shows how Kimberly is still a mother at heart, even though her children have died.

When she puts the piece of clothing on Christine’s lap to preserve her dignity, wipes the blood from Christine’s legs, repeats “I got you, I got you” — it’s all just so profoundly indicative of a woman’s drive to help other women. C

hristine needed a friend, and Kimberly was there, so she stepped up.

Yes, Kimberly may be able to use this to her advantage later, but I choose to believe that in the moment that is not what she was thinking about — though I don’t think Christine would agree.   

The ultrasound scene is captivating. Nadine Roden’s warmth and emotion as Dr. Schirra feel so real — when she starts crying, saying how there has been so much death, it hits hard.  

There has been so much death all around us during COVID. Studies are now suggesting a COVID baby boom is likely. Humans have to somehow prove that we can overcome the setbacks life throws at us.

The little heartbeat shows there is the possibility of more life in the face of monumental tragedy — with the men gone, it is especially miraculous. In that moment, they are just three women sharing a beautiful moment. 

I’m not quite sure why Christine is intent on hiding her pregnancy — is she still weighing her options?

She doesn’t seem to want a child. I’m very curious to see the stance this show takes on abortion and a women’s right to her bodily autonomy, given the dire state of the world.

I suspect Kimberly will be on the side of “life, at any cost” given how vehemently she fought for the sperm banks  — also because she has heard the heartbeat.

This place is a Rachel Maddow fever dream.
Kimberly

Kimberly is such a paradox, which is what makes her an endlessly fascinating character. Quickly, she’s in Regina Oliver’s pocket, quietly plotting to bring down the President.

Regina’s politics may be “out there,” but she’s still a politician. She is of sound mind and she is not putting up with President Brown’s glad-handing.

With President Brown’s handling of the crisis making waves all over the country, Regina is poised to take control with the support of the people behind her.

Suddenly so many Madams.
Regina

We’ve seen how this happens. It doesn’t look good. 

Y: The Last Man, the show, is almost a meta-commentary on itself. It works on so many levels.

It highlights just how systemically the patriarchy has set up a world that makes it impossible for women to succeed. Women need to be provided with opportunities — much like the women who have worked on this show.

How many films and television shows have been made by a predominantly male production team and mostly (if not all) male cast?  It shouldn’t be a big deal that it’s produced, written, and directed by women — it should just be a fact about the show like anything else. 

It is not despite that — it is BECAUSE of that — that this is such a great show. Women must be exceptional in order to get the same kind of work that a man must only be mediocre to achieve, so every aspect of this show is expertly crafted. 

Despite all this, it never veers into self-pity — these characters are all just trying to keep on, despite terrible odds, and never consider defeat as an option. “She persisted.” 

Y: The Last Man is not a vision of things to come — it’s a mirror showing us what we’re up against. 

All of us — men, women, and anyone excluded by the binary — need to be fighting for the same thing because these issues affect everyone. 

If I haven’t already made this clear, Y: The Last Man is one of the most important shows on television right now.

It is brave and hopeful and no more dystopic than the nightly news — it might even be slightly more optimistic. 

Are you looking forward to the further adventures of Dr. Mann, Yorick, and Agent 355? What do you think is in store for Christine’s pregnancy? Will Regina make a power grab? What is the truth behind the Event? Will we ever truly overcome the sexism that pervades every aspect of our lives?

It’s worth pondering. Share your thoughts in the comments.

Mary Littlejohn is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.