'Survivors' S01E02 - Part Two

Survivors continues to impress with a suitably morbid episode that brings out a number of interesting themes. It also contains one of the great scenes of the genre, involving a chicken no less.

The poultry-related epiphany occurs in the compelling narrative strand featuring playboy Al and prepubescent Najid. For when Al breaks down in tears while throttling the chicken, it brilliantly ties into his earlier manslaughter of the vigilante shop owner and is a delayed reaction to that event.

Cleverly, the writing and performances of these two characters subverts their relationship by having the child play the paternal role towards his immature elder. Both Philip Rhys and Chahak Patel deserve huge plaudits for their emotive acting.

The chicken and shop owner deaths ultimately stem from actions perpetrated by people desperate to survive, which is also the case for the intriguing new figure of Sarah. Sleeping with poor Bob for her own material gain, her manipulative presence should prove to be fascinating in terms of its effects on the group dynamics.

The chemistry between Julie Graham and Max Beesley is nicely understated, but is the murderous convict really after the doctor Anya? Given the character's dubious morals, it's hard to tell whether he warns Al away from her because he's being caring and protective, or because he wants her all to himself.

Although the episode capitalises on the excellence of the debut instalment, it's not without its problems. The villains of the piece are somewhat underwritten and one-dimensional, with Anthony Flanagan not given the material he deserves,

Also, the ending is too similar to the previous one, as the secretive team of scientists pops up in the final scene to remind us that the virus may well have been deliberately released. It seems to be self-consciously tacked on to try to encourage viewers to keep watching the show to find out whats going on. Instead, it's likely to have the opposite effect as it's so contrived.

Overall though, while far from flawless, Survivors is superior dramatic fare that deserves to reach a wide audience.

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