Y: The Last Man season 1, episode 6 recap: Karma police

Building a new world requires considerable trust, and in "Weird Al Is Dead," all of Y: The Last Man's characters grapple with who they want to be, who they can rely on, and where their allegiances lie.

At the Boston security gate that Agent 355 visited in the last episode, a trio of black-clad motorcyclists inquires about Agent 355, whose photo they possess. At a nearby building, Yorick comes upon a candlelit procession of women that leads to an abbey. One participant explains to Yorick that they attend this ceremony each Sunday, singing Radiohead's "Karma Police" a cappella in tribute to the men who died. Yorick says Hero once took him to see Radiohead so he'd understand that there was more to music than just Weird Al Yankovic, to which the woman replies, "Rest in peace, Weird Al."

Agent 355 and Mann join this ritual. The pursuing agents appear, and the trio flees, albeit not before Agent 355 pickpockets the photo of herself from their commander — thus learning that these spooks are after her. They take refuge in a nearby church, where Yorick demands answers. Agent 355 explains that they were followed from Boston and she has to take these adversaries "off the board" via some Home Alone-style boobytraps. Mann retorts, "This isn't Home Alone. This is Waco."

At the Hall of Heroes shrine, Kimberley and Regina bond over their right-wing views. Kimberley thinks Regina should be paraded around as a feminist hero, to which Regina caustically responds, "Feminism only applies to liberals." Kimberley opines that this is the only room where "they" (i.e., liberal feminists) even mention the dead since they now have the all-female world they always coveted. Regina says her mother used to believe the world would be better if it were run by women. She voted for Reagan just to annoy her mom and then never stopped being a Republican. Badmouthing Jennifer, Regina laments that the new president has the "establishment sorority" and tragedy on her side, but Kimberley suggests that Jennifer might not be invincible.

Yorick wakes in the middle of the night and spies Agent 355 in the loft. He goes to her and apologizes, only to realize she's once again sleepwalking (with a tear in her eye). He coaxes her away from the ledge.

Roxanne leads a support group meeting with her acolytes. Hero is warier of this crew than Sam, who gladly takes the testosterone — and prescription pills — that Hero has procured from the pharmacy. Roxanne talks to her followers about how, as a police detective, she routinely encountered women who were beaten, imprisoned, and killed by men. Nora tries to remove Mackenzie from this adult scene, but Roxanne scarily objects, coaxing Mackenzie to talk about creepy comments men used to make to her. Nora objects, yelling that Mackenzie just lost her dad and 8-year-old brother. Roxanne counters that grief won't protect either of them now.

Then a makeshift alarm sounds, compelling Roxanne and her minions to grab weapons and prepare for intruders. On the roof beside an armed Laura, Nora watches Roxanne greet these interlopers. The strangers are an unthreatening family of survivors, but Roxanne refuses to take them in. Once they move on, Laura tells Nora, "We're lucky to be here. It's much worse out there."

As Agent 355 prepares for a siege, Mann confronts Yorick, showing him the photo of Agent 355 as a means of proving that she's the target of these pursuers. Mann wants Yorick to flee with her to San Francisco and leave Agent 355 behind. He refuses, and she chides him for his crush on the soldier.

Nora visits Roxanne and apologizes for earlier, bringing her tea as a figurative fig leaf. Roxanne reveals her nude torso, which is missing a breast presumably due to cancer. Roxanne recounts how Amazons used to severe one breast in a display of strength and that she and her fellow chat-room friends used to call themselves Amazons. She thanks Nora for the tea but scolds her for acting pathetic. "The world ended. It's okay to be yourself," she advises.

Taking a bath in one of the wash area's many giant tubs, Hero feels uncomfortable around the other nude women. They unnervingly force her to talk about her self-loathing, and though she pushes back, they continue, expressing their own feelings of fear, anger, and shame. They say Roxanne saved their lives and that "she can save yours too." Hero announces that she and Sam will be moving on soon, but she's clearly intrigued by the idea of starting anew here.

Sitting on his bunk, Sam is approached by Kelsey (Samantha Brown), who's very flirty. She admits she loves men — probably too much. She whispers that there's a "funeral" tonight. That evening, a ceremony takes place with Laura at its center. Roxanne details Laura's former life and then has her lie down on a tarp, nude, as everyone shovels dirt on her — Nora included. She then gets into a bathtub, where she's baptized, emerging as the newly named Athena. Sam bolts from this "weird" nonsense, but Hero remains, entranced. Kelsey tracks down Sam and warns him to keep quiet about his doubts about the group. She also reveals that they're not allowed to be alone with him, at which point a woman comes and retrieves Kelsey.

Agent 355 tells Yorick to hide in the basement. He tries to discuss her exhausted appearance and sleepwalking, but she gets furious, saying she's going to protect him from whoever comes through the church's doors, and that's a good deal for him. He angrily storms off and tells Mann (who's slowly developing a rapport with Ampersand, offering him communion wafers) that he's ready to sneak away with her.

From around a Pentagon hallway corner, Christine spies on Kimberley and Regina. Kimberley spots her and brings up the pregnancy. Christine wants her condition to remain secret since she's not sure she wants to keep the baby. Kimberley believes God is teaching them something via Christine's pregnancy and then stunningly offers to raise the kid herself.

In the war room, Jennifer discovers that General Reid has been briefing Regina about the upcoming church siege to nab Agent 355. She's brought up to speed about the operation, and they listen to it take place live. Yorick and Mann run off into the woods, and when the agents inform the president that they've spotted their targets, Jennifer — pressured to act in front of Regina but fearful of getting Yorick killed — says, "proceed with caution." Agent 355 takes out her opponents with some help from Mann. One soldier apparently gets a good look at Yorick, but lies about it, so Agent 355 doesn't kill her. They survive, but Agent 355 is mad at Yorick for attempting to flee and doesn't let him apologize.

With the mission a failure, Jennifer and Regina have it out. They bicker about Jennifer's past criticisms of Regina as a xenophobe and a bigot ("Maybe you just play one on TV," the president sneers), and Regina wonders if Jennifer has been compromised by her closeness to Agent 355 — something she learned about from Kimberley. Jennifer censures that notion, saying they don't have to be enemies. Regina claims if she were in charge, she'd deal with the rioters by sending armored trucks and riot police to the Pentagon's gates. She also threatens to make public the fact that Jennifer's own Agent 355 attacked American soldiers on her orders. Jennifer dares her to do so.

Roxanne joins Hero on a lawn chair in an outdoor parking lot and marvels at the stars, pointing out the Seven Sisters constellation. She says everyone likes Hero, and they want her to stay. Hero states that she's not a good person and confesses to murdering Mike. Roxanne theorizes that if you kick an animal enough times, it'll bite back — but that doesn't mean the creature is naturally violent. She promises that if Hero remains, she can be whomever she wants to be.

Nora is awakened by crying. She gets up and spies Laura (still wearing a flowery wreath) and two other women confronting Kelsey for being disloyal for speaking in private with Sam. Laura gives Nora a look and a smile before she and her cohorts punch and viciously kick Kelsey — a message that Nora receives.

Post-Men Dispatches:

No one has yet grappled with the fact that, with every Y-chromosome creature dead (including animals, and insects), the world is irreversibly ecologically doomed.
Mann and Yorick's complaints about Agent 355's ruthlessness are similarly blinkered, as if they don't realize that they're living through the End Times and that things have gotten, to put it mildly, "messy."
Agent 355's sleepwalking problems are getting worse, and will likely prove even more problematic down the road.

Related content:

Y: The Last Man recap: Karma police

Related Articles