Tribe Leader Episode Recaps

Series 3, Episode 02

Previously on the Tribe: Tai-San refused to bow down to Zoot and earned possible starvation for the Mallrats; Bray and Lex weren’t killed on the beach and escaped from the Chosen with Ebony’s help, only to have Bray disappear; and some potentially creepy weirdo was stalking them in the trees.

Ebony and Lex are still staring at the empty patch of ground where they left Bray. She immediately begins shouting for him, which is a great way to not draw attention to yourself from the fanatically homicidal cult looking for you in the very same forest. Not very smart, but it does show how worried she is about him. Chalk up another karma point for Ebony. She ought to be at about -103 right now. Just 103 good deed points to go to break even!

Lex sarcastically reminds Ebony about the Chosen on their trail and tells her to yell louder next time. But she can feel that something else is out there; perhaps our stalker friend. Maybe she just hasn’t considered the fact that Bray might have quit, that’s Lex’s suggestion anyway. Maybe he just gave up and went somewhere else. Maybe he wasn’t captured. Is Lex projecting here, or just bored and wanting to be on his way to Tai-San? Probably both. Either way, Lex thinks they can manage without Bray. Ebony disagrees. As she puts it, Lex was “never the sharpest tool in the box.” And even she can’t defeat the Chosen on her own. So is she quitting on Lex too? No, she’s just saving her own skin.

Now that sounds like vintage Ebony. But it’s still obvious that she’d risk the Chosen in order to help Bray. Ebony is usually motivated by fear. She’s afraid to be alone, to be powerless, to be hurt. In this case, she cares about Bray’s safety more than her own. And that’s usually the best method to figure out which way Ebony’s blowing this week. Her desires are sometimes so conflicted that her loyalties depend on which one she wants more.

Carrying crates of vegetables and jugs of what’s probably water, in chains and filthy, the Mallrats are led back inside the Mall by Chosen goons. KC wants to know if they’ll get any of the food they’ve been lugging around, but Ellie explains that’s the whole point of this torture. Dal announces that he’s starving which leads May to lay the blame on Tai-San and Alice to come to Tai-San’s defense. The stress, hunger, and physical exhaustion is clearly getting to the Mallrats. Their unity is cracking under the pressure. Tai-San asks them to stop it; bickering will get them nowhere. But even Salene is confrontational, asking derisively if Tai-San plans to wave her magic wand and make it all better. Jack says, “I’d rather be a slave than dead,” and smiles around at everyone. In return he gets glared at; no one is in the mood to lighten up. A Chosen goon shouts that work duty is over and their chains can be taken off.

The stranger in the woods is getting more daring about spying on Ebony and Lex. He’s mere meters away as they walk and discuss her immediate plans. She wants to get away from all her problems: the City, the Chosen, and of course, Bray. But then why did she bother to save Bray at all? Lex suggests it’s because she wanted to play happy little twosome in a cozy cottage, only she forgot to ask Bray. Ebony tells him to leave it, uncomfortable that Lex sees through both her and her plan so easily. She’s distracted in her protestations by a figure moving in the trees behind Lex. The stranger has finally revealed himself to them, though he immediately moves back into cover of the trees. Ebony calls out Bray’s name, although it’s completely ridiculous that the person with long black hair she just saw could possibly be Bray. Eyeroll. Lex takes off after him, soon followed by Ebony.

At the Mall, the Guardian is doing a little redecorating in a Zoot theme. He watches as Chosen flunkies hang a banner and two portraits of Zoot on the walls, calling, “Do you not feel it in the very air we breathe, my brothers?” He holds a glass sphere between him and one of the portraits. Victory!” Dude’s a nut.

I want to know who the photographer in Tribeworld is. I mean, I very seriously doubt that Zoot was posing for portraits in between burning down buildings and terrorizing kids. Not to mention all the other portraits of people that show up in this show. I’m willing to suspend a little of my disbelief, but come on. I’m sure this will come up again though, so be expecting my tirade the next time.

The door opens, interrupting the Guardian’s grand proclamations. Luke enters, followed by Bray! Except that, we all saw that coming, so no real surprise there. Bray seems to be walking okay now, though maybe with a little limp. He’s very ballsy even in defeat, commenting, “I see you’ve been redecorating our Mall. I can’t say I admire your taste in wallpaper though.” The Guardian is unimpressed. The City and the Mall now belong to the Chosen and he’ll decorate it any way he damn well pleases, thank you very much.

Bray asks where Danni is, suppressed rage in his voice. The Guardian laughs, complimenting Bray on his gallantry. Danni is with the other leaders. And as he puts it, “They’ve been taken care of.” Bray tries to go for his throat but is pulled back by Luke, who gets an awesome grip on his hair! Luke’s a bit of a badass. Unlike Bray, who impotently threatens to get the Guardian for this. Him and his little dog too. Again, G-Dawg is unimpressed. “Your people have no leaders and no hope. The war is over.” Cold, but true. “Has it not come to pass my brothers?” The flunkies around the room chant, “Praise be to Zoot!” The Guardian smiles an evil little smile. “And to his followers, victory.” Yep, nuts. But like scary awesome nuts.

The redecoration continues elsewhere in the mall as the Mallrats watch in disgust and fear. Ellie can’t believe what these “thugs” are doing to their home. KC thinks, ironically, that if Bray were here he wouldn’t let them do that. Heh. Good ole Bray. He’s a bit useless at times. May agrees, saying “Yeah, KC. Bray’s superhuman!” Hee! Her sarcastic delivery on that is perfect.

Ryan promises to find some food for Salene, but she graciously says she’s not hungry. Not so with May, who asks if she can have Salene’s share. Alice feels she has to jump in and tells May to shut up, which starts up the tension between them again. Alice gets in May’s face and they begin to shove each other. They have to be pulled apart, still struggling, by Ryan and Ellie. Tai-San has had enough of the bickering and fighting and stands up to get their attention. “Fighting amongst ourselves is exactly what the Chosen want. Let’s try and think!” Oh, Tai-San. That might be too much to ask. She points out that Bray and Lex are out there somewhere. Jack mentions Danni and Dal wonders where she might be. May says out loud what many of them are already thinking, that Danni’s probably dead. Way to roll with the hope train there, May. Tai-San again tries to get them thinking positively. They don’t know Danni’s dead and thinking like that means they’re beaten before they’ve even started. Unsaid is, “So knock it the hell off, May.”

And who arrives to cheer them up? Trudy with Brady in her arms and accompanied by some flunkies. She’s off to a good start by mocking Tai-San for “rallying the troops.” Rather than slap the smug smile off Trudy’s face, which both she and I want to do right now, Tai-San stalks off to count to ten or something. It’s Ellie who steps up and tells her to stuff her gloating, they’re just fine, thank you very much. They won’t give in. The Mallrats will beat Trudy and her “loony friend in the white dress.” Trudy is about as impressed at these empty threats as the Guardian was with Bray’s.

She starts to make the rounds of her old friends, literally walking around the loose circle the Mallrats are arranged in. She calls Patsy’s name first, causing her to huddle up against Cloe like Trudy is planning to rip her away. Considering what Trudy did to her before, that may not be such an idle fear. How things have changed. Patsy used to come to her for comfort. Of course, Trudy manipulated her into that, but that’s not really important, is it? And these people used to be her friends, her family. But no more. She pauses to look at all of them, saying, “Decay and renewal; these are the only laws of time.” Um, that makes no sense. Time has many laws. With Jack she plays the “Do you remember” game, but she gets right up in his face to do it. Does he remember when she was just a scared pregnant girl, begging to be allowed to stay in the Mall. She totally freaks him out, heh. Salene points out that they took her in but Trudy knows she was never welcome.

Dal wants to know if this is all about revenge then, because she had a hard time? No, Trudy says. Not revenge; it’s about love. “You are all special to me, and I will bring you in to the fold like the lost sheep you are.” More like lambs to the slaughter, according to Alice. But Zoot will provide for the Mallrats, just as he has provided for Trudy and Brady. Perhaps to prove that, she snaps her fingers and orders the flunkies (who are watching the drama from the level above and laughing) to give the Mallrats as much food and drink as they want.

Ebony and Lex run through the forest trying to track the stranger. They reach a creek bed with no success. Lex wonders aloud where he might have gone, but Ebony wants to know why Lex thinks it’s a he. Well, maybe because he saw a DUDE when they first saw this guy, the same GUY that you saw and thought was Bray! Oy. If you’re going to have a character say something, make sure when it’s acted out that it still makes sense. All she knows is that it isn’t Bray, but could it be the Chosen? Someone has definitely been watching them though, and they’re good. Yeah. The person you SAW run off! This is such a stupid conversation. Ebony thinks maybe this person might know where Bray is. She figures they should change tactics. Instead of speed, they should be concentrating on stealth. They need to think like their prey. She takes off, leaving a very confused Lex to follow after her.

Tai-San, Ellie, and May sit at a table, eagerly devouring the food in front of them, as do the others. May thinks this proves her point. If they want food they just need to shut up and go along with the Chosen. Tai-San disagrees. Trudy is playing with them, and she could starve them tomorrow if she wanted. Ellie says just because the Chosen gave them food doesn’t mean they should give in. Even slaves have to eat, is Dal’s contribution to the conversation. Tai-San doesn’t like the word “slaves.” They’re not slaves, not inside. Not in their hearts, Ellie agrees, where it matters. Aww. Ellie’s like a little Tai-San clone. They look at each other with approval.

Ryan thinks he and Salene need to talk. He wants to know how long Salene has known she’s pregnant. Her answer is not long, but that isn’t what he really wants to know. Did she marry Ryan just because of the baby? That pisses her off royally and she drops her spoon and runs off. Ryan tries to follow but it stopped by one of the Chosen. But…he let Salene go? Ryan runs off in another direction instead. Which I guess is okay because no one tries to stop him. Um…huh?

Ellie pulls up a chair next to Jack, who is quite enjoying his food. She thinks there has to be a way out of the Mall. He suggests they just walk out the front door, which isn’t what she wanted to hear. Jack’s response is, “I get cranky if I don’t eat properly.” Hee hee! Jack is awesome and has some of the best delivered lines on this show. She takes away his bowl, which makes him sad. Her point is that they know the Mall better than the Chosen, and Jack has been there longer than anyone. There has to be some exit that isn’t guarded. He shrugs and grabs his bowl again. Heh. Ellie tries to take it back and he looks at her like, “Hands off the bowl!” He just isn’t going to cooperate on an empty stomach.

Trudy bursts into the Guardian’s office, having heard that Bray was captured and brought back to the Mall. She doesn’t hide her excitement very well, though she sobers when she asks what will happen to him now. The Guardian acknowledges the blood of Zoot in Bray’s veins but also that he’s dangerous to them as a focal point for a rebellion. He thinks it’s best to send Bray to join his brother. That’s definitely not what Trudy wanted to hear, but she seems to know she has to tread carefully. She asks if that’s wise, as they might just make a martyr of him. If they could win him to the cause, he would be a great prize. The Guardian thinks Bray is too strong willed and stubborn to be won over, but Trudy says she can break him given time. No go, his fate is already sealed. Trudy begs to differ. She shares the same bloodline to the “child of Zoot” and has a say in Bray’s fate. The Guardian caves but cautions her not to let Bray sway her from their cause. She bows formally, smiling, and leaves the Guardian to his concerns.

Jack, having gotten to finish his meal, is now ready to plot escape. He leads Ellie to the grate of an air shaft that apparently ends in the sewers, at least he thinks so. He’ll check it out and come back for the others if it works. Wait, so the Chosen aren’t guarding the sewer entrance? That seems rather careless of them. But then I guess this is the super secret sewer entrance that no one ever knows about but that the Mallrats go in and out of twelve times a day and their enemies find only when it’s convenient. Whatever.

Elsewhere, Bray sits and broods. Trudy enters the room and asks how he’s doing. He’s fine, thanks for asking. He congratulates her on fooling the Mallrats, on betraying them and “opening the gates of hell” for everyone in the City. She tries to protest but he cuts her off. There’s nothing she could say to him now. He only wants to know one thing: what does she get out of this mindless Zoot worship? She thinks he can’t see it for what it is. Yes, it’s hard, but that’s no different from their old life. Except that in their old life, they didn’t kill people who disagreed with them. Well, that’s not exactly true. Plenty of people in the world did, just not in their society. There were religious cults before and dictators who did plenty of that. He bitterly asks about Danni, if she’s even still alive. Trudy claims not to know anything about Danni’s fate, which is probably true. She wouldn’t have cared enough to find out. He wants her to admit she knows people have been killed, but she labels them necessary sacrifices. Anarchy he calls it, though she says, “Anarchy has no meaning without laws.”

Interesting; let’s explore. Anarchy is defined as a state of society without law. But for the concept of anarchy to have any meaning, there must be some law to contrast it with. That’s what they lived with after the virus. There was a government and law and order, then the virus destroyed all that. So there was anarchy before the Chosen showed up. And the Chosen do have some law and order, Bray just disagrees with it. So Trudy’s correct, if there is no law to begin with, anarchy has no meaning, and a new state that imposes law isn’t anarchy.

Trudy says that’s what the Chosen are trying to do: create order and stability. Also interesting. Their main belief is in power and chaos, yet they’re trying to create order. So the logical conclusion would be that even if they manage to create it, they’ll have to destroy it eventually. And they can’t create chaos without order, just as there is no anarchy without law. You must create in order to destroy, but wouldn’t you become attached to your creation? What a very conflicted existence.

Bray takes Trudy’s hands and tells her it’s not too late. After everything she’s done, she can still join them and help them to defeat the Chosen. She can still redeem herself. Trudy seems to consider it for a second but finally pulls her hands away. It’s Bray who should join the Chosen, she says. They could make a fresh start, together. She throws in “all of us, I mean” as an afterthought. She’s there to ask for his support, presumably in convincing the other Mallrats and the City. It’s a serious misjudgment though, unsurprisingly. “Not if you were the last tribe on Earth,” is his final word. Her parting shot is equally as strong: “Believe me, Bray, that day will come.” Ooh, that gives me chills!

Ebony and Lex have been trying to think like their prey and seem to have gotten the drop on the stranger. It’s all been an illusion though. He turns and smiles at them, saying, “You took your time, didn’t you?” And off he runs, with Ebony and Lex in hot pursuit.

Meanwhile, turns out Jack was correct about the end of the air shaft. It drops down into the sewers. But the Chosen aren’t completely stupid and are patrolling them, quite a few Chosen in fact. Jack must make a couple quick moves to hide from blue robed guards.

Ebony and Lex are idiots. They’re so busy chasing the stranger, they didn’t realize they were the prey. They run headlong into a trap and get a net thrown on them. Ebony figures out the game right away, much good it does her now. Lex wonders who this guy is, and the stranger approaches them, saying he was about to ask them the same thing.

The Mallrats have gathered back in the atrium, along with quite a few of the Chosen. Alice comments that they’re behaving weirder than usual, and almost immediately chanting begins coming from above them. “Praise be to Zoot!” Ellie gets to her feet, a worried look on her face. The Guardian, accompanied by his honor guard, descends the stairs to the continued chants. He motions for silence and berates the Mallrats for persisting in their “foolish schemes.” He snaps his fingers and Jack is led in, held between two of the Chosen. Ellie cries out his name and tries to run to him but is stopped by the Chosen’s’ raised weapons as Jack is led up the stairs in chains. He’s obviously been beaten and is badly hurt with bruises all over his face.

The Guardian wants the Mallrats to know that “escape is impossible, resistance futile.” They have left him no choice but to make an example out of Jack. Ellie, in tears, calls out for him to stop, earning the Guardian’s rebuke. Jack wearily tells her to stop, but she tells the Guardian how valuable Jack can be in a last ditch attempt to save his life. He’s interested to learn that Jack is a scientist and Ellie once again begs him to spare Jack. The Guardian won’t be swayed though. “Faith, not science, is our god.” They take Jack away as Ellie breaks down in tears in Alice’s arms. Man, that’s kind of a wrenching scene.

In the forest, Ebony wants to know how they can be sure that the stranger isn’t one of the Chosen. He points out that he’s alone and the Chosen always move in packs. So what is he doing there and why was he following Lex and Ebony? He’s a watcher, a scout, keeping an eye on things. He won’t tell them who for, but he did see what happened to Bray. He wants to know if he’s their leader. Heh. Lex says, “He likes to think so.” Bray was taken by a Chosen search party. As far as Lex is concerned, that’s it. “Game over.” Ebony sighs and orders the stranger to let them out of the net.

Ellie, Alice, and May are scrubbing floors in the Mall, punishment for their escape attempt. May, as usual, is bitchy and complaining. She guesses that the plan was Ellie’s to begin with, and look where it’s got them. Jack’s gone and they now have extra work to do. She grabs Alice’s shoulder and wrenches her around to yell at her. The Chosen aren’t some smalltime tribe! They’re dangerous and they mean business. Alice thinks that’s exactly why they need to stand up to them. She turns to Ellie and tries to comfort her, saying that it isn’t her fault. Ellie doesn’t believe that, won’t ever believe that. She gets up and runs off with Alice calling after her.

Ryan has finally caught up with Salene. She’s looking through a box of old mementos, cradling what I think is Bray’s old skateboard. He was worried she might have been taken away, but she points out she’s no use to them. She wants to be left alone but Ryan thinks they need to talk. They can get through this but only if they’re honest with each other. She tells him she knew she was pregnant before the wedding and didn’t want him to feel he had to marry her. Which is total bullshit, but Salene may actually believe that at this point. Ryan, poor dumb fool that he is, says he would have married her anyway, and the baby only makes him love her more. They hug, Ryan thinking everything is okay now, Salene angsting about something.

Ellie looks at a candid Polaroid picture of Jack – the most authentic picture I’ve ever seen on this show. Normally they’re obviously professionally taken photos. Dal comes in and she turns to him in tears, wondering what they’re going to do without him. They hug tightly, seeking comfort.

Meanwhile, The Guardian meets with Jack in his quarters. He suggests that Jack would like to live, wouldn’t he? And Jack gives him a look that says, “Uh…yes?” But he’s too smart to say anything. He also looks pretty beaten down, poor Jack. The Guardian thinks that although faith is the cornerstone of their beliefs, there’s no reason science can’t be made to work for Zoot. He’ll be taken somewhere outside the city to work on projects for the Chosen. Jack isn’t all that happy with this alternative, which will take him away from his friends and family, and Ellie. He lowers his head in defeat.

Ebony and Lex have joined the stranger at a campfire by the creek bed. He reveals that his name is Pride, or as he puts it, “Members of my tribe call me Pride.” Which is interesting, meaning he didn’t pick it himself. Lex speculates it means a pride of lions, or tigers, or pussy cats. But Pride either ignores the jab or doesn’t understand it. He merely comments that animals have so much more wisdom than people. Lex, jackass that he is, claims they look good with their heads mounted on his wall. Since I’m quite sure Lex has never hunted any game bigger than a farm bred pig at best, I find that funny. Pride says it wasn’t animals that brought them to their current circumstances. He and his tribe like to live in harmony with nature; it’s their creed.

Ebony asks about their leader and gets quite a bit of random exposition. Her name is Eagle. She came to the tribe some months ago after having been abandoned by her own. They saw great strength and courage in her and made her their leader. When Ebony wants to know if she told the tribe anything about her past, Pride suddenly decides they need more firewood for the cool evening ahead of them and off he goes. Lex thinks they sound like a bunch of kooks with all their animal-loving ways. Their leader reminds him of Amber, bossing her way in and taking over. Ebony seems to get very flustered and tells Lex that’s just stupid. He’s taken aback by her strong reaction as he was only making a joke.

Okay, here’s my problem, or rather problems. First off, why would Ebony want to know who their leader is? I suppose if she was interested in an alliance with them she would like to know, but that isn’t even an issue yet. I can’t think of a single reason why she would as that question right after meeting this guy. And why would Pride offer all these details about how they found her and when? He doesn’t seem to have much respect for the city or its denizens, or these two in particular, so why reveal details that he holds practically sacred? And Ebony is instantly suspicious of who this tribe leader actually is. I suppose she might be overly suspicious because of what she’s done, but the name is what first makes her wonder. It’s just a very clumsy way to handle this. Would Lex really bring Amber up at all, much less in a negative way in these circumstances? I know he had his issues with her, but the girl did get killed in tragic circumstances. Jeez.

Ellie, in manacles and chains, is with a work party in the city, collecting and piling tires with other kids. She looks up to see a truck drive past carrying Jack and a Chosen guard. She calls out his name, happy to see him alive, and runs after the truck. He doesn’t know where he’s being taken but tells her not to forget him. Before the truck drives away and the Chosen can reach her, they call out their love for each other. He asks her one more time not to forget him and then he’s gone. Surrounded by armed Chosen, in chains, Ellie falls to her knees and cries for Jack. Man, that’s just heartbreaking.